The King’s Theatre was the home of Italian opera, concerts, and ballet and catered to the gentry and nobility in England in the eighteenth century. Anyone who was anybody attended this beautiful hall of celebration and music. The price to attend an opera at The King’s Theatre was a comparable amount to what attending a Broadway show is today. During the 1770’s, many famous operas were performed here and the people in attendance were almost as famous. The audience would have been filled with Dukes, Duchesses, Earls, and Barons (“The King’s Theatre, London”). They would have been sitting in the box seats, which cost a half guinea per ticket (Burney Newspaper). Half of a guinea back then would buy a ticket to the most expensive shows on Broadway today. This begs the question of what Evelina was doing there with a family like the Branghtons.
The Branghtons were forced to buy the “nosebleed seats” for 3 shillings per person, still not very cheap. Evelina was mortified when she saw all of her friends in the pit but the family she was staying with at the time could never afford to pay half a guinea a seat. Mr. Branghton made it a point to complain the whole night about how expensive the theatre was. Mr. Branghton, being a xenophobe, also did not particularly care much for the opera not being sung in English. This only added to Evelina’s humiliation at the event.
Many critics would have attended this opera to view the performances, but most of their critique was based on who was there, who they were with, and what they were wearing. The opera tended to be more of a social gathering than an appreciation of the performance. This was much like a red carpet movie premiere today.
The King’s Theatre was located in the Haymarket. The Haymarket is still around today, and it is located just past Piccadilly Circus in the West End of London (Chamberlain). This location was perfect for the noble audience because the West End was home to affluent members of London’s social structure.
Today, The Haymarket is still a location of theatre culture. The original King’s Theatre burnt down in 1789 for reasons that are still unknown today. It was rebuilt in 1791 but unfortunately burnt back down in 1867. The King’s Theatre went through an unsuccessful period of performances in the late 1800’s but was rebuilt for the final time in 1897 and still has performances of The Phantom of the Opera today.
Evelina and the Brantons would be incredibly shocked with how the theatre looks now. Mr. Branton would be very happy that it no longer houses the amount of French opera that it did in 1772.
Frances Burney wanted to emphasis how out of place the Branghtons were at the opera. This was a place for nobility and not a silversmith’s family. Evelina’s embarrassment was almost unbearable as she saw all of her friends in the box seats. This helped Burney develop Evelina as an impressionable young girl who was still focused on her appearance.
Justin Baierl, Washington & Jefferson College, Class of 2020
Nakagawa, Kei. “Her Majesty’s Theatre.” Flickr.com
Hatch, Donna. “The King’s Theatre, London.” DonnaHatch.com http://donnahatch.com/the-kings-theatre-london/
Lloyd, Mathew. “Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, London.” Arthur.Lloyd.Co.Uk. http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/HerMajestysTheatre.htm.
Morning Chronicle and London Advertiser (London, England), Tuesday, April 13, 1773. 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers.
Public Advertiser (London, England), Wednesday, January 23, 1771; Issue 11288. 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers.
Place in Frances Burney's EVELINA 