Royal Ballet 2022/23 Winter Ticket Prices

[Nastya]

9 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

And how much does the Russian gov't subsidize the Mariinsky?

As much as they should.

Do ordinary people even have the opportunity to see ballet or opera or classical concerts etc.? Art isn't for money, is ROH being reduced to a cash cow?

Edited August 5, 2022 by Nastya

[bangorballetboy]

9 hours ago, Nastya said:

150 pounds(e.g), so about 10,850 rubles.How do ordinary people in the UK go to ballets?! The Mariinsky is ten times cheaper, even for overcharged (yes) tourists. It's really disgusting that they charge so much.

Mariinsky is only ten time cheaper if you compare the cheapest ticket there and the most expensive ticket for RB. 

[zxDaveM]

9 hours ago, Nastya said:

150 pounds(e.g), so about 10,850 rubles.How do ordinary people in the UK go to ballets?! The Mariinsky is ten times cheaper, even for overcharged (yes) tourists. It's really disgusting that they charge so much.

 

many of us on this forum only use the cheaper tickets (with less than premium views). Or stand for about £10 (and some standing spots afford a very good view). A good few years ago, I had been looking into a visit to Japan, and ticket prices there were about double the ROH prices at the time

[Lizbie1]

This reminds me of a conversation I had a few years ago with a Muscovite who was sitting next to me in the Amphi. She said it was cheaper to get the earliest flight to London, see a couple of performances then take the last flight back than to go to the Bolshoi.

Edited August 5, 2022 by Lizbie1
Syntax!

[bridiem]

45 minutes ago, Nastya said:

As much as they should.

 

Increased subsidy for ballet and opera is unlikely to be regarded as a priority by the majority of the population in the UK especially in difficult economic times, and (rightly or wrongly depending on your view) that's reflected in government policy here.

[LinMM]

When I went to Mariinsky a few years back I didn’t consider it massively cheaper than ROH far from it though did book tickets from U.K. However whilst in St Petersburg booked for a couple of performances at the Mikhailovsky Theatre ( really lovely place) from one of those kiosk places and prices seemed reasonable …we certainly didn’t feel ripped off or anything ….though it’s obviously smaller than Mariinsky. 

You can get really cheap seats at ROH in my view ( even if I don’t want to sit in most of them these days!) and I suspect that those cheaper seats at Bolshoi are similar. I doubt whether the seats at the front of the first Circle there are that cheap! 
 

[Nastya]

3 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

This reminds me of a conversation I had a few years ago with a Muscovite who was sitting next to me in the Amphi. She said it was cheaper to get the earliest flight to London, see a couple of performances then take the last flight back than to go to the Bolshoi.

Bolshoi is weird with prices, sometimes it's 70 euros for a foreigner for a good seat, sometimes it's expensive as you mention, but the Bolshoi is generally more expensive than others. For example Osipova never went to a performance until she was in the academy. And some people pay 15,000 rubles for very good seats for ballets, but most wouldn't pay that price. I think when I went to the Bolshoi (though I'm not sure as I didn't pay) it was around 10,000 rubles per seat for good seats, which is way more than would usually be paid for seeing a ballet, but Bolshoi is expensive. Unfairly I'd say, but there are many other ballet theatres at least.

3 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

Increased subsidy for ballet and opera is unlikely to be regarded as a priority by the majority of the population in the UK especially in difficult economic times, and (rightly or wrongly depending on your view) that's reflected in government policy here.

Have the majority even seen a good ballet considering the prices? The UK doesn't even fund the ballet academies, going to Vaganova as a foreigner (which is expensive, though free for Russians) is cheaper than full price for RBS.

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

When I went to Mariinsky a few years back I didn’t consider it massively cheaper than ROH far from it though did book tickets from U.K. However whilst in St Petersburg booked for a couple of performances at the Mikhailovsky Theatre ( really lovely place) from one of those kiosk places and prices seemed reasonable …we certainly didn’t feel ripped off or anything ….though it’s obviously smaller than Mariinsky. 

You can get really cheap seats at ROH in my view ( even if I don’t want to sit in most of them these days!) and I suspect that those cheaper seats at Bolshoi are similar. I doubt whether the seats at the front of the first Circle there are that cheap! 
 

