Bruce Wall Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 well you may just think that the roh have indeed improved the booking experience with the 'no waiting room' website but the question I would like answered is WHY they let their 'FRIENDS' buy ALL the stalls standing tickets Before the rest of us? - at 10:03 looking at triple bills- manon- don Q- Alice no standing places at all - there must be Some somewhere - not for us it seems.................highly disappointed... I think the new advance student allotment must have some responsibility for this as they have a set number of SC standing room allocated for each performance for them and have access to it before the general booking opens. The programme has been deemed a 'great success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 the question I would like answered is WHY they let their 'FRIENDS' buy ALL the stalls standing tickets Well, there is a significant number of standing tickets held back for students, so it's not just Friends booking them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottsballetlover Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Well public booking opened today - very tense for occasional visitors like me. I only wanted tickets for one performance - I was in and out of the site in less than 5 minutes - SUCCESS! Well done Janet and snap! I got front row stalls for the one Manon performance I wanted and booking done in minutes. Sorry to hear others had problems - it's clearly a highly temperamental system, especially with certain browsers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toursenlair Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I also had no problems getting two 4th-row stalls for opening night Manon; all done in a matter of minutes as soon as booking opened (which means getting up at 5 am for me!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I couldn't get the Amphi package to work; two of the three ballets were shown as being sold out and so I lost the discount as I didn't want to wait and sort it out and risk losing the good value seats which I had reserved. Are there certain seats included in this package (ie you don't choose your own seats)? Surely the packages are disabled once public booking starts? That's why they have booking starting for them a week or so in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 well you may just think that the roh have indeed improved the booking experience with the 'no waiting room' website but the question I would like answered is WHY they let their 'FRIENDS' buy ALL the stalls standing tickets Before the rest of us? - at 10:03 looking at triple bills- manon- don Q- Alice no standing places at all - there must be Some somewhere - not for us it seems.................highly disappointed... Jules, i) why do you think it's all the Friends grabbing them when the Friends themselves complain they can never get hold of any, and ii) I managed to get standing for all the 3 Alices I booked (but not for anything else), and they were the last thing I bothered to book for, so must have been around somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Well, apart from my usual gripe of 99% of aisle seats in stalls/grand tier/stalls circle being already sold out, I did manage to get Manon tickets which was all I can afford this season. AND for the first time, Access Members can book online, which (amazingly) works really well! Done and dusted including confirmation email within 20 minutes! Much better than hanging on the phone for 4 hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Alison, why aren't the packages available once public booking starts? I wasn't aware that they were subject to any kind of limit either in terms of number or time period? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 At 10am I booked SC D10 for Manon on 7 October. Could not book a SC standing ticket for this performance on Supporting Friends or Friends booking day. Makes you wonder. (Needless to say I am delighted with this ticket) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebird Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 The Deloitte Ignite events also opened for booking today. (There wasn't much publicity about this). The daytime events however were all shown as sold out by about three minutes past ten..... It appears that these free daytime events weren't sold out. They hadn't yet loaded them onto the system! They are, however, there now: http://www.roh.org.uk/events/w9kqy http://www.roh.org.uk/events/62h34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynette H Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Thanks for that information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 It appears that these free daytime events weren't sold out. They hadn't yet loaded them onto the system! I *did* wonder, given my experience elsewhere ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I find it worth a visit back a few days/weeks later as people change their mind I was lucky to be able to swap 5/11 for 18/10 Scenes de ballet as I could not get a room at SPH on 5/11 for some odd reason! anyway now got a better cast and easier date :-) Have to say it is getting a bit silly all these layers of booking priority how come in Berlin the whole season goes on sale in May and there are none of these mad rushes and it spreads the bill too! I suspect they have greater audience capacity too. Paris drives me mad too that is always a bunfight so I have more or less given them up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 well you may just think that the roh have indeed improved the booking experience with the 'no waiting room' website but the question I would like answered is WHY they let their 'FRIENDS' buy ALL the stalls standing tickets Before the rest of us? - at 10:03 looking at triple bills- manon- don Q- Alice no standing places at all - there must be Some somewhere - not for us it seems.................highly disappointed... What Friends do you accuse?! On the ordinary Friends' booking day I was surprised to be able to buy standing tickets for Don Q and Alice but, as seems to be usual now, not for anything else i.e. Manon and the Triple had none, as today, or so it seems. Maybe you have to subscribe at one of the higher levels, of which there are four, to be able to buy the best cheap places though I can't imagine why people who can afford £1,000 and upwards would want to buy standing tickets. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillm Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I'm just an Ordinary Friend (..I feel there should be a song in that somewhere). I can't remember being able to buy a Stalls Circle Standing on Friends' Booking Day in recent years. As I see it I being a Friend gives me two chances to get a reasonable seat in the amphi (and/or subscription to a very expensive magazine), especially as I can't always make both booking dates. If I am lucky enough to get a Stalls Circle Standing ticket at public booking then I am super thankful. There aren't that many to go round after all. If a lot of them are going to students then I personally don't have a problem with that - when I was a student the only offers I was interested in were cheap cocktails and the closest I got to culture was yogurt .... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I just wanted to book a Manon and Don Q ticket today and was in and out amazingly quickly and got exactly the seats I wanted. I wasn't able to log on until about 11am so perhaps missed a bit of the rush. Last Tuesday I took a couple of hours off work to book 3 Manon/Don Q packages (why do they always open booking periods on a Tuesday when most people are at work?) as I thought it may be a bit complicated. it was but not in the way I anticipated as the online booking system was down and I had to hang on to the phone for 30 minutes to get through. At least they tell you where you are in the queue and the queue was going down so slowly I was hoping it was because people were able to book and not being told to try again later. This proved to be the case and when I did get through the young man at the box office was very helpful and I got my 6 tickets and all on the front row of the amphi! (A bit more expensive than I normally book but I find my eyesight isn't as good as it was for long distances). However, if I wanted to book for cheaper seats I wouldn't have been able to as he told me the package seats only went up to row H or J in the amphi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 And the package seats in the Stalls Circle (and, indeed the Stalls) are only the most expensive ones. So those of us who 'prefer' (!!) not to book 'the best seats' are deprived of the advantage of getting a reduction for multiple purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Some tickets for The Royal Ballet in Class on October 3rd have just been released, £17 if not a student, £7 if you are. Hurry along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 And the package seats in the Stalls Circle (and, indeed the Stalls) are only the most expensive ones. So those of us who 'prefer' (!!) not to book 'the best seats' are deprived of the advantage of getting a reduction for multiple purchases. They only offer them on seating blocks where there is plenty of choice. After all, everyone would be complaining if there were even fewer £15 seats than normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bravissima35 Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Just booked tickets to see Manon on Sunday 5 October with Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov. Very excited!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 More standing tickets released today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 My tickets for BP1 arrived today. I have spent a horrific amount of money. It's a good thing that there's a long run of Swan Lake in BP2, which will allow my bank balance to recover. I've booked to see Vadim in everything except Alice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Thanks, John. Not much available for the performances I'd been aiming for, but some is better than none BTW, surprised to see that Osipova's Don Qs still have plenty of tickets left. Has the public not twigged yet, or is the absence of Vasiliev something to do with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Beggars belief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I wonder whether the occasional balletgoer who would specifically go and see Osipova doesn't book this early. And, as we've said before, many occasional balletgoers are unaware of who the principals are and don't book for particular casts. Acosta is the exception; everything he is in seems to sell out and his performances of Manon are already selling very well. I don't think that Osipova is nearly as well known to the general public as Acosta (yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottsballetlover Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Just booked tickets to see Manon on Sunday 5 October with Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov. Very excited!! Me too! It was the cast I wanted. Ticket booked then oops, checked out transport from Nottingham to get to London for 12 noon matinee start. Near impossible :oNot wanting to have an expensive overnight stay in London just for one matinee, I have now got a plan I've convinced myself is 'better value': Nottingham to Birmingham on Saturday to see BRB Beauty and the Beast and stay Birmingham overnight.. Then Birmingham to London Sunday to see Manon at midday. Travel looks like it will work OK I hope...... I think I posted before when the RB 2014/15 season was announced, the trend for early matinees makes coming to ROH more costly for anyone living outside London. Very few 2 pm Saturday ones now....none for some