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The "new" Royal Opera House, Covent Garden


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.....Revenue from bars and restaurants is critical...

Well I hope Mr. Chairman realises that the price for food and beverages is out of reach of many, incl. myself! I was shocked when looking at the price of the various offerings in their new "Open Up"/ canteen space. On top of the cost of transport, the cost of buying a ticket I will not spend on any of their offerings. His customers being elitist???? 

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Was at the Coliseum twice this week for Swan Lake. Just want to point out a few comparisons - I know ROH is more premium however the Coliseum has:-

 

-Fewer toilets (ladies at least) to serve more customers,

-Smaller bars

-Fewer staff from whom to purchase a drink

-Considerably less seating outside of the theatre

- Cast changes were posted on one A4 sheet pinned up at the entrance near the box office and seemingly nowhere else. No slips or information available where programmes were on sale

 

 

Edited by Blossom
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1 hour ago, Xandra Newman said:

.....Revenue from bars and restaurants is critical...

Well I hope Mr. Chairman realises that the price for food and beverages is out of reach of many, incl. myself! I was shocked when looking at the price of the various offerings in their new "Open Up"/ canteen space. On top of the cost of transport, the cost of buying a ticket I will not spend on any of their offerings. His customers being elitist???? 

 

At the Friends’ Rehearsals they usually offer a fairly reasonably priced pot of pasta (currently £6) which has always been delicious every time I’ve had it.

If they could offer that (along with a gluten free option or just make it all gluten free) at other performances, perhaps as part of a deal including a drink for around a tenner and/or a sweet of some kind for a little bit more, I would certainly prefer that than some overpriced sandwiches or a paltry ramekin of crisps. 

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5 hours ago, Blossom said:

Was at the Coliseum twice this week for Swan Lake. Just want to point out a few comparisons - I know ROH is more premium however the Coliseum has:-

 

-Fewer toilets (ladies at least) to serve more customers,

-Smaller bars

-Fewer staff from whom to purchase a drink

-Considerably less seating outside of the theatre

- Cast changes were posted on one A4 sheet pinned up at the entrance near the box office and seemingly nowhere else. No slips or information available where programmes were on sale

 

 

Well since I didn't pass the box office, I didn't see any cast change notice if there was one on Friday evening (at the Coliseum). There was no indication of any changes where I picked up my cast sheet. And I don't know all the dancers by sight so I don't even know for sure who I saw now! Really bad.

 

I suppose I've disliked the Coliseum for so many years that I don't expect to gain any enjoyment from going there, other than (hopefully) in the performance. I just keep my head down and head for my seat/s. Whereas the ROH used to feel welcoming.

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1 minute ago, bridiem said:

 

Well since I didn't pass the box office, I didn't see any cast change notice if there was one on Friday evening (at the Coliseum). There was no indication of any changes where I picked up my cast sheet. And I don't know all the dancers by sight so I don't even know for sure who I saw now! Really bad.

 

I suppose I've disliked the Coliseum for so many years that I don't expect to gain any enjoyment from going there, other than (hopefully) in the performance. I just keep my head down and head for my seat/s. Whereas the ROH used to feel welcoming.

 

There was one on the balcony entrance door at the Saturday matinee.

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5 hours ago, Thalia said:

a paltry ramekin of crisps

 

What a lovely phrase.

 

The food and drink is not very affordable now.

 

However, I discovered recently  that you can ask for a small ( what used to be normal before the world went mad) glass of wine- 125ml for about a fiver, which is easier to drink in a short interval.  It is NOT on the menu at the (amphi) bar- you have to ask,  and many of the staff don't know about it, but it is on their computer till. I only found out by chatting to one of the charming young bar staff in an idle moment.

 

So much wine gets left- this would be a much better standard 'small glass' , surely.

 

 

 

 

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50 minutes ago, Mary said:

 

So much wine gets left- this would be a much better standard 'small glass' , surely.

 

 

when walking past an untouched bottle of wine, or even champagne, it always makes me think that some people have more money than sense! 

And its also a huge effort to resist helping oneself to a glug or two!!  lol

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1 hour ago, Mary said:

 

However, I discovered recently  that you can ask for a small ( what used to be normal before the world went mad) glass of wine- 125ml for about a fiver, which is easier to drink in a short interval.  It is NOT on the menu at the (amphi) bar- you have to ask,  and many of the staff don't know about it, but it is on their computer till. I only found out by chatting to one of the charming young bar staff in an idle moment.

