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The "new" Royal Opera House, Covent Garden


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52 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Incidentally, the Facebook link they provide in that answer links to some film clips, not, as far as I can discern, to the news of the top  National Dance Awards for Nunez and Muntagirov.

 

Yes, so have to go into the ROH FB 'page', and navigate down the list to the 18th Feb to find the brief announcement. Sorta - meh

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But you will at least be pleased(?) to know that I did get a link to a PROPER survey from them today (VERY similar to the Sadler's Wells one), as opposed to that stupid "how do you rate the performance/production out of 10" and "would you recommend the ROH" one.  So that's an improvement.

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26 minutes ago, alison said:

Yes, there's so much garbage on social media - scrolling down the non-important stuff for ages to find the important stuff - if it hasn't already dropped off the bottom.  That's why I don't tend to bother with it.

 

Not to mention that these social media sites use algorithms which mean that the  host page/account can often see its reach dwindle. I know there’s lots that I miss as the posts just don’t appear in my feeds. 

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1 hour ago, alison said:

But you will at least be pleased(?) to know that I did get a link to a PROPER survey from them today (VERY similar to the Sadler's Wells one), as opposed to that stupid "how do you rate the performance/production out of 10" and "would you recommend the ROH" one.  So that's an improvement.

I got this too an d have had great fun completing it! Have moaned copiously about the lack of information and the high costs of tickets, particularly for opera. But I suppose they'll look at my age and decide I'm one of their expendable! 

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Ah, on the survey they have the following:

 

This final section is about you. It’s a little more personal, but is really useful to us. The questions have been designed to align with the way the UK Government collects Census data. This enables us to compare our audience profile to the general population. By answering these questions you will help us to see the extent to which we're serving everyone in our community. If there are any questions that you’d rather not answer, please tick “Prefer not to say” or skip to the next question.

 

Now, I am struggling to decide which option best describes how I think of my gender identity.  I have a gender, but I never think about it at all.  But that isn't an option. I have to think carefully here, because it will be used to enable the ROH to serve everyone in the community in the future.  So it is very important information that may have a significant impact on the types of ballet put on in the future. 🙂

 

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There’s a real arbitrariness about what the Royal Opera House puts on News.  

The DonQ Insight was not on News and some people commented they only found out about it because of posts on Ballet Forum.  But the Forza Insight for 5 March is on News, announced yesterday 27 February - very welcome and sensible timing, just what News is for I would have thought.

Today we see Chris Shipman’s advocacy of social media and particularly Twitter as the Royal Opera House’s preferred method of communication.  Whilst I’m happy to dip into Facebook etc and am pleased to find some engaging vignettes, for example the DonQ highlights, I’d much prefer to go to the website for News, just as others have already made clear in their posts.  I’d be delighted if the Royal Opera House would use its News pages to give information and also to engage in constructive debate with audience members, ideally answering questions which seem eminently reasonable.  I will continue to press for answers on the Forza Viagogo tickets and the long outstanding questions about the use of scrims in Bayadere and Unknown Soldier.

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4 hours ago, capybara said:

 

The News section of the ROH website no longer carries anything about cast changes. Everything of significance is now put on social media. 

There is an interesting exchange about a related issue on the What did you think about Carlos Acosta’s DonQuixote? (Not the cinema thread - the other one.)

 

Except that the cast changes don't seem to be being put on social media either. I use Twitter quite a lot & couldn't recall seeing anything about cast changes there so in case I had overlooked something I've just gone back through both the Royal Ballet & Royal Opera House's Twitter feeds for the last 2 months, during which time there have been several significant cast changes, & cannot find a single tweet about them.

 

Also, the ROH website doesn't seem to even be being updated in retrospect. For instance, Mendizabel replaced Morera in Don Q last Saturday with no advanced warning on the website. Okay, it might have been last minute illness or injury & it was a Saturday evening so perhaps the person whose job it is to update the website wasn't at work then. However Morera is still listed for that performance nearly a week later. If cast details for past performances are made available then surely they should be correct.

