At the end of the war David Webster was appointed chief executive of the Royal Opera House, tasked with reopening it for opera and ballet after its wartime closure. He invited de Valois and her company to base themselves there to complement the new opera company he was setting up. In due course the companies became The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera. Helpmann and Fonteyn led the ballet company in the opening gala performance of "The Sleeping Beauty". The first new work staged at the reopened house was "Adam Zero" (1946), with a libretto by Benthall and music by Bliss, choreographed by and starring Helpmann as an Everyman figure. The work was well received and was revived the following year, but has not held a place in the repertoire.