# The price of opera tickets



## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Prompted by *perempe's* post about the cost of tickets in Budapest and my own recent experience in Lyon, I thought I'd do some research into the price of opera tickets. I can't find out the Met's.

ROH are adamant that they don't put the price up for the big stars and that it's not just about one singer but the most expensive tickets are for Andrea Chénier, starring who else but Kaufmann. I'd like to have seen it but I'm not paying those prices.

Amsterdam €120
Barcelona €268
Budapest €50
London (ROH) €315
Lyon €100
Milan (La scala) €252
Munich €165
Paris (Bastille) €230
Saltzburg Festival €420
Sydney €217
Vienna (Staatsoper) €265
Zurich €223

(These are top prices)


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The ROH will no doubt point out that there are seats available at a much lower price, which is fine if you don't mind only seeing a quarter of the stage and the top of Kaufmann's head. I never go to the ROH anymore. I simply can't afford it, and I'm too old to sit in uncomfortable seats, where you miss most of the show. To spend the kind of money the ROH are asking for their best seats, I need to know that it's really going to be worth it. Unfortunately, with so many crackpot producers around these days, none of whom seem to understand a note of music, it's a risky business. 

When I was a young student I coped, always telling myself that I'd be able to sit in the expensive seats when I was older. That said, when I was a student, I would occasionally fork out for top price tickets, but they were a lot smaller proportion of my (student) income than they seem to be of my present one.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

i have to add that the vast majority of the audience is foreign. the audience of Budapest (and Hungary) don't watch performances again usually.

there are only a few exceptions.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I don't know how ROH justify the fact their prices are higher than other top houses. It can't be based on cost of living index because Zurich, for example, is much more expensive than London.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

If you go to the Metropolitan Opera site and choose an opera you want to see, then click on "choose my own seats", there will be a price hovered over every section in the house.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

nina foresti said:


> If you go to the Metropolitan Opera site and choose an opera you want to see, then click on "choose my own seats", there will be a price hovered over every section in the house.


I did try and find one but this season is over and you can't book next season yet. I must be looking in the wrong place.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

GregMitchell said:


> The ROH will no doubt point out that there are seats available at a much lower price, which is fine if you don't mind only seeing a quarter of the stage and the top of Kaufmann's head.


the situation isn't that dire. You can see his arms as well from the £40 seats.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

sospiro said:


> I did try and find one but this season is over and you can't book next season yet. I must be looking in the wrong place.


Single tickets are not yet available. The smallest series one can book now is 3-operas. The top price for the new production I looked at (Macbeth) was $475 for each night. The top price for the revivals I looked at (Il Barbiere di Sivilgia and The Rake's Progress) was $445 for a weeknight or $460 for a weekend performance. This may include some sort of package discount; I could not tell if that had been applied yet or not.

$475 is €349 right now.

Top prices for San Francisco Opera (single tickets are available) I see are $323 for a weeknight or $370 on the weekend.

$370 is €272 right now.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

Though of course I've never sat in the best/most expensive seats at the Met and am perfectly fine with that. Of course everyone will have their own idea of acceptable seats, based on a number of factors.

I am currently considering seats for SFO's season and am certainly not going to get those $370 boxes. I also have not been to their opera house yet so I will be guessing on seats (and maybe mixing it up to see different parts of the house) and will end up with a compromise between decent seats and seeing more operas.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

mountmccabe said:


> Though of course I've never sat in the best/most expensive seats at the Met and am perfectly fine with that. Of course everyone will have their own idea of acceptable seats, based on a number of factors.


