Speaker: Cormac Simms (Administrative Director, Royal Opera of Royal Opera House, Covent Garden)
Title: Looking to the Future: A Story of Creativity, Excellence and Inclusivity
Date: June 21, 2019
Location: NCPA, China
Selected speech
Opera houses are central to the identity of the world's great cities and the Royal Opera House is no exception, an iconic building in the heart of the city with a long, rich and hugely varied history of performance. In our desire for our building to physically embody our core values of creativity, excellence and inclusivity we have redesigned and completely transformed the Linbury Theatre into London's newest and most intimate theatre, to make it a true complement to the work of the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera, reflecting and responding to the work on the main stage and allowing artists to work on a smaller scale and test new ideas. We have completely redeveloped and revitalised our front of house spaces in an architecturally innovative way, uniting 19th century grandeur with 21st century elegance, whilst maintaining the integrity of the 1858 theatre. Encouraging more people to use the space by providing free wi-fi and bringing the new spaces to life with displays and collections drawn from the Royal Opera House‘s rich heritage of costumes, props and set designs. We have improved our bars, refurbished our restaurant and established a completely new café on the ground floor, not only to create additional sources of revenue but also to create relaxing spaces in the heart of London - and enhancing the visitor experience, whether or not it is the audiences coming to see a performance or visitors who simply want a comfortable and inviting destination.
