There seems to be two misconceptions about opera
tickets. Firstly - a point which has been argued to death - that 'opera tickets
are expensive' and secondly, once a show, or production, has sold out there is
no way you can see it, ever!
As a reviewer and blogger, I have the advantage of
seeing many operas in London through press tickets, however, this is not ALWAYS
the case. With the amount of theatre and opera I see per week (which can range
between two to five shows in a week), there are occasions where opera and
theatre companies do not provide me with that complimentary ticket. This has
encouraged me to seek alternative ways of gaining access to sold out shows and
finding the cheapest tickets, which might not always offer the best view but
still provides me with a means to view 90% of the opera, and hearing beautiful
music and amazing voices.
Opera, theatre, even ballets and classical music
concerts, are not only composed and written for the rich and affluent. Keen
culture vultures can go and enjoy shows without breaking the bank! Alongside
discounted theatre websites and (believe it or not) newspaper, magazine and
online publications, actual opera companies offer reduced tickets and
special offers as well!
Here are two examples from newspaper, magazine and
online publications:
For the 5-Star rated Akhnaten at the ENO, Time Out
were offering 40% off on tickets.
- Dress
Circles tickets on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays were £79 (now £47.40)
and Upper Circle tickets were £39 (now £23.40).
- Dress
Circles tickets on Tuesdays were £59 (now £35.40) and Upper Circle tickets
were £34 (now £20.40). (Click here to see the offer.)
The Daily Mail also, at times, offer £10
tickets to Sussex Opera House at Glyndebourne. Although they might not be
available on ideal dates (or close to the stage), it's still a massive chunk
from the usual £90+ to £200+ tickets, which is the going rate for most
Glyndebourne operas. (Click here for article.)
Keeping a close eye on the schedules and calendars of your favourite
opera companies, opera festivals (Grimeborn, Tête-à-Tête) or concert halls
(Barbican, Royal Festival Hall, St John's Smith Square), is probably the most
effective way of knowing what operas are being showed so you can prepare ahead
and purchase the ticket(s) you want, before they get snapped up by someone
else.
Social media, particularly Twitter, is another way of keeping tabs on opera tickets
(including returns) on the day. Sometimes fellow Tweeters (and opera lovers on
other social media platforms) let people know if they have tickets up for
grabs. I've been fortunate enough to meet some very generous operagoers and
classical music aficionados who have offered me their spare ticket last minute
through Twitter and Facebook.
I've provided a list of opera companies (unfortunately not all) that not only dispel the idea
that opera tickets are expensive but provide ways for customers to see a sell
out show on the cheap!
The English National Opera (ENO)
- Cheap
tickets: Balcony tickets, in the first and second rows,
are worth £12, but they come with a restricted view e.g. a pole
or safety bar is in front of you, but I've never been fazed by this as I
tend to see the majority of the staging. These tickets sell out
fast, so find out when the ENO release tickets for the opera and book
early!
- Cheap tickets: Opera Undressed (£25) (Click here for more info) I've managed to get stall seats from Opera Undressed, which is usually worth £100+. All you need to do is register and you will get an email that will indicate when you can purchase your Secret Seat ticket(s). At the end of the performance, you also get the chance to meet some members of the cast and a lovely drink (G & T) on the house. However, there's only one or two opportunities to take advantage of Secret Seats, so perhaps get a friend to register thereafter to ensure you can continue to use Secret Seats. It should be noted, however, that these tickets are targeted at newbies to opera, so for those that that are regular operagoers...
- Cheap
tickets: Secret Seat (£20) is probably the best option (Click here for more info.) Secret Seats are released during the priority booking period and are for stall and dress circles seats, which are usually priced at £30. First, you decide when to see the opera and then you book online, in advance! From those who have experience booking them, they suggest you book Secret Seat tickets for several operas in the season. The only catch is that if you book for a group, of say four, sitting next to all of them isn't guaranteed, but you're promised to sit next to at least one. Also, although the website says there are a limit on Secret Seat tickets, there have been occasions whereby operagoers have managed to get Secret Seat tickets on the day of the opera, so it is worthwhile keeping an eye on the ENO social media accounts in case they pop up.
- Cheap tickets:Access All Arias - If you are aged 16-29 or a full time student, you can purchase stall tickets for £30, dress circle tickets for £20 and upper circle tickets for £10 through Access All Arias. You can also bring another adult with you for the same price, and purchase a programme booklet for half the price. Talk about convenient! (Click here for more information.)
