The first Theatre Royal on the Covent Garden site opened on December 7, 1732, designed by Edward Shepherd and financed by John Rich. Fire destroyed it on September 20, 1808. Robert Smirke's second theatre opened on September 18, 1809, and fire destroyed that on March 5, 1856.
Edward Middleton Barry designed the present theatre, whose facade, foyer and auditorium date from 1858. It opened on May 15, 1858, with Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. His Floral Hall opened in 1860 and was derelict after a fire in 1956. The Opera House acquired it in 1977.
Reconstruction from 1997 to 1999 cost £213 million and was led by Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones of Dixon Jones. The auditorium remained, and the Floral Hall was lifted to create public space beneath it. The horseshoe auditorium holds 2,256, with four tiers of boxes and balconies and an amphitheatre gallery. It is Grade I listed.
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