The Mikhailovsky is cheaper, simply because it's smaller and not as well known, though still an elite company. Though you would get cheaper tickets for ballet as a Russian citizen, they make a lot of money by overcharging tourists. It's pretty much told to them they are having one of the best experiences of their lives and then they pay double (maybe an exaggeration, I am not sure of what foreigners pay exactly)

Edited August 5, 2022 by Nastya

[Guest oncnp]

3 hours ago, Nastya said:

As much as they should.

 

 

Perhaps. Bread and circuses. And irrelevant to the question I asked. 

 

What is should in currency?  As a percent of income? The question is economic, not moral. Ballet companies have to live in the real world and decreasing state subsidies. Without knowing how much the government subsidizes the company (and a myriad of other factors), the comparison of ticket prices is apples to kumquats. 

[LinMM]

Nastya …almost certainly an elite company I loved them and loved the comparative coziness of the Mikhailovsky and thought If I was living in St Petersburg I’d probably adopt them as my company to go to!! 
It was very funny when we were buying the tickets at this sort of kiosk place …though you went inside…as I was desperately trying to use my terribly bad Russian and the lady kept replying in her much better English so she won that battle in the end lol!! 

[news2me]

The current ticket prices will look like a bargain come fall and winter. 13% inflation is no joke.

[Peony]

On 04/08/2022 at 22:15, Nastya said:

150 pounds(e.g), so about 10,850 rubles.How do ordinary people in the UK go to ballets?! The Mariinsky is ten times cheaper, even for overcharged (yes) tourists. It's really disgusting that they charge so much.

There are many other ballet companies in the UK and their prices are lower

[Suffolkgal]

I am not a fan of transaction fees I feel they are one of those things that could disappear if someone major made a fuss. Like Asda when they started their own pharmacy and sold basic drugs for pence rather than pounds. I think it was them. I have just finally got my ticket for Good with David Tennant which I bought for a run in 2020, postponed three times. I’ve had to pay more for a similar (pretty rubbish) seat as it’s a different theatre and was charged a transaction fee despite having paid one on the original ticket. I will try and claim it back

- only a few pounds but I can’t afford to throw money away. And it’s the principle! I think fewer people will be forking out for entertainment after the summer when bills start to rocket. Rather than organisations hiking their prices they should reduce them or do some significant offers from the start, recognising all the other costs people going to shows might incur. Doing deals once it’s a slow seller is the wrong way round. This Autumn I have just one ticket for the ROH, I’ll do cinema screening for Diamond Celebration. Crystal Pite does not attract for the at least £60 the ticket and travel would cost me. 

[Candleque]

As ticket prices are related to the ROH as a business, I noticed they have engaged a search firm to find four new Trustees.

• classical music
• arts management
• public sector leadership
• commercial brand development

The last one specifically looking for expertise in 'new revenue streams and maximising revenues' but they all relate somewhat to 'the need to be financially sustainable' mentioned in the ROH post.

If I was Alex Beard I would recruit a fifth new Trustee with a specific background in website development, ecommerce and successful digital products. To maximise revenues, your new revenue stream functionality needs to be as world class as the artists providing the content.

The deadline for consideration is 25th August 2022 if anyone wants to apply.

[Lizbie1]

"On a personal level, the successful candidates will share the Board`s interest in and enthusiasm for ROH`s artforms..."

 

Glad to see this gets a mention - notable for its absence in the ROH job listings that I've seen.

[capybara]

29 minutes ago, Candleque said:

As ticket prices are related to the ROH as a business, I noticed they have engaged a search firm to find four new Trustees.

• classical music
• arts management
• public sector leadership
• commercial brand development

The last one specifically looking for expertise in 'new revenue streams and maximising revenues' but they all relate somewhat to 'the need to be financially sustainable' mentioned in the ROH post.

If I was Alex Beard I would recruit a fifth new Trustee with a specific background in website development, ecommerce and successful digital products. To maximise revenues, your new revenue stream functionality needs to be as world class as the artists providing the content.

The deadline for consideration is 25th August 2022 if anyone wants to apply.

This is intriguing as, while Board Members do need to use their specific knowledge and experience for the benefit of the Charity, governance should also be distinct from the various executive roles.

