As we launch our 2024/25 Season, we welcome a new era for the Royal Ballet and Opera
Our Covent Garden theatre has been at the heart of London and British cultural life for three centuries. We are home to two world-class Companies: The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera. So to reflect that, we’re changing our name. From the start of the 2024/25 Season we will be the Royal Ballet and Opera.
About the Royal Ballet and Opera
The Royal Opera House describes the place we work, not who we are. The whole is always more than the sum of its parts – we may be a House, but three quarters of our audiences experience what we do outside this building. While our Covent Garden theatre is the nerve centre, the impact and influence of the organisation can be felt in every corner of the country, and around the world. This Season, the Royal Ballet and Opera will broadcast productions to 1,500 cinemas worldwide. Children in hundreds of schools across the country, who might otherwise not have access to the arts, will be offered opportunities, free specialist training and resources to inspire, educate and engage them in dance, music and design.
About the 2024/25 Season
The 2024/25 Season demonstrates a broad range and ambition across both Companies with world premieres alongside classic revivals on both stages.
Alex Beard, Chief Executive of the Royal Ballet and Opera says, ‘Ballet and opera are the real thing. They focus on what unites us, what defines us. Here, at the Royal Ballet and Opera, we create art that makes you feel different about yourself and can change how you feel about the world. The Royal Ballet and Opera is facing the future with confidence and the support of over 23,000 Friends, Patrons, supporters and business partners. It is through their generosity and dedicated support for our art and Companies that we are able to ignite passions and inspire imaginations with world-class art, creating transformative experiences for audiences old and new.’
Find out more about the 2024/25 Season
The Royal Ballet and Opera in the news
Chief Executive Alex Beard, spoke to the Guardian about what the name change means:
“Our name now describes the whole span of what we do,” he said, adding that it reflects the fact that the ROH is only one of many places where the company’s work is now experienced. Beard pointed to their ever expanding learning programme that currently works in 1,500 schools reaching 40,000 children, while this upcoming season, 11 productions will be in 1,500 cinemas across the world.
You can read more across national and industry press, including in The Standard, Independent, Gramilano and West End Theatre.
Upcoming changes
Over the summer of 2024, we will be making changes to our website to reflect our new name. This includes changing the website addresses of our main website, our shop and our streaming service. We will also be changing our logo across all our outputs. Check back on this page for more information as we move towards becoming the Royal Ballet and Opera.
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation, a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales (Company number 480523) Charity Registered (Number 211775)