The Royal Opera House is changing its name to the Royal Ballet and Opera to reflect its “two world-class companies”.
The arts charity is home to The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet and said its current name described the place in which it worked, not what it was.
It said: “The whole is always more than the sum of its parts – we may be a house, but three-quarters of our audiences experience what we do outside this building.”
Speaking to The Times newspaper, ROH chief executive Alex Beard said research conducted by the charity last year found “very few people knew that the Royal Ballet had anything to do with the Royal Opera House”.
In 2022, ROH’s income bounced back to pre-Covid-19 levels as the charity had an income of £132.7m for the financial year ending 31 August 2022.
The running costs of the ROH building have increased from £12m to £16m in five years due to “big increases in energy bills”.
Beard said: “Bringing ballet into our name is long overdue – The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera have performed under the same roof since 1946 – and both companies now enjoy the prominence that they rightfully deserve.
“The Royal Ballet and Opera is facing the future with confidence and the support of over 23,000 friends, patrons, supporters and business partners.
“It is through their generosity and dedicated support for our art and companies that we are able to ignite passions and inspire imaginations with world-class art, creating transformative experiences for audiences old and new.”
The name change will be implemented for the start of the ROH’s 2024/25 season, which starts in September.