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The "new" Royal Opera House, Covent Garden


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I haven't seen the new ROH and am trying to understand how all this is supposed to work. Say a family without any background  in ballet is coming down to London and have a couple of hours to spare. What can  they expect to get from visiting the ROH? Are they better checking a schedule in advance and/or coming at a certain time? 

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Well, they can come for a lunchtime concert, or to visit the shop, or to have a look round (auditorium presumably only on guided tours still?), or to have something to eat - but then come to think of it they could have done all that previously anyway.  Plus there will be various classes, events and so on, but I'm assuming it would be better to check the schedule and see what's on rather than just turning up at a random time.

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I find it slightly alarming that today, going to Die Walkure, at no point was my ticket checked. I suggested to the usher at the entrance to SC that he might like to see my ticket but he wasn't really interested. So what's happened to the bag searches we all had to go through?

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2 hours ago, Odyssey said:

I had assumed that there is more space for photo / costume exhibitions. Is this not the case?

 

There ought to be.  I just don't think I can remember at the moment whether they have actually got that much more stuff up than they used to.  It's in different places, but whether there's actually more of it ...  Mind you, I only went in on the opening weekend, so perhaps exhibitions will be an evolving feature. 

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Unfortunately just at the moment some of the events on offer at lunchtime or other join in activities are on the same day of the week.

Some are all on Mondays some all on Fridays. I know these events are probably primarily aimed at people who work or live fairly near Covent Garden but I do hope there will be some variation to these days as time goes on but perhaps they want to keep the same days so people who perhaps work nearby can get used to that regularity and so more likely to turn up? 

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15 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

I find it slightly alarming that today, going to Die Walkure, at no point was my ticket checked. I suggested to the usher at the entrance to SC that he might like to see my ticket but he wasn't really interested. So what's happened to the bag searches we all had to go through?

We actually asked about this at yesterday's Die Walkure and were told categorically that, no, bag searches would not be carried out in future.

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1 hour ago, Scheherezade said:

We actually asked about this at yesterday's Die Walkure and were told categorically that, no, bag searches would not be carried out in future.

Really? That is disturbing....We had quite careful bag searches at the Royal Albert Hall yesterday evening.

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At least I won't have to stuff an M&S sandwich and a flask up my jumper any more.

(I used to think it was a bit unfair to take in food but not any more....)

 

But no security checks is worrying. What on earth is the thinking behind it?

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On the plus side, it is really good to have a choice of places to sit, or wander around, to wait for one's friend before a performance. The spaces are light and airy.

It is fun spotting well known faces in the ground floor coffee shop.

On the other hand I was sorry to see so MUCH space given over to a public coffee bar.

The new shop is spacious and pleasant but it is very sad to see such a reduction in the selection of dvds and books.

The amphi bar looks nice but I agree with all who have pointed out the beige carpet will soon look dirty....It is mainly a corridor now. Good that the shorter, narrower bar has made more space, so it is less of a crush in the interval. But not so good that the bar is reduced by about 60%-not so good if you want to get a drink anyway..and fewer seats, so there will be competition for those.

Good to have an amphi cloakroom.  The loos were all in good order, and were being carefully checked when I was there early.

I was happy to see the re furbished terrace looking nice, though it is a shame to have lost nearly half of it to the restaurant.

 

On the whole I quite like what they have done but, the overwhelming feeling of being in ( a very grand)  Benugo when you come in what they now call Main Entrance feels like a shame to me.  I would take  a new person in the old Bow St doors.

 

Are they really not going to have a box office???

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Mary said:

Are they really not going to have a box office???

 

Just to clarify, does anyone know how are the various services which we associate with the evening box office going to work? Where do we leave a ticket for a friend who is coming late? Pick up a ticket left by someone else? Make a last-minute ticket purchase? 

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I asked about the box office and one person said it was staying where it is and the other said it would moving into the main building. So who knows!

 

I agree with Mary's comments above. I was a little bit underwhelmed, to be honest. The ground floor café area is light but the furniture is dull and it does look rather like a workplace cafeteria (though a rather nice one). Complete with MD (Kevin O'H) sitting with the workers... And the amphi area has pros and cons.

 

There weren't that many people around in the late afternoon, and they didn't look particularly like newcomers to me. I didn't notice if there are signs outside saying 'coffee here' or 'come in and look round' or similar - if not they are needed. And once inside, there are photos and a screen but I would have expected a bit more to welcome, interest and inform newcomers.

 

My friend and I went in and wandered round and up with no security at all. We didn't go into the Linbury (don't know if it was open anyway).

 

P.S. The shop doesn't seem to be signposted from the front, so I couldn't even see where it was.

P.P.S. The sandwiches are so expensive that they simply reinforce the impression that the ROH is only for rich people

Edited by bridiem
Two P.S.s added
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31 minutes ago, Mary said:

...Good to have an amphi cloakroom...

