RB Winter 2024 Booking

[Guest oncnp]

Incomplete seat maps now appearing on the website 

 

• Manon Select your own seat (roh.org.uk)
• Festival of New Choreography Select your own seat (roh.org.uk)

 

General: 4 October 2023, 9am

Young ROH: 3 October 2023, 9am

Friends: 19 September 2023, 9am

Young Friends: 19 September 2023, 9am

Friends+: 14 September 2023, 9am

Supporting Friends: 12 September 2023, 9am

Premium 1 Friends: 7 September 2023, 9am

Premium 2 Friends: 5 September 2023, 9am

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by oncnp

[Bluebird]

It looks like the price bands, created for Don Q, have been kept for Manon. 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Bluebird

[jmhopton]

SCS are the same at £14 but the restricted view SC seats I like are £4 cheaper than Don Q, £63 instead of £67 so I don't really see the logic of that. 

[alison]

They must be joking: £34 for the ends of row H in the amphi, where you lose 60% of the stage?!

 

Okay, so you can barely sit anywhere in the amphitheatre for under £34, it seems.  And for Manon, which usually proves difficult to sell?!

[Bluebird]

Historically, opera prices have been considerably higher than ballet prices.  It looks like they intend to change this for the lower priced seats. I've just compared the Winter Season  opera prices for seats in the Amphitheatre  to the  ballet prices for seats in the Amphitheatre:

  

The top two prices are higher than for Manon. Except for Bohème, the third price and fourth prices are similar.

 

Apart from the five restricted view seats at the very back,  the lowest price  is higher for Manon than for all the operas! For Manon, this lowest price only applies to a number of seats in the rear amphitheatre, the extreme sides of rows L-R and the restricted view seats in rows L and M.

 

I've tried to put this into a table.  Hope it works!

(NB The price bands for the slips for opera were different to those for Manon so it was too complicated to include the slips prices in the table).

 

Manon

99           79           63           49           34

Cav/Pag

118        86           65           48           32

Bohème

132        97           78           49           25

Tosca

118        86           65           48           32

Elektra

108        79           64           49           24

Edited August 6, 2023 by Bluebird

[Lizbie1]

11 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

Historically, opera prices have been considerably higher than ballet prices.  It looks like they intend to change this for the lower priced seats. I've just compared the Winter Season  opera prices for seats in the Amphitheatre  to the  ballet prices for seats in the Amphitheatre:

  

The top two prices are higher than for Manon. Except for Bohème, the third price and fourth prices are similar.

 

Apart from the five restricted view seats at the very back,  the lowest price  is higher for Manon than for all the operas! 

 

I've tried to put this into a table.  Hope it works!

(NB The price bands for the slips for opera were different to those for Manon so it was too complicated to include the slips prices in the table).

 

Manon

99           79           63           49           34

Cav/Pag

118        86           65           48           32

Bohème

132        97           78           49           25

Tosca

118        86           65           48           32

Elektra

108        79           64           49           24

 

I am more sympathetic than many here to price rises (they don't have a lot of choice IMO) but this is mad. Quite apart from the question of Manon's box office appeal - and IIRC the amphi sales in particular were slow last time - view is far more important in ballet than in opera and the pricing needs to acknowledge that. I wonder if they have not grasped this simple fact.

[bridiem]

So 'my' seats, which were put in the higher price band (£63) for Don Q but the 'lower' band (£50) for Nutcracker, are back in the higher band (£63) for Manon. I had hoped that DQ was some kind of anomaly since Nutcracker is surely the most popular of the three ballets. Bad news. 

[alison]

"Historically", of course, part of the reason for opera prices being so much higher was a) because of having to pay guest singers as opposed to having salaried dancers, and b) often to account for the longer running times and paying the orchestra overtime. Another reason for keeping the ballet prices lower was to acknowledge the greater importance of the stage view.

 

It had already been commented on here that some of the restricted view stalls circle seats were cheaper for opera than for ballet.

