London Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre
Haymarket S.W.1
Her Majesty's Theatre that we see today is the fourth to have been built on this site. The first was the Queen’s Theatre built by Vanbrugh, and first opened its doors during April 1705. Nine years later the name was changed to the Kings Theatre in recognition to the newly crowned George I. The theatre staged mainly opera and in 1789 became a victim of fire, like so many theatres of those times.
The second theatre was opened in 1791 and continued with opera, and Mozart’s early works were first performed here. The Opera Arcade that is built into the rear of the building was built by Nash and still survives.
Named changed to Her Majesty’s theatre after Queen Victoria’s coronation. Then once again in 1867, the theatre was destroyed by fire. In 1869 a new building was opened only to be demolished in 1892 leaving only the Opera Arcade intact.
The present building was opened in April 1897 and has had a few long-running shows but none as long as the current production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, the first opened here on 9th October 1986 and is still going strong.
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