ROYAL OPERA HOUSE LIVE PERFORMANCES AUTUMN 2020

[Guest oncnp]

It's back Sept 4....looks like opera for the first one. 16GBP. Still on Vimeo. 

 

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/the-royal-opera-live-in-concert-details

Edited August 24, 2020 by Guest

[Rob S]

9th October for the ballet evening featuring the whole company....details to follow in the coming weeks 🙂

Edited August 24, 2020 by Rob S

[Guest oncnp]

From the website...

 

On Friday 9 October, the second of these evenings will see The Royal Ballet return for a unique celebration as the whole Company are reunited on their home stage for the first time in seven months. The Company will perform the programme, together with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, in what promises to be a dance event not to be missed in a showcase of heritage and modern highlights from The Royal Ballet’s repertory. Further details of The Royal Ballet event and the Autumn 2020 Season will follow in the coming weeks.

 

and they seemed to have leaned their lesson about the confusing Vimeo accounts.

 

How to sign up – to access this event, you will need to create a new ROH Stream account.

Edited August 24, 2020 by oncnp

[Lizbie1]

59 minutes ago, oncnp said:

It's back Sept 4....looks like opera for the first one. 16GBP. Still on Vimeo. 

 

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/the-royal-opera-live-in-concert-details

Thank you for posting - I shall be paying up: Lisette Oropesa is *fantastic*, especially in this repertoire.

[capybara]

There is to be a streamed opera evening on the 4th September - cost £16 per family. 

And then there is this, also from a circular e-mail just received:

Coming Soon...

On Friday 9 October, The Royal Ballet will perform on their home stage for the first time in seven months with a programme showcasing their heritage and contemporary favourites.

More information to follow.

 

[bangorballetboy]

Thanks Capybara.  This is already being discussed in the "Our House to Your House" thread.

[capybara]

14 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

Thanks Capybara.  This is already being discussed in the "Our House to Your House" thread.

 

Apologies. I didn't go there because I felt the development was newsworthy in its own right and it was information rather than discussion of event.

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2020 by capybara

[Blossom]

Thanks Capybara. I was disgruntled to receive the Opera email when I am not remotely an opera goer and am desperately waiting for some ballet. Glad to hear there is some on the way but 9 October still feels so far away!

[Jan McNulty]

The Royal Opera: Live in Concert, will be broadcast live on Friday 4 September 7:30 BST. Curated by the Royal Opera House’s Director of Music, Antonio Pappano, the concert will feature much-loved classics by Bellini, Bizet, Donizetti, Dvořák, Massenet, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini and Verdi.

Buy tickets now

Join us on 4 September for a night of live opera from our stage in Covent Garden!

 

The Royal Opera: Live in Concert

is proudly supported by

 

The Royal Opera: Live in Concert will see Aigul Akhmetshina, Charles Castronovo, Gerald Finley, Lisette Oropesa, Sonya Yoncheva, and Vito Priante take to the stage. This outstanding cast will be joined by current Jette Parker Young Artists Filipe Manu and Stephanie Wake-Edwards, 50 members of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus performing together in person for the first time since we closed our doors to the public on 16 March. 

Hosted by the BBC’s Katie Derham, the event will be broadcast live via Vimeo, priced at £16.00 per household and will be available for 30 days.

Buy tickets now

Please note: 

Participating artists are subject to change due to challenging travel and quarantine restrictions. 

You will need to make/use an ROH Stream account to buy tickets. You can do this when you buy them. For more information, click here.

Coming Soon...

On Friday 9 October, The Royal Ballet will perform on their home stage for the first time in seven months with a programme showcasing their heritage and contemporary favourites. 

More information to follow...

 

Subscribe to our social channels for the latest information about The Royal Opera: Live in Concert

   

 

 

 

Thanks Capybara.  It is better located in News.

[MJW]

Something to look forward to at least!

 

I presume that reference to "[Further details of the Royal Ballet event] and the Autumn 2020 season [will follow in the coming weeks]" means that there are planned further performances and that these two events only aren't the autumn season?

 

Apologies if that is an obvious question - it has been a long day at work!

 

Do you think there are plans for live audiences?

 

 

 

 

[Richard LH]

11 hours ago, MJW said:

Do you think there are plans for live audiences?

I don't see why not; with the "whole company" plus the orchestra able to perform, surely there could be enough of a "socially distant" live audience to make it worthwhile opening the doors?

[capybara]

23 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I don't see why not; with the "whole company" plus the orchestra able to perform, surely there could be enough of a "socially distant" live audience to make it worthwhile opening the doors?