productions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 It's quite ridiculous for a Sunday matinee of all things. Many cross-country routes barely even get started before mid-morning on a Sunday. I remember a friend who expected she'd be able to get between Edinburgh and the Lowry, or vice versa, in time for a (normally-timed) Sunday matinee. She had to go by air in the end, I think, and I think she also had to go via London, although I may be wrong about that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottsballetlover Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 It's quite ridiculous for a Sunday matinee of all things. Many cross-country routes barely even get started before mid-morning on a Sunday. I remember a friend who expected she'd be able to get between Edinburgh and the Lowry, or vice versa, in time for a (normally-timed) Sunday matinee. She had to go by air in the end, I think, and I think she also had to go via London, although I may be wrong about that. Actually, I've just checked the Manon performance schedule and now feel amazed that the RB can do both 4 October Saturday 2 pm matinee and 7 pm evening of Manon, followed by a Sunday 12 noon matinee....... Is that a norm? I feel for any dancers and crew that may have to do all 3. Hardly worth changing out of costume if in the corps! For a 12 noon matinee I'd be interested to know how early the dancers have to arrive, if they do class before etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toursenlair Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Actually, I've just checked the Manon performance schedule and now feel amazed that the RB can do both 4 October Saturday 2 pm matinee and 7 pm evening of Manon, followed by a Sunday 12 noon matinee....... Is that a norm? I feel for any dancers and crew that may have to do all 3. Hardly worth changing out of costume if in the corps! For a 12 noon matinee I'd be interested to know how early the dancers have to arrive, if they do class before etc? Not sure about the RB, but it's absolutely standard for the National Ballet of Canada to do a 7:30 Friday, 2:00 Saturday, 7:30 Saturday and 2:00 Sunday all in a row for all of their programs, and they have a much smaller company than the RB so more dancers have to be in every performance. So it's not that amazing. Well, I mean it's generally amazing what dancers do anyway, but this kind of schedule is not that amazing in the ballet world. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 I remember when SWRB regularly did eight shows a week for about 3 months at a time. It was much the same on their foreign tours. When you see most BRB triples it is not uncommon to see the same dancers appearing in at least two of the works three times over a weekend. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Actually, I've just checked the Manon performance schedule and now feel amazed that the RB can do both 4 October Saturday 2 pm matinee and 7 pm evening of Manon, followed by a Sunday 12 noon matinee....... Is that a norm? I'm pretty sure it can't be. Monica Mason always used to say that it was so difficult to fit in Sunday performances because of the knock-on effect on the next day's rehearsals, since the dancers were obliged to have X hours off afterwards - I can't remember how much, but it must have been getting on for 24 hours, surely? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 As I live 200 miles from London I booked to see both the Saturday Manons on October 4th and the matinee on October 5th, thereby getting 3 Manons for the price of one lot of train travel, one overnight stay and no problem getting to the Sunday matinee! it was just a pity that the Saturday evening was Marianella who I will see anyway in the cinema relay (much as I love seeing her). if it had been Osipova I would have seen 4 performances of all the casts I wanted to see with just one lot of transport and accommodation. As it is I'm having to have a second visit to see Osipova at the end of October. At least they schedule her with plenty of Saturdays. I think in Onegin she is even doing a matinee! At the end of December I am seeing her Don Q on Monday night and Vadim and Takada on the Tuesday matinee. I think there are a few opportunities to do something similar with Onegin. it seems hard on the dancers but great for us northerners! Re the booking when I checked the ROH website the day after public booking opened there were only a very few bad seats in the upper slips for the Osipova Manon but plenty of seats for other dancers/productions including her Don Q. I do think her name is a draw for many ballet goers even if she isn't as well known outside ballet circles as, say, Acosta. I do think people want to see her in a new full length role, especially something as iconic and 'Royal Ballet' as Manon. This may partly explain the not so good ticket sales for her Don Q as many people have had the opportunity to see her dance that many times now and with Vasiliev. I think it is a combination of familiarity with her in the the role, lack of Vasiliev (it would have been interesting to see ticket sales for a Don Q if he had guested with her for a performance) and not being too sure about Matthew Golding as Basil after seeing her with Vasiliev. He is a hard act to follow in Don Q. I always remember when they changed the nights they were dancing Don Q a few years ago at the last Bolshoi visit at the ROH when they were still in the Company. There were signs up at the box office saying 'Mr Vasiliev will not be dancing tonight' but, as far as I can remember, no mention of Osipova! So the ROH seemed to think he was the person people most wanted to see. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Remember that Osipova is dancing with Acosta in Manon. Theirs are the only performances of Manon that have almost sold out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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