capybara Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I wonder what the thinking behind that is? I mean, Monotones doesn't have a set or any expensive effects, nor a cast of thousands to costume up. And the costumes are about as basic as you can get. So why such a big increase for this bill? Because they have found they can now sell mixed bills (almost) to capacity and, with Two Pigeons being known to be a popular revival and the tempting casts being offered, we are sitting targets? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) Well I imagine that the overall rise in ticket prices is not unconnected with the fact that the Opera House has had a cut in subsidy. Of course the ballet company could save a lot of money if it gave up live music; was reduced in size;ceased to be a full time company or got rid of its older more expensive dancers.But would you want to go to its performances? With the exception of abandoning live music all these options have been discussed at one time or another as ways of cutting the company's costs. .As to the ticket prices for the Two Pigeons programme, the company charges full price for Giselle without an opening ballet so, no doubt, it was felt that Two Pigeons with an opening ballet should be similarly priced. I don't think that anyone who knows the Two Pigeons would be surprised that the programme was not being treated as a mixed bill.As it is years since either the company or the school danced it at Covent Garden there may well be the usual start up costs of producing sets and costumes. The sets for Covent Garden were slightly different from the ones that BRB uses. It will be interesting to see if we get the Covent Garden sets A few of Ashton's works are performed regularly at Covent Garden the rest are performed so infrequently that they can scarcely be described as known let alone as popular. It has to be at least thirty years since Pigeons was performed by the resident company I am not sure that I would describe it as a popular ballet as far as the audience there is concerned. I think that ballets like Romeo and Juliet and Nutcracker are works which will sell almost regardless of price, I am not convinced that the demand for tickets for the Pigeons programme will be such that these performances will enjoy comparable price elasticity. This is nothing to do with the quality of the ballets and everything to do with name recognition. Edited July 17, 2015 by FLOSS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 A few of Ashton's works are performed regularly at Covent Garden the rest are performed so infrequently that they can scarcely be described as known let alone as popular. It has to be at least thirty years since Pigeons was performed by the resident company I am not sure that I would describe it as a popular ballet as far as the audience there is concerned. I'm guessing the popular tag coming from so many requests to revive it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 As to the ticket prices for the Two Pigeons programme, the company charges full price for Giselle without an opening ballet so, no doubt, it was felt that Two Pigeons with an opening ballet should be similarly priced. I don't think that anyone who knows the Two Pigeons would be surprised that the programme was not being treated as a mixed bill.As it is years since either the company or the school danced it at Covent Garden there may well be the usual start up costs of producing sets and costumes. The sets for Covent Garden were slightly different from the ones that BRB uses. It will be interesting to see if we get the Covent Garden sets Well, yes, perhaps fair enough, but it's the fact that these prices have also been applied to the Viscera bill which really shocks me. £92 for top seats for a mixed bill?! I suppose they're banking on Acosta's name to sell seats, but wonder how the non-Acosta performances will fare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 People are booking for the Viscera bill because Carmen is a well known opera and therefore has name recognition and appeal as a new ballet plus, most importantly, Acosta is cast in six of the eight performances. As we know, Acosta can sell anything. Dracula will almost certainly have high priced tickets too because the RB can be confident that a ballet based on such a well known story will sell well, whoever is cast in it (and one of the casts will probably include Watson in the title role). NB's Gatsby and SB's Streetcar both sold out in London in two runs almost certainly because of their name recognition and appeal to adult audience members many of whom have little appetite for the usual ballet fare of swanmaidens, fairies, princesses, witches and peasant/ village girls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A frog Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Do other ballet companies charge comparatively cheaper for mixed bills (to the same extent)? I'm only otherwise familiar with POB who almost charge the same price for all performances regardless of what is performed (the difference was certainly not by a factor of 1 to 2). Have the winter magazines been sent? Unless they show a change back, I assume the RB decided to increase the prices so all their performances end in similar brackets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Birmingham Royal Ballet seem to be experimenting with cheaper tickets for mixed programmes from this coming Autumn. They are also (as they have done for a couple of years now) charging lower prices for performances at the start of the week. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 People are booking for the Viscera bill because Carmen is a well known opera and therefore has name recognition and appeal as a new ballet plus, most importantly, Acosta is cast in six of the eight performances. As we know, Acosta can sell anything. Dracula will almost certainly have high priced tickets too because the RB can be confident that a ballet based on such a well known story will sell well, whoever is cast in it (and one of the casts will probably include Watson in the title role). NB's Gatsby and SB's Streetcar both sold out in London in two runs almost certainly because of their name recognition and appeal to adult audience members many of whom have little appetite for the usual ballet fare of swanmaidens, fairies, princesses, witches and peasant/ village girls. Are the RB doing Dracula as well as Frankenstein?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Sorry, I meant Frankenstein but my point still applies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A frog Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Birmingham Royal Ballet seem to be experimenting with cheaper tickets for mixed programmes from this coming Autumn. They are also (as they have done for a couple of years now) charging lower prices for performances at the start of the week. Not that you mention it, POB have also started charging different prices depending on the day of the week, though it's been combined with an all around increase in the prices, so I doubt the Mon-Wed performances ended cheaper than they used to be as a result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erehwon Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 So, I have a chance to go to London (I'm American) and see a performance at the Royal Ballet. I had thought to see Connectome/Ravengirl because it has a lot of the dancers I want to see cast in it. But i'm reading on here that perhaps it's not the best performance for me to go to, given this will pretty much be a once in a lifetime trip. There are certainly shows in the later seasons I'd love to see, but the cast list isn't out yet for those shows. Should I hold out for later in the season, hoping that the dancers I want to see will be cast in shows? Anyone with more experience with the Royal Ballet have any advice? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Which dancers are you keen to see? And do you like very contemporary work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Welcome to the Forum Erehwon! How long will you be in London and approximately when? I'm very biased but I would go to see anything with Alexander Campbell in - so I have got a ticket for Two Pigeons on 5th December. If you are in London mid-October, Birmingham Royal Ballet are at Sadler's Wells with a terrific traditional production of Swan Lake and a great triple bill at the end of the week. BRB don't usually post casting until very close to the performance but most casts are worth seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erehwon Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Hi! I had thought about seeing Romeo and Juliet on October 9 with Cuthbertson and Bonelli, the. Connectome/Ravengirl on October 10. I was also just reading about Sadler's Well, which sounds like it's also a dance theater? They have a show by The Ballet Boyz that I could see on October 8. Yes, I like contemporary work as well as story ballets. The dancers I'm really interested in seeing are Lamb, Cuthbertson, Watson, McRae, Cambell, Underwood. I also think it would be really interesting to see Olivia Cowley and Beatriz Stix-Brunell. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I haven't seen Connectome and so I can't comment on it. Raven Girl was panned by the critics and RB regulars alike because it was felt that there was not enough dance and that what there was was subordinate to the staging (sets and lighting). If you can see several different programmes in a single trip then you could see a range of works and a range of dancers and would not have to worry so much about making the right choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Some tickets for "Do It Yourself - Dance with The Royal Ballet" have become available Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Slightly reverting to a previous discussion about London accommodation for ballet visits I thought I would get organised and at least start making enquiries for cheap accommodation for my autumn performances. When I contacted Superbreak they said the Rugby World Cup which is on from September 18th - 31st October will affect the hotels I want to book (The Imperial Group in Bloomsbury) as they would only take either 2 or 3 nights booking during these dates. As I wanted September 26th and October 23rd I was unable to book. The hotels own website didn't appear to have these restrictions but is more expensive so I just thought I'd warn people not to leave it until the last minute if you need to stay over after an evening ballet during this period. Not all the games are in London but it might still affect hotel availability. Having said this I managed to get the Covent garden Travelodge for £52 for the evening of my Nutcracker performance on Jan. 8th and the Euston one is £45 so some good value available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Hi! I had thought about seeing Romeo and Juliet on October 9 with Cuthbertson and Bonelli, the. Connectome/Ravengirl on October 10. I was also just reading about Sadler's Well, which sounds like it's also a dance theater? They have a show by The Ballet Boyz that I could see on October 8. Yes, I like contemporary work as well as story ballets. The dancers I'm really interested in seeing are Lamb, Cuthbertson, Watson, McRae, Cambell, Underwood. I also think it would be really interesting to see Olivia Cowley and Beatriz Stix-Brunell. Welcome to the Forum, Erehwon! We hope you will post up your thoughts on what you see. In my humble opinion Lauren is the best Juliet around at the moment, so you have chosen the right night to go! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickwellings Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 (edited) (At risk of going off topic, I have stayed in EasyHotel sites in London for as little as £29 a night. Advance booking helps of course. I favour the Old Street location as it has large rooms and is a 10ish minute jog+walk to Liverpool Street. Yes, I found that out the hard way )To return to Erehwon's post, finding good shows on holiday is an art in itself. I use Bachtrack for this a lot, but sometimes the best thing is indeed to go to likely candidate venues and click through the calendars. Aileen's idea of a range of shows is good. I hope you find good stuff, E! Edited July 18, 2015 by nickwellings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Just to warn people that tickets for Cheri are not exchangeable for ROH productions, I tried to swap one yesterday but had to hand it in for resale instead. I was going to get another Viscera triple bill ticket and have now done so on the internet, but what a difference the name Acosta makes, as said in previous posts the performances he is in are far outselling the others, I'm actually intrigued by the Heap/Muntagirov/Ball cast for Carmen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 but what a difference the name Acosta makes, as said in previous posts the performances he is in are far outselling the others, I'm actually intrigued by the Heap/Muntagirov/Ball cast for Carmen! It's actually a shame that people who continue to book on the basis of the Acosta name no longer necessarily get the 'best deal' on the male side performance-wise. Muntagirov and Ball are likely to be amazing! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 The Muntagirov/Ball performances might sell better if either Nunez or Osipova had been cast with them instead of Heap, who is relatively unknown and a much more junior dancer. As the tickets for next season are so expensive I've had to be very choosy and, as others have said, you don't want to pay a lot of money when you are not keen on / are uncertain about half (a third ) of the cast. The casting for this ballet is very unevenly weighted in terms of dancer status (position in the company) and 'star power'. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 The Muntagirov/Ball performances might sell better if either Nunez or Osipova had been cast with them instead of Heap, who is relatively unknown and a much more junior dancer. As the tickets for next season are so expensive I've had to be very choosy and, as others have said, you don't want to pay a lot of money when you are not keen on / are uncertain about half (a third ) of the cast. The casting for this ballet is very unevenly weighted in terms of dancer status (position in the company) and 'star power'. To be fair, I thought Heap was absolutely brilliant in DGV and was sorry that my own commitments meant I couldn't see her as Carmen.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 (edited) If you know nothing about dance then it is not unreasonable to assume that going to see a ballet performed by principal dancers will be much better than seeing the same ballet performed by more junior dancers and that performances by principal dancers that you have heard of will be better than performances by principal dancers that you have not heard of.You may notice that when the company goes on tour it does not invariably show the best casts in a particular ballet it tends to show the dancers that people will want to see because they have heard of, them. Edited July 18, 2015 by FLOSS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 Yes...look at the controversy caused 50 years ago when Fonteyn and Nureyev were given the first night of R&J because they were huge stars. Not many people had heard of Seymour and Gable, on whom MacMillan created the ballet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 If you know nothing about dance then it is not unreasonable to assume that going to see a ballet performed by principal dancers will be much better than seeing the same ballet performed by more junior dancers If you know nothing about dance/ballet, would you know the difference? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) If you know nothing about dance/ballet, would you know the difference? Most likely not, once you actually get in through the door and see them on stage - but certainly in the days before I went to ballet regularly and only went to the occasional Christmas Nutcracker, I would only book for things if I'd heard of the dancers. Which basically meant I maxed out on Darcey Bussell and Jonathan Cope for a few Christmases as I would have had no clue who else was good. Like most novices (I think?) I took fame as a guarantee that I was getting the best. Nowadays I go out of my way to see the more obscure casts, as long as I know I don't actively DISlike the dancers! Edited July 24, 2015 by RuthE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 But if you don't live near or ballet only comes to your city once a year, you may not have that luxury. I used to come to London a lot for work and if it was an overnighter (once I was interested in ballet) I would go to ROH but I didn't have a choice of who or what to see. And I really wouldn't have known any better. The internet, DVDs and cinema broadcasts are great for widening your knowledge but if it is the same dancers used all the time how will anyone ever want to go and watch different dancers? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Nowadays I go out of my way to see the more obscure casts, as long as I know I don't actively DISlike the dancers! Which upcoming casts would be regarded as 'obscure' I wonder? Daren't ask which dancers people 'dislike'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 But if you don't live near or ballet only comes to your city once a year, you may not have that luxury. I used to come to London a lot for work and if it was an overnighter (once I was interested in ballet) I would go to ROH but I didn't have a choice of who or what to see. And I really wouldn't have known any better. I started to go to performances of The Royal Ballet when I was living in Yorkshire and, as a result, was restricted to Friday evening and Saturday matinee/ evening performances, which additionally meant that I normally got to see just one performance of a particular ballet. So while I had little to no choice of who I was seeing, it did provide me with a fair range of dancers, rather than focussing on specific dancers early on. Now that I live in London and am thus able to go to a higher number of performances, I admit that I have developed preferences for certain dancers. At the same time, however, I find it increasingly exciting and insightful to see young dancers taking on major roles, and often doing very well in these. Interestingly, when I book performances with companies that I don't get to see very often and/ or where the company routinely publishes casting only a few weeks before the performance, I may be hopeful about specific casting however ultimately am a lot more relaxed about who I get to see. So possibly expectations about seeing a particular cast is based on what one is used to with a particular company? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 (edited) Which upcoming casts would be regarded as 'obscure' I wonder? Daren't ask which dancers people 'dislike'. In general, by "obscure" I mean things like mid-run performances of Nutcracker which don't have any principals in at all (not so much this upcoming season, but I've noticed in the past that sometimes you'll get a Clara who doesn't get many featured roles in other things, for example). I would go out of my way to see a cast like that *because* of seeing somebody unusual in a soloist role. As for dislikes, it's all a question of personal taste... Edited July 27, 2015 by RuthE 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 In general, by "obscure" I mean things like mid-run performances of Nutcracker which don't have any principals in at all (not so much this upcoming season, but I've noticed in the past that sometimes you'll get a Clara who doesn't get many featured roles in other things, for example). I would go out of my way to see a cast like that *because* of seeing somebody unusual in a soloist role. As for dislikes, it's all a question of personal taste... Yes, from time to time I have booked for a particular Hans Peter and/or a Clara. After all they are the main players in Nutcracker and, as you say, it is an opportunity to see younger dancers. This year, I have struck lucky as the Clara I want to see is on at the same time as the Prince I want to see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Yes, from time to time I have booked for a particular Hans Peter and/or a Clara. After all they are the main players in Nutcracker and, as you say, it is an opportunity to see younger dancers. This year, I have struck lucky as the Clara I want to see is on at the same time as the Prince I want to see! All of the Claras this upcoming season are dancers who have all at least been regularly featured in minor roles, which suggests that they are all people who the company is regularly keeping an eye on for development. Good to see Leticia Stock making her debut(?) as Clara in the upcoming run - I'd noticed her being increasingly cast last season in small roles and was therefore unsurprised to see her promoted to First Artist in the recent end-of-season announcement. I don't currently have a ticket for one of her performances but wouldn't be surprised if I end up adding one to my collection at some point. Last time round I remember Sabina Westcombe (who I know has since left the company) being a lovely Clara - I think Akane Takada might have been the Sugar Plum Fairy that night - and she, conversely, never seemed to get much else in the way of soloist roles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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