Sadler’s Wells is a theater in London famous for its productions of opera and ballet. It opened in 1931 under the direction of the English theatrical manager Lilian Baylis (see Baylis, Lilian Mary). At first, she directed plays, operas, and ballets. Later, the theater was devoted entirely to operas and ballets. Its ballet company became the Royal Ballet in 1957 and moved to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The opera company moved to the Coliseum in 1968. In 1974, the company was renamed the English National Opera.
The name of the theater came from a well on the site that supposedly had holy powers. The well was blocked during the Reformation of the 1500’s and rediscovered by Thomas Sadler, a London coal merchant, in 1683. Sadler opened a spa at the site of the well, but after business declined he built a structure to provide entertainment. After a permanent theater was built in 1765, Sadler’s Wells became famous for musicals and pantomimes. During the mid 1800’s, the theater specialized in plays by the great English dramatist William Shakespeare. The theater eventually became a pickle factory and a boxing arena. It was revived as a music hall and then a motion-picture theater, which closed in 1916 and was rebuilt in 1931. Sadler’s Wells Theatre closed in 1996 for repairs and reopened in 1998 after extensive renovation. Today, the theater hosts dance concerts, operas, and stage shows.
