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Phantom of the Opera

About the Venue

Her Majesty’s Theatre is located in Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The nearest underground station to the venue is found at Piccadilly Circus and its nearest train station is Charing Cross.

The first thing to note about the theatre is that it has not always been known as Her Majesty’s Theatre as it has had many incarnations (two burnt down) as well as changing its title when a new monarch is crowned. However, the first theatre on the site that we now know as Her Majesty’s Theatre was The Queen’s Theatre in 1705, named after Queen Anne, followed by The King’s Theatre in 1714. The theatre became well known for Opera, and it was no wonder; back then it was legally forbidden to show serious dramas without music, expect for in two theatres. The operas continued until the late 18th century when its destruction appeared in the form of fire in 1789. However it was soon to reappear in its second incarnation in 1791 and had great success. This came in the form of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito in 1806, Così fan tutte in 1811 and Don Giovanni in 1816.

Just as the likes of John Nash redesigned venues like the Theatre Royal in Haymarket, the same man redesigned the auditorium’s façade with the help of George Renton between 1816 and 1818. Then in 1837 Queen Victoria took to the throne, forcing the name to once again change, this time to Her Majesty's Theatre, Italian Opera House (the ‘Italian Opera House’ part was dropped ten years later). During the mid 19th century, the theatre hosted more famous operas in the form of Bizet's Carmen and Wagner's Ring Cycle as well as forming the home of the Ballet of Her Majesty’s Theatre. In December of 1867, the theatre was once again the victim of a fire, destroying the second incarnation. The third incarnation was very brief, arriving in 1869 and being demolished in 1892, with operas being its main attraction.

The fourth and final incarnation, which we know today opened in 1897 with design by C J Phills. This version turned its back on opera for the most part, with a huge reduction in the amount of operatic performances that took place. Productions that appeared at the theatre in this time included Chu Chin Chow (1916), The Maid Of The Mountains (for 2,235 performances in 1916), Noel Coward’s Bitter Sweet (which ran for 697 performances in 1929), then many musicals just after World War II: Brigadoon (1949), Paint Your Wagon (1953), West Side Story (1958) and Fiddler On The Roof (1967). Then in the eighties, the ITV variety series Live From Her Majesty’s ran from 1982 to 1985.

The most famous musical to appear at Her Majesty’s Theatre, however, is The Phantom Of The Opera, which opened in 1986 and has remained since. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical celebrated its 22nd birthday at the venue in October 2008 making it one of the longest running musicals in the world.