 

The impediment could be that it must, at least, be cost neutral. They cannot add to their losses.
 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by capybara

[Guest oncnp]

7 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

The impediment could be that it must, at best, be cost neutral. They cannot add to their losses.

 

An earlier article in the Times, quoting Alex Beard,  reported ROH needs 95% capacity to break even. That would be impossible under current guidelines.

[Rob S]

3 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

An earlier article in the Times, quoting Alex Beard,  reported ROH needs 95% capacity to break even. That would be impossible under current guidelines.

 

Is that based on a normal pricing structure for each performance and production?  What if this special gala-type show was priced like the Spring Gala?

[Guest oncnp]

2 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

Is that based on a normal pricing structure for each performance and production?  What if this special gala-type show was priced like the Spring Gala?

 

Good point. Article didn't elaborate on that but I would guess the normal price structure.  The other unknown would be if an audience, normally older and perhaps reliant on public transit, would even be willing to come. 

[Richard LH]

 

1 minute ago, Rob S said:

 

Is that based on a normal pricing structure for each performance and production?  What if this special gala-type show was priced like the Spring Gala?

Yes...and this performance is also being funded to a degree by the live streaming income. As the event  is already planned to go ahead on this basis, the relevant calculation must be the added income from a socially distanced audience of reduced capacity , versus the associated opening up costs for it (staffing etc.) I find it hard to believe they couldn't make those sums work. BRB are doing it, aren't they? 

[Richard LH]

5 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

Good point. Article didn't elaborate on that but I would guess the normal price structure.  The other unknown would be if an audience, normally older and perhaps reliant on public transit, would even be willing to come. 

The BRB live events were fully booked within hours. 

[alison]

The BRB attendees don't, of course, have to factor in a £15 congestion charge if needing to avoid public transport.  I guess that might just be a deal-breaker for some people.

[Guest oncnp]

10 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

Yes...and this performance is also being funded to a degree by the live streaming income. 

 

Is there any sense of how much they netted from the live streamings? Presumably not much as the cost has tripled (was 5GBP if I remember).  And we don't know how they arrived at that 16GBP price point (break even? That survey they sent out?). Another difficulty is not knowing how much a live streaming with actually bring in.  So the total revenue is an unknown against which they have to balance known costs. 

 

Part of the problem with the ROH may be the OH itself. How old is the Birmingham Rep theater? Better ventilation? Wider aisles? More room in public spaces?  I imagine just cleaning the Victorian ROH with all those velvet seats must be a nightmare and finding seat covers that don't make noise just as bad. 

 

Could they do it? Probably. But where is the incentive if they can get away with a live streaming for less cost? (that's rhetorical btw 😀)

 

[capybara]

28 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

I find it hard to believe they couldn't make those sums work. BRB are doing it, aren't they? 

The ushering, electricity, cleaning and other costs at the ROH would be on a different scale to those in a smaller theatre. And, if patrons have paid high prices, they would probably expect the bars to be open too. All this would involve activating staff and services on an occasional basis so the work involved in implementing a 40% audience attendance might not be offset by the income.
However, giving people the opportunity to ‘be at a show’ could bear rich dividends in terms of goodwill and donations. I for one would like to see the ROH/RB more obviously trying harder for the sake of the dancers (as well as us).

[Pulcinella]

22 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

Is there any sense of how much they netted from the live streamings? Presumably not much as the cost has tripled (was 5GBP if I remember).  And we don't know how they arrived at that 16GBP price point (break even? That survey they sent out?). Another difficulty is not knowing how much a live streaming with actually bring in.  So the total revenue is an unknown against which they have to balance known costs. 

 

Part of the problem with the ROH may be the OH itself. How old is the Birmingham Rep theater? Better ventilation? Wider aisles? More room in public spaces?  I imagine just cleaning the Victorian ROH with all those velvet seats must be a nightmare and finding seat covers that don't make noise just as bad. 

 

Could they do it? Probably. But where is the incentive if they can get away with a live streaming for less cost? (that's rhetorical btw 😀)

 

The Birminham Rep dates back to 1971 although it has been renovated since. It is all on one level with no aisles, like the Barbican. They are asking people to arrive at a certain time to be seated, presumably those with seats in the middle will be seated first so that other people don't have to push past them. The foyer spaces are reasonable, helped by the linking space to the library and where the box office is situated. There is a large open plaza outside although in October I can't imagine many people will want to hang around there for too long. There are entry doors on both sides of the theatre so I imagine people will be asked to enter the theatre on the side for which they have tickets.

