[Covent Garden theatre.] Theatres, there are only two theatres in this metropolis worthy of notice, and these have no fronts to the street. They are both under his Majesty's companies of comedians, and no new play can be acted in either without the approbation of the Lord Chamberlain, as well as the managers. Drury Lane house appears to be best calculated for the advantage of speaker and hearer, that of Covent Garden for splendor and magnificence. Besides these there is also a theatre for the exhibition of operas, call'd the Opera house, in the Hay-market.

Covent-Garden-Theatre—at the N.E. corner of Covent-garden, extending through to Bow-st. and to Hart-st. where there are other entrances.

Covent Garden Theatre, is situate at the north east corner of Covent Garden, with its principal front next Bow-street, its northern front next Hart-street, its western next Princes'-place, and its southern next an opening running from Bow-street into the great Piazza. It is a handsome and spacious theatre, designed by Robert Smirke, Esq., R.A., and rebuilt after being destroyed by fire in September, 1808. It was re-opened in September, 1809, ten months only having been occupied in its erection.

The principal front is embellished with a tetrastyle portico of the Grecian Doric order, with two wings and niches containing statues of Tragedy and Comedy, and bassi rilievi, on each side of the portico, representing the ancient and the modern drama, from the designs and chisel of Flaxman, assisted in the execution by Rossi. The interior is extremely elegant, the scenery incomparable, and the dramatic performances on the first scale of magnificence.

The company at this theatre generally commence their performances about the middle of September and close about the latter end of July.

For a much more detailed account of the history and description of this splendid national theatrical establishment and a well engraved print of its exterior, the reader is referred to my work of London in the Nineteenth Century, which is exclusively devoted to the metropolitan improvements of the last ten or twelve years.

Covent Garden Theatre, or the Royal Italian Opera House, on the west side of Bow Street, Covent Garden, is the third, or rather the fourth theatre on the same spot. The first was built by subscription (Edward Shepherd, architect), and was opened, December 7, 1733, by John Rich, the famous harlequin and patentee of the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields.¹ Sixty years after it was so enlarged and altered, at a cost of £30,000, as to be in effect a new house, and was opened on September 17, 1792, when the prices were made—Boxes 6s., Pit 3s. 6d., and Gallery 2s. This second theatre, during the management of John Kemble, was burnt to the ground on the morning of September 20, 1808. Thirty lives were lost, and property of great value destroyed, together with Handel's organ and the stock of wines of the Beef-Steak Society. The first stone of the third theatre was laid by the Prince of Wales (George IV.) on December 31, 1808. This theatre, which cost £150,000, was much larger than its predecessor. Sir Robert Smirke, R.A., was the architect, and the exterior was marked by a fine tetrastyle Doric portico, statues in niches of Melpomene and Thalia by Flaxman and Rossi, and bas-reliefs of the ancient and modern drama by Flaxman. It was opened on September 10, 1809, with a new tariff of prices, which gave occasion to the celebrated O.P. riots.

The new Covent Garden Theatre opened September 18, 1809, when a cry of "Old Prices" (afterwards diminished to "O.P.") burst out from every part of the house. This continued and increased in violence till the 23d, when rattles, drums, whistles, and cat-calls, having completely drowned the voices of the actors, Mr. Kemble, the stage-manager, came forward and said, that a committee of gentlemen had undertaken to examine the finances of the concern, and that till they were prepared with their report the theatre would continue closed. "Name them!" was shouted from all sides. The names were declared. "All shareholders!" bawled a wag from the gallery. In a few days, the theatre reopened: the public paid no attention to the report of the referees, and the tumult was renewed for several weeks with even increased violence. The proprietors now sent in hired bruisers, to mill the refractory into subjection. This irritated most of their former friends, and amongst the rest the annotator, who accordingly wrote the song of "Heigh-ho, says Kemble," which was caught up by the ballad-singers and sung under Mr. Kemble's house-windows in Great Russell Street. A dinner was given [December 14], at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand, to celebrate the victory obtained by W. Clifford in his action against Brandon the box-keeper for wearing the letters O.P. in his hat. At this dinner Mr. Kemble attended, and matters were compromised by allowing the advanced price (seven shillings) to the boxes.—Notes of Horace and James Smith in Rejected Addresses, p. 48.

The new prices on the first night were—Boxes 7s., Pit 4s., the Lower and Upper Galleries the same as usual. The riot lasted sixty-seven nights, after which the pit was reduced to 3s. 6d.

The expenses of Covent Garden Theatre were so great that it was long unlet for the purposes of the legitimate drama. M. Jullien held his Promenade Concerts in it for some time, and in the years 1843-1845 it was leased by the members of the Anti-Corn-Law League. Great alterations were made in the spring of 1847, under the direction of Mr. Benedict Albano, and on Tuesday, April 6, 1847, it was publicly opened as an Italian Opera, but with such an extravagance of expenditure that in 1848 there was a loss of £34,756, and in 1849 of £25,455. In one year (1848) the Vocal Department cost £33,349; the Ballet £8105, and the Orchestra £10,048. It continued, however, to be maintained as an Italian Opera, but was let occasionally for other purposes, and on the morning of March 5, 1856, after the holding of a bal-masqué, it was burned to the ground.

The new theatre (E.M. Barry, R.A., architect) was designed expressly for Italian Opera, and was opened in May 1858. It is a fifth larger than its predecessor, and is almost as large as La Scala at Milan. The interior is nearly a semicircle, with the sides somewhat prolonged towards the stage; it is 75 feet deep, 65 wide and 80 high, and will seat an audience of nearly 2000. The stage is 90 feet deep and 50 feet high; the proscenium 50 feet high and 40 feet wide. Of the exterior, the main feature is a lofty Corinthian portico of six columns, each 36½ feet high and 3½ feet in diameter; the basement forms a covered carriage entrance to the theatre. The statues and rilievi by Flaxman and Rossi, saved from the former theatre, occupy conspicuous positions on either side of the portico. After the opera season the theatre is usually let for Promenade Concerts. Concerts were also given occasionally in the adjoining glass building, the Floral Hall, constructed originally for a flower-market, attached and now reattached to Covent Garden.

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¹ There is a print by Hogarth called Rich's Glory, or his Triumphant Entry into Covent Garden.