located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity covent garden
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden , ___MASK91___ ___MASK23___ . The large building is often referred to as simply " Covent Garden ", after a previous use of the site of the opera house ' s original construction in 1732 . It is the home of The Royal Opera , The Royal Ballet , and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House . Originally called the Theatre Royal , it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history . In 1734 , the first ballet was presented . A year later , Handel ' s first season of operas began . Many of his operas and oratorios were specifically written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there . The patent theatres were the theatres that were licensed to perform " spoken drama " after the English Restoration ___MASK34___ Charles II in 1660 . Other theatres were prohibited from performing such " serious " drama , but were permitted to show comedy , pantomime or melodrama . Drama was also interspersed with singing or dancing , to prevent the whole being too serious or dramatic . The ___MASK47___ is an Inner London borough which also holds city status . It occupies much of the central area of Greater London including most of the West End . It is to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London , directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea , and its southern boundary is the River Thames . It was created with the 1965 establishment of Greater London . Upon creation , Westminster was awarded city status , which had been previously held by the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Westminster . Aldwych ( pronounced ) is a one - way ___MASK49___ and also the name of the area immediately surrounding the ___MASK49___ , in the ___MASK47___ in London . The short ___MASK49___ is situated north - east of Charing Cross and forms part of the A4 route from London to Avonmouth , Bristol . The Theatre Royal , Drury Lane , commonly known as Drury Lane , a ___MASK36___ End theatre , is a Grade I listed building in Covent Garden , ___MASK23___ . The building faces Catherine Street ( earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street ) and backs onto Drury Lane . The building is the ___MASK40___ recent in a line of four theatres which were built at the same location , the earliest of which dated back to 1663 , making it the oldest theatre site in ___MASK23___ still in use . According to the author Peter Thomson , for its first two centuries , Drury Lane could " reasonably have claimed to be ___MASK23___ ' s leading theatre ". For ___MASK40___ of that ___MASK33___ , it was one of a handful of patent theatres , granted monopoly rights to the production of " legitimate " drama in ___MASK23___ ( meaning spoken plays , rather than opera , dance , concerts , or plays with music ). An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists ___MASK34___ a stage , an orchestra pit , audience seating , and backstage facilities for costumes and set building . While some venues are constructed specifically for operas , other opera houses are part ___MASK34___ larger performing arts centers . An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra , choir , and soloists . Like an opera , an oratorio includes the use ___MASK34___ a choir , soloists , an ensemble , various distinguishable characters , and arias . However , opera is musical theatre , while oratorio is strictly a concert piece  though oratorios are sometimes staged as operas , and operas are sometimes presented in concert form . In an oratorio there is generally little or no interaction between the characters , and no props or elaborate costumes . A particularly important difference is in the typical subject matter ___MASK34___ the text . Opera tends to ___MASK41___ with history and mythology , including age - old devices ___MASK34___ romance , deception , and murder , whereas the plot ___MASK34___ an oratorio often deals with sacred topics , making it appropriate for performance in the church . Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible , while Catholic composers looked to the lives ___MASK34___ saints , as well as to Biblical topics . Oratorios became extremely popular in early 17th - century Italy partly because ___MASK34___ the success ___MASK34___ opera and the Catholic Church ' s prohibition ___MASK34___ spectacles during Lent . Oratorios became the main choice ___MASK34___ music during that period for opera audiences . Thomas Neale ( 1641  1699 ) was an English project - manager and politician who was also the first person to hold a position equivalent to postmaster - general ___MASK34___ the North American colonies . The ___MASK23___ Transport Museum , or LT Museum based in Covent Garden , ___MASK23___ , seeks to conserve and explain the transport heritage of Britain ' s capital city . The majority of the museum ' s exhibits originated in the collection of ___MASK23___ Transport , but , since the creation of Transport for ___MASK23___ ( TfL ) in 2000 , the remit of the museum has expanded to cover all aspects of transportation in the city . ___MASK36___ End theatre is a common term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of " Theatreland " in and near the ___MASK36___ End of ___MASK23___ . Along with ___MASK89___ City ' s Broadway theatre , ___MASK36___ End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English - speaking world . Seeing a ___MASK36___ End show is a common tourist activity in ___MASK23___ . An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane , path , or passageway , often reserved for pedestrians , which usually runs between , behind , or within buildings in the older parts ___MASK34___ towns and cities . It is also a rear access or service ___MASK35___ ( back lane ), or a path or walk in a park or garden . Drury Lane is a ___MASK49___ on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of ___MASK23___ , running between Aldwych and High Holborn . The northern part is in the borough of ___MASK52___ and the southern part in the ___MASK47___ . The Royal Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company , based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden , ___MASK23___ , UK . The largest of the four major ballet companies in Great Britain , the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois , it became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in 1946 and was granted a royal charter in 1956 , becoming recognised as Britain ' s flagship national ballet company . ___MASK23___ is the capital and ___MASK40___ populous city of ___MASK15___ and the United Kingdom , as well as the ___MASK40___ populous city proper in the ___MASK87___ . Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain , ___MASK23___ has been a major settlement for two millennia . It was founded by the Romans , who named it " Londinium ". ___MASK23___ ' s ancient core , the City of ___MASK23___ , largely retains its medieval boundaries . Since at least the 19th century , " ___MASK23___ " has also referred to the metropolis around this core , historically split between Middlesex , Essex , ___MASK64___ , Kent , and Hertfordshire , which today largely makes up Greater ___MASK23___ , governed by the Mayor of ___MASK23___ and the ___MASK23___ Assembly . High Holborn is a ___MASK49___ in Holborn , Central ___MASK23___ , which forms a part of the A40 route from ___MASK23___ to Fishguard . It starts in the west as a turn off Charing Cross ___MASK35___ , near St Giles Circus , and runs past the Kingsway and Southampton Row , becoming Holborn at its eastern junction with Gray ' s Inn ___MASK35___ . Long ___MASK10___ is a ___MASK49___ in the ___MASK47___ in central London . It runs from St . Martin ' s Lane , at its western end , to Drury Lane in the east . The ___MASK49___ was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach - makers , and later for its car dealers . Transport for ___MASK23___ ( TfL ) is a local government body responsible for the transport system in ___MASK48___ , England . Its head office is in ___MASK74___ House in the ___MASK47___ . St . ___MASK28___ ' s Lane is a street in Covent Garden in Central London , which runs from the church of St . ___MASK28___ - in - the - Fields , after which it is named , near Trafalgar Square northwards to Long Acre . At its northern end , it becomes Monmouth Street . St . ___MASK28___ ' s Lane and Monmouth Street together form the B404 . Neal ' s Yard Dairy is a ___MASK23___ artisanal cheese retailer and ( formerly ) cheesemaker , described as " ___MASK23___ ' s foremost cheese store ." The store is considered as a forerunner of the British wholefood movement and an important part of the revival of ___MASK23___ ' s Covent Garden district . Neal ' s Yard Remedies is a British retailer ___MASK34___ organic natural health and beauty products . Founded in 1981 in Covent Garden , ___MASK23___ , they have 53 stores across the UK . They also have branches in Canada , Japan and the USA . In 2009 they launched their direct home - selling channel in the UK and US , and their organic beauty collections are available in Japan , Canada , UAE , Oman , Hong Kong , Taiwan , ___MASK100___ , ___MASK79___ , Malaysia , Singapore , Hong Kong , Sweden , Finland , Croatia , Netherlands , Portugal , Greece , Italy , Mexico , South Africa , Australia , South Korea , Trinidad and Tobago and Israel . ___MASK91___ ___MASK23___ is the innermost part of ___MASK23___ , ___MASK15___ . There is no official definition of its area but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment , high land values , an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally , nationally and internationally significant organisations and facilities . Over ___MASK33___ a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of central ___MASK23___ for statistics , urban planning and local government . The Royal Opera is a company based in ___MASK91___ ___MASK23___ , resident at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden . Along with the English National Opera , it is one of the two principal opera companies in ___MASK23___ . Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company , it was known by that title until 1968 . It brought a long annual season and consistent management to a house that had previously hosted short seasons under a series of impresarios . Since its inception , it has shared the Royal Opera House with the dance company now known as The Royal Ballet . HANDEL was the code - name for the UK ' s National Attack Warning System in the Cold War . It consisted ___MASK34___ a small console with two microphones , lights and gauges . The reason behind this was to provide a back - up if anything failed . Covent Garden ( / kvnt / ) is a ___MASK54___ in ___MASK23___ on the eastern fringes of the West End , between St . ___MASK28___ ' s Lane and Drury Lane . It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square , now a popular shopping and tourist site , and the Royal Opera House , which is also known as `` Covent Garden '' . The ___MASK54___ is divided by the main thoroughfare of Long Acre , north of which is given over to independent shops centred on Neal ' s Yard and Seven Dials , while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the elegant buildings , theatres and entertainment facilities , including the Theatre Royal , Drury Lane , and the ___MASK23___ Transport Museum . Though mainly fields until the 16th century , the area was briefly settled when it became the heart of the Anglo - Saxon trading town of Lundenwic . After the town was abandoned , part of the area was walled off by 1200 for use as arable land and orchards by Westminster Abbey , and was referred to as `` the garden of the Abbey and Convent '' . The land , now called `` the Covent Garden '' , was seized by Henry VIII , and granted to the Earls of Bedford in 1552 . The 4th Earl commissioned Inigo Jones to build some fine houses to attract wealthy tenants . Jones designed the Italianate arcaded square along with the church of St Paul ' s . The design of the square was new to ___MASK23___ , and had a significant influence on modern town planning , acting as the prototype for the laying - out of new estates as ___MASK23___ grew . A small open - air fruit and vegetable market had developed on the south side of the fashionable square by 1654 . Gradually , both the market and the surrounding area fell into disrepute , as taverns , theatres , coffee - houses and brothels opened up ; the gentry moved away , and rakes , wits and playwrights moved in . By the 18th century it had become a well - known red - light ___MASK54___ , attracting notable prostitutes . An Act of Parliament was drawn up to control the area , and Charles Fowler ' s neo - classical building was erected in 1830 to cover and help organise the market . The area declined as a pleasure - ground as the market grew and further buildings were added : the Floral Hall , Charter Market , and in 1904 the Jubilee Market . By the end of the 1960s traffic congestion was causing problems , and in 1974 the market relocated to the New Covent Garden Market about three miles ( 5 km ) south - west at Nine Elms . The central building re - opened as a shopping centre in 1980 , and is now a tourist location containing cafes , pubs , small shops , and a craft market called the Apple Market , along with another market held in the Jubilee Hall . Covent Garden , with the postcode WC2 , falls within the ___MASK23___ boroughs of Westminster and ___MASK52___ , and the parliamentary constituencies of Cities of ___MASK23___ and Westminster and Holborn and St Pancras . The area has been served by the Piccadilly line at Covent Garden tube station since 1907 ; the journey from Leicester Square , at 300 yards , is the shortest in ___MASK23___ . Neal ' s Yard is a small alley in ___MASK23___ ' s Covent Garden between Shorts Gardens and Monmouth Street which opens into a courtyard . It is named after the 17th century developer , Thomas Neale . It now contains several health food cafes and values driven retailers such as Neal ' s Yard Remedies , Neal ' s Yard Dairy , and Wild Food Cafe .