 

 

As I understand, vendors of alcohol are obliged to have 125ml glasses of wine for sale even if they are not listed.  This amount of wine is safe-ish to drink if you are driving.  (I was told that in a branch of Wetherspoons some years ago).

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16 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

As I understand, vendors of alcohol are obliged to have 125ml glasses of wine for sale even if they are not listed.  This amount of wine is safe-ish to drink if you are driving.  (I was told that in a branch of Wetherspoons some years ago).

 

Yes, this is true.  If someone asks for "a glass of wine", the staff should ask what size they want.  The choices should be small (125ml), medium (175ml) or large (250ml).  Unfortunately, most menus only list the medium and large sizes, giving the impression they don't serve anything else.  On that topic, I think they should all use glasses that show clearly exactly how much is in the glass as well, just to reassure patrons that they are getting what they asked for.  

 

Talking of food going to waste, I was mystified when I went to the matinee on the 20th December.  As we were passing through the Floral Hall on the way back to our seats after the second interval, we saw at least two trays of food and drink lying untouched.  Full bottles of wine, glasses of spirits and mixers, plates  of sandwiches.  I was very tempted to reach out and snatch a sandwich on my way past.  

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2 hours ago, Fonty said:

 

Full bottles of wine, glasses of spirits and mixers, plates  of sandwiches.  I was very tempted to reach out and snatch a sandwich on my way past.  

 

You wouldn't be the first to fall to this temptation! lol

(not me I hasten to add, fish paste sarnies are not my thing)

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Is it unfair of me to find this advert for a broadcast  comms apprentice depressing? http://recruitment.roh.org.uk/vacancyView.php?requirementId=3346

 

The person they're looking for will, among other things: 

  • "Develop an interest in and keep in touch with best practice"
  • Have "an interest in the arts and media"
  • Be "passionate about pursuing a career in communications"

Nowhere does it mention having an interest in opera or ballet as a desirable quality, or acquiring one being part of the job. It's far more important become interested in "best practice" (an essentially meaningless expression).

 

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51 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

Is it unfair of me to find this advert for a broadcast  comms apprentice depressing? http://recruitment.roh.org.uk/vacancyView.php?requirementId=3346

 

The person they're looking for will, among other things: 

  • "Develop an interest in and keep in touch with best practice"
  • Have "an interest in the arts and media"
  • Be "passionate about pursuing a career in communications"

Nowhere does it mention having an interest in opera or ballet as a desirable quality, or acquiring one being part of the job. It's far more important become interested in "best practice" (an essentially meaningless expression).

 

Orwell would have called it Mediaspeak

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There was some discussion a few days ago about casting information being updated on the web after performances - there’d been some confusion about who was dancing Clara in the Paul Hamlyn performance.

 

Over the weekend I saw there’d been some favourable Twitter comment about the Royal Opera House displaying cast change notices about Bennet Gartside replacing Alastair Marriott as Drosselmeyer for Saturday’s performance and how this was respectful to artists and audiences.  The website is still showing Alastair Marriott.

 

Whilst I accept updating the website for past performances is not the highest priority (and it was of course a weekend), I do think updating should be done in a reasonable timescale.  As this is a known example of a casting change for a principal role published on the web, I shall take an occasional look at the website information over the next few days.  I thought I’d wait a week before contacting the Royal Opera House if the information hasn’t been updated - I’m very much hoping I’ll not need to other than to say how much I appreciate the website having been updated. 

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The website for this evening’s Nutcracker has Gasparini and Ella as Clara and Hans-Peter yet they are not dancing. O’Sullivan and Sambé are dancing and are even listed on the cast sheet.  If the change of cast was known in time to put it on the cast sheet, they could surely have managed to update the website!

Edited by Bluebird
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16 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

The website for this evening’s performance has Gasparini and Ella as Clara and Hans-Peter yet they are not dancing. O’Sullivan and Sambé are dancing and are even listed on the cast sheet.  

 

Yep, very strange. I’m just trying to work out what paper they are saving by doing it like this 🙂

Edited by Rob S
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I too thought it odd that the printed cast sheet showed the correct Clara and Peter but not the website.Left hand and right hand perhaps.

Back to this thread. Tonight we entered through the revolving doors on the piazza, no one there to check bags or tickets but walking through into the Bow Street entrance tickets had to be shown and bags checked, perhaps security have not copped on to the idea that a bomb carrier will simply go round the corner to the piazza.

 

That  canteen they have now created is the worst thing they have done.

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3 hours ago, Rob S said:

And yet Gasparini was in the Kingdom of the Sweets!! 😮

 

As was Ella!

