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{{short description|Opera house in Mumbai, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = Royal Opera House
| nickname = "theatre-de-luxe of the East"
| image = Royal Opera House, Mumbai (38967).jpg
| caption = [[Façade]] of The Royal Opera House
| map_type =
| coordinates = {{coord| 18.956111|72.815556 |type:landmark_region:IN_scale:100|display=inline}}
| type = [[Opera house]]
| architect = Maurice Bandmann & Jehangir Framji Karaka
| engineer =
| | broke_ground = {{Start date and age|1909|df=yes}}
| opened = {{Start date and age|1911|df=yes}}
| closed =
| renovated = {{Start date and age|2016|df=yes}}
| date_demolished =
| cost =
| structural_system =
| capacity = 575
| size =
| public_transit = {{rint|mumbai|suburban}} [[Charni Road railway station|Charni Road]]; {{ric|Mumbai Metro|Aqua}} [[Aqua Line (Mumbai Metro)|Girgaon]]
| website = https://www.royaloperahouse.in/
}}
'''Royal Opera House''', in [[Mumbai]] (Bombay), is India's only surviving [[opera house]].

Situated on [[Charni Road]], near [[Girgaum Chowpatti]] beach, the adjective ‘Royal’ was prefixed to ‘Opera House’ to highlight that its foundation stone was laid during the [[British Raj]] in 1909, and King [[George V]] inaugurated the building in 1911 while the building was still under construction. Work on the Royal Opera House was completed in 1912, although additions were made to the building up to 1915.<ref name=opera>{{Cite web|url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/glorious-days-set-to-return-for-royal-opera-house/313442/|title=Glorious days set to return for Royal Opera House|access-date=2 July 2009|website=Express India|date=23 May 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928185820/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/glorious-days-set-to-return-for-royal-opera-house/313442/|archive-date=28 September 2012}}</ref><ref name=house>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mid-day.com/news/2001/may/11312.htm|title= Plan to restore Opera House|access-date=2 July 2009|newspaper=[[Mid-Day]]|date=30 May 2001}}</ref><ref name="state">{{cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_state-wants-to-take-over-opera-house_1067322|title=State wants to take over Opera House|last=Deshmukh|first=Smita|author2=Gangan, Surendra |date=1 December 2006|work= [[DNA (newspaper)|DNA]]|publisher=Diligent Media Corporation|access-date=5 July 2009}}</ref> Gradually, the entire area near it came to be referred as "Opera House", and the building began hosting plays, dramas, music concernts and gradually, [[Hindi films]]. It became a popular venue for [[Hindi cinema|Bollywood]] film shows in the 1970s and 80s.<ref name="midday">{{cite news |last1=Maskeri |first1=Anju |title=Mumbai's Royal Opera House ready to get a new food and music destination |url=https://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-royal-opera-house-quarter-ready-to-get-a-new-food-and-music-destination/18671176 |access-date=10 August 2018 |newspaper=[[Mid-Day]]|date=22 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=5 of the oldest cinema houses in Mumbai |url=http://www.india.com/travel/articles/5-of-the-oldest-cinema-houses-in-mumbai/ |website=[[india.com]]|access-date=10 August 2018}}</ref>

In the 1980s, as home video players began to get popular, cinema houses in Mumbai started to register losses. In the 1990s, with the growing popularity of cable television, cinema houses in Mumbai began to close down due to a lack of clientele. In 1993, Opera house closed down.<ref>{{cite news |title=Regal Cinema in Mumbai |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/oct/09/cine-files-regal-mumbai |access-date=10 August 2018|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

However, after years of neglect following its closure in 1993, restoration work started in 2008. The exterior restoration was completed in 2011 and restoration was completed in 2016.<ref name=toi11/> The area around the theatre is also referred to as the Opera House in Mumbai.<ref name="state" /><ref name="gandol">{{cite news|url=http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA4LzA1LzIzI0FyMDA1MDc=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314043913/http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA4LzA1LzIzI0FyMDA1MDc=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 March 2012|title=Royal Opera House gets renovation nod|date=23 May 2008|newspaper=[[The Times of India]], Mumbai|page= 5 (Section: Times City)|access-date=5 July 2009}}</ref> The Opera House area has many jewellery, metal and IT companies. On 21 October 2016, after a gap of 23 years, Royal Opera House hosted performance of Bombay-born British soprano [[Patricia Rozario]] and her husband, pianist Mark Troop. The private event was organised by Opera House owners Maharaja Joytendrasinhji Jadeja and Maharani Kumud Kumari Jadeja of Gondal, Gujarat.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/royal-opera-house-opens-to-lost-genre-of-music/story-RkM4NQ9SMKbGXPrdmCX2KM.html|title=Royal Opera House Reopens|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=22 October 2016}}</ref> In 2017, it received the [[UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage Awards|UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Mumbai's restored Royal Opera House bags UNESCO heritage award|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/mumbai-s-restored-royal-opera-house-bags-unesco-heritage-award/story-JOaNfE512AN3zhUixvzDGP.html|access-date=2 November 2017|newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]]|date=2 November 2017}}</ref>

