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.

Zo?: And I'm Zo?. 歡迎收聽由 BBC Learning English 為您提供的《都市掠影》節目。在這檔節目中我們走訪英國倫敦許多有趣的地方，為大家做深入接觸的現場專訪。

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.

Zo?: 世界上名氣最響的劇院之一，能看到很棒的歌劇和芭蕾舞，那是什么好地方呢？

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

Zo?: 英國皇家歌劇院，這名字挺起來可真夠響的。

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.

Zo?: 英國皇家歌劇院的歷史的確很悠久，1858年建成，可是為什么 Declan 說這是第三個劇院了呢？

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.

Zo?: 哎呀，看來劇院 theatres 和火 fire 真的是過不去。

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

Zo?: 1808 年第一次被燒毀，1856 年又被燒了。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.

Zo?: 皇家歌劇院這幢建筑的確是非常雄偉氣派，也是占了倫敦市中心的黃金位置。

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.

Zo?: Declan 解釋說皇家歌劇院其實是兩個公司的家。

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

Zo?: 皇家芭蕾舞團 The Royal Ballet.

Helen: And 'The Royal Opera Company'.

Zo?: 皇家歌劇團 The Royal Opera Company. 這兩個公司一年加起來有3百多場表演。

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.

Zo?: 剛才 Declan 提到的應該是中國著名的男高音。

Helen: Tenor.

Zo?: 戴玉強。張麗萍也是來自中國的女高音。

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.

Zo?: 蝴蝶夫人，這可是一出悲慘的歌劇。 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.

Zo?: 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.

Zo?: 那平時能買到這么便宜的票嗎？

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

Zo?: 提前買票是關鍵，不過就算是再貴些，能看到世界級的高水準演出也是值得的。

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

Zo?: Bye-bye.