[Nastya]

On 05/08/2022 at 11:44, oncnp said:

 

Perhaps. Bread and circuses. And irrelevant to the question I asked. 

 

What is should in currency?  As a percent of income? The question is economic, not moral. Ballet companies have to live in the real world and decreasing state subsidies. Without knowing how much the government subsidizes the company (and a myriad of other factors), the comparison of ticket prices is apples to kumquats. 

I'm not sure exactly, but I THINK it's around 20-30%, I might be wrong though.

On 05/08/2022 at 12:37, LinMM said:

Nastya …almost certainly an elite company I loved them and loved the comparative coziness of the Mikhailovsky and thought If I was living in St Petersburg I’d probably adopt them as my company to go to!! 
It was very funny when we were buying the tickets at this sort of kiosk place …though you went inside…as I was desperately trying to use my terribly bad Russian and the lady kept replying in her much better English so she won that battle in the end lol!! 

Good English to someone who speaks is better than awful Russian 😄.

9 hours ago, Peony said:

There are many other ballet companies in the UK and their prices are lower

Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National are the other two main ones, right? And Northern Ballet.

[Jan McNulty]

19 minutes ago, Nastya said:

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National are the other two main ones, right? And Northern Ballet.

Yes, and not forgetting Scottish Ballet - all 4 are wonderful companies.

[Peony]

And a few smaller ones, I think some disappeared due to covid shutdown but btuk and ballet cymru are still going. 

[Jan McNulty]

7 minutes ago, Peony said:

And a few smaller ones, I think some disappeared due to covid shutdown but btuk and ballet cymru are still going. 

Ballet Cymru do amazing things for a small company and never forget the luminous and utterly fabulous Ballet Black.

[news2me]

Having seen all three performances of Mayerling in the summer of 2019 during the RoyalI Ballet’s tour to Los Angeles, I feel tempted to see it again but this time on the company’s home stage and with two debuting Rudolphs as added bonus.

 

I checked the website for tickets availability and saw plenty of excellent seats.  The price of £135 for the best seats in the stalls is a steal when one considers that average energy bills for households might soon be in excess of £300 a month. A ballet ticket that equals to 45% of one’s monthly gas-electricity costs sounds very reasonable. If the ballet company in my city offered £30 tickets for orchestra seats I’d be at a performance every night of the week.

 

You Londoners are so lucky to have access to arts at such affordable prices!

[JNC]

When the news is filled with stories about how people are incredibly concerned and cannot afford their electricity and gas bills and will genuinely starve or freeze this winter, or maybe both, to compare the proportionate cost of something like this to ROH tickets feels in incredibly poor taste to me in the current climate, if the point being made is look how cheap the tickets are compared to something which is causing many people much distress due to its unsustainable explosion in prices and bills recently. 
 

My water bill (another essential cost) is about £30 a month. Comparing ballet tickets against this would you also say the tickets are reasonable? It is more expensive for me to go and see one performance than drink from my tap or take a shower for a whole month. I’m not saying water is cheap/expensive, but either way comparing it to the cost of ballet tickets probably isn’t a good benchmark. 
 

I obviously acknowledge that gas/electricity prices will impact on ROH costs, which in turn play into ticket prices, but comparing them in this direct manner I don’t find it helpful personally. I also think this particular comparison is especially unhelpful given the fact that electricity and gas prices have risen this quickly in a short space of time is so unusual and concerning is it almost a daily national conversation.
 

There is a point to be made perhaps about how seeing ballet is not essential (unlike gas and electricity) and therefore to some this entire conversation about ticket prices is redundant and out of touch. I would respond that every person, regardless of wealth, should have opportunity to see and experience the arts. Life is not just about the essentials. But this I think is a separate point to the one you have made. 
 

I don’t wish to be flippant and you are of course entitled to your view that the tickets are “reasonable” but please be mindful of others’ financial positions.
 

If you think £135 tickets are reasonable you are entitled to do so obviously. But to use the current gas and electricity prices given the current situation as evidence they are reasonable is a fallacy. 

[bridiem]

14 minutes ago, JNC said:

I don’t wish to be flippant and you are of course entitled to your view that the tickets are “reasonable” but please be mindful of others’ financial positions.
 