The Royal Opera is an old (very beautiful) horseshoe shaped theatre. There are various degrees of restricted view. Even semi-restricted view seats are quite expensive. If you go for one of the severely restricted view seats, you can pretty much guarantee you won't see very much. I suppose you can console yourself by just sitting back and listening to the music, though I'm not sure quite how that works for ballet.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

Prague €55
Kraków, Warsaw €30
Bratislava €30

but i've seen the production of the National Theatre of Szeged in a guest performance in Budapest, and their Boccanegra was very good. their best ticket (in Szeged) is only €7.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Sospiro:
It is true that this season is now over, so you will not be able to view the seats and prices for next season until it is open for single ticket purchases which, I believe, begin early August. 
To view seats and prices, you simply go to "pick my own seat" after "choosing" an opera and click on the floor grid there. It will show you what seats are still available in the orchestra, grand tier, and the rest and if you place your mouse on one of the circles it will tell you the price of the seat.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

Top price for Dell'Art Opera Ensemble's (NYC) three productions is $35 (for The Fairy Queen and Salieri's Falstaff) or $30 (for the semi-staged Macbeth). I would certainly be attending if I were going to be in the city. (To be clear, this is a boutique opera company, not main stage grand opera).

Arizona Opera does not yet have single tickets available. For a 3-opera series (their season is 5 operas) the top price in Phoenix is $122, in Tucson $109.

San Diego Opera has their pricing available; top price for non-subscriber single tickets for Saturday performances are $290. Tuesday/Friday the same tickets are $225.

Chicago Lyric Opera tickets are $279 (weekend) or $229 (weekday).

So, summary:

San Diego: $290 (€213)
Chicago Lyric: $279 (€205)
Arizona: $122 (€90)
Dell'Art: $35 (€26)


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

The main thing I'm learning is that I should buy tickets for weeknights.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

I believe the most expensive Glyndebourne seats go for £215.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

GregMitchell said:


> The Royal Opera is an old (very beautiful) horseshoe shaped theatre. There are various degrees of restricted view. Even semi-restricted view seats are quite expensive. If you go for one of the severely restricted view seats, you can pretty much guarantee you won't see very much. *I suppose you can console yourself by just sitting back and listening to the music, though I'm not sure quite how that works for ballet.*


Yep but rather defeats the object of going


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

perempe said:


> Prague €55
> Kraków, Warsaw €30
> Bratislava €30
> 
> but i've seen the production of the National Theatre of Szeged in a guest performance in Budapest, and their Boccanegra was very good. their best ticket (in Szeged) is only €7.


Those prices are crazy! Think I'll move east.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

nina foresti said:


> Sospiro:
> It is true that this season is now over, so you will not be able to view the seats and prices for next season until it is open for single ticket purchases which, I believe, begin early August.
> To view seats and prices, you simply go to "pick my own seat" after "choosing" an opera and click on the floor grid there. It will show you what seats are still available in the orchestra, grand tier, and the rest and if you place your mouse on one of the circles it will tell you the price of the seat.


OK thanks. I was just checking a few opera houses to compare prices and wanted to add the Met to the list. I'll check out the prices when the season opens.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

deggial said:


> I believe the most expensive Glyndebourne seats go for £215.


Thanks. I forgot about Glyndebourne.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

BTW: That Met ticket of $475 is only for aisle seats in the orchestra and in the Parterre Boxes.
Orchestra seats and top Grand Tier seats vary in price from weekday (approx.) $175 to weekend (approx.) $240 and some in between.


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## JohnGerald (Jul 6, 2014)

Because I live where live opera isn't, and because my mobility inhibits travel, I turned to the DVD to get my fix. Looking at the prices of tickets both in NY ( and, one assumes, other US venues) and over the water, it surprises me that almost all of my DVDs show a full house. I realize that in Europe, many governments subsidize the arts, but even so, opera tickets seem to be very pricey there.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Gergiev's Ring Cycle in Birmingham (UK, not Alabama!), 5-9 Nov

About 80% of the tickets are £160-£200 each.

Yikes, I'd love to go but including accommodation that would be about £1500 for a week in Birmingham! (sorry to any Brummies, but you know what I mean.)