[Bluebird]

I just noticed another strange Manon pricing decision.  Amphitheatre A29, at the extreme side of the centre block, will be £49.  Amphitheatre A28, which is classed as Lower Slips and is a mere aisle away from A29, is priced at £14.  Obviously the view from A28 is a bit more restricted than that from A29 but a £35 price difference from one side of the aisle to the other?

Edited August 6, 2023 by Bluebird

[Blossom]

Are the prices correct on the seat plan? They aren’t consistent with what is published in the magazine.

[Dawnstar]

I'm having considerable difficulties using the seat plan on my phone at all but when I finally persuaded it to recognise that I'd clicked on a seat it just brought up the seat view photo with no price information. So I'm none the wiser as to how much the side stalls circle bench seats will be but I'm not optomistic.

[Bluebird]

58 minutes ago, Blossom said:

Are the prices correct on the seat plan? They aren’t consistent with what is published in the magazine.

Which ones are different? I’ve checked Manon, Bohème, Tosca and Elektra and they’re the same.

 

Edited to add I only checked the amphitheatre prices. Maybe lower down the House the prices are different to those quoted in the magazine?

Edited August 6, 2023 by Bluebird

[Blossom]

4 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

Which ones are different? I’ve checked Manon, Bohème, Tosca and Elektra and they’re the same.

 

Edited to add I only checked the amphitheatre prices. Maybe lower down the House the prices are different to those quoted in the magazine?

I appear to have misread/remembered top pricing!

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Blossom

[Bluebird]

3 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I'm having considerable difficulties using the seat plan on my phone at all but when I finally persuaded it to recognise that I'd clicked on a seat it just brought up the seat view photo with no price information. So I'm none the wiser as to how much the side stalls circle bench seats will be but I'm not optomistic.

The row C bench seats are £49

[Dawnstar]

23 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

The row C bench seats are £49

 

Thank you. Wow, that's £9 cheaper than last year's Mayerling. I am very pleasantly surprised. Please no-one tell the ROH or they'll put the price up!!

[Guest oncnp]

45 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I'm having considerable difficulties using the seat plan on my phone at all but when I finally persuaded it to recognise that I'd clicked on a seat it just brought up the seat view photo with no price information. So I'm none the wiser as to how much the side stalls circle bench seats will be but I'm not optomistic.

 

Not all the seats have prices on them. You need to click around to find one of the same color (hence "incomplete".) 

 

I have e-mailed them to ask if they intend to add the key. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by oncnp

[Dawnstar]

Now I'm back on my laptop & can look at the seating plans properly (how anyone manages to do booking on a phone I do not know!) I'm having a look at the operas. Two of them, Cav & Pag and Tosca, I've seen within the last 13 months. Comparing what I paid for my seats then compared to what they are priced at next season, Cav & Pag will be cheaper but Tosca will be more expensive. I am extremely baffled as to what is going on with the ROH's price choices this coming season! Though I suppose I should just be grateful that at least some prices are slightly lower.

[Linnzi5]

26 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Now I'm back on my laptop & can look at the seating plans properly (how anyone manages to do booking on a phone I do not know!) I

In my case, not very well. When booking my tickets on my phone (which is a Pro Max, so not even that small!) I still managed to book one seat in one row and a second on the row behind for one of the Nutcrackers! 🙄

[Dawnstar]

@Linnzi5 I'm not surprised. It took me several minutes to click on one seat "correctly" earlier & that was in an unpressured situation when probably no or few others were trying to look at that seat map. If I had to book that way on a booking opening day it would certainly be good for my bank account because I don't think I'd managed to book a single ticket!

[Guest oncnp]

21 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

Not all the seats have prices on them. You need to click around to find one of the same color (hence "incomplete".) 

 

I have e-mailed them to ask if they intend to add the key. 

 

To which the ever-helpful Graham Boland replied "I imagine these will be added as we get nearer to the booking date. "

 

What is the point of publishing seating maps for people to VIEW SEAT MAP FOR PRICING if there are no prices or they are difficult to find?  Why not wait until it is finished before posting it?  

[Benjamin]

Well these prices are crazy. Let’s see how well Manon sells. I’ll happily go to Boheme or Cav/Pag rather then another session of Manon with those prices. Also interested to see more details about Festival of New Choreography.

