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Dear Mr. Taylor


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Ive always gone to see other Companies though ( Don Q's post) not just the Royal. 

Sadlers Wells is not that far away if you travel into Central London! 

 

And in the very early 70's before  I lived in London one of the first Companies I supported before going to the ROH etc was " Northern Dance Theatre" ( Now Northern Ballet Company) 

I took a group of kids from Pleasant Street School in Liverpool over to the Wirral one summer evening to see them at Sunlight Hall. 

 

Interesting ...I think this Hall was built by big Business people ( I think it was Unilever?)  .....so that their workers could go to a community theatre near where they lived to help foster a love for Culture and the Arts. 

 

We seemed to have moved a long way from this benevolent attitude at the moment ....it is now all much more about making money.

 

And that same disconnect is evident in other organisations like the NHS for example.

 

 

Edited by LinMM
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Last night, I actually got my hands on that rarest of the rare piece of paper - the cast change slip. And, guess what, I was told, "We only have a few of these as we are trying to save paper". But, hey ROH, the slip was twice the size of those available in the 'pre-open up' era.

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Perhaps they could take a lesson from Matthew Bourne's Co.  The performances I have been to, there is a lovely glossy programme listing all the dancers who will dance a particular role during that season, then there is a poster displayed in the foyer/on the stairs listing that performance's cast.  Most people simply took a photo of it on their phone.

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14 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said:

Perhaps they could take a lesson from Matthew Bourne's Co.  The performances I have been to, there is a lovely glossy programme listing all the dancers who will dance a particular role during that season, then there is a poster displayed in the foyer/on the stairs listing that performance's cast.  Most people simply took a photo of it on their phone.

 

I wouldn't support that, at least in part because it assumes that everyone has a smartphone.

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2 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Last night, I actually got my hands on that rarest of the rare piece of paper - the cast change slip. And, guess what, I was told, "We only have a few of these as we are trying to save paper". But, hey ROH, the slip was twice the size of those available in the 'pre-open up' era.

 

Twice the size so it’s easier to read when it’s displayed for all to read at the programme sales point.  I didn’t need my own individual copy to take away as I’m more than capable of writing the changes into my cast sheet!

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1 minute ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Twice the size so it’s easier to read when it’s displayed for all to read at the programme sales point.  I didn’t need my own individual copy to take away as I’m more than capable of writing the changes into my cast sheet!

 

But the problem is that they aren't displaying it - at least not consistently.

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1 minute ago, bridiem said:

 

What/where is the scrolling ticker display?!

 

Sorry, not clear was I :). The big TVs they have around the place showing ballet clips have a ticker type display across the bottom with the cast changes (like the breaking news on TV).

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1 minute ago, Timmie said:

 

Sorry, not clear was I :). The big TVs they have around the place showing ballet clips have a ticker type display across the bottom with the cast changes (like the breaking news on TV).

 

Thanks, Timmie - I had no idea! Will look out for these in future just in case!

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On 16/11/2018 at 19:04, daisydance said:

The new cafe area at the Opera House might be full, yes, but isn't that because if you're a tourist you can find a quiet place there to retreat from Covent Garden crowds during the day, and the wifi is free and fast. It doesn't mean anyone is going to stay for an evening of ballet or opera – for one thing there are seldom tickets available for that day's performance; in addition, tourists have their evenings already planned. In addition you can't find the box office in the new "opened-up" area if you did think you might book ahead. In the same interview Mr T thinks they underpriced the Ring tickets; as an ordinary, non-corporate elite ticket buyer I dread to think how pricey he considers the "cheaper" options should have been made. They're clearly trying to make up for the ACE cuts by getting more from the elite corporate ticket buyers, at the expense of those of who love ballet and/or opera and who are prepared to use their  disposable income on this rather than on other entertainment (such as holidays in many cases).

As an aside, I'm intrigued to know just what "a box at Stamford Bridge" is... I've been a season ticket holder there for many years now (it's my other passion), and as soon as I turned 65 my ticket cost was immediately halved, so it costs just £25 per match maximum. I assume Mr T,  if  he attends matches, goes to the elite hospitality areas designed for corporate entertainment and not for football fans.

So angry....

You got me thinking about the football comparison.  I don't want to generalise or stereotype but I am presuming there is not a huge crossover between  football matches and the ballet/opera.  I wonder how the football fanatics of say, Huddersfield Town, would feel if they were pilloried in the way that we ROH regulars have been.  'We are determined to knock out all this cloth-cap and scarf stuff,' said the Chairman.  'There's no place for shouting and singing on the terraces as we want everybody to feel they can come and buy a hot-dog (or not) without having to watch any football.  Stadiums are not the preserve of those who love the noble game and season ticket holders should not assume that this guarantees them a seat.' 

