penelopesimpson

Sorry, JNC, away in Italy at the moment but the answer is No. However, I will be pressing for an answer and a couple of the journalists I spoke to are interested in a follow up. I don’t mind putting Alex Beard’s responses on here butI am not going to pass his communications ( if there are any) to the media. However, as this has happened twice now - Forza and Fidelio - I cannot see what he can say. what beats me is WHY? ROH has gained nothing and made itself look disingenuous, at best. Mr. Beard continues to show all the sure footedness of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with his PR. Is there nobody in that enormous marketing department with the nous to tell him that you can’t keep on pretending! And I am being kind in my choice of words...

Perhaps I took things to the newspapers when I gave up on expecting a constructive and civil response. And will do so again until Power starts speaking the Truth.

Same as you Birdie , she wasn’t my dancer of choice but on the handful of occasions I saw her, she was most engaging. I was following Viviana at the time.

Beautiful. She is sunny, like Nunez

Wow. That is an amazing link. She seems almost other world. For those with more knowlege, could anyone take a stab at defining her particular qualities?

Okay. Here what you say. I rather liked the trailer so I shall probably go to see it and am keen to see Hayward and Macrae. I am pretty allergic to the sheep on social media that take it upon themselves to decide to condemn something before they've seen it so, in a perverse way, I am already rooting for it!

What a lovely tale, Jenny. I treated myself to Opera in Venice two years ago which took my breath away. I shall have to venture to La Scala.

Why, Lindsay?

Jenny. Such a beautifully written review which I appreciate your sharing. All the little nuances rather than teams of technical stuff much appreciated by this amateur. It remains my dream to visit one day.

JNC there are four tickets £39- 54) showing for the last night if you are quick

I'm sorry to contradict you but there are not any tickets available and I have been on constantly since booking opened. Several of the nights show 'last few tickets remaining' and Tickets available, but when you go to purchase, they are not there. To those who think I have the speed of a tortoise on the internet, when I signed in, I was 128 in the queue. So, presuming all those people bought two tickets and there were between 20-30 left when I got my chance, that would mean there was a total of 286 tickets available across all six nights. I can assure you that national newspapers do not print articles without checking their facts. They certainly do not rush into print on the say-so of one person who is pursuing what she sees as an important issue. A great deal of telephoning and checking will have gone on behind the scenes. I I have my tickets for Fidelio. I am doing this because I feel that what is happening is wrong and that the principal needs to be established regarding the ticketing policy.

Well, I've found a few but certainly not 20 per performance. And did you try clicking on them to see if they existed? I did, and there was nothing.

Well, guess what - Alex Beard's statement that 'we have held seats for Fidelio across all dates and price ranges which will be released for public booking tomorrow', turned out to be a mirage. At 09.01 I found 5 tickets for the first night and nothing else at all! Two other nights showed there were 2 tickets in Balcony and Stalls respectively, but clicking on revealed there were no tickets. Well, well, well. Here we go again.

Precisely JohnS. Those of us who love opera and ballet fully respect the need for ROH to sell privileged access through Friends and Patrons schemes. We accept that these people are providing invaluable financial support and deserve some real goodies in return. BUT you simply cannot spend millions building coffee shops to demonstrate that opera is not elitist, whilst at the same time allowing certain productions to be restricted access. This is sounding a bit like what I’d be saying to Harry and Meghan if they asked me why their PRis so bad, but you get the drift! What is so sad about this spectacular own goal is that it really didn’t need to happen and ROH will not have gained anything from it other than a black eye.

I understand your point MaryRose and,yes, these two dancers are such different characters. And I am certainly not criticisingWatson ( as if!) but I do think just a little information is due his fans. He was, after all for some time male number one at RB and built up a profile. Next month it is two years since he has done anything of substance on the main stage at ROH and it would be nice to hear something. PS: Perhaps I’ll drop a line to my mate Alex Beard...!

I will freely admit I spoke to and emailed all the Arts correspondents on Tuesday. In fairness, I told ROH Customer Relations and also Mr. Beard’s assistant that I was intending to do so. If anyone is to be banned it must be me and I will make it clear that no-one else had anything to do with the press angle. I think this one is going to run. So hundreds of tickets available tomorrow are there? Right now I no longer care. I cannot believe the mess they have made. I have suspected for a long time that Mr. Beard does not have a grip on Operations. The always exemplary Box Office has been wrong-footed and, once again, ROH scores a massive own goal.

Dear Mr. Beard, I am sorry to press you on this one but I think it is in everybody's best interests that you be clear about your ticketing policy. There has been far too much obfuscation which has lead to misunderstandings and general disgruntlement. Your letter ignores my point about your communication with Friends which specifically states that they will be allowed to buy all the tickets for Fidelio. You also fail to explain how it is that both your Box Office and your Customer Relations Department are speaking of a policy which you say doesn't exist. Additionally, those people joining Friends are told that 'When booking opens for members, which initially becomes available for Patrons, all seats go on sale and nothing is held for lower member levels or the public.' This message could surely not be clearer. Friends are, apparently, to be allowed to purchase any number of tickets, even if there are none left for the general public. A strong statement, indeed. You will recall that earlier this year there was considerable press comment concerning a similar situation with La Forza. I would suggest that the Opera House does not need a repeat performance which can only lead to further allegations of elitism, something which I note you have been keen to dispel. Surely, allowing the general public to come in for a cup of coffee is far less important than ensuring that those who do not pay for privileged access have, nevertheless, a chance of purchasing a ticket for even the most popular productions? Specifically I am asking that you: 1. Be clear as to whether Friends are given unlimited access to all tickets 2. In light of the above, how many tickets for each performance (are) held back for general booking. If NONE, please be clear on this. 3. Explain why no limit is put on Friends buying tickets for over-subscribed performances May I finish by re-iterating my commitment to the Opera House which I have been visiting for very many years and where I have spent tens of thousands of pounds. I am pursuing this matter in a spirit of ensuring fairness and clarity rather than anything condemnatory. I hope that you will respond with similar openness. Yours Penelope Simpson