[MildConcern]

I can see from my ROH account that my last trips to see Manon in October 2019 set me back £18 for a restricted view amphi ticket. This season, that same ticket will cost £49.

 

I can't see how a £31 increase is justified, even with the cost of living crisis. As it is, I am minded to pick the one cast I am most excited about (probably Kaneko debut if that happens), splash out for a central stalls ticket and be done with it (rather than seeing multiple casts from the amphi as I have usually done). 

 

[Sim]

47 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

To which the ever-helpful Graham Boland replied "I imagine these will be added as we get nearer to the booking date. "

 

What is the point of publishing seating maps for people to VIEW SEAT MAP FOR PRICING if there are no prices or they are difficult to find?  Why not wait until it is finished before posting it?  

Waaaay too sensible!

[capybara]

59 minutes ago, oncnp said:

What is the point of publishing seating maps for people to VIEW SEAT MAP FOR PRICING if there are no prices or they are difficult to find?  Why not wait until it is finished before posting it?  

 

I suspect that the people assembling the seat maps/prices data online aren't using a 'draft' function which enables pages to be held on the system until they are complete or the appropriate publication date is reached.

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, MildConcern said:

I can't see how a £31 increase is justified, even with the cost of living crisis. As it is, I am minded to pick the one cast I am most excited about (probably Kaneko debut if that happens), splash out for a central stalls ticket and be done with it (rather than seeing multiple casts from the amphi as I have usually done).

 

I get the feeling the ROH would like people to do that!

[art_enthusiast]

17 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I get the feeling the ROH would like people to do that!

 

Yep, it certainly seems like that's what they want.

 

It does seem that with the price increases they want to encourage the one-off attendee types, who may not have a great awareness or knowledge of the company, repertoire, ballet, opera etc. These audiences presumably want to go to have the occasional 'ROH experience', which probably largely entails getting dressed up in fancy clothes/jewellery to take Instagram pics in the Paul Hamlyn Hall or whatever, whilst drinking over-priced alcohol. Whatever floats their boat I guess, but I don't think continually attracting the more surface level, somewhat shallow audience types bodes well for the future of ballet or opera.

 

Just another additional note - it appears that Young ROH availability had decreased dramatically this year in comparison to previous years. By dramatic decrease I mean that there were barely any available when getting into the website only a few minutes after 9am - and only in the back rows and amphitheatre. Basically none at all for Don Quixote I could see. This may please some people here who don't approve of the scheme, but I think it's a great shame and also erroneous on their part when considering future profit.

[Blossom]

3 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

 

Just another additional note - it appears that Young ROH availability had decreased dramatically this year in comparison to previous years. By dramatic decrease I mean that there were barely any available when getting into the website only a few minutes after 9am - and only in the back rows and amphitheatre. Basically none at all for Don Quixote I could see. This may please some people here who don't approve of the scheme, but I think it's a great shame and also erroneous on their part when considering future profit.

 

I've been helping my daughter to book for various youth schemes and looking at Sadlers Wells specifically, the availability often differs by production, even in the same auditorium. Sometimes only back rows are available, sometimes seats are peppered across the seat plan. I was actually quite impressed with the offering for ROH (despite the much higher cost per ticket), bearing in mind the face value of some of the balcony seats on offer for Don Q. I'd also imagine better seats for other productions will mean young punters are more likely to give them a try. 

[San Perregrino]

2 hours ago, Blossom said:

 

I've been helping my daughter to book for various youth schemes and looking at Sadlers Wells specifically, the availability often differs by production, even in the same auditorium. Sometimes only back rows are available, sometimes seats are peppered across the seat plan. I was actually quite impressed with the offering for ROH (despite the much higher cost per ticket), bearing in mind the face value of some of the balcony seats on offer for Don Q. I'd also imagine better seats for other productions will mean young punters are more likely to give them a try. 

With Sadlers Wells being a ‘receiving house’ it will be the individual producers who decide which seats to make available.
I wouldn’t have thought that young punters at the ROH should automatically anticipate buying the better seats at vastly discounted prices when booking opens. Offering them the back rows to begin with would seem to make sense with any unsold seats in better areas made available closer to the date of performance at a price that will bring them in. The trade off being a back row now versus a better seat later but at the risk of there no longer being any availability. 

