JohnS

Many thanks northstar - looking forward to listening again as I had a phone call during the programme. There has been some fabulous radio this Christmas holiday.

Alastair Marriott appears on Instagram photos and is shown on the cast list on the ROH website for the 28 December matinee - if there was a late change, it’s good the website has been updated.

https://shop.roh.org.uk/products/royal-ballet-wall-calendar-2019 The second photo might help - if the link works and you can enlarge the images.

Thanks Alison - I was responding to a comment earlier referring to paying around £70 for a full length ballet and an eye watering £95 for Romeo & Juliet in favoured Stalls Circle seats and wondered if these Balcony seats may be of any interest, particularly Row A in light of Bluebird’s observation.

Thanks Bluebird - I’ve only sat in Row A but I see there are still Row A seats for a number of Romeo & Juliet performances.

I’m sorry to hear about your difficulties in finding reasonably priced accessible seats ninamargaret. I’m very impressed with the single aisle seats in the central block of the Balcony which are massively discounted compared to the neighbouring seats because of the safety rails (which didn’t seem to affect my view for the Ring). I was just checking current availability and for example Romeo & Juliet 10 April Cuthbertson/Ball B34 is £85 whereas B35 is £124 - I haven’t looked at any other performances but there seem to be plenty of tickets for most performances. I haven’t tried these seats for ballet but have booked some seats in the Spring in an attempt to balance my budget. I don’t know if the seats would be appropriate but perhaps the aisle location may help?

Many thanks Scheherazade - I haven’t but I will ask. It just struck me today that a reader of the report might well assume that a measure of accessibility would be based on seats available for public booking or at least the Annual Report should make clear the basis of measurement and whether it incorporates subsidised performances which are not available for general public booking. The Annual Report refers to tickets being ‘priced at £x or less’ and I have no knowledge of schools matinee/Paul Hamlyn ticket arrangements.

It strikes me that this is very much a live, legitimate topic for discussion. Open Up is new and there are a number of teething problems. I think the debate has flagged up a lot of concerns and also some undoubted successes eg the Nutcracker cinema relay on opening night and the on line cast sheet (but only for that performance). I like a lot of Open Up but I do think there would be considerable benefits from some marginal changes, largely to emphasise the Royal Opera House’s raison d'être - the fabulous Opera and Ballet it stages so frequently. I think this is particularly relevant in the new reception ‘airport lounge’ which cries out for fronting the Royal Opera House’s product - why not include screens showing DVDs? It seems wrong to me that the area can be dismissed as ‘not representing the ROH at all’ as Jenny Taylor states above and many others have shared that opinion in earlier posts. A little imagination could make a real difference. Open Up has also coincided with changes to cast sheets, notifications of cast changes and a redesigned website. There have clearly been teething problems with the website and hopefully things will be sorted. It’s frustrating that what seemed to be an effective website has been replaced with something which has had reduced functionality although I do like the look of the new front pages. There’s also a concern that the Royal Opera House is choosing to rely on Twitter/Facebook etc for its communications and there is a risk that the website is losing its importance, despite the fact that most ticket sales are generated on line (but I agree there’s a need to locate the Box Office in the building - the staff provide real expertise and its location would help highlight the OpeacHouse’s purpose). Casting information has been confused, late, missing and changes known about for months have not been processed - leave of absence given to dancers for Cats etc. Change of cast slips have been made less accessible and new systems have not been popular with some. A solution to some of the criticism would be if the Royal Opera House updated its casting details post performance so that anyone wanting to find information on the cast they saw would be able to do so. This was of course done brilliantly for the Nutcracker live relay but this is very much the exception. There have been assurances that the Royal Opera House is seeking to provide historic information on performances as there’s a bit of a gap at present so why not put systems in place to meet the excellence of that Nutcracker casting so that at least going forward the detailed information is there and on going work can fill in the gaps? I’d expect that level of detail to be part of the Royal Opera House’s corporate information in any event so why not share it with audiences? The website might also provide a solution to the decision to include only the sketchiest of synopses on the slimmed down cast list. Why not include the fuller synopses on line? And if the Royal OperaHouse is wanting to Open Up and reduce paper etc, why not make digital programmes available for all productions, not just cinema relays? Not that I want people to be reading their digital programmes when the house lights are dimming. It is very unclear what the policy is as regards people consuming their own food/drink and where (if anywhere) this is accepted. Some posts have referred to discreet notices being placed on tables (but I’m not sure whether that is limited to certain areas). It strikes me as odd that the Royal Opera House should provide a public space for people to eat their food, make use of their facilities (including left luggage), but not attend a performance nor even be exposed to the Royal Opera House’s products. And why should a franchisee providing catering facilities find the tables are being taken by people consuming their own food etc? Perhaps that’s part of the contract but does the pattern of purchase/bring your own food etc match expectations? It would be much better if there were a clearly stated policy which was enforced as regards people consuming their own food/drink. It may be that the Royal Opera House does want to provide such an area (and it’s not that long ago that many people picnicked on the staircases) but given the range of catering facilities surely a public picnic area should be very clearly defined and there would be no repetition of people eating takeaways by the crush room. Finally Open Up has also coincided with desperately unhelpful marketing exercises and real concern about pricing policy. I do think the Baker Richards consultancy was poor, both in the analysis provided and in its handling (or perhaps in letting Baker Richards handle its own publicity in its ‘advertorial’). The Chairman’s Evening Standard article was also very mixed and has produced a sharp backlash - much more sensitivity is required when considering the merits of increasing prices for relatively cheap seats. It will be very interesting to see what impact pricing changes have had on the proportion of tickets sold for less than £30, £40 and £50, information on which has been included in past annual reports. Open Up and accessibility must mean ensuring a reasonable proportion of tickets are sold at these lower prices. I fear that there will be a marked decrease in the proportions sold compared to the latest report (2016-17): 31% of tickets at £30 or less 38% of tickets at £40 or less 47% of tickets at £50 or less 20,900+ attended a subsidized performance with low-cost tickets for families and schools The 20,900 accounts for 3% of all attendance and I hope they were not included in the percentages of tickets at £x or less as I think that should be a measure of tickets that were available for the general public (even if many seats were sold prior to general public booking opening). I understand that Royal Opera staff do look at this Forum and whilst it’s good to contact the Royal Opera House direct, ongoing discussion of reactions to Open Up, both positive, negative and suggestions for improvement, may provide helpful feedback. In summary suggestions for the Royal Opera House are: Publicise your Opera and Ballet performances in all Open Up areas with conviction Make the most of your website Bring the Box Office into the Open Up area Be clear about consumption of own food/drink and enforce your policy Ensure your pricing policy promotes accessibility and complements Open Up