If you think £135 tickets are reasonable you are entitled to do so obviously. But to use the current gas and electricity prices given the current situation as evidence they are reasonable is a fallacy. 

 

I agree with you, JNC, but I had to assume that news2me was being ironic since £135 is clearly an enormous amount of money to most people and I wasn't sure what the current vastly inflated energy prices had to do with anything. 

[Lizbie1]

I also read news2me's post as sarcasm. (The clue is the bit about £30 orchestra seats in their city.)

[JNC]

If intended as a joke I didn’t get this obviously. Even if a joke I don’t think it was really funny given it is a bit of a touchy subject at the moment for many, but everyone has a different sense of humour! 
 

Apologies if I may have reacted too strongly but I really do despair at the current situation this country is in - will leave it there as this is not a political forum (and I don’t wish it to be!) but I’m feeling very gloomy at the moment about the current situation and the future. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by JNC

[Balletfanp]

Me too, JNC - and following today’s news about even further price hikes, I doubt I will manage to see the whole season through as I won’t be able to afford many more trips 😥. But as you rightly say, this isn’t a political forum and certainly isn’t the thread to discuss this

[Lizbie1]

Interesting but gloomy article about the smaller audience/higher costs conundrum in today's Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/765b0438-1967-11ed-b1f4-627a202c7457?shareToken=032c74f18e225ec3358bc506170f9a02

 

(I hope the link works for non-subscribers.)

 

"...most arts leaders admit that their advance takings for the autumn are down 25 to 35 per cent on normal levels... 37 per cent of respondents have already reduced their spending on cultural activities."

[Bruce Wall]

Thanks for that Lizbie1.  The fact that really jumped out for me was that the Lowry’s TOTAL annual electricity bill was NOW 33 per cent higher than its TOTAL Arts Council funding!!!!!  

 

Frightening.  

[LinMM]

Goodness that is dreadful! 

[Suffolkgal]

Much as I admire the commitment to new works I think might have been more sensible to do fewer modern works and a few more crowd pleasers. I’m going to one Nutcracker one Cinderella and one Beauty. Last season I was up and down those amphi stairs like nobody’s business!

[alison]

8 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

Thanks for that Lizbie1.  The fact that really jumped out for me was that the Lowry’s TOTAL annual electricity bill was NOW 33 per cent higher than its TOTAL Arts Council funding!!!!!  

 

Frightening.  

 

Indeed.  Without wishing to get overly political, I do wonder, with all this concentration on the effect on utility bill rises for households, whether anyone is paying attention to helping the "businesses" of all sorts which are struggling with fuel bills, and with no price cap on those, as I understand it.  If they go to the wall due to lack of support, that will mean more people losing their jobs as a result  

[Guest oncnp]

On 12/08/2022 at 05:33, Bruce Wall said:

Thanks for that Lizbie1.  The fact that really jumped out for me was that the Lowry’s TOTAL annual electricity bill was NOW 33 per cent higher than its TOTAL Arts Council funding!!!!!  

 

Frightening.  

 

A bit more from the Guardian The Lowry faces ‘major challenge’ of tripled electricity bill | Culture | The Guardian

 

If this is the situation with the "hyper-modern" Lowry, can't imagine what the "draughty old" ROH's bill will look like

Edited August 17, 2022 by oncnp

[San Perregrino]

3 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

A bit more from the Guardian The Lowry faces ‘major challenge’ of tripled electricity bill | Culture | The Guardian

 

If this is the situation with the "hyper-modern" Lowry, can't imagine what the "draughty old" ROH's bill will look like

perhaps patrons will be minded to get their furs out of mothballs again.
i remember remarking how cold it was on my first visit to Sydney Opera House in 1981 to be told that the temperature was intentionally cool so that furs could be worn and displayed during the intervals.

A riot of technicolour fun fur would be more appropriate for today’s climate methinks. 

[zxDaveM]

16 minutes ago, PeterS said:

perhaps patrons will be minded to get their furs out of mothballs again.
i remember remarking how cold it was on my first visit to Sydney Opera House in 1981 to be told that the temperature was intentionally cool so that furs could be worn and displayed during the intervals.

A riot of technicolour fun fur would be more appropriate for today’s climate methinks. 

 

bet you'd look great in a pink feather boa!

lol