A GBP 250 million opera house is being planned as Manchester's 'payback' for being denied the country's first super casino. The ambitious development would see the world's leading singers performing at the venue in east Manchester - the area let down by the government's U-turn on expanding the gambling industry. Talks are already underway between the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and the city council about building a 'national opera house' in the north.