[Richard LH]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

The ushering, electricity, cleaning and other costs at the ROH would be on a different scale to those in a smaller theatre. And, if patrons have paid high prices, they would probably expect the bars to be open too. All this would involve activating staff and services on an occasional basis so the work involved in implementing a 40% audience attendance might not be offset by the income.
However, giving people the opportunity to ‘be at a show’ could bear rich dividends in terms of goodwill and donations. I for one would like to see the ROH/RB more obviously trying harder for the sake of the dancers (as well as us).

Yes it seems all to easy to focus on what "can't be done" at the moment - let's all have more of a "can do" approach and innovative thinking! 

[Guest oncnp]

31 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Yes it seems all to easy to focus on what "can't be done" at the moment - let's all have more of a "can do" approach and innovative thinking! 

 

Agree with you entirely. The ROH isn't known for innovation or can do in my experience (aside from the "Live" broadcasts). But before pillaring the ROH (and usually I'm the front of that line)  I also think its important to understand there may be valid economic reasons that it can't be done. Just because the BRB, or any much smaller, stand-alone ballet company, can do something doesn't mean the RB can.  

[alison]

True.  It may be that theatre options in London are rather more limited in terms of practicality than in Birmingham.  So many of the theatres are a century old or so, which may well limit the opportunities.  Also, the ROH has made all its casual staff redundant, hasn't it - unless that changed after the Chancellor finally intervened?

[onemouseplace]

20 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Thank you for posting - I shall be paying up: Lisette Oropesa is *fantastic*, especially in this repertoire.

 

Agreed - she was the highlight of the MET lockdown gala for me.  I am looking forward to this.

[capybara]

16 minutes ago, alison said:

True.  It may be that theatre options in London are rather more limited in terms of practicality than in Birmingham.  So many of the theatres are a century old or so, which may well limit the opportunities.  Also, the ROH has made all its casual staff redundant, hasn't it - unless that changed after the Chancellor finally intervened?

 

I don't think that all staff who we might think are/were 'casuals' actually are. For example, it is not uncommon in theatres for there to be a core team of Ushers supplemented by staff on casual/temporary contracts. But, of course, I don't actually know what the position is at the ROH.

 

59 minutes ago, oncnp said:

I also think its important to understand there may be valid economic reasons that it can't be done. Just because the BRB, or any much smaller, stand-alone ballet company, can do something doesn't mean the RB can.  

 

You mean that the multi-purpose monolith that is the ROH as an institution and a building can get in the way of the arts which are the very reason for its existence? I fear that you might be correct in that assumption.

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

Silly question but would the performance have to take place at the Royal Opera House?  After all Birmingham Royal Ballet are performing at an alternative theatre in Birmingham.

[Richard LH]

Just now, Jan McNulty said:

Silly question but would the performance have to take place at the Royal Opera House?  After all Birmingham Royal Ballet are performing at an alternative theatre in Birmingham.

Not a silly question at all, but given that the ROH is there for them, is a wonderful venue, and is actually to be used for these announced performances,  let's hope some creative thinking can get audiences in too pretty soon.

[Richard LH]

4 hours ago, oncnp said:

An earlier article in the Times, quoting Alex Beard,  reported ROH needs 95% capacity to break even.

Hmmm, not sure exactly what he is factoring in with that statistic...but if this is correct, isn't that why they get all the additional public funding, now to be augmented  further due to Covid?

[Scheherezade]

21 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Thank you for posting - I shall be paying up: Lisette Oropesa is *fantastic*, especially in this repertoire.

 

Lisette Oropesa is also one of the featured artists at this year's digital Wexford festival.The line-up for the separate, Met-style gala (artists performing from their own homes) has some very well-known names.

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

Not a silly question at all, but given that the ROH is there for them, is a wonderful venue, and is actually to be used for these announced performances,  let's hope some creative thinking can get audiences in too pretty soon.

 

So far as I can see one performance has been announced for opera and one for ballet.  If, as people have implied, there may be crowd control (in the nicest possible sense) and other issues with opening the ROH up to audiences at the moment perhaps they could consider an alternative theatre for future broadcasts.  Andrew Lloyd Webber used his Palladium Theatre for a live performance trial so maybe that would be feasible...

 

(BRB also have a home theatre in their home town.)

[alison]

You'd think they would have enough appropriate entrances and exits to the building now, although possibly not to the auditorium?  I was thinking more of some of the West End's older theatres, with their mazes of passageways, and thinking they might be pretty difficult to enforce social distancing in, although I haven't given the matter serious consideration.

[Peony]

Many schools have narrow corridors but they’re still going back with thousands of kids charging about (don’t want to open that debate, but should be possible with masks?).

I saw the Royal Ballet at the Festival  Hall during the Renovation of the Opera House, I think they used other venues for about 2 years so it’s not without precedent!