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It's the same survey I was sent by Sadlers Wells:  it is all about the venue rather than the performances really ( the 'old' surveys used to ask about each aspect of the performance.)

The question that irritated me was Why I went to the performance- all sorts of daft or soppy reasons- including:  'because ballet is a part of who I am'....

I couldn't just tick:

''To see a performance by the RB'

 

so I ticked 'Other' and wrote that in.

 

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58 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Ah, on the survey they have the following:

 

This final section is about you. It’s a little more personal, but is really useful to us. The questions have been designed to align with the way the UK Government collects Census data. This enables us to compare our audience profile to the general population. By answering these questions you will help us to see the extent to which we're serving everyone in our community. If there are any questions that you’d rather not answer, please tick “Prefer not to say” or skip to the next question.

 

Now, I am struggling to decide which option best describes how I think of my gender identity.  I have a gender, but I never think about it at all.  But that isn't an option. I have to think carefully here, because it will be used to enable the ROH to serve everyone in the community in the future.  So it is very important information that may have a significant impact on the types of ballet put on in the future. 🙂

 

Is it the role of an Opera House to ‘serve everyone in the community?’  Surely that’s what hospital or a library does?

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45 minutes ago, JohnS said:

There’s a real arbitrariness about what the Royal Opera House puts on News.  

The DonQ Insight was not on News and some people commented they only found out about it because of posts on Ballet Forum.  But the Forza Insight for 5 March is on News, announced yesterday 27 February - very welcome and sensible timing, just what News is for I would have thought.

Today we see Chris Shipman’s advocacy of social media and particularly Twitter as the Royal Opera House’s preferred method of communication.  Whilst I’m happy to dip into Facebook etc and am pleased to find some engaging vignettes, for example the DonQ highlights, I’d much prefer to go to the website for News, just as others have already made clear in their posts.  I’d be delighted if the Royal Opera House would use its News pages to give information and also to engage in constructive debate with audience members, ideally answering questions which seem eminently reasonable.  I will continue to press for answers on the Forza Viagogo tickets and the long outstanding questions about the use of scrims in Bayadere and Unknown Soldier.

John:  I have written twice regarding Forza and, to date, not Evan an acknowledgment.

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On 17/10/2018 at 12:06, Geoff said:

 

I got the survey too but it was very short and I found nowhere to leave my thoughts on ticket prices. There were more questions about gender age etc than about the theatre! I thought it a waste of time because it asked so little.

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6 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

Well, I'm no spring chick, and use Facebook a lot - but the announcement on Facebook about their winners (no mention of their other nominees) came and went without me seeing it. Doesn't make you feel they were particularly enthused about it... (perhaps because they didn't win best company?)

From everything I can gather young people as well as old are using Facebook less and less, feeling increasingly annoyed by all the sponsored posts and ads, combined with constant interventions reminding them how much Facebook cares about them and their memories, and suggesting posts. I don't see why it'd be so hard for the Royal Opera House to post updates on the website, including casting changes, award nominations, company news etc.

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On a personal basis I use FB less and less (although it is linked to my IG account) but I have to use it because of a group I am an active part of.  I don’t think it is only the RB that is relying (inappropriately IMHO) more and more on spreading news through social media.  I agree with everyone else that news should be released through the proper channel on the website.

 

It almost implies that these organisations are losing expertise in how to update their websites and you don’t need expertise to use social media!

 

I am involved in a group that is voluntary and which has a website that was built using one of the free platforms by a volunteer who is no longer part of the group.  One person knows how to add in news items but not properly update the static data that is now out of date.  I am now trying to use Weebly to build what will hopefully become the new, properly documented, more easily maintained website.  While I am not suggesting that professional organisations use a free website platform for beginners surely the appropriate upkeep of their websites is a worthwhile and justifiable expense.

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Yes indeed Janet.

 

Perhaps RB should have their own website.  I find it  disgraceful that such marvellous news as the Dance Critics awards is not properly published - blazoned forth in fact.