Dear Penelope Simpson We always have some holds that are released after friends’ booking closes with more released in the run up to the opening night, and we always leave seats for each performance for the Friday rush scheme. Best wishes Alex Beard

Dear Mr. Beard, Thank you for your letter. However, its contents are puzzling. Your Box Office confirmed to me on Friday October 18 that NO tickets would be held back for the General Public. As the person I spoke to was obviously uncomfortable divulging this information, I cannot imagine how he could be mistaken or what motivation he could possibly have for stating a policy that is, according to yourself, incorrect. Your position that Fidelio tickets would not be available for the general public to purchase was also confirmed to me yesterday, October 22 by a member of your Customer Relations staff. Can they both be wrong? Equally, perhaps you are not aware of an email that was sent to Friends last week, which contained the following information: "For example, with fewer than 100 tickets now remaining across the run, we anticipate that Fidelio will sell out to Friends like you." Perhaps you could clarify the situation for me as I am sure you will understand why I am puzzled. Sincerely, Penelope Simpson

Can you post a link, Shade as I cant get the Standard here. I spoke to them at length yesterday.

Can somebody explain the differences between Patrons and lower level members?

Curiouser and curiouser: Dear Penelope Simpson, Many thanks for contacting me in relation to our upcoming production of Fidelio. Fidelio is one of the undoubted highlights of our season featuring Jonas Kaufmann and Lise Davidsen performing under Tony Pappano’s expert baton. With only a short run of six performances, there has inevitably been huge demand for a very limited number of seats. Within this context, we have been mindful of all our valued customers to ensure that we are as fair as possible to those who already support the Royal Opera House while attracting new audiences to experience this wonderful art form. However, it is inevitable that some people will be disappointed. Nevertheless, we have held seats for Fidelio across all dates and price ranges which will be released for public booking tomorrow, and of course there will also be tickets available through our weekly Friday Rush ticketing scheme for each performance during the run. This will ensure members of the public have access to this opera and our other wonderful productions every season at affordable prices. As part of our commitment to ensuring we reach as wide an audience as possible, Fidelio is also one of the highlights of our ROH Live Cinema Season programme and will be broadcast live to 500 cinemas in the United Kingdom on the 17 March 2020 , with in many cases encore viewings as well. Full details can be found here. This ensures that audiences across the country are able to enjoy the production, with additional insights from ‘side stage’ interviews with the performers and behind the scenes viewing of the whole production journey. We are committed to ensuring as many people as possible can experience our productions at the Royal Opera House and are very proud of the fact that last Season, almost 30% of out tickets were sold at £35 or under. This policy will continue. Similarly, more than 35,000 tickets were bought by students at an average of less than per £22 ticket. With the recent notoriety of third party ticket agencies, we have written to Viagogo alongside many other ticket sales websites explaining to them that any resale of our tickets is a breach of contract and that we may refuse entry to ticketholders who have purchased tickets above face value. In July this year, in a welcome move Google announced a global suspension of Viagogo’s advertising account in what was described as a “landmark moment” for the ticketing industry. This has had a hugely negative impact on the site. Furthermore, we take action to identify the original purchasers and cancel memberships. Thankfully, it is a very small and declining number of offenders. For those members of the public who are unsuccessful in purchasing a ticket tomorrow, we would also encourage customers to keep an eye on our website for any returned tickets which will be put straight back on sale should any existing ticket holders be unable to attend. I do hope you will be able to come and see the production, whether here or in the cinema. With best wishes Yours sincerely Alex Beard

Fortunately I managed to miss those! I seem to remember BBC Two during Wimbledon inviting people to send in films of them playing tennis. Seems everything is for everyone these days. Its nice that people find it inspirational. In a different setting at a different time, so would I. But this, IMHO, should be this once in a year opportunity to see the top dancers of the world rehearsing. What a privilege and THAT is what I tune in for.

I think all we can do is keep plugging away. Ultimately I would hope that they will be forced to clearly state their policy which will then evoke the appropriate response. I have to say I am puzzled over all this. There are six performances of Fidelio which I presume is something over 12,000 seats . Would it really have been that onerous to hold say 10% back for General Booking? The very fact that they had to send an email to Friends reminding them that this production was exclusively for their benefit, seems to indicate that a paltry 200 tickets for the peasants each night would not have been especially missed. I'm still speaking with other people and will report back.

Received from the Arts Council: Dear Penelope, Thank you for getting in touch with your concerns about the ticketing system at the Royal Opera House, and access to popular productions appearing to be limited to Friends of the organisation. As a custodian of public money, we always take concerns about organisations we fund seriously. We have recorded your concerns and made the appropriate member of staff within Arts Council England aware of the situation. I would like to reassure you that we are committed to ensuring that arts and culture is accessible to everybody and believe that everyone should have the opportunity to experience and to be inspired by the arts. Any organisations which receive regular funding from us are monitored and are required to demonstrate how they are sharing their work with as large and wide an audience as possible, including those who are currently least engaged with arts and culture. However, have no oversight over the day-to-day running or decision-making of the organisations we fund. This means we have no say over their ticketing policy or membership systems. We are, therefore, unable to intervene where there are concerns of this nature. I recommend you contact the Royal Opera House directly as they may be able to explain how pricing is established, and how they allocate tickets for productions. Thank you again for taking the time to write to us about this matter. Kind regards, Natalie Bradbury Assistant Investment Centre