Edited by penelopesimpson
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1 hour ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Twice the size so it’s easier to read when it’s displayed for all to read at the programme sales point.  I didn’t need my own individual copy to take away as I’m more than capable of writing the changes into my cast sheet!

 

I can write too, BBB 😀 !!  But the queues were so dense at the programme desk that it was impossible to see the notice last night. In any case, a friend wanted to take at least one away to inform guests.

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On 16/11/2018 at 12:01, capybara said:

He should never have been allowed to use the word 'elitist'

 

"I had a real desire to knock out all this elitism"

I hope what he was trying to say is that any  perception of eliticism at the ROH  needs knocking  out.. I can't imagine he was really suggesting the ROH (of which he is the Chairman) was  elitist (in its "bad" sense - see below) before the  "open up" project.

 

As capybara says, the best course would have been to avoid the term entirely. It has differing connotations. One meaning  of elite is " a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society", another is "a group or class of people seen as having the most power and influence in a society, especially on account of their wealth or privilege". Whilst the ROH needs to practice "elistism" in the former sense  in choosing and nuturing its performers,   ROH customers should neither be restricted to, or indeed regarded as, an "elitist" group in the latter sense. As I think Penelope has pointed out before, you are not suddenly part of some superior elite just because you choose to save up your hard-earned for an ROH performance rather than, say, a Cats musical or an Arsenal match.

 

On 16/11/2018 at 18:07, Don Q Fan said:

I think people should vote with their feet

 

I sincerely hope folk will not feel they should  stay away from the ROH  because they feel offended by (pretty daft)  articles like this. Withdrawing custom is not going to help the RB maintain its wonderful repertoire.  The place, and the ballet performances, remain wonderful; unless and until the occasional utterings or actions of the Chairman, or the management, were somehow to change  that, I won't be voting with my feet.

Edited by Richard LH
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15 hours ago, Timmie said:

 

Sorry, not clear was I :). The big TVs they have around the place showing ballet clips have a ticker type display across the bottom with the cast changes (like the breaking news on TV).

I love the TV screens: they show all the highlights from the ballet playing that day so I don't have to sit through all the boring bits in the auditorium. I mean I can see the bits that matter in just a few minutes and use the free WiFi at the same time.  And it's so annoying to sit in the auditorium anyway because I haven't actually found a café inside there yet - all this money spent on Open Up, what a missed opportunity.

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1 hour ago, Darlex said:

I love the TV screens: they show all the highlights from the ballet playing that day so I don't have to sit through all the boring bits in the auditorium. I mean I can see the bits that matter in just a few minutes and use the free WiFi at the same time.  And it's so annoying to sit in the auditorium anyway because I haven't actually found a café inside there yet - all this money spent on Open Up, what a missed opportunity.

 

Oh, Darlex, thank you. You've given me my "big laugh of the day" :)

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Love the humour!

 

Talking of missed opportunity, a lot of people milling around the huge queues for coats were wanting to get a drink and generally carry on enjoying ROH.  Strange that when you have a captive audience, you suddenly stop being a drop-in Centre.  One gentleman asked if they could get drinks and was snappily told by a sulky looking bar lady wielding a dustpan and brush that 'there are plenty of bars in the area.'

 

I rather think that's where we came in...

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Hi,  Mr. Taylor, me again.  I haven’t had a reply to my letter but I know that oil and gas conglomerates don’t run themselves.

 

 Bit of a ho-hum evening again tonight - left me wondering if ROH really knows what it is anymore.  Is it a central London drop-in Centre, an eco warrior or, as so many of its patrons had identified, an International Opera House in one of The great capital’s of the world?

 

 

Lets tackle the identity crisis first.  I bought a programme tonight which was accompanied by a foldout sheet which I later discerned to be the Cast List.   When I complained that I couldn’t read it, the desk assistant told me that they had large print copies available for those with poor sight.  Mr. Taylor, I was not amused.  Yes, I appreciate that I am one of those pesky regulars greedily hoovering up tickets that would otherwise doubtless be bought by far more deserving patrons, but this was not polite.  Apparently the small print is all about saving paper and burnishing your eco credentials. I asked a floor manager to define the purpose of cast sheets but he had obviously been down this road before and would only tell me that it was a marketing initiative.

 

i presume this same department is responsible for the chaos surrounding the new levels.  I never had any problem finding my way to Grand Tier, left or right, but Level 2, Door 2B is another matter.  When I queried the change with an usher, he said it was to help the new guests.  I didn’t Bother trying to explain that if they were new, they could hardly have been confused by the old system.  What I’m picking up is your addiction to ‘new’ a la Tony Blair.  Whilst we’re on the subject, just how long do you expect the ‘new’ beige carpet to last?  Restaurant staff are betting on six months tops.

