The home of The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Royal Opera House is one of the major performing arts venues in London and has a reputation for producing some of the finest ballet and opera in the world.
We are committed to involving and engaging as many people as possible in our art forms, not just through attending performances at the Royal Opera House itself but through the BP Summer Big Screen and BBC presentations, cinema screenings, DVD releases, online activity and our nationwide education and community engagement programme.
The Royal Opera House has charitable status and in 2007/2008 generated more than £2 for every £1 of public subsidy.
Our vacancies
We employ staff from a wide variety of disciplines to support the performances on stage:
- Administration:
Like many large organisations, the Royal Opera House has a number of departments which provide services crucial to the smooth running of its operations. These include Development/Fundraising, Education, Facilities, Finance, Information Technology, Marketing & Publications, Personnel, Planning, Scheduling & Business Affairs, and Press and Communications. Many of the roles in these departments require skills and experience which are directly transferable from other non-artistic working environments, so you really could join us from anywhere.
- Backstage:
In the backstage area itself there are a number of discrete specialist teams: stage lighting, sound and broadcast, fly crew and stage crew, as well as the Stage Managers who run the rehearsals and performances. The production side covers a range of craft trades from Scenic Painters, Scenic Carpenters and Prop Makers to Armourers and Metal Workers. There is also the production management team who project manage the design and build phases of new shows.
- Costume:
Our Costume Performance Support and Production Costume departments rely on a huge range of specialist skills to create and fit the constumes that the dancers, singers and actors wear on stage - men's tailoring, ladies' costume making, millinery, tutu, wig and jewellery making, make-up, costume dyeing and painting, shoe making and buying, costume fitting and dressing.
- Customer Service:
Many of our staff are employed in directly customer-facing roles such as Front of House (ushers, usher management, backstage tours), Box Office or retail. Again the customer service skills required for these roles are directly transferable from other working environments.
- Apprenticeships:
We offer a number of two-year paid apprenticeships in a variety of backstage departments. Full details can be found on our website
Location
While the majority of our staff work within the Royal Opera House itself in Covent Garden, we also have employees based at our scenery production workshops in Beckton, East London and costume stores in Aberdare, Wales. Some members of our Education team are also based in Grays, Essex as part of our ongoing community engagement work in the Thames Gateway.
How to join us
There are various routes into a career working backstage at the Royal Opera House. As indicated above, depending on the specific role, certain jobs require specialist qualifications and formal training, while other roles can be learned 'on the job'. The skills and experience requirements for each of our vacancies are clearly stated within the job description/person specification, as advertised on our website. Some general guidance on backstage training can also be found there.
Equal opportunities
The Royal Opera House is an equal opportunities employer and is actively seeking to employ people currently under-represented in the workplace. This includes ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. Applicants must have a work authorisation for the UK.