Not the Royal Opera House? Not a good idea
balletThe Covent Garden building that has staged opera and ballet for the past three centuries has renamed itself The Royal Ballet and Opera.
Such rebrandings are not undertaken lightly.
They usually reflect an internal decision that the company is being held back by an outworn image, that part of its activity is failing to excite the public imagination.
In the case of the ROH it reflects an everlasting war for primacy between ballet and opera. Ballet has been winning over the past couple of seasons in terms of originality and innovation. Opera lovers will regard the renaming, rightly, as a defeat for their artform.
Alex Beard, Chief Executive of the Royal Ballet and Opera, said: ‘Today we announce a Season of extraordinary breadth and ambition – to audiences old and new, in schools and cinemas across the UK, and through streaming and digital media, right across the world. Bringing ballet into our name is long overdue – The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera have performed under the same roof since 1946 – and both companies now enjoy the prominence that they rightfully deserve. The whole of the Royal Ballet and Opera is far more than the sum of our parts. We may perform at the Royal Opera House, but three quarters of what we do is experienced by people outside this building and, as we mark 40 years of our Learning programme, the impact and influence of the Royal Ballet and Opera can be felt in every corner of the country.’
That statement is mostly wishful thinking. However, Beard is right that dance has more public traction in the UK than opera, and that the ballet company is hitting its straps better than the singing side. The question is, how will opera respond to the institutional donwgrade? Sulkily, no doubt. This is a serious blow that will have lasting consequences. Opera at Covent Garden is now second best.
I’m confused.
Has the building been renamed, or the company/companies which operate(s) there?
Is this a merger of the companies, or were they already merged, but trading under two names?
What, if any, are the consequences for (a) opera lovers, (b) ballet lovers and (c) lovers of both art forms?
According to the website it’s still the Royal Opera House but the company is now combined as Royal Ballet and Opera
“The Royal Ballet House” – oh, please.
Ballet is an inferior art form, owing to second rate music – with the exception of Tchaikovsky.
I’m sure that opera isn’t second best but the unfortunate new name certainly makes it sound like that. A pointless exercise at best.
It existed before as two sub-brands The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet under the main brand of the Royal Opera House.
The change is totally unnecessary. Nobody is going to stop calling it ROH and they have 132 years of being known as such. From what I understand, the ballet never had a problem with it, so it strikes me this idea has come from some overpaid branding consultant and, alas, has been bought into; hook, line and sinker.
I understand that the name of the organization that occupies the building is changing and that the building will still be called the Royal Opera House.
That’s correct. From the press release: “Together, the Royal Ballet and Opera will continue to perform at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House…”
Like the name change from Twitter to X, people will just find it annoying and continue to use the old name. If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it.
I think it’s daft that ballets are performed in an opera house, unless of course they’re part of the opera. Meanwhile the news of increasing numbers of young people going Covent Garden is very encouraging. And after a technically shaky start, their streaming service works well too.
Both opera and ballet, not to mention symphony concerts, have enough problems already without creating new ones.
if the opera is going to sulk because of this appropriate change to their name, then they deserve everything they get. They should take it as a new sign of potential rich artistic collaboration.
The home building is still called the Royal Opera House. It’s the ROH company which has been renamed the RBO.
Presumably, the alternative option for a new company name to include both Opera and Ballet was the Royal Opera and Ballet (ROB). It would have been seen by all of ACE’s other clients as taking the piss if the ROH, as the recipient of the largest ACE investment, had rebranded as ROB!
Relatively harmless IMHO but still a bit awkward. Why not (try to) rename the building as the RBOH at the same time?
What’s the orchestra called now? Have they changed it’s name too?
Desperation is the game here. ROH will take any suggestions even as flimsy and I’ll advised as this just to effect some kind of change. The problem being that the management are clueless. Look at the dreary Opera season announced yesterday, some big names in tired and dull productions. No wonder they are broke!
What a lot of conservative drivel these threads serve up.
Why not just call it the Royal House.
Or would that imply, eponymously, the soapy kind?