 

I ate on Level 5 tonight. ( such romance In the name) .  Good food,  nice service, terrible decor.  What was the brief to the design team:  a hotel coffee shop anywhere in the world?  Well, you succeded.  Zero personality.

 

More later, Mr. Taylor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

em 

Edited by penelopesimpson
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My  visits to dear old ROH are infrequent these days but for a few years  now I  have wondered whether I am entering a bar/restaurant or a theatre.

 

At "Bayadere" recently, not for the first time the place reeked of fish.........I like fish but..........and I was trying to think of works  it might have been appropriate for???  Napoli Act 1?? Peter Grimes??

 

Why  anyone wants to go and gobble down a course between acts has always been beyond me but it must say something about why they are really there.

 

I see the new triple has nearly an hours worth of interval......expect Infra is to blame.....but lots more time to sell more booze.......

Is this the same in other  Opera houses??

Certainly not when i have been in Paris or New York......

Many years ago a friend commented to me how much the children present enjoyed the intervals......it seems to have spread.......

 

MauriceC

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Oh, don’t know about gobble down, Maurice.  I eat before the performance:by the time I get there I’ve been travelling for 4.5 hrs and welcome a light meal.  Last week a friend treated me to dinner in the Balconies restaurant and we did spin the meal out - not least because this is a pleasant place to sit and less of a squash than the Hall.  The food is ridiculously expensive but it was also very good.

 

As for booze sales I noticed last night how few interval drinks were put out although sales are usually higher for what one could describe as the more popular ballets.

 

 

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Mr. Taylor, a few more lines if you’re listening.  Fatigue got the better of me last night.

 

We were talking about ROH’s identity which seems confused.  Perhaps it would help to examine what exactly Open-Up means.

 

From the perspective of a regular it doesn’t appear to offer any benefits.  The lack of any security at all is worrying - I was not asked to show my ticket on any occasion last night.  The new area (what are we supposed to call it?) is a depressing place and new visitors attending their first ROH event get an unfortunate first impression of this great Opera House. I counted 86 people sitting at tables when I arrived at 18.05 last night.  Most were engrossed in laptops, one had a pile of exercise books spread over half the table, a couple had their feet and heads down to catch some zzz’s, one or two appeared to be in meetings.  I could not see any programmes being read but the common denominator was that NOBODY had bought a drink or anything from the coffee outlet.  There were a couple of flasks and several Costa cups, but....

 

Is this really what you’ve spent all those millions of pounds to achieve?  We patrons have suffered years of building work for what, exactly?  Tired of this beige drop in Centre, I wandered through to the main entrance where I was pleased to find myself having to pay an extra £1 for a programme and a disgraceful quality cast sheet which I could hardly read.  It’s a nice trick to burnish your environmental credentials by way of excuse.  Look, I like trees as much as the next person, but you are a major International Opera House and there are some corners you just shouldn’t cut.  How long before somebody in marketing replaces the chandeliers with LED lights?

 

i say marketing because all the staff I talked to referred my complaints back to this department.  I was urged to write in but should I really have to spend my time pointing out the blindingly obvious?

 

The Ampitheatre Level is just plain horrible.  All the photographs have disappeared from the corridor which makes the walk from the lifts a colourlessexperience.  Still, I suppose it allows guests to adjust to being in a beige holding tank which is how I feel in the Level 5 Restaurant.  I must congratulate marketing on coming up with such a wonderful name.  So romantic, so evocative of a great night out at the Opera House.  Could even an airport have decided on something so utterly devoid of personality?  I complained about all these new levels a lot last night.  The staff don’t like them, regular guests are confused and this is all in the cause of...yes,  NEW visitors!  Marketing apparently believing that such confusing names as Balcony and Ampitheatre were a major deterrent to ticket purchase.  Is there nobody with any sense in your marketing department?

 

And so to table 16 in the Level 5 Restaurant.  I ate a beige (but very nice) piece of chicken  off a beige table on a (once) beige carpet, attended by a lovely waiter in black and whites.  There is not a hint of colour anywhere, just beige and more beige.  It was less than half-full and the staff look concerned as well they might.  There is zero atmosphere and one could be eating in any coffee shop in an International Hotel chain anywhere in the world.  Who thought it was a good idea to create this identity free zone?  

 

 

 

 

Edited by penelopesimpson
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I’ve just checked the Charity Commission website for the ROH’s charitable remit. It is:

 

”Presentation of opera and ballet performances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and tours in the United Kingdom and overseas.”

 

Seems simple, really.

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10 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

I’ve just checked the Charity Commission website for the ROH’s charitable remit. It is:

 

”Presentation of opera and ballet performances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and tours in the United Kingdom and overseas.”

 

Seems simple, really.

 

"TOURS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM", what tours?

 

 

Edited by capybara
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