 

I'm assuming that they were perhaps short-staffed at corps level, and that these relatively lowly-ranked dancers therefore had to sacrifice their bit of limelight in favour of more highly-ranked ones who don't do corps duties.  Or something along those lines.  I was certainly bemused for quite some time, because I was sure it had said Gasparini and Ella on the website when I'd looked earlier.  (And as Bluebird says, that doesn't explain why the cast sheet could be altered but no cast change was announced either online or in the theatre)

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I have been reading this thread with some...say...interest, and certainly can't weigh in about the Opera House itself which I have only visited a few times over the decades as a visitor to London. (Always with great pleasure.) But after reading this thread for some weeks, I finally feel compelled to say one thing...which is that the ROH could re-carpet the theater in yellow daisy pattern,  change the stage's red velvet curtain for orange polka dots with clown faces, have pole dancers in the lobby and sell absinthe out front for 100 lbs a sip--except to patrons with bitcoin who of course would get a discount--and I think I would still be less dismayed than I am to read that the ROH and its staff don't consider it a priority to let its entire audience know who is dancing in every role.  At the very least to make it easy to find out. That's not specialized information--that's basic respect to the dancers, the audience, and the art form. And it's showing even audience members who "don't care" that it matters.

 

But...uh...on a more positive note maybe these are just birth pangs of the new system and glitches will get sorted out in the coming weeks. I will keep reading to find out.

Edited by DrewCo
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From today's Times:

 

"Beige is now the epitome of chic. Forget its boring, bland and basic reputation... in 2019, beige is businesslike, even brave."

 

So the ROH was ahead of the curve.*

 

Actually, on my first proper sight of the new areas yesterday, I thought it was all far less dreary than I'd picked up from the comments here. I didn't think the new chairs and tables in the Floral Hall were right - they looked somehow temporary, as if they'd been fetched in from somewhere else for some event, but I liked the dark wood furniture in the cafe area and we had good coffee and pastries at what I'd have thought was a standard sort of price for central London these days. I realise we probably saw it at it's best,  but really, anyone who thinks that's a 'rubbishy cafeteria' must have led a rather sheltered life.

 

Though they're presumably nothing to do with the refit, what I liked - loved, indeed - most in the shop were the wonderful b&w photos of the Principal dancers!

 

* - though  admittedly this was talking about womens' fashion.

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I've just read that the Duchess of Cambridge will be going to the ROH next Wednesday to visit the costume department at the ROH and "...find out more about the scale of the department’s work and their use of textiles before hearing from Royal Ballet dancers about the design of their costumes.".

 

I'm wondering if she'll then crack open her flask of tea in the beige departure lounge area which I will now call the Bore-all Hall

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On 07/01/2019 at 17:52, Lizbie1 said:

Is it unfair of me to find this advert for a broadcast  comms apprentice depressing? http://recruitment.roh.org.uk/vacancyView.php?requirementId=3346

 

The person they're looking for will, among other things: 

  • "Develop an interest in and keep in touch with best practice"
  • Have "an interest in the arts and media"
  • Be "passionate about pursuing a career in communications"

Nowhere does it mention having an interest in opera or ballet as a desirable quality, or acquiring one being part of the job. It's far more important become interested in "best practice" (an essentially meaningless expression).

 

Is it 'best practice' to fail to list cast members or list them incorrectly?  Doesn't say much about a passion for communications either.*

 

* the wording 'passionate about pursuing a career in...' is an interesting take.  The Marketing Dept. certainly seem to have a passion for their careers and communicating what they are doing, but is this really the right emphasis?

Edited by penelopesimpson
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Went to the National Theatre today for the matinee 

of Antony and Cleopatra. Very interesting to compare the set up with the ROH. Lots of tables, some canteen type, some smaller for groups of 2-4. Very similar to those in the Paul Hamlyn. Excellent choice of food, hot pub type dishes all under £10, good sandwiches around £4-5, plus cakes, snacks, drinks reasonably priced. At 1230 an announcement asking patrons who were not attending the performance to move to areas away from the cafe. And another announcement restricting the size of bags to be taken into the auditorium. Plus random bag searches carried out, although I didn't see any happening. An excellent bookshop, cash machine, lots of leaflets and highly visible box office. Personally, I still think the theatre has lost much of its character since they ' opened up' but I suppose it's a huge money maker. Seems more like a collection of bars and eating places than a theatre, but I suppose I'm just old fashioned.

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I actually like the National, ninamargaret although it is hard to disagree with the points you make.  I think the important thing is that it is a complex of theatres and therefore structured in a different way.  We can each like it or love it as our taste takes us.