==Ownership==
Inaugurated in 1912, the Opera House was acquired in 1952 by Maharaja Bhojrajsingh of [[Gondal, India|Gondal]]. The Maharaja took the property on a 999-year lease and attempted to run it as a self-sustaining commercial enterprise.

==History==
The Royal Opera House was conceived in 1908 by Maurice Bandmann, a famous entertainer from Calcutta, and Jehangir Framji Karaka, who headed a coal brokers’ firm. A baroque design incorporating a blend of European and Indian detailing was chosen for the structure. A long frontage was created to let carriages drive up to the entrance. Twenty-six rows of boxes behind the stalls were put up for the best view of the stage. The ceiling was constructed to enable even those in the gallery to hear every word uttered by the performers.

Initially, the opera house was used strictly for staging operas, and catered almost exclusively to the city's elite – a globalised layer of Indians, British officials, a few Europeans. After the first world war, times and tastes changed and it became difficult to maintain and run the opera house, a sumptuous building, on the income from the opera alone. Also, with the coming of "talkie" movies in the early 1930s, the popularity of cinema increased. In 1935, the opera house was modified to accommodate movie screenings and fashion shows.

===1980s and closure in 1991===

Single-theatre cinemas took a downturn in the 1980s, and as a result the opera house ran in loss.<ref name=toi11/><ref name=dna11/> In the 1980s the opera house was closed down. In January 1991, the opera house hosted its last film show. In 1993 the [[Kathiawad]] fashion show became the last public event held at the opera house.

===Revival in 21st century===

Subsequently, it was in a dilapidated condition but in March 2008 the Maharashtra Government agencies announced that they were undertaking conservation measures to restore the heritage structure to its original grandeur.<ref name=opera/><ref name =state/> When restoration began, the only operational wings of the opera house were a tea stall and shops on the ground floor.<ref name=house/><ref name =state/><ref name =gandol/>

==Structure==
The Opera House is built in a mixed classical design featuring a blend of European and Indian architectural styles. The design was conceived in 1908 by Maurice Bandmann, an entertainer from Kolkata and his partner Jehangir Framji Karaka, who was the head of a firm of coal brokers.<ref name=dna11/> It was built with exquisite Italian marble on a leased land close to the Kennedy and Sandhurst bridges. Although the work was completed in 1912, several additions were made until 1915. The [[pediment]] figure at the pinnacle was substituted with three [[cherub]]s. A pair of unique crystal [[chandelier]]s, called the ‘Sans Souci’ were donated by the Sassoon family. The chandeliers, which were earlier located in the Sassoon mansion, were shifted to the foyer of the opera house. At the main entrance, the dome is segmented into eight different parts "as a tribute to poets, dramatists, novelists, literati and people from art and culture". The original interior of the opera house consisted of orchestra stalls with cosy cane chairs. Behind the stalls were 26 rows of boxes with couches. The seating enabled a clear view of the stage to all the people seated in the stalls and in the Dress Circle. The acoustics were of the opera house were created by shaping the ceiling in a manner that permitted distinct audibility that allowed the audience seated in the gallery to hear every word or song from the stage. The entrance was originally designed with a frontage for carriages to drive in.<ref name=opera/><ref name =state/><ref name =gandol/><ref name =book>{{Cite book|author=Nina Sibal|author-link=Nina Sibal|title=Dogs of Justice|page=216|access-date=1 July 2009|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AabzkmYFn8wC&q=The+Royal+Opera+House,+Mumbai&pg=PA216|publisher=Orient Blackswan|year=1998|isbn= 9788175300217|quote=The Royal Opera House, established in 1925, when it was Bombay’s cultural nerve center. Burra sahibs would drive up in their carriages to watch repertory drama troupes from England. [[Lata Mangeshkar]] made her first public appearance here. In 1935 it was converted into a cinema hall. Last year they had to shut it down.}}</ref>