[art_enthusiast]

28 minutes ago, PeterS said:

I wouldn’t have thought that young punters at the ROH should automatically anticipate buying the better seats at vastly discounted prices when booking opens. 

They don’t, but that is how it is described on the relevant webpage - all areas except the grand tier. So it could be categorised as false advertising.

 

(Also bear in mind that when you were younger and watching ballet/opera for the first time, it was most likely a lot cheaper and also not during a cost of living crisis! The ‘better seats’ were more affordable back then.)

 

It’s also the amount made available: they lay claim to a much higher amount than they actually offer, which is again misleading information.  
 

A more general critique here: queueing is a massive problem if some buyers are locked out in a massively long one, whereas others get through to book straight away. There are technical ways of avoiding this if the website is built properly.

Edited August 7, 2023 by art_enthusiast

[jmhopton]

42 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

 There are technical ways of avoiding this if the website is built properly.

Ah, the website. Everything always ends up coming back to the website, whether it's booking, seating plans or even finding out basic information. Everything seemed easier on the old website with all the links at the bottom of the page for easy access to most enquiries.

[capybara]

2 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

They don’t, but that is how it is described on the relevant webpage - all areas except the grand tier. 

 

My situation means that I have needed to pick up tickets at the last minute for some shows and, occasionally, I have found myself in the Grand Tier.

 

I mention this only because, more than once, I have been surrounded there by Young ROH Members who have benefited from last minute offers.

Your daughter might do better (e.g. for Manon) to await such offers rather than try for tickets the moment booking opens.

 

 

[San Perregrino]

10 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

Also bear in mind that when you were younger and watching ballet/opera for the first time, it was most likely a lot cheaper and also not during a cost of living crisis! The ‘better seats’ were more affordable back then.)

As the French say, plus ça change, plus ça reste le même.
I was a student in the late 1970s/early 1980s. To put things in context, there was a cost of living crisis, an energy crisis, the unemployment rate was high and the UK was in recession. Inflation from 1975 to 1981 was 24%, 17%, 16%, 8%, 13%, 18%, 12% respectively. The cost of renting accommodation in London was sky-high then as it is now. Building Societies had waiting lists of savers who hoped to get a mortgage (mortgage rates were also extortionate). Credit cards were a relatively new introduction and only issued to good credit risks not students.  There was no such thing, for me at least, as the Bank of Mum & Dad. So, if you didn’t have the cash to do something you couldn’t do it and that included eating. Museums had entry fees.
Some theatres operated a student standby scheme where you could go to the box office an hour before the performance and hope to buy a single. I did this once for the RSC when I had a premium bond win.

The regular price of a ticket to the ROH or any theatre for that matter was well beyond anything  that I or my friends could afford. 

I was taken once to th ballet as a Christmas present by a wealthy godfather and I was hooked. However barring two visits in the 1980’s using discount coupons from Ms London (a free weekly magazine for secretarial staff), it wasn’t until the 2000’s that I was earning enough money to be able buy tickets and visit the ROH on a regular basis.

Edited August 8, 2023 by PeterS
Detail

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, PeterS said:

The regular price of a ticket to the ROH or any theatre for that matter was well beyond anything  that I or my friends could afford. 

 

I agree with your points about inflation and costs etc (I was also a student in the late 70s and early 80s), but even when I was at school as a 17-year-old (when I suddenly decided to go to a ballet performance and got hooked) when my only money was from a Saturday job in a supermarket, I managed to go to quite a few performances. Amphi tickets were not in fact very expensive (I think c £1.50) and the Junior Associate scheme gave vouchers (can't remember exactly how it worked now). By the time I was working (in not very well paid jobs) in London in the latter half of the 1980s (and paying private rent, sharing flats) I went to the ROH all the time. (I also went to quite a lot of theatre performances and concerts, when there were often offers or standbys etc.) So I think that the ROH (and theatre-going generally) was more affordable then than it is now (for young people or anyone else!).