Opera is the combination of all art forms including ballet. I wouldn’t mind if they put on a ballet for intermission entertainment at the opera.
In Pesaro Rossni Opera Festival, the dancers regularly get a bigger applause than the singers.
I’m sure nobody in the ballet world is going to stop calling it the Opera House which has never bothered anyone to my knowledge. It’s the same in Stockholm where the house is called The Opera, everyone knows it houses both opera and ballet. Seriously anyway this is a rarefied spat between two art forms most people don’t know or care about at all. Effort and money would be better spent in taking both art forms on visits and tours out of the house and around the country more often so that new people can learn to love them.
The Royal Opera is certainly doing that with school programmes across the country.
Moot point. I always call it Covent Garden.
All they want is a home somewhere
Far away from the cold night air …
… With Elon Musk as Chair,
Oh wouldn’t it be loverly?
Lots of Calvins and Jimmy Choos,
Lots of bars selling lots of booze,
Gay Jewish kangaroos,
Oh wouldn’t it be loverly?
It’s so loverly living next to folk who dance and sing,
Then there’ll be The Rite of Spring –
Choreographed by Sting,
Marianela in Don Quichotte,
Shostakovich in apricot,
Five Ashtons on the trot,
Oh wouldn’t it be lovely?
Please keep to the loverly!
… lov-er-lee ….. ?
I don’t think they are changing the name of the building, it will remain the RoH, the institution itself is changing name.
Yes. That’s what I read yesterday
What does King Charles have to say about that?
According to the media King Charles is busy making his funeral plans. No time for opera or ballet.
Being “woke is usually synonymous with “cancel culture” …
what does this have anything to do with this????
What’s important is not the name but the content of the 2024-25 season. IMO the operas programme is unadventurous and uninviting.
This is quite an oversensitive take.
I couldn’t care less if the ballet company gets a bit more name recognition given how much work they do in the venue.
Clearly there are two companies Royal Opera and Royal Ballet performing in Covent Garden, no need for an ugly name change. Has Charles been consulted?
This is no surprise. Anyone who has worked in a creative, or administrative role at both “companies” can confirm that one is much better paid, looked after and valued whilst being under a ‘Ballet contract’ rather than ‘Opera contract’.. The Opera company seems rudderless at the moment and as you say, the Ballet company is massively on the up…
Yeah, they’ve really not thought this through.
Imagine the inherent confusion if one were to say, “I’m going to see the Royal Ballet and Opera do Romeo and Juliet” (or The Merry Widow or Madama Butterfly or Onegin or Manon or any number of dramatic works that exist in both art forms under the same colloquial names).
This is a very negative article.
THE BUILDING is to remain The Royal Opera House. The new name refers to the two companies.
With “Royal” in the name, it’s still too elitist. As are those types of entertainment. Rename it “The People’s House of Dance and Music.” That will satisfy Arts Council England.
It’s more pointless wokery from the massively subsidised elitist arts luvvies. It sounds like more patronising bs to feed the people “we’re being oh so inclusive and caring and sharing” it’s why they hardly ever put on traditional dress opera these days. It seems to be a very patronising attitude of ” the plebs won’t understand it”.
I say this as a middle class kid who loves opera and classical and occasionally goes to the roh, despite the prices. But it would be nice to see something vibrant and colourful. We went to Carmen the other week, dull 70s poo brown clothes everywhere and instead of a fantastic dress Carmen was wearing overalls….
Hark! Is that the sound of the pot being stirred?
I wonder if they paid PwC a fortune to ‘consult’ on the rebrand…..
Is there any leading or national opera house company anywhere in the world that names itself after its ballet company (I exclude Nethands Dance Theatre and Dance Theatre wuppertal as they do not stage opera)?
Ok I am being sulky then. What a ridiculous decision. I am furious about this This is for goodness sake The Royal Opera House. Is it to be renamed also? I love ballet but I love opera more and I am dismayed at this what must be described as a downgrade. Off with Alex Beard’s head!