Many thanks Geoff and Don Q Fan. I persevered and managed to download the photos and am very pleased I did. I selected ‘open in a new tab’ and then in the new tab selected ’open’ and have managed to repeat the process.

Many thanks Don Q Fan - it may well be me but I can’t seem to load the slide show.

Thanks Mary - I think there was also a point where Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez’s costumes got caught and Vadim had to do some swift extrication which meant a lift was missed.

I’m hoping to see Swan Lake tomorrow and will be very interested in how I find it after a few months. I know there was a lot of criticism at the time about the ending but I was very impressed with how Liam Scarlett handled it and it certainly caught my mood. Many thanks for the wine advice Mary - it does seem odd to squeeze Swan Lake into just 2 hours 15 minutes and sadly long gone are the days when the BBC would provide a comfortable evening’s scheduling for such a performance.

A gem of a programme on Christmas Eve, slow radio at its best with the presenter walking through the Black Forest and reflecting on the restorative properties of walking and music, particularly for the Wanderer looking for solace. An evocative selection of music accompanying the walk and musings, including extracts from Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’ and Mahler’s ‘Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen’. I was rather taken with the comment: ‘a squirrel’s tail is the softest thing in all creation’ as the presenter reminisced about looking after a young squirrel in his childhood and delighted to see a red squirrel today when out walking as well as snowdrops which are even earlier than last year. With the King’s Carols and Berlioz ‘L’Enfance du Christ’ either side, there was a fabulous backcloth of all that is best in radio whilst cooking pheasant breasts braised in red wine etc. All very leisurely as the radio was hypnotic. King’s too was exquisite and having read reviews of the Berlioz I was very pleased it was broadcast with Karen Cargill a fabulous mezzo. And the pheasant was rather good too - if I’m allowed to say so. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001qgq

Swan Lake is only scheduled for 2 hours 15 minutes so I don’t think it can include much by way of the cinema extras. I’ll be keen to see if it’s the live relay unedited or if it draws on more than one performance as it would be good if a couple of slips were tidied. And I have to say I’m seeing Darcey Bussell as presenter in rather a different light having been very taken with her ‘Dancing to Happiness’ documentary - not sure how long it’s still available on iPlayer but well worth finding the time to watch.

And of course they (Hayward/Muntagirov) made for a fabulous Alice/Jack, Knave of Hearts, although some years ago now.

