ROYAL OPERA TO APPLY FOR FUNDS TO MODERNIZE
The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden announced it will apply next week for permission to begin a $79.7-million building program to modernize its famous building while retaining its 19th-Century charm.
The plan involves linking all levels of the structure for the first time, building another entrance, an underground garage and and three-tier shopping halls with arcades that will link it architecturally with the colorful Covent Garden district over which it presides.
A press statement said the plan also calls for improving the on-stage and backstage facilities and making room for the headquarters of the Royal Ballet, which also performs in the building. The ballet company has had to house its administration in other quarters.
Once permission is granted by the Westminster City Council, the opera house will engage in a campaign to raise funds for the project, which will involve closing the building for two years around 1990.
At that time the opera and ballet companies will probably use the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane as a temporary home.
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