Tantrums and Tiaras: Covent Garden

The Royal Opera house in Covent Garden opened in 1732. It  is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The talk will take a look at the history, architecture and life backstage at London’s Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the tribulations and triumphs of working with the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet companies.

Simply putting on the performances is not enough – there has to be encouragement for the audience to spend quite large amounts of money to attend a performance.

This talk will be given by NIGEL BATES who started his musical career in the Band of the Scots Guards, leaving the army to join the Orchestra of Saddlers Wells Royal Ballet, and to hold an appointment as a Professor at London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama. He also worked for eight years as the Music Administrator of The Royal Ballet.

As an accredited Art Society speaker, he has given lectures for over thirty years, including many arts societies and conservatoires in the UK and across Australia.