- Cheap
tickets, and great for sell out shows: The £10
Standing ticket - I recently discovered this method for ENO's
Ahknaten, which was completely sold out. Surprisingly, I felt that while I
was watching the opera, I had a better view than those sitting in the row
in front of me. You can only purchase them in person on the day, and
sometimes you can buy an extra ticket for your friend if they are running
late (which I was.) When I arrived at 6.30pm (for a show that started at
7.30pm) there were many standing tickets available, therefore there isn't
a limit of them on the day. My advice is - just grab your opera
glasses and ensure you wear the most comfortable shoes, then enjoy the
show! Of course, I'm not recommending this to anyone who has
been advised by their doctor to avoid activity that requires standing for
a long period of time.
- Cheap
Tickets: Upper Slips for £4 - £18 - Last
year, to my joy, I discovered £4 Upper Slip tickets to see one of Tchaikovsky's
ballets. I also managed to see La Traviata with Sonya Yoncheva for £14.
These seats are on the side of the stage, high up, more so than the
amphitheatre level, with a restricted view, yet I was pretty satisfied
with what I was paying for. It's worth mentioning that it's a game of luck
when purchasing these tickets - you don't know which side has the best
view. Unfortunately the ROH box office doesn't know where the best side to view the production is until a week before the first night, usually the
time when dress rehearsals have taken place, so you might be out of luck
on choosing the wrong side to sit if you book months in advance. But there
are...
- ... Day
tickets, which range from various prices. These can
be cheap tickets and are great for sell out shows: On the actual
day of the opera (or ballet), the ROH offers between 60 to 70 day tickets,
so you can physically queue up to get a ticket of a sold-out performance.
For your information, it's one ticket per person and the box office doesn't
open until 10am! However, depending on the cast, conductor or popularity
of the opera, you might have to get there very early. For the in-demand
Tristan und Isolde production with Nina Stemme, two years ago, I queued up
from 8am and managed to get an extraordinary view from the Grand Tier
Boxes for £40. For Jonas Kaufmann and Eva-Maria Westbroek in Andrea
Chénier, I was very tired - I queued up from 7.45am, and managed to see
the hot cast from the Upper Slips for less than £20. And for the latest Il
trittico, I arrived at the opera house at 8.41am and purchased an
amphitheatre (S-Row) ticket for roughly £33, which allowed me to view the entire
stage and see the wonderful Ermonela Jaho reprise her role as
Angelica.
- Cheap
tickets, and great for sell out shows: Phone in Day tickets - But you
can't queue up on the day I hear you cry! Not to worry, from 10am you can
still call the box office and see what tickets are available. When I want
to see an opera on its opening night and all the seats are taken, there
are standing tickets. For Wayne McGregor's ballet, The Ravel Girl, I
managed to book a standing circle stall ticket for £6. Yes, £6! Again,
wear comfortable shoes! Another example is this week's opening of
Musorgsk's Boris Godunov with Britain's favourite baritone, Bryn Terfel
where I managed to get a standing ticket for the same location, which was
originally £18 reduced to £10. The reason being that it was a
restricted view. The actual staging had two levels, which meant that it
was hard for some, depending where they sat or stood, to see the higher
level. I appreciated the fact that I was advised and made aware by the box
office of this disadvantage; despite the restriction, I was still pleased
with my view, though some people may not agree.
- Cheap
tickets: Student Discounts: If you are a student, you can
register to get e-mails from the ROH which will update you on special
student days whereby tickets, no matter where they are located -
orchestral stalls, amphitheatre, grand tier or upper slips - tickets are
£10 each. During my student days, I would rely on these a lot and although
they are only available on special days e.g. a weekday and not for all
productions, they still give newbies an opportunity to get to see an opera
live for a tenner.
- FREE
tickets: 1,000 tickets are available for free for those
aged between 7 - 18 and up to four people can apply, such as an adult and
three young people. There's a deadline for applications for these free
tickets, however, these seats are available for all 32 productions during
the summer season. (Click here for more information)
- FREE
tickets: Patrons of the OHP (ages 60+) also have access to
free tickets. Each year OHP offer 500 free tickets for the
older audiences as well!
- FREE
tickets:Under-30's tickets - 300
tickets are offered to those under-30's and available to book on the phone
for each production. (Click here for more information.)
Small-scale opera productions
Here are a few example of prices for small and local
productions, which also prove how cheap opera tickets really can be.
And for those
that love chamber music and recitals, there's Wigmore Hall's Under 35s
Scheme where certain performances are accessible for £5 only. (Click here for more information.)
I have only
provided a handful of examples based on my experience. If you know other ways
of getting cheap opera tickets, please let me know and volunteer this
information. I believe that I've provided fair examples proving that opera ticket are cheap. If this doesn't convince you that this is the case, I don't know what will.