I really need to find an opera-loving wheelchair user who needs an assistant. This 'carer-goes-free' phrase keeps going through my mind. We could split the cost!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Alexander said:


> Gergiev's Ring Cycle in Birmingham (UK, not Alabama!), 5-9 Nov
> 
> About 80% of the tickets are £160-£200 each.
> 
> Yikes, I'd love to go but including accommodation that would be about £1500 for a week in Birmingham! (sorry to any Brummies, but you know what I mean.)


Birmingham city centre after dark is not somewhere I could recommend.

:lol:



Alexander said:


> I really need to find an opera-loving wheelchair user who needs an assistant. This 'carer-goes-free' phrase keeps going through my mind. We could split the cost!


My opera loving but impoverished friend says she can't wait for me to be in a wheel chair so she can be my carer ... and get in free!


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Prices in the the first few rows are always inflated. More important is how well the you can see/hear from around the venue where the ticket prices drop. Anything over 1500 seats is flirting with problems. Under that and you can usually sit anywhere (presuming it's not one of those terrible horsehoe designs).


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

sospiro said:


> Prompted by *perempe's* post about the cost of tickets in Budapest and my own recent experience in Lyon, I thought I'd do some research into the price of opera tickets. I can't find out the Met's.
> 
> ROH are adamant that they don't put the price up for the big stars and that it's not just about one singer but the most expensive tickets are for Andrea Chénier, starring who else but Kaufmann. I'd like to have seen it but I'm not paying those prices.
> 
> ...


If I remember correctly, Tristan in Deutsche Oper Berlin the most expensive ticket was about €150. 
Munich's Manon Lescaut (November 2014) max price is around €200 (not counting opening night)
In Prague the most expensive seat to Don Giovanni (Estates) was around €50.

Some theatres raise the ticket price for opening nights, or special performances like the seasons opening. Just for the fun of it, I checked the 2013 La Scala Traviata prima... most espensive seat has 4 digits on the price tag.

Baden Baden most expensive €210.

The old fashioned horse shoe theatres with boxes are the worst when it somes to visability. The back seat in this picture is €100...









Still, I must admit there is a certain charm to the experience when you are at La Scala.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

A side topic: booking systems. ROH has an excellent system, even with previews from every chair.

I hate systems where you can't choose a seat, when booking for Rome for example, you go to a booking site that has many others events and venues on it, you can only choose a section. This means that the system will 'choose' the best seat, needless to say this is never true.

The system for La Scala has been updated and it's a big improvement.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Couac Addict said:


> Prices in the the first few rows are always inflated. More important is how well the you can see/hear from around the venue where the ticket prices drop. Anything over 1500 seats is flirting with problems. Under that and you can usually sit anywhere (presuming it's not one of those terrible horseshoe designs).


The sound from the gods at ROH is superb but I don't like being so far away from the stage.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Dongiovanni said:


> A side topic: booking systems. ROH has an excellent system, even with previews from every chair.
> 
> I hate systems where you can't choose a seat, when booking for Rome for example, you go to a booking site that has many others events and venues on it, you can only choose a section. This means that the system will 'choose' the best seat, needless to say this is never true.
> 
> The system for La Scala has been updated and it's a big improvement.


ROH's system is better than it used to be but it still regularly crashes. In the transition period between the old and new systems, ROH could only offer 'best seat' but their idea of 'best seat' wasn't mine!


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

sospiro said:


> Yep but rather defeats the object of going


Hearing the singers/orchestra live, unfiltered, has its merits. But I agree one wants to see what the hell is going on.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

The Canadian Opera Company in Toronto is still selling subscriptions, but doing some crude math I'm getting an approximate price of around $250 CAD for a top seat. That works out to roughly $230 USD or 170 Euros. Subscriptions get you a 33% reduction. 

The opera house is new, architecturally somewhat staid, but acoustically perfect. We have a subscription to six operas in the fourth Ring, front row centre. The package of six operas comes to $495 CAD, or around 343 Euros. Needless to say, visibility is perfect, and we actually are quite close to the stage, just rather high up. I've sat in the good seats on two occasions there, and the increased price certainly was not worth the money spent, in my opinion.


