Sadler's Wells Theatre

Sadler's Wells is a theater complex in Islington, London. After a checkered history the Sadler's Wells Theatre in the 20th and 21st century leading to the London stage for ballet and modern dance theater was. From the opera and ballet ensemble of the theater, the Royal Ballet and the English National Opera emerged.

History

The Sadler 's Wells dates back to 1683, founded by Richard Sadler Musick House. The composer Francis Forcer (1650-1704) in 1697 became a partner in the year and held concerts there. The Fountain 1683 randomly discovered during construction work (English: well ) was part of the name. Today's theater, which was reopened in 1998, is the sixth at this point.

1765 built a new stone building after a construction period of only seven weeks. At the beginning of the 19th century came on stage to numerous famous actors, including Edmund Kean and Joseph Grimaldi, the inventor of the modern clown figure. Due to the numerous incidents of public drunkenness and coarse behavior, the management was forced at this time to offer theatergoers after dark escort.

From 1860 began a decline of Sadler 's Wells. After the performance, some melodrama, the house served around 1875 for a while as a roller skating rink and later as Boxkampfarena. Because hazard to the public, the building was demolished in 1878, but re- open next year as a Music Hall, later used as a cinema in 1915 and closed again.

1925 succeeded the director Lilian Baylis to move through an appeal of public figures such as Winston Churchill, Stanley Baldwin, GK Chesterton, John Galsworthy, Ethel Smyth and Thomas Beecham establishing a Foundation, so that the house could be purchased. In the same year Baylis began working with Ninette de Valois, who had danced earlier in the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev headed. With the re-opening in 1931 built de Valois, the Vic- Wells Ballet. Among the first solo dancers Alicia Markova was this ballet, the first choreographer was Frederick Ashton, both of which had been active in Marie Rambert Ballet Club. 1946 moved the company into the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden to. The old location then the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet was founded as a sister company of the Vic Wells Ballet. However, even this played from 1955 to 1970 not there but was a touring company of the main company go. In 1956, from the old Vic- Wells Ballet at the Royal Opera House The Royal Ballet forth, the Schwesterkompagnie called henceforth the Sadler 's Wells Royal Ballet. From 1970 she recorded again the Sadler 's Wells Theatre, until she moved to Birmingham in 1990.

On 7 June 1945, the opera Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten premiered at Sadler 's Wells. 1968 pulled the Sadler's Wells Opera Company into the London Coliseum; they renamed themselves in 1974 at English National Opera. In the 1980s there was again briefly an opera company at Sadler 's Wells, The New Sadler's Wells Opera.

The Sadler's Wells Theatre is dedicated since the 1990s, again almost entirely to dance. It produces itself and also functions as guest performance theater for touring productions.

After the last performance in the old theater on 30 June 1996 the house was demolished and re-opened in its current form on 11 October 1998.