Lucy M Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Hi all, Bit of a strange one for my first post here (also not sure if this is in the correct forum, sorry - please do move if not!) I'm a fairly new ballet fan, and I went to the opening night of Swan Lake in March and enjoyed myself so much that I have bought a last-minute ticket to go and see it again on Saturday evening. I wanted to be closer to the front to see a bit more of the acting side of things this time as was way up in the Amphitheatre last time, but the only ticket I could grab was a restricted view (it's seat C17 in the Stalls). It looks from the photo on the website that the view isn't actually that restricted at all, but was just wondering if anyone could shed some light on how much of the performance I'm likely to miss? Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Hello @Lucy M and welcome to the Forum! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Welcome to the forum, Lucy. Is it stalls or stalls circle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy M Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 2 minutes ago, alison said: Welcome to the forum, Lucy. Is it stalls or stalls circle? Thank you Alison! It's stalls circle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Ah, in that case it will be rather more restricted than you might think from the photo. @Dawnstar can probably comment better than I can, but bear in mind that the stage is rectangular, so you will lose much of what's happening in the rear left-hand "corner". I'd hazard a guess that you'll probably be able to see something like a triangle stretching from the proscenium arch on your side to the p. arch on the right and the rear right-hand corner of the stage. Also, you'll have a vertical restriction from the lighting rig shown in the photo. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy M Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 Ah okay, thanks Alison! Much appreciated - may try and nab something different during Friday rush tomorrow in that case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 (edited) Yes, it will definitely be restricted I'm afraid. In terms of the dancing missed I don't find it too bad, though you will miss one side of the corps when they're right across the stage & there will be the occasional moments in solos & pas de deuxs when the dancers disappear from view & you just have to wait for them to reappear. There is also an issue with some of the key plot moments not being visible: the vision of Odette in Act III, Odette throwing herself off the rock & Von Rothbart's demise on the rock in Act IV. If you're going to try Friday rush then the stalls circle rush tickets are slightly better because they're one bench further round but you still get a similar restriction to a lesser extent. The other Friday rush tickets are much further from the stage so wouldn't give you much of the acting that you're after, unless you use binoculars. Edited April 4 by Dawnstar Typo 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy M Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 4 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: If you're going to try Friday rush then the stalls circle rush tickets are slightly better because they're one bench further round but you still get a similar restriction to a lesser extent. The other Friday rush tickets are much further from the stage so wouldn't give you much of the acting that you're after, unless you use binoculars. That's very helpful, thank you - think I'll stick with my current ticket in that case then as I've already seen it once and really wanted more of the acting side of things this time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Dawnstar is our expert on the stalls circle bench seats 😊 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 Unless there are any more significant ticket discounts, like for the MacMillan triple, I will see the entire season, apart from that one performance, from the stalls circle benches! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 A very useful post from Dawnstar elsewhere: 2 hours ago, Dawnstar said: @Lucy M The viewing angle is a bit better because of being further round but the pillar which severely blocks C22 is somewhat obtrusive in C23 as well. The view from the seat photos for C23 and its opposite number C90 are not entirely accurate in my opinion as they show the pillar as being less obtrusive than I have found it in reality. Sorry if I'm sounding depressing but I have seen a lot of performances from the side stalls bench seats over the years and, while I personally accept the view restrictions as a trade off for the close-up views, I think people need to have realistic expectations. Disappointed to find this is the same on the left-hand side too. As you know when I sat there (right-hand side) recently, Dawnstar, I was very disappointed with the view compared with the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 2 hours ago, alison said: Disappointed to find this is the same on the left-hand side too. As you know when I sat there (right-hand side) recently, Dawnstar, I was very disappointed with the view compared with the photo. As the auditorium is symmetrical it's the same amount of view restriction on both sides with one exception. At the right-hand end of the pit there is often a curtain pulled over the end which goes round the outside of the pillar nearest the stage. If this curtain is in place then it makes the view from C95 & C96 worse because it sticks out a few inches in front of the pillar and you cannot look around the back of the pillar to try to see action on the near side of the stage. Other than that then the view restriction is the same from the equivalent seats on each side in terms of the amount of stage you miss, though of course given productions are rarely symmetrical then one side or the other is, at least in my opinion, preferable for various productions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 5 Share Posted April 5 I've never been sure whether the auditorium is actually symmetrical - I get the impression that the pillars aren't in exactly the same place on both sides, but I may be wrong. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 I meant symmetrical in terms of the overall horseshoe shape rather than all the features being symmetrical. Though I'm pretty sure the pillars that affect the row C stalls circle bench seats are symmetrical at any rate. I don't have enough experience of the other stalls circle pillars to be certain of those. One significant bit of asymmetry is the extra door on the far left side so stalls circle left benches are definitely the side to go for if you need to make a speedy exit. @Lucy M How did you end up finding the view? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy M Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 @Dawnstar I didn't find it too bad actually! Although on reflection I wish I'd stuck with C17 as the pillar was a bit more obstructive than the photo, as you said. I think being on the left for Swan Lake is better as you still get the beautiful scenery in Act 1 and Act 3, and I found there were only a few moments during the solos and various pas de deux where the dancers completely disappeared from view. The restriction definitely took away from the overall impact of the corps during the lake scenes, but that didn't bother me too much as that wasn't the main thing I wanted to see tonight. I was slightly concerned I wasn't going to be able to see the famous fouetté sequence and Vadim's trademark double-double tours in Act 3 (which is my absolute favourite part of the whole ballet), but I could see them fine. The thing I found most annoying was the person sitting on my left continually leant forward throughout the entire show blocking my view which made it worse... But all in all, it was okay, and I got the acting I wanted which was the main thing! Marianela and Vadim were just incredible, feeling very happy and lucky to have witnessed such an amazing performance! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 @Lucy M I'm glad you found the view reasonable, and my description fairly accurate. Yes, unfortunately leaners are an occupational hazard on the stalls circle benches. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 13 hours ago, Lucy M said: The thing I found most annoying was the person sitting on my left continually leant forward throughout the entire show blocking my view which made it worse... But all in all, it was okay, and I got the acting I wanted which was the main thing! Marianela and Vadim were just incredible, feeling very happy and lucky to have witnessed such an amazing performance! Worth bearing in mind for the future: you are allowed to tap them on the shoulder and politely ask them not to lean forward so much and ruin everyone else's view. I'd say most reasonable, decent people will comply 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cescablue Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 1 minute ago, zxDaveM said: Worth bearing in mind for the future: you are allowed to tap them on the shoulder and politely ask them not to lean forward so much and ruin everyone else's view. I'd say most reasonable, decent people will comply Yes, I had to do just this at the Nunez/Muntagirov Swan Lake last Monday. I felt a bit bad having to ask as the gentleman involved was simply transfixed by the performances and hadn't realised that he had gradually moved forward! He was quite mortified and very apologetic when I asked him to move though. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 1 hour ago, Cescablue said: He was quite mortified and very apologetic when I asked him to move though. That was nice of him. Some people are either rude, or they act like they don't understand what you're asking... very annoying. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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