 

That survey was just something bought-in: not their own, and couched in terms - almost in a language - alien to most of us. I imagine it is something they have to do regularly as part of a funding package, rather than their own genuine attempt to communicate with their audience.

There was space though at the end to write about one's concerns.

 

 

 

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I share an aversion for having to use social media as the primary source to obtain news. The current website does have a News page but it fails to fulfil the correct definition of news  “newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events”. The continual items titled ‘Your reaction’ which appear on this pag is a poor substitute   . Grrh!

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11 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

Is it the role of an Opera House to ‘serve everyone in the community?’  Surely that’s what hospital or a library does?

 

I agree.  I think they will struggle to achieve that, unless they start to put on performances specifically aimed at certain sections of the population.  Post code lottery for tickets, perhaps?  But no doubt some bright, highly paid individual will come up with that idea.   

 

12 hours ago, Mary said:

The question that irritated me was Why I went to the performance- all sorts of daft or soppy reasons- including:  'because ballet is a part of who I am'....

I couldn't just tick:

''To see a performance by the RB'

 

so I ticked 'Other' and wrote that in.

 

 

I did exactly the same thing.  For those who haven't received the survey, some of the odd choices included "To spend time with friends and family" "To be intellectually stimulated" "To intellectually stimulate my children" and my personal favourite "For peace and quiet."  I can think of better places to go than the ROH if I wanted peace and quiet!

 

 

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The list of options for answering: 'why did you  attend ROH recently? '

 

 was indeed bizarre;  the first one: 'to spend time with friends and family'

?

and one was:  'for peace and quiet'

!

There was no option: 'to see a ballet/an opera'

which perhaps tells us something- just the grimace-making statement above about ballet being part of me etc.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Odyssey said:

I share an aversion for having to use social media as the primary source to obtain news. The current website does have a News page but it fails to fulfil the correct definition of news  “newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events”. The continual items titled ‘Your reaction’ which appear on this pag is a poor substitute   . Grrh!

 

Yes - and that's not 'News' anyway - it's feedback, or whatever other word could be used. The mere fact of it being 'new' as in updated doesn't make it 'News'! It makes it appear that some very illiterate (in all sorts of ways) people are dealing with the website.

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4 minutes ago, Mary said:

Our posts crossed Fonty! Bizarre list wasn't it. I suspect it is an all-purpose form for everything- theatres, museums, parks etc.

 

 

 

In which case, what sort of rubbish data is it going to supply for the ROH???

 

These surveys are mainly designed to get marketing feedback, i.e. which phrases resonate most with 'customers', and so should be used in future marketing. I doubt if they ever actually give - or are even intended to give - useful information. The only section which may supply something 'real' is the 'other comments', which is less easy to analyse/break down anyway.

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I also received the survey from the ROH.    I agree with other posters, that the options given were very odd indeed, but I did find a place where I could comment on the price increases for ballet, especially for matinees.

 

 

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I don't know exactly how it works, but I wonder, do they use the same sort of software that companies use for CVs, which goes through and picks out key words?  Which makes anything written under "Other" difficult to analyse, I would have thought.  

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For the years that Sadler's Wells has been using virtually the same thing, it's driven me nuts that "to see the company/artists performing" and "to see the work/production" aren't options.  I mean, if you go to the Matthew Bourne Swan Lake it's because you want to see that production, isn't it?  Not some classical Swan Lake, not the Mats Ek version ...

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44 minutes ago, Margaret said:

I also received the survey from the ROH.    I agree with other posters, that the options given were very odd indeed, but I did find a place where I could comment on the price increases for ballet, especially for matinees.

 

 

I received the survey also & I told them of my horror at the ticket prices too! Be good if they take notice but I'm not holding my breath.

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1 hour ago, ninamargaret said:

And what makes you think they take any notice of the comments made?

 

I said it may provide real information, not that notice will necessarily be taken of said information!!

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