United Kingdom

Handel wrote much of his music in Britain. British composers include Hubert Parry, Edward Elgar, Gustav Holst, Vaughan Williams, Britten and Tippett. The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, whose present building opened on 15 May 1858 and seats 2,256, is home to The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The Proms, founded in 1895 by Robert Newman with Henry Wood conducting, passed to the BBC in 1927.