Agreed capybara - Alina Cojocaru’s Sleeping Beauty June this year was the most wonderful performance I’ve seen. I should have included in my list - unforgettable performance but I’d confused the date.

Good to read Jan Parry’s criticisms of the poor synopsis for Winter Dreams and lack of cast change Information in today’s link. http://dancetabs.com/2018/12/royal-ballet-les-patineurs-winter-dreams-the-concert-london/

In date order: Giselle and special debuts on 9/10 February - Hayward/Campbell and then Naghdi/Ball, not forgetting Takada/Ella. Francesca Hayward’s Manon - I was fortunate enough to see three performances. Opening night of Liam Scarlett’s Swan Lake followed by so many wonderful performances. Laura Morera back on stage after injury and what a fabulous final Mayerling - every role she dances just exudes such class. The Royal Ballet’s dynamism where so many dancers are set on such an upward trajectory - it’s invidious to pick out individuals because there are so many across all ranks, suffice it to say I’m really looking forward to seeing Anna-Rose O’Sullivan and Marcelino Sambe in Romeo and Juliet next year.

I was reading the routes taken by others from Covent Garden tube station and was just about to put in a plug for Floral Street and bridiem’s already sung Floral Street’s praises.

Winter coughs/colds. No doubt this has been a favourite for 101. I've been struggling with a cough/cold for 12 days with no improvement and having spoken to my excellent surgery decided I'd have to cancel my pre Christmas London trip. I'd hoped to go to the Triple Bill twice, Hansel & Gretel, and Nutcracker twice - five performances for two nights away as well as seeing friends and family. I don't normally get coughs/colds but this year seems particularly grim for many people. Disappointing but more relaxing I think to stay home catching up on some DVDs and certainly less irritating to audience members if I were desperately trying not to cough and probably failing.

I asked the following using the Royal Opera House's contact form 11 December: "The casting for opening night (Winter Dreams) is still showing TBC. Surely casting is now known? There's a lot of criticism about the incompleteness of casting information and I would urge the Royal Opera House to provide better information. Having the full cast list for the Nutcracker opening night was an excellent example of what is possible. It's set the highest standards and given your commitment to excellence in all aspects of performance and experience, I would love the Royal Opera House to meet those standards consistently and for excellence to be the norm." Reply just received: "Please accept our apologies with the incompleteness of casting information. I have been in touch with our Digital team and they are aware of the frustrations and are working hard to rectify the issues to ensure all casting information is available as early as possible." As a footnote and not sure this is the right place as there are comments on casting misinformation in so many threads but I just noticed the Christmas Radio Times has Riccardo Muti conducting the New Year's Day concert on Radio 3 but Christian Thielemann conducting on BBC2/4 - I'm wondering if I might prefer the radio?

For Opening Night there was a link to the full cast list: https://www.roh.org.uk/events/whm7y Does any one know if similar links are available for other performances? I can only find details of the five principal roles e.g. 7 December https://www.roh.org.uk/events/c7v2n

Apologies for going back to ticket prices, particularly for Opera, but I recall the Royal Opera House has made much of a claim that x% of tickets are under £y. The latest information I could see was in the Annual Report 2016/17 31% of tickets at £30 or less 38% of tickets at £40 or less 47% of tickets at £50 or less I'm pretty sure this is an overall measure and not 'per performance' so when Triple bills are put on it may well be the case that all tickets for that performance were £50 or less. But it would be very interesting to know what the latest statistics are given general price increases, putting seats in higher price categories and ending matinee discounts. I also think there would be much merit in publishing separate statistics for Opera and Ballet and by production - what percentage of Romeo & Juliet seats are under £30, £40 and £50? I think this sort of information is an essential part of demonstrating accessibility or I fear showing that the Opera House is becoming less accessible. There may be a vicious circle here if Arts Council grant is in anyway linked to ensuring a proportion of tickets are reasonably priced. Whilst Opera prices in general are very high, I still can't get over the difference in ticket price for neighbouring seats - for example Balcony Stalls A53 is half the price of A52 (Tosca - £103 v £206) because there's a safety rail to the right which certainly didn't cause me any problems for the Ring.

Very much enjoyed the encore performance and will look forward to the cinema cast in the theatre 22 December all being well. I thought the ending slightly rushed so Clara didn't really have the time to recognise that she still had her pendant as the lights were already showing Drosselmeyer at his table. As regards Luke Jennings, I rather assumed he was a little 'tongue in cheek' in his support for the mice. I've always had some sympathy for the urchins snowballing the party guest and wondered about their Christmas festivities.

But was it open?