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

Prices for Toronto opera are around $300 for the best tickets. Lowest price is around 100 bucks. Visibility is not hindered other than the distance...only subtitles are obstructed in lower priced places. Myself, I am quite picky and I I like to stay near the end of the first half of the orchestra. I like to be reasonably close to the singers to see their faces. For ballet I move more in the back but not too far either. So Toronto opera is too expensive in my case, as I am the only opera lover in my family. It's not necessarily that I could't afford, but I am not so rich not to matter either. So I attended all the operas presented in Mississauga (a city part of GTA), where I am able to buy the best tickets for $80/place. In this case some productions were wonderful and a few were close to disasters.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

sabrina said:


> Prices for Toronto opera are around $300 for the best tickets. Lowest price is around 100 bucks. Visibility is not hindered other than the distance...only subtitles are obstructed in lower priced places. Myself, I am quite picky and I I like to stay near the end of the first half of the orchestra. I like to be reasonably close to the singers to see their faces. For ballet I move more in the back but not too far either. So Toronto opera is too expensive in my case, as I am the only opera lover in my family. It's not necessarily that I could't afford, but I am not so rich not to matter either. So I attended all the operas presented in Mississauga (a city part of GTA), where I am able to buy the best tickets for $80/place. In this case some productions were wonderful and a few were close to disasters.


That's a good way of doing things. No point in going if you can't sit in the place you want.



> In this case some productions were wonderful and a few were close to disasters ...


Haha! Was ever thus!


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## BaronScarpia (Apr 2, 2014)

For me, the main problem with the ROH is that the best-value seats (i.e. the ones which are not too expensive and have good views) are usually gobbled up by members and friends of Covent Garden with priority booking. I saw La boheme on Saturday with Angela Gheorghiu and Vittorio Grigolo (which was, I might add, heart-wrenchingly amazing) and that cost me £62 for a front-row seat in the amphitheatre. We heard all the singers perfectly and had uninhibited views of the stage. Generally, those tickets would not last long enough for a non-'friend' to buy.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

Tickets for matinees cost half the price of the original in Budapest.

just bought ticket for late September's Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

BaronScarpia said:


> For me, the main problem with the ROH is that the best-value seats (i.e. the ones which are not too expensive and have good views) are usually gobbled up by members and friends of Covent Garden with priority booking.


I'm a 'friend' but am considering not renewing as a good percentage of tickets are held back for public booking so there doesn't seem much point in being a 'friend'.



BaronScarpia said:


> I saw La boheme on Saturday with Angela Gheorghiu and Vittorio Grigolo (which was, I might add, heart-wrenchingly amazing) and that cost me £62 for a front-row seat in the amphitheatre. We heard all the singers perfectly and had uninhibited views of the stage. Generally, those tickets would not last long enough for a non-'friend' to buy.


Those are really good seats. I saw _La bohème_ on Saturday as well and thought it was fab.


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

Havnt been to the ROH Covent Garden in a long time, but there used to be 60 seats reserved for ale on the day at the door and standing space tickets. Dont know what they do nowdays.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Badinerie said:


> Havnt been to the ROH Covent Garden in a long time, but there used to be 60 seats reserved for ale on the day at the door and standing space tickets. Dont know what they do nowdays.


They still hold back 60 day tickets and they start selling them at 10.00 am. People also queue for returns. Those of my friends who live in London regularly get tickets this way, but I have to (a) book annual leave (b) book train ticket weeks in advance, and (c) book a hotel. If I don't manage to get a seat all that effort and money would be wasted.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

BaronScarpia said:


> Generally, those tickets would not last long enough for a non-'friend' to buy.


10am the day of general sale you can still get them. But t can be a bit of a hassle for the most popular shows.


