The somewhat involved history of the ownership and management of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden can be split up into four main categories: the successive physical theatre buildings; the managers of the various theatrical and operatic companies which played there (historically, a mixture of actor-managers and impresarios); the leaseholders of the opera houses built on the land; and the owners of the freehold (i.e. ground landlords). From the early 20th century the theatre's management tended to be split between a general administrator and a musical/artistic director.
The horizontal alignment of dates in the table is only approximate.
| Theatre | Management[1] | Leaseholder | Freeholder[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| First theatre December 1732 – September 1808 | 1732–1761 John Rich | 1732 3rd Duke of Bedford[3] | |
| 1732–1771 4th Duke of Bedford | |||
| 1761 John Beard, Rich's son-in-law[4] | 1761 Priscilla Rich | ||
| 1767 George Colman | July 1767 George Colman, William Powell, Thomas Harris, & John Rutherford | ||
| 1774 Thomas Harris, sub-leased to Thomas Hull 1775–1782[5] | 1785: Thomas Harris (owned nearly 75% of the lease) | 1771–1802 5th Duke of Bedford d. aged 36 | |
| 1803 Thomas Harris & John P. Kemble | 1806: Thomas Harris and others | 1802–1839 6th Duke of Bedford | |
| Second theatre September 1809 – March 1856 | 1809: Henry Harris[6] and J. P. Kemble 1822: Charles Kemble 1832: Alfred Bunn 1835: D. W. Osbaldiston 1837: W. C. Macready | 1812 Henry Harris & John Kemble; George White & Mrs. Martindale (both descendants of William Powell) | |
| 1839: Madam Vestris and C. J. Mathews 1842: Charles Kemble (again) 1843: William H. Wallack[7] 1845: ? Laurent 1846: Frederick Beale[8] 1848: Edward Delafield | 1820 Henry Harris (owned 7/12 share of the lease) | 1839–1861 7th Duke of Bedford, d. aged 73 | |
| 1849 – 1877 Frederick Gye Sub-lessees: 1856: Professor Anderson 1856-64 (part): Louisa Pyne & William Harrison Various dates: Colonel Mapleson[9] | 1849–1878 Frederick Gye | ||
| Third theatre May 1858 – present | |||
| 1861–1872 8th Duke of Bedford | |||
| 1877–1884 Ernest Gye | 1878 - c1890 Ernest Gye and his brothers | 1872–1891 9th Duke of Bedford, shot himself while insane | |
| 1885–1887 Signor Lago | |||
| 1888–1896 Augustus Harris, sub-leased from the Grand Opera Syndicate. | c1890–1895 Andrew Montagu, sub-leased to Grand Opera Syndicate. | 1891–1893 10th Duke of Bedford, died of diabetes aged 40 | |
| 1897–1900 Maurice Grau as a director of Grand Opera Syndicate Ltd., previously backers of Augustus Harris, with Neil Forsyth as General Manager | 1896–1899 Denison Faber, 1st Baron Wittenham, sub-leased to Grand Opera Syndicate Ltd. | 1893–1918 11th Duke of Bedford, d. 1940 aged 64 | |
| 1901–1906 André Messager as musical director of GOS Ltd., Neil Forsyth as General Manager | 1899–1929 Grand Opera Syndicate Ltd. < | -- Deliberate linefeeds --> 1925–1927 | |
| 1907–1915 Percy Pitt as musical director of the Syndicate, Neil Forsyth as MD. Sub-leased to others, eg Raymond Roze for a winter season of opera in English 1913. | |||
| 1914: Used as station for swearing-in of police Special Constables.[10] 1915–1918: Used to store furniture from the hotels which had been taken over as offices by the Government | |||
| 1918: Thomas Beecham 1925–1927: Summer seasons were given by London Opera Syndicate | 1918–1924: Thomas Beecham & his younger brother Harry, a long and involved story. 1924–1928: Beecham Estates and Pills Ltd., a privately owned company with Beecham family interests | ||
| 1928–1933 Summer seasons were given by the Covent Garden Opera Syndicate. Beecham gave a brief season of grand opera in 1932. | 1929–1932 The Syndicate's 30-year sub-lease was due to expire soon, and the building was under threat of demolition 1929–1933: Sub-leased to Covent Garden Opera Syndicate until February 1933 | 1928–1961 Covent Garden Properties Company Ltd., a public real estate company | |
| 1934–1936 Geoffrey Toye as managing director of the ROH Company, with Beecham as principal conductor and artistic director | 1932–1939 The Royal Opera House Company took a 5-year lease | ||
| 1936–1939 Managed by Beecham from 1936 after Toye was forced out | |||
| 1939–1944 Mecca Ballrooms (Mecca Cafés Ltd.) - dancing and entertainment for the troops | |||
| 1944–1949 Covent Garden Opera Trust Gen. Admin David Webster Mus. Dir. Karl Rankl[11] | 1944–1949 Boosey & Hawkes | ||
| 1949–present Covent Garden Trust[12] (now Royal Opera House Covent Garden Ltd., Registered Charity Number: 211775)[13] [14] [15] | 1949–1961 Ministry of Works, with a forty-two-year lease, sublet to Covent Garden Trust[16] | ||
| 1961–present Covent Garden Trust (main lessee)[17] | 1961–1980 Covent Garden Market Authority, a Statutory Corporation established in 1961 by Act of Parliament[18] | ||
| 1980–present Government for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Ltd, parent company of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orchestra of the ROH[19] | |||