ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
meant that the orchestra pit could not be made
more accessible, and the seat count is nearly the
same as before. However, replacing the old bench
seating with more comfortable seats improves
the audience experience. The seating rake can
also be adjusted, for example to make it steeper
for dance, so everyone can see the dancers’ toes,
and shallower to improve the acoustics for opera.
The seats can be reconfigured for various stage
setups, including traverse. There is also a new
variable acoustic enhancement system.
Overall, the space feels like an honest design,
with the black box shell still visible behind the
beautiful new wooden structures. “You can see
all the old pipes and things through it,” says
Younger. “We’re not pretending that we’re not
still in that set space.”
Water palaver
This was Younger’s ninth building project and
she says there is always some difficulty. The
biggest on this project came when scraping back
the orchestra pit to replace some of the boarding.
The team was braced for archaeological
complications – perhaps a Saxon burial ground
like that found across the road – but instead
found a tributary of the Fleet. The flooding set
the project back about six months, but Younger
is glad it was found when it was.
Meanwhile, the biggest challenge in opening
up the foyer space above the Linbury is that a
couple of columns had to be taken out, without
disturbing the glazed Paul Hamlyn Hall that
HANDING IT OVER
The first public performances in the Linbury Theater began in
early December 2018, and Younger handed over to the estates
team at the end of that month, having ironed out any little snags
since the soft launch.
“It’s a funny old life,” she said, as she prepared to leave. “I’ve
been in the executive meeting every Monday for the last five
years. I’ve listened to the problems of this or that ballerina
being injured or whatever it is. Then suddenly I’ll go off and do
something completely different. My husband says, ‘Why don’t
you go and work in the City, build a skyscraper and earn twice
as much?’ But if this organization wasn’t as complex and didn’t
have as many different end users, I wouldn’t really have a job.
Finding a path through that complexity is my job.”
moves; I think we had nine different temporary
cloakrooms. We also had pop-up bars going on
all over the place.”
Younger thinks the changes were most
difficult for the staff, as they were used to
working in one way for a long time. “They’re
very dedicated, they love this place,” she says.
“Persuading them things might just be a bit
different was quite tricky.”
Quality over quantity
Updating the Linbury Theatre also presented
some challenges. For example, the space couldn’t
be expanded – it is already a story below ground
level and surrounded by technical areas. This
Above: The refurbished
Linbury Theatre features
adjustable seating and
acoustic enhancement
Top right: The theater’s black
box is visible behind the new
wooden structures
Above right: The veneer used
is American walnut
AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE 23
Photos: Hufton + Crow