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

I used to live in south London and got many a ticket on the day. They used to have Opera Proms to with subsidised tickets. I dont many things about living in 'The Smoke' but thats one of them!


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

I want to take my wife and son to see the magic flute next year at ROH - 3 tickets - 480 pounds total for good seats.

having said that - we just paid 90 a ticket to see wolf hall (a play) - what a waste that was (my wife wanted to see it)


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Stomanek, that's certainly not cheap, but all being well you should have a good performance, and the house and its location will provide an enjoyable day/evening. 

(Re Wolf Hall, I don't think I'd pay 90 quid for something without singing and an orchestra!)


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Alexander said:


> Stomanek, that's certainly not cheap, but all being well you should have a good performance, and the house and its location will provide an enjoyable day/evening.
> 
> (Re Wolf Hall, I don't think I'd pay 90 quid for something without singing and an orchestra!)


Yes well wolf hall did hurt -

as for ROH my wife was prepared to sit at the top top save money - but I have insisted we have the best seats - stalls in the somewhere in the middle probably.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

stomanek said:


> I want to take my wife and son to see the magic flute next year at ROH - 3 tickets - 480 pounds total for good seats.


It's a superb production and worth seeing up close.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

sospiro said:


> It's a superb production and worth seeing up close.


I hope it is all traditional - proper costumes and setting.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

stomanek said:


> I hope it is all traditional - proper costumes and setting.


It's this production


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

thanks - that looks great


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

Opera should shift its focus to Television and Internet broadcasts. The 'live' medium is evidently not sustainable in this day and age.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

^ live streaming for sure, and making it available for a while (a week, a month etc., whatever works, as some houses already do). Also smaller venues/productions.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Must disagree with live streaming and cinema live broadcasts etc

live is live - ie being there - even at absurd cost. You might as well watch a recording if you are not actually there to see it as it happens.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

of course live is ideal but you've got to make your choices as do opera houses. Even as I go for cheap tickets I still can't see all the shows I'd like to (travel can be tricky). So if an opera house in another country live streams a show I'd like to see I'm all for it.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

We definitely need both. Broadcasts and DVDs are a boon for those like me who live in an opera desert. BUT there is absolutely no substitute for hearing a singer and orchestra live. 

Here is an example: I've probably seen and listened to Tristan und Isolde about 10 times. I used to quite like it but I didn't really see what the fuss was about. It took a live concert performance to reel me in to its inexpressible beauty. Something about three dimensional human beings communicating with the audience which I was part of, and the wonderful depth of sound of a well-prepared and well-conducted orchestra, completely changed my perception.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

stomanek said:


> I want to take my wife and son to see the magic flute next year at ROH - 3 tickets - 480 pounds total for good seats.
> 
> having said that - we just paid 90 a ticket to see wolf hall (a play) - what a waste that was (my wife wanted to see it)


our tickets cost about 1.3 pounds.   ok tickets, no restricted view (gallery side box, only one row).

and we still had Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night).


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

perempe said:


> our tickets cost about 1.3 pounds.   ok tickets, no restricted view (gallery side box, only one row).
> 
> and we still had Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night).


We're all coming over to visit you!


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

best tickets for MET Opening Night Gala (Le Nozze di Figaro) are priced at $700.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

perempe said:


> best tickets for MET Opening Night Gala (Le Nozze di Figaro) are priced at $700.


 

...............................


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

perempe said:


> best tickets for MET Opening Night Gala (Le Nozze di Figaro) are priced at $700.


First they have to solve their union issues... And Poplavskaya pulled out and is not singing Contessa because of 'health reasons'. It's worrying she's cancellling so often.


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## Dongiovanni (Jul 30, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Something about three dimensional human beings communicating with the audience which I was part of, and the wonderful depth of sound of a well-prepared and well-conducted orchestra, completely changed my perception.


Very well put. It's almost impossible to describe when that happens, I just call it magic.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

perempe said:


> best tickets for MET Opening Night Gala (Le Nozze di Figaro) are priced at $700.


