Although not exclusively given over to the purposes of opera, Covent Garden is, in the main, an “Opera House”; the ambitious title is, however, also claimed by many a suburban and provincial theatre, absolutely without meaning or reason, seeing that operas are rarely heard within their walls. Many attempts have periodically been made to provide London with an Opera House, a notable instance being the fine building now known as the Palace Theatre of Varieties; this house was intended as the home of English national opera, and Sullivan’s _Ivanhoe_ started the venture in 1891, but neither that work nor any other could, in all probability, fill a theatre night after night without some financial support to fall back upon; and although various plans are in the air, a permanent Opera House does not seem to be a very quickly realizable possibility. [Illustration] [Sidenote: =Travelling Companies=] [Sidenote: =The Carl Rosa Opera Company=] [Sidenote: =The Moody-Manners Opera Company=] After the Royal Opera Syndicate, with the opportunities it affords for hearing Grand Opera, the Englishman owes most to the various travelling companies, some of them very good, whose work, although occasionally heard in the Metropolis, is mostly done in the provinces. Of these the most famous, in its palmy days, was the company formed by Mr. Carl Rosa in 1875, and which is still in existence, although its inceptor died some years ago. Originally, performances given by Mr. Carl Rosa took place in London, and during the seasons of 1875 and following years the Princess’ Theatre, The Lyceum, The Adelphi, and Her Majesty’s Theatre were the scenes of many a successful presentation; among works first brought to light under Mr. Rosa’s _régime_, or subsequently by the company bearing his name, may be mentioned Cowen’s _Pauline_ and _Thorgrim_, Thomas’ _Nadeshda_ and _Esmeralda_, and Hamish MacCunn’s _Jeanie Deans_. Even more important than the production of these novelties was the work done by Mr. Rosa in putting before the English public for the first time operas of such acknowledged excellence as Cherubini’s _Water Carrier_, Wagner’s _Dutchman_ and _Lohengrin_ (in English), and other works of similar calibre. Although still doing good work, the company has hardly, since its founder’s death in 1889, lived up to its earlier achievements, and the new operas performed are infrequent in appearance. London is no longer its home, although suburban theatres often welcome one of its various constituent travelling parties; its work lies more in the provinces, especially in the larger commercial cities of the North of England. Perhaps more to the fore, at the present day, is the company founded in 1897 by Mr. Charles Manners and Madame Fanny Moody. Several plucky attempts have been made by these artists to provide a really efficient series of presentations of standard operas at comparatively low prices in London. This has been achieved by limiting the expenses