Berlioz in London
Her Majesty’s Theatre
This theatre, located in Haymarket, has been rebuilt four times since 1705. The present theatre is smaller than its three predecessors and was opened in 1897. The one Berlioz knew was the second, built in 1793. In 1837 the name of the theatre was changed to Her Majesty’s Theatre, Italian Opera House when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne. The ‘Italian Opera House’ part of the name was subsequently dropped in 1847. The theatre was once again burnt down in 1867, and was replaced by a new one in 1869. In 1892 it was demolished and on its site the current smaller one was built.
Berlioz heard there the celebrated singer Jenny Lind in 1848; he also saw a number of operas in 1851 including Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, and Beethoven’s Fidelio.
He wrote reviews of these performances for the Journal des Débats, which he reproduces in part in the second Epilogue of his Les Soirées de l’Orchestre. He is especially scathing about the habit which prevailed at the time in English theatres of re-orchestrating the works of masters such Beethoven, Mozart, Weber and Rossini.
The modern photos reproduced on this page were taken by
Michel Austin; other pictures have been scanned from engravings and newspapers in our own collection.
© Monir Tayeb and Michel Austin.
All rights of reproduction reserved.
Her Majesty’s Theatre today
Her Majesty’s Theatre [King’s Theatre] in 1819
Interior of Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1843
Interior of Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1847
This engraving appeared in The Pictorial Times of 3 April
1847.
Burning of Her Majesty’s Theatre in 1867
This engraving has been scanned from the 14 December 1867 issue of the Illustrated London News.
© 2002-2008 Michel Austin and Monir Tayeb for all the pictures and information on this page.
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