For the IHEEM London Branch summer visit, arrangements were made for a “behind the scenes” group tour of the Royal Opera House, London, including a focus on engineering aspects of the premises.
Increased efficiency has created 20% more stage rehearsal time, thus allowing an increase in the number of performances that can be staged. There are about 300 staff who carry out all the functions required. Many famous opera houses are built in city centres and, due to the constraints of adjacent buildings, development can only expand above or below the ground. The Royal Opera House is fortunate in that it was built alongside Covent Garden market, and therefore expansion could take place beside the original building as well as downwards, limited by the proximity of the London Underground.
The auditorium is now air conditioned with outlets below the seating. Despite the size of the 2.5 acre site there is not sufficient room to store the amount of scenery and equipment required for the numerous productions. The high cost of additional storage in the London area, made it economical to rent storage in Wales and retain a full size truck that can enter the building and be loaded or unloaded directly alongside the mobile stages.
The IHEEM group was extremely impressed by the size of the Royal Opera House and by the engineering, logistics and the backup provisions involved in producing operas and ballets. Thanks were expressed to Declan Hamilton for giving the branch a highly interesting tour.
