Helen: Welcome to On the Town from BBC Learning English, I'm Helen. This is the programme where we visit some of the most interesting places to spend time in London.

Zoë: And I'm Zoë. 欢迎收听由 BBC Learning English 为您提供的《都市掠影》节目。在这档节目中我们走访英国伦敦许多有趣的地方，为大家做深入接触的现场专访。

Helen: Well, I'm introducing you to one of the most famous theatres in the world, where you can hear and see wonderful performances of opera and ballet.

Zoë: 世界上名气最响的剧院之一，能看到很棒的歌剧和芭蕾舞，那是什么好地方呢？

Helen: It's the Royal Opera House of course.

Zoë: 英国皇家歌剧院，这名字挺起来可真够响的。

Helen: Well, here's Declan, who is the backstage manager for the Royal Opera House. I asked him, when was the theatre built?

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The Royal Opera House is almost 150 years old, it was built in 1858. And it's actually the third theatre, and in effect the third opera house that we've had on this land at Covent Garden.

Zoë: 英国皇家歌剧院的历史的确很悠久，1858年建成，可是为什么 Declan 说这是第三个剧院了呢？

Helen: I know the answer – it's got something to do with fire.

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The first theatre was built in 1732, and it burnt down in 1808. The second theatre was built in 1809, and that burnt down in 1856 - so not very much luck with fire and theatres generally. So this theatre was built in 1858.

Zoë: 哎呀，看来剧院 theatres 和火 fire 真的是过不去。

Helen: And I thought one fire was bad enough, but the Opera House was burnt down twice in its history.

Zoë: 1808 年第一次被烧毁，1856 年又被烧了。真倒霉。

Helen: And the oldest part we see today was built in 1858.

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The first theatre was built in 1732, and it burnt down in 1808. The second theatre was built in 1809, and that burnt down in 1856 - so not very much luck with fire and theatres generally. So this theatre was built in 1858.

Zoë: 皇家歌剧院这幢建筑的确是非常雄伟气派，也是占了伦敦市中心的黄金位置。

Helen: But it's not just the building that makes it impressive, it's also the performances on stage that makes it an amazing place to visit.

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The Royal Opera House is home to two companies, the Royal Ballet, and the Royal Opera. And they work in what we call repertory – they are both full-time here, which between them give almost 300 performances of opera and ballet every year.

Zoë: Declan 解释说皇家歌剧院其实是两个公司的家。

Helen: It's home to two companies – 'The Royal Ballet'.

Zoë: 皇家芭蕾舞团 The Royal Ballet.

Helen: And 'The Royal Opera Company'.

Zoë: 皇家歌剧团 The Royal Opera Company. 这两个公司一年加起来有3百多场表演。

Helen: 'The Royal Ballet' and 'The Royal Opera Company' have dancers and singers from all over the world.

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Notably, in recent years, we've had two singers from China - Li Ping Zhang, who is going to be singing Madame Butterfly and then we also have Yu Qiang Dai, and he has also sung in another Puchini opera, Tosca, as Cavaradossi. So he's a tenor who's got the high notes, and Li Ping is a soprano again and she's the high voice in opera.

Zoë: 刚才 Declan 提到的应该是中国著名的男高音。

Helen: Tenor.

Zoë: 戴玉强。张丽萍也是来自中国的女高音。

Helen: She is a soprano, who can sing very high notes. And she is going to be the lead singer in a very famous opera called Madame Butterfly.

Zoë: 蝴蝶夫人，这可是一出悲惨的歌剧。 Helen, did you ask Declan about the price of tickets for these performances?

Helen: Yes, I did.

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It's interesting, when I do my tours I take people often up to the top of the house, who've never been into the theatre before, never been to the Royal Opera House. And I say to them "How much do you think you'd pay for this seat?" and they're very surprised to discover that the seat they're sitting in is maybe £15, £10 and sometimes even only £4.

Zoë: Really, as low as £4 a ticket – that’s amazing!

Helen: I know, I thought it would cost at least £20 for the cheapest seat.

Zoë: 那平时能买到这么便宜的票吗？

Helen: Yes, but the numbers of cheap tickets are limited, so I think the best thing to do is to buy them in advance.

Zoë: 提前买票是关键，不过就算是再贵些，能看到世界级的高水准演出也是值得的。

Helen: Well, that's all about the Royal Opera House today, so see you next time.

Zoë: Bye-bye.