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Geoff

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Everything posted by Geoff

  1. There is plenty to say but I better tread carefully. First, the ROH took a decision a while ago to go no-more-printed-red-programmes (so expensive, so old-fashioned, so bad for the planet, etc etc). But then there was pressure (from, so I heard, some very influential people) and, in a not untypical flip-flop, ROH reversed its position. So it was ordained that red programmes were to be reintroduced. However by then the department responsible had been, um, restructured (ie people who knew what they were doing were let go) and cheaper staff and contract workers had to be brought in to fill the gaps. Hence the obvious drop in quality. Side thought: if one looks at programmes from the era before the inept “modernisation” they are rammed with high-quality advertisements, which brought in a substantial amount of money. Not so now. Whatever has been going on, it’s a sad story of unnecessary “improvements” and a lack of care and attention towards specialist knowledge of the art forms celebrated at the ROH.
  2. Apologies, I was unintentionally confusing. My question is about some rather unclear warnings regarding this Saturday’s Overground lines (not overland). It appears that Overground trains will be running as usual but that certain Overground stations may not open as they are impacted by the strikes. My question is how best to as ascertain in advance which stations are not going to open (I presume Overground trains will just run through those stations without stopping).
  3. Does anyone have a way of finding out whether a particular Overground station will be open this Saturday? The official websites only seem to say a) the Overground will be running as the line is not impacted by the strikes b) but “some” Overground stations will be impacted by the rail strikes and so will be closed. Maybe they won’t know until Saturday when they see who turns up? Or is there some way of checking in advance?
  4. Here's a new one (for me, at any rate). I just tried accessing the ROH website on a couple of different browsers. Guess what: using the Opera browser (otherwise an excellent browser) got me this error message: >>Please check your email address and password Needless to say I put in exactly the same email address and password as gets me in on other browsers (and which have worked with Opera in the past). So perhaps the increasingly complex "advice" on booking online from ROH should also include a warning not to try and use Opera. Too silly.
  5. These instructions just arrived from the Friends office, let's hope these tips help someone (anyone) to deal with what may be Britain's worst booking website: In order to book, you need to first sign into your online account using your email address and password. We ask that you do not sign in more than 10 minutes before your booking time as this can mean the website doesn’t correctly update to allow you to book. If you have signed in and are still unable to book your tickets, the following fixes should be your first port of call: Signing out of your online account and back in again. Refreshing the webpage (method will depend on device and browser). Clearing your browser cookies and data.
  6. Have a read here: https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/19754-roh-forza-del-destino/
  7. Sorry to hear this Rob S. I had the same problem and discussed it in another thread, read on from here: https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27763-roh-autumn-23-booking/?do=findComment&comment=409913
  8. For those puzzled by the "incognito" jargon I found a useful article here: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3356840/how-to-go-incognito-in-chrome-firefox-safari-and-edge.html
  9. Same as others I had bouncing waiting time (in my case 4 minutes to 1 minutes to 2 minutes and then back to 4) But there was also a special ROH comedy moment: the very first screen to come up (before the waiting room) was a card saying I had exceeded my ticket limit. This before I had booked anything. Hilarious, well done ROH, always good to get the customers laughing. Also my Opera browser was refused, repeatedly saying that I was using wrong email/password (although both were of course identical to those which got me in via whatever Microsoft is calling its browser this month). Anybody got a view on that?
  10. JohnS, I sympathise with what you say - but ROH has been promising FOR YEARS to sort out its IT/website so it is unsurprising if people begin to lose faith. I have lost count of the number of times we have been told "it's all fixed". See for example this thread (started last year but which refers back even further):
  11. To spell it out, Don Quixote does not suit the Royal Ballet nor those who rehearse the company. Furthermore this production is by a once great star who has repeatedly shown himself to be an incompetent choreographer/stager (anybody remember his Carmen?) And the self-regarding set was so badly constructed that, on a night I am very sad to remember, it nearly wrecked Osipova's career. The sound of her injury exploded around the auditorium like a gun shot. Boo, frankly, boo. But no doubt other opinions are available.
  12. Blimey! Shame I can’t go…
  13. The ongoing mess for online bookings is unfolding elsewhere on the Forum, the most recent 24 hours of coverage starts here: https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27763-roh-autumn-23-booking/?do=findComment&comment=409009
  14. Having just seen the dress rehearsal, I would encourage everyone to go to at least one night of this. The cast (unlike Trovatore) does not have a weak link, although there are of course finer casts in one's memories, on recordings etc. The orchestra plays excitingly under that conductor. And even the production (one or two sillinesses aside) looks good and to my eyes is particularly atmospherically lit this time round. So on the grounds that it is not often that that all comes together as a team effort, you should have a very good time.
  15. Two points worth adding on to this discussion: - There is a muddle about the seat maps for autumn booking, see here for recent discussion: https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27763-roh-autumn-23-booking/?do=findComment&comment=408534 - Is it just me or is Friday Rush another ROH snafu? Just tried to have a go at 1pm, and got to the waiting room, and relatively quickly got through "within a minute" but then, nothing. Sitting on that sofa, nothing happening. I am on relatively stable and fast broadband so no idea why this should be. Maybe I did the wrong thing by using the Friday Rush page rather than going straight to the actual performance via the calendar?
  16. In related news, I just checked the website and the ROH promises information about "prices" for autumn productions in several prominent places - but I can find nothing. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong way.
  17. The Insight masterclass with Greg Kunde last week excited me still further to hear him in the part, not long now!
  18. In case people haven’t seen this review, here is Fiona Maddocks in today’s Observer: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jun/10/il-trovatore-royal-opera-house-adele-thomas-review-the-planets-philharmonia-emilia-holving-bold-tendencies-dennis-gnasher-unleashed-at-the-orchestra-bbc-concert-orchestra-jackson-colin-currie-gavin-higgins-beano-concerto
  19. Alastair Macaulay published these thoughts today: https://slippedisc.com/2023/06/alastair-macaulay-covent-garden-has-gone-off-classical-track/
  20. For those for whom this is a really Important issue, there are various hands-free products on the market, which fit to your head. They are high-spec but, warning, do not come cheap. However they sometimes turn up secondhand.
  21. Yes! The ticket page is slightly clearer but there seem to be two start times for different things, 6.30pm and 8pm:- https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5741830
  22. Maybe people in the area would like to know about this: http://www.missiontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/2023/6/5/bluffing-your-way-in-ballet If you do go and see this, it would be great to see a review posted on here!
  23. Reverting to this thread to draw attention to a couple of recent reactions in the (very long and sometimes rambling) Sleeping Beauty discussion. These comments on Osipova seem worth highlighting. Read from here: https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27512-rb-sleeping-beauty-mayjune-2023/?do=findComment&comment=406238
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