 

The puzzling think about ROH is that it is built and designed to be a statement building, an International Opera House in a great capital city.  The experience was always meant to be special, hence the wonderful auditorium, the red plush seating, the chandeliers and the marvellous Crush Room.  Open-Up seems almost to be apologising for all this and saying hey, we'd really like just to be bland and ordinary.  Worse, the Chairman and other parts of the organisation seem to have decided that special means elitist and must therefore be at best diluted, at worse apologised for and ultimately eliminated.  They translate this in practical terms by falling over themselves to welcome those who have no desire to participate in either opera or ballet, whilst adversely affecting many of the facilities that patrons have paid a great deal of money for.

 

I was talking to football loving friend about it and asked if I would be welcome to go in the Arsenal Stadium to look around, use the facilities, dump my coat and meet friends, all without a ticket and no desire to buy one.  Surprisingly, the answer was yes, I would be welcome.  I can book the official tour at £39 per person!

 

I remain enormously puzzled.

Edited by penelopesimpson
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13 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

Went to the National Theatre today for the matinee 

of Antony and Cleopatra. Very interesting to compare the set up with the ROH. Lots of tables, some canteen type, some smaller for groups of 2-4. Very similar to those in the Paul Hamlyn. Excellent choice of food, hot pub type dishes all under £10, good sandwiches around £4-5, plus cakes, snacks, drinks reasonably priced. At 1230 an announcement asking patrons who were not attending the performance to move to areas away from the cafe. And another announcement restricting the size of bags to be taken into the auditorium. Plus random bag searches carried out, although I didn't see any happening. An excellent bookshop, cash machine, lots of leaflets and highly visible box office. Personally, I still think the theatre has lost much of its character since they ' opened up' but I suppose it's a huge money maker. Seems more like a collection of bars and eating places than a theatre, but I suppose I'm just old fashioned.

 

The National Theatre has always struck exactly the right balance between the theatre goers with tickets, and the casual visitor using it as a meeting place.  But it was built with that in mind.  Oodles of space, and places to sit and eat or drink without hampering the flow of people using the theatres.  I don't work in that part of London any more, so unless I am a ticket holder, I don't tend to go there to meet people.  But I assume they still do the free live music in the early evening?  There used to be an excellent jazz trio that performed at 6pm once a month.  I used to go there especially to chill out and relax after work over a coffee or glass of wine.  

Edited by Fonty
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  • 2 weeks later...

Just for the record, it appears that for opera, the protocol for a cast change in a very small role remains as it has generally been in the past: an announcement at the same time as “please switch off your mobile phones”. (I’m at the B cast of Traviata tonight and the very smallest role in the opera, the servant whose only line is “La cena è pronta” (“Dinner is served”) has a cast change...)

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This isn’t strictly related to the ‘new’ Royal Opera House (ROH) - or it may well be - and I don’t think it warrants a separate thread, but the ROH have ceased offering the 50% off Q-Park parking that most other West End theatres appear to continue to offer for patrons attending performances at their theatres. I found this out to my cost last week... Apart from the ROH disappearing from the list on Q-Park website I don’t think they (ROH) have communicated this change. Anyone driving in should be aware. ROH simply advise it’s due to changes in Q-Park’s terms and conditions - no other reason forthcoming. 

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Thanks for that, Richmondhill.

 

Incidentally, I was at the Barbican Centre for the first time in ages last week - they appear to have "Opened Up(!)" too, if the number of refectory-style tables and chairs in the main open area is anything to go by.  Unfortunately, the amount of noise emanating from there would, I think, have made it impossible for latecomers to hear the concert in the Hall over the loudspeakers as they used to be able to do.  Just a shame they seem to have sacrificed most of the "comfortable" seating in favour of tables where people can sit and use laptops.

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23 hours ago, Richmondhill said:

This isn’t strictly related to the ‘new’ Royal Opera House (ROH) - or it may well be - and I don’t think it warrants a separate thread, but the ROH have ceased offering the 50% off Q-Park parking that most other West End theatres appear to continue to offer for patrons attending performances at their theatres. I found this out to my cost last week... Apart from the ROH disappearing from the list on Q-Park website I don’t think they (ROH) have communicated this change. Anyone driving in should be aware. ROH simply advise it’s due to changes in Q-Park’s terms and conditions - no other reason forthcoming. 

If you are parking in the evenings, Richmondhill, it is worth looking in and around John Adam Street which almost always has street parking spaces which are free from 6.30 onwards.

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