==Past events==
Since its inauguration in 1912, the opera house has been a landmark of Bombay, as the only opera house in the country. The entertainment extravaganza at the opera house was started by American magician Raymond followed by several premieres of famous [[Hindi]] movies.<ref name=opera/> It also showcased ragtime and other styles of native western music through the 1910s and 1920s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=American Popular Music in Britain's Raj|last=Shope|first=Bradley|publisher=University of Rochester Press|year=2016|isbn=9781580465489|location=Rochester, New York|page=42}}</ref> The opera house screened not only premieres of Hindi movies but also live theatre performances by the French production [[Pathé]], [[Prithviraj Kapoor]], and Marathi stalwarts like [[Bal Gandharva]] and [[Dinanath Mangeshkar]]. [[Lata Mangeshkar]], a renowned play back singer gave her first performance at this opera house. In 1993, Fashion designer Sangita Kathiwada, a relative of Jyotinder Singh, the former Maharaja of [[Gondal State]] (the owner of the place), held a fashion show at the opera house. It was the last public event held at the Opera House.<ref name =state/><ref name =book/>

==Restoration measures==
Initially, in May 2001, it was noted that since the opera house was a Heritage building, it could not be redeveloped but only restored. Even for restoration, funds needed to be found. With these two basic aspects in view, the planning dictum followed was that:
<blockquote>The historicity of the building and its architecture will be lost if it is not used as a theatre and there should not be a change of user.</blockquote>

The initial plan proposed was to convert a part of the open plot to be developed commercially to generate funds, which could self sustain the expenditure involved in the restoration and maintenance of the existing heritage building. To proceed further with this plan, it was also considered essential to negotiate with the existing owner Maharaja Vikramsinghji Bhojraji of Gondal to get his consent to the incentive plan.<ref name=house/>
[[File:Opera House, Mumbai.JPG|thumb|Restored top portion of the Opera House building in 2012]]
The [[Government of Maharashtra|Maharashtra State Government]] wanted to take over the Opera House to restore it to its original grandeur. The government requested the Mumbai Urban Heritage Conservation Committee (MUHCC) to acquire the heritage structure after verifying its legal status. The MUHCC had already been entrusted with the task of preparing plans for restoration of the opera house as it was categorised as a Grade II Heritage Structure. The detailed proposal for conservation was prepared by well known conservation architects of Mumbai. In May 2008, MUHCC authorised [[Abha Narain Lambah]] and her associates to carry out the structural stabilisation of the building and its restoration. Abha, the architect, considers the restoration of the Opera House as her dream project and states:<ref name="abha">{{cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1175745&pageid=0|title=Building Beauty|last=Thomas|first=Anjali|date=5 July 2008|work=[[DNA (newspaper)|DNA]]|access-date=5 July 2009|publisher =Diligent Media Corporation}}</ref>

<blockquote>It's such a stunning building. Restoring the building would be a dream come true for me.</blockquote>

As restoration began, repairs to the roof and the balconies of the structure were deemed to be of the highest priority.<ref name="gandol" /> With the conservation works undertaken, the erstwhile Maharaja of Gondal expects that the structure's original grandeur will be restored.<ref name="gandol" /> By late 2011, exterior restoration was mostly completed. Thereafter, the [[World Monuments Fund]] (WMF) announced the inclusion of the building in its 2012 global list of endangered architectural sites, with the only other building in Mumbai being [[Watson's Hotel]].<ref name="toi11">{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2016/10/21/see-inside-the-amazing-restoration-of-mumbais-royal-opera-house/|title=See Inside the Amazing Restoration of Mumbai's Royal Opera House|date=7 October 2011|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=28 March 2013}}</ref><ref name="dna11">{{cite news |title=Royal Opera House on global list of endangered architectural sites |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_royal-opera-house-on-global-list-of-endangered-architectural-sites_1595814 |publisher=DNA (newspaper) |date=7 October 2011 |access-date=28 March 2013}}</ref> In January 2013, Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) approved the plans of the Gondal family to restore and revamp the buildings interiors.<ref name="ht13">{{cite news |title=Royal Opera House to get back its glory |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Royal-Opera-House-to-get-back-its-glory/Article1-995766.aspx |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] Mumbai|date=21 January 2013 |access-date=28 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507214802/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Royal-Opera-House-to-get-back-its-glory/Article1-995766.aspx |archive-date=7 May 2013 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.wmf.org/project/royal-opera-house Royal Opera House] at [[World Monuments Watch]]
* {{official|https://www.royaloperahouse.in/}}

{{Tourist attractions in Mumbai}}
{{Portal bar|Opera}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Neighbourhoods in Mumbai|Opera House]]
[[Category:Music venues completed in 1912]]
[[Category:Opera houses in India]]
[[Category:Theatres in Mumbai]]
[[Category:Theatres completed in 1912]]
[[Category:1912 establishments in India]]
[[Category:20th-century architecture in India]]

Royal Opera House (Mumbai) - Revision history

DnyanjyotiEducationNagpur: adding new entry