Booking for Stuttgart

[Ianlond]

Hi all, I wonder if anyone can help. I’m really keen to go to Stuttgart for the ‘Remember Me’ double bill in November but have a few questions, having never booked for Stuttgart before. 
Is the ticket system ballot, where you put in a bid before sales open? 
Is there any point trying to get tickets for Saturday 4th (realistically the only date I can make it for) as I’m sure it will be popular? 
How easy is it to set up a SEPA direct debit as instructed? 
Thank you in advance for any help! Ian 

[Lizbie1]

6 minutes ago, Ianlond said:

Hi all, I wonder if anyone can help. I’m really keen to go to Stuttgart for the ‘Remember Me’ double bill in November but have a few questions, having never booked for Stuttgart before. 
Is the ticket system ballot, where you put in a bid before sales open? 
Is there any point trying to get tickets for Saturday 4th (realistically the only date I can make it for) as I’m sure it will be popular? 
How easy is it to set up a SEPA direct debit as instructed? 
Thank you in advance for any help! Ian 

 

To the best of my understanding, having been through this this season:

1. Tickets are allocated on a first come first served basis (i.e. in order of the date/time when your request was submitted) on the appointed day of sales opening, so it's important to get your request in asap.
2. Angela will probably have the best feel for availability of that date, but I would definitely give it a try.
3. I can't speak for the process this season, but if it hasn't changed, you need to specify that you're from outside the EU on the form. When your seat is (hopefully!) allocated, they'll email giving you 3 days to pay for the tickets. Do monitor your inbox and spam folder carefully, as I nearly missed one of the emails as it had been marked as spam - though not the other! I found payment very straightforward, just follow the link and enter card details.

Does this help?

[Ianlond]

Thank you so much - that’s really helpful. Fingers crossed! 🤞

[annamk]

3 hours ago, Ianlond said:

Hi all, I wonder if anyone can help. I’m really keen to go to Stuttgart for the ‘Remember Me’ double bill in November but have a few questions, having never booked for Stuttgart before. 
Is the ticket system ballot, where you put in a bid before sales open? 
Is there any point trying to get tickets for Saturday 4th (realistically the only date I can make it for) as I’m sure it will be popular? 
How easy is it to set up a SEPA direct debit as instructed? 
Thank you in advance for any help! Ian 

 

The Remember Me bill had quite a few performances already in the season just finished (I saw it earlier this month) so I would be surprised if you have a problem getting tickets even for a Saturday. I was too late to get our tickets via the pre-booking (they only accept a certain number) but I had no problem buying them on line when general booking opened. I've bought tickets for Stuttgart performances both via the pre booking and online when general booking opens and I've never not been able to get tickets. If you choose to sit in the stalls it's worth being aware that the seats in the very centre are offset so you are less likely to have a problem with your view being obstructed by someone tall in front of you. I would like to have seen Remember Me from the Front row of the 1st rang rather than the stalls. The box office are very helpful if you have any queries and they reply to emails quickly. 

[Ianlond]

Thank you, that’s really helpful. I hope you enjoyed it! 

[NiniGabriel]

Apologies for the somewhat late reply - the first attempt via cell phone was "lost in transmission".

 

Let me just add some additional aspects to the excellent answers given already.

 

While there was some fine-tuning of the rules - again - this season, as a general principle, about half of the seats (i.e. around 700) are allocated through written advance sales. Sales for the other half opens exactly two months before the performance (in case this is Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the start date shifts to the working day before), at the ticket office in Stuttgart, by telephone and online at the same time of 10:00 CE(S)T. In your case, online sales for November 4th start on Monday September 4th.

 

Regarding SEPA: SEPA direct debit normally only requires you to provide your IBAN, Bank name and Account holder.

Despite the statement on page one, the form at https://www.staatstheater-stuttgart.com/tickets_service/booking-information/ticket-reservation/ however DOES show a statement on page two "I do not have a bank account with IBAN in a EU country, please contact me via my email address".

 

Disclaimer: While I live in Switzerland - and thus technically even outside the EU -, I still hold a bank account in Germany, which makes things easier. So no first-hand experience about the potential process snags.

 

To make things worse - the ticket office is on summer break between now and September 3rd. Which makes it unlikely for you to get any authoritative answers to questions you might have - at least not before the start of the online sales for the November 4th performance.

 

When ordering online in the webshop, you also can pay by credit card.

 

Demand for tickets to the "Remember Me" performances in summer was not extremely high (i.e. they did not immediately sell out, with some remaining tickets still available for most performances until a few days before). This might be a precedent for next season - but "Your Mileage might vary".

My two cents: If you have the time, get your account set up in advance, preferably do a "dry run" - and select your own tickets at September 4th 10:00 CEST.

 

Alternatively, do the written order - ASAP.

Edited July 31, 2023 by NiniGabriel
typos

[Ianlond]

NiniGabriel, thank you so much for your reply! 

[Angela]

Hi Ianlond, if you book on September 4th right at 10.00 CET, I'm pretty sure you will get tickets. Either by phone or by online booking, which sometimes opens a few seconds or even minutes after 10.00 CET, don't panic. They like SEPA paying if you are German/in Germany, but they accept credit cards, no problem. As NiniGabriel said, it works much faster if you already have an account at Staatstheater Stuttgart.

I don't know how it is in other countries or cities, but people tend to forget about ballet and theatre during the summer holidays, normally the booking starts slowly and gains momentum with the first performances only. The last Remember Me evening one week ago was so sold out, my friends who were looking for tickets had to go home. There was a big poster for Jason Reilly's 25th anniversary with Stuttgart Ballet at the end, flowers and some confetti, by the way.

[annamk]

1 hour ago, Angela said:

There was a big poster for Jason Reilly's 25th anniversary with Stuttgart Ballet at the end, flowers and some confetti, by the way.

 

25 years ! He's an amazing artist, I hope he doesn't have plans to retire any time soon. I saw his performance as Gremin on 22nd July in the Onegin cast with Friedeman Vogel and Elisa Badenas (both of whom were completely MARVELLOUS of course) and his portrayal was full of the nuances and sensitivity that come from a lifetime of performing. I so wish I could have stayed for his performance in the title role but sadly it wasn't possible. 

 

 

[annamk]

15 hours ago, Ianlond said:

Thank you, that’s really helpful. I hope you enjoyed it! 

 

I did enjoy it.

 

I'm not familiar with R.B.M.E. other than to know that it was created by Cranko on his most important dancers, but I think on reflection that I'd have got much more out of it had I read this review beforehand: 

 

https://www.seeingdance.com/stuttgart-ballet-remember-me-230727/#:~:text=The dance nestles perfectly with,ballet of so many highlights.

 

I know Requiem from the Royal Ballet (although I asked myself after why it has been more than 10 years since they performed it) the music is so beautiful one can't fail to be captivated and of course it was beautifully danced by the Stuttgart company. 

 

While I'm here I may as well add (although it's not the right thread) that as well as the Vogel /Badenas Onegin we also saw the performance on 21 July with Paixa/Aleman. I haven't seen this pair in Onegin before and I was really impressed. I half expected the performance to be a poor relation of the one the following night but it absolutely wasn't. A tribute to the company that they can field many fine casts. We particularly noted the young Gabriel Figueredo as Lensky - his pre-duel solo was a thing of astonishing beauty. 

 

I think David Mead nails it here with this review https://www.seeingdance.com/stuttgart-ballet-onegin-230730/  except I'd delete the ? at the end of the first sentence int he title ! 

 

Both reviews were in the links, I just reposted them here for convenience.