Another distinctive feature of Haitink’s time as Music Director was his fostering of the Orchestra’s appearances on the concert platform both at Covent Garden and in major London concert halls, as well as encouraging the formation of the Orchestra’s own chamber ensemble.
Haitink received a Laurence Oliver Award for conducting Siegfried and Götterdämmerung in 1995 and, together with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, received the Evening Standard’s award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in Opera, ‘for the consistently high quality of their music making throughout 1995’. Three full cycles were given in Autumn 1996, all conducted by Haitink. The renewal of Wagner stagings, begun in 1993 with Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, continued with Der Ring des Nibelungen which was completed in autumn 1995. He conducted the very last operatic music to be heard in the theatre at a Farewell Gala marking its closure for redevelopment in July 1997. It was during this period in 1968 that the Company became The Royal Opera. Solti continued a fruitful association with The Royal Opera and in 1992 was created Music Director Laureate on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Of particular importance was the number of new productions of operas by Richard Strauss conducted by Solti himself, including Der Rosenkavalier, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Arabella and Salome. The Solti period saw numerous developments in the Company’s repertoire and performing style. During his time, international awareness of Covent Garden and its singers grew considerably, a process confirmed by the success of the Company’s tour to Munich and West Berlin in 1970. Much of this work carried over into the Solti era, but it was with his arrival as Music Director in 1961 that the Company took its place as one of the world’s leading opera companies.
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