 

May I ask where is the amphi cloakroom? And for those who sat in the amphi, where were your tickets checked and did you need them at the intervals going to and from the bar and loos? I usually have my ticket on my phone and just show it once entering the building, but I think I may need to print one for this Saturday.

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1 minute ago, Timmie said:

 

May I ask where is the amphi cloakroom? And for those who sat in the amphi, where were your tickets checked and did you need them at the intervals going to and from the bar and loos? I usually have my ticket on my phone and just show it once entering the building, but I think I may need to print one for this Saturday.

 

I think the cloakroom is behind the bar - entrance on terrace side? Not sure because I just glimpsed it.

 

We had to show our tickets on the way into the amphi corridors (not the bar area) and then as usual going into the auditorium (though they usually just say 'do you know where you're going? rather than asking for tickets, which is a bit odd!). I would have thought ticket on phone would still be fine. They weren't needed at the intervals.

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The amphi cloakroom is to the side of the amphi bar, nearest the top of the escalator.

You show your ticket at a new door at the start of the amphi corridor. I asked them if they would be checking tickets after each interval, and they said Yes- but in fact they didn't....

 

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58 minutes ago, Geoff said:

 

Just to clarify, does anyone know how are the various services which we associate with the evening box office going to work? Where do we leave a ticket for a friend who is coming late? Pick up a ticket left by someone else? Make a last-minute ticket purchase? 

 

At present the arrangements are as they have been since they closed the old box office i.e. the pick up or leave point for tickets on the evening is inside the portico.

 

I was pleasantly surprised last night that the new arrangements seemed less troublesome than the old as far as getting in was concerned. It felt strange but pleasant to be able to walk into the Opera House without a scrum at the doors as they checked tickets and bags. Ticket checking at the entrances to the various seating areas seemed to work well with little delay.

 

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mmm... thanks Bridiem and Mary, I guess it's a case of playing it by ear for awhile. For the staff and us. I think I'll print a ticket for this first time (I know if I have to keep getting my phone in and out to find the eticket I'll drop it!).

Edited by Timmie
typo
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I really don't like the way they have reduced everything to levels.  As others have indicated, this renders the opera house to sounding like a car park, or an office block.  If this is part of their attempts to make the place seem less elitist, it's ridiculous.  I had the same thought as someone above....do they think so little of their potential new audience that they feel they wouldn't be able to deal with 'Balcony, Amphitheatre, Grand Tier', etc.?  It is so patronising.  They want to get rid of names that make up a large part of the tradition of the ROH?  I wonder if this is the same marketing company with a bunch of young kids coming up with complicated data analytics and graphs explaining why people are too stupid these days to deal with anything more difficult than 'Level 1".    I like much of the new place, but this is totally unnecessary.  

 

It was good to walk straight in, but quite frankly I would rather have the bag checks and queue for a little bit.  The total lack of security is worrying in this day and age.  However, since they seem to be doing all they can to reduce the ROH to a shopping mall, maybe it won't be such an elite target in the future. 

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On 23/09/2018 at 05:03, Pulcinella said:

the ladies loos in the Linbury. There shouldn’t be much queuing for them as there are masses of them and self flushing!

 

Um, excuse my iggerance, please, but what is a self flushing loo? Do I get sucked down the bend and deposited, all clean and fresh, back at the door of the theatre?

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Great post, Sim.  Did you look at that complicated presentation I posted which said precisely nothing?  Everyone is marketing these days seems to believe that one must dumb down in order to attract new audiences.  If that is so, I wish they would make a start with the prices of the food and drink!  Why can't anything be special these days?

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1 hour ago, Sophoife said:

 

Um, excuse my iggerance, please, but what is a self flushing loo? Do I get sucked down the bend and deposited, all clean and fresh, back at the door of the theatre?

 

Well, I hope what they mean is that you don't actually need to touch anything to flush it, just wave your hand in front of a sensor (works fine as long as the power isn't down, of course).  I hope it's not like those ghastly public loos they had in France back in the 80s, which automatically flushed themselves at regular intervals regardless of whether they had been used or not.  It would be awfully environmentally unfriendly, for one thing.

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40 minutes ago, alison said:

 

Well, I hope what they mean is that you don't actually need to touch anything to flush it, just wave your hand in front of a sensor (works fine as long as the power isn't down, of course).  I hope it's not like those ghastly public loos they had in

 France back in the 80s, which automatically flushed themselves at regular intervals regardless of whether they had been used or not.  It would be awfully environmentally unfriendly, for one thing.

 

So, like all those self-operating taps that always leave me completely baffled and generally water-less, until some kind soul shows me what to do. :wacko:

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3 hours ago, Sophoife said:

 

Um, excuse my iggerance, please, but what is a self flushing loo? Do I get sucked down the bend and deposited, all clean and fresh, back at the door of the theatre?

 

They're pretty good. No contact required, they flush automatically when you move a short distance away. Us blokes were using what are now the ladies loos during the 'open up' build. I'll miss them 😞.

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