Tour and Alcina at Royal Opera House
Royal Ballet and Opera
Saturday 3rd October, 2026
For a while now I have been trying to get to the Royal Ballet and Opera in Covent Garden - the People's Piazza.
This Saturday last, I had the opportunity to do just that. I took in a daytime tour of the venue, and bought a cheap ticket to watch Alcina in the evening.
I must confess that Covent Garden has never been my favourite area of the city. Nothing against it, but there's something a bit too popular about it, for me. Always mega crowded, and maybe the presence of all the the high-end designer stores puts me off.
I arrive at the venue with about ten minutes to spare. Something to note about the Royal Ballet and Opera is that its venue is far from just a theatre. The place is a hive of refined and pseudo-refined London living: mezzanine bars galore, women dressed up as brittle porcelain dolls, and champagne on (metered) tap.
Bryan, with a gentle Irish lilt, is our tour guide. He leads our group (about twenty strong), firstly to the older 'lobby' section of the venue (I have forgotten the proper name for it). This area has cute miniature opera sets built into the wall, giving us a peep at the shows that have since gone. There are also a plethora of posters adorning the wallpapered walls. And I note the plush, cushioned red carpets. The finest Axminster, I assume.
We head upstairs, and into the main auditorium where there is an orchestra rehearsing. It thus provides a handy 'free trial' of the theatre, and I have to say the acoustics of the room have been designed perfectly, no doubt about it. Our group are given the opportunity to sit and absorb the ambience of the room, which I am glad to do for a few minutes.
After this we are led to areas behind the front facades. How the other half live! Behind the scenes is less red velvet luxury, and more a scene from Arrowe Park hospital. Double doors with metal plates up to waist height, flight cases full to the brim with discarded costumes and shoes. Industrial-sized lifts that are fit for tonnes of miscellaneous cargo (or a group of twenty tourists, as it happens). As we go along we see workers in hard hats, and we learn about the sets, the lighting, the fabrics, and how areas are specially air conditioned to ensure performers are kept at prime temperatures at all times, lest they suffer a light muscle spasm or something. In one room - which is a huge padded cell in white, we also have opportunity to observe a dancer from behind glass, in what looks like a private rehearsal.
After the tour I nip back to my digs for an hour or so, before returing to the RBO for the evening's performance of Alcina. Once again, fate delivers me to the works of George Friderick Handel, through no real intention of my own.
The £12 standing position at the back of the arena does leave a lot to be desired. I need to lean right, onto a rail, to gain a half-decent view of what is going on on the stage. It is also unmentionably humid up there, so I decide to stick it out for the first act only (there are another two acts ahead, both separated by half-hour intervals!).
What I do see I enjoy thoroughly. The music is distinctly Handel, and the performers are terrific, as I suppose they should be?! They have amazing vocal projection considering they are not mic’d up, and I can hear them from the very back of the room, despite being slightly hard of hearing. I recognise the set and the masks from the behind-the-scenes tour earlier in the day.
There is an anecdote about royalty (forget if it was Diana, or maybe William and Kate), asking to be moved from the Royal Box for a 'better seat'. Fortunately for me, I have the luxury of anonymity and the ability to wander off quietly into the night - which I do after the first act. Twelve pounds is still good value for what I saw and - if I am serious next time - I will remember to fork out a little extra.
Best of all, I now know that this is a public building, and I can pop in to use the lavs anytime I am in the area, should the need arise.
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