Advert: For only $700 you can see a production that was relevant 50 years ago! Wow your neighbours, book now!


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I used to have a subscription in the Family Circle at the Met; received an inheritance and moved down to the Dress Circle.
Still couldn't see very much and that was like $60 a pop.

My brother has an in-law who sits in a parterre box, center at the Met at about $600 a ticket, I believe. He has four seats. Lucky for my brother, he gets invited to attend frequently.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2014)

Why would you pay more than the cost of a CD for a performance that you can't see? If you can't see all of the opera, then there isn't much point in attending. You can buy a DVD or a CD and get as good, if not better (depending on the quality of your sound system) experience. 

Recorded music is much more democratic - opera performances still seem to be very much aristocratic.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

DrMike said:


> Why would you pay more than the cost of a CD for a performance that you can't see?


you can still hear. Often times it's the same thing with pop music (pay more for the concert than for the CD and you might stuck behind taller people) and it's still worth going.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2014)

deggial said:


> you can still hear. Often times it's the same thing with pop music (pay more for the concert than for the CD and you might stuck behind taller people) and it's still worth going.


Hmmm, not for me. I can think of much better uses of my money. With a recording, you can sample it in advance to make sure you are getting a quality performance. With live, it is a crap shoot. And for the prices some of you are taking about, I can buy a whole lot of albums for the price of one single opera ticket - and who wants to go to a performance alone?

I am not convinced that there is any live performance that is worth that much money. For crying out loud, buy a really good DVD, and give the extra couple of hundred dollars you are still saving to some charity.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Well, I've been going to operas alone for more than 30 years now . . . and heard quite a few performances with some favorite singers in roles they never recorded (Siegfried Jerusalem as Idomeneo, among others). For me, the experience was worth the expense, air fare and hotel rooms included. But of course, each of us has to judge for him/herself how much he/she is willing to spend on something. What's worthwhile to me may not be to someone else.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

We all have to consider our own cost/benefit for a visit to the opera. It's a preference thing and we're all different.

For me, I don't think I can retell a memorable evening spent listening to a CD or watching a DVD, pleasant as such activities are. However, I never regret spending my hard-earned on various great nights at an opera performance. And even years later I'd rather have the good memories rather than having the money refunded... or another bunch of CDs.


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## Ebab (Mar 9, 2013)

Don't know about other places but in Munich, the most inexpensive opera tickets cost no more than a movie ticket. Yes, you may have to stand (which I actually may prefer sometimes because you really get a chance to move and stretch at will at any time), it's far from the stage (that's why I use opera glasses), it's up below the ceiling and may be hot in summer (when I dispense with a tie), but the _sound_ up there is divine, not muffled at all but totally organic and excitingly transparent, in some regards the best in the house. And if you care, you can find the best thing up there - the genuine, unadulterated, experienced opera buffs, with tons of expertise, very often some attitude (that you may or may not share but will not fail to inspire you, make you think, move you forward in your opera voyage) - true and unspoilt opera enthusiasm.

Talk about _priceless_. No f- excuses in Munich.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Ebab said:


> Don't know about other places but in Munich, the most inexpensive opera tickets cost no more than a movie ticket. Yes, you may have to stand (which I actually may prefer sometimes because you really get a chance to move and stretch at will at any time), it's far from the stage (that's why I use opera glasses), it's up below the ceiling and may be hot in summer (when I dispense with a tie), but the _sound_ up there is divine, not muffled at all but totally organic and excitingly transparent, in some regards the best in the house. And if you care, you can find the best thing up there - the genuine, unadulterated, experienced opera buffs, with tons of expertise, very often some attitude (that you may or may not share but will not fail to inspire you, make you think, move you forward in your opera voyage) - true and unspoilt opera enthusiasm.
> 
> Talk about _priceless_. No f- excuses in Munich.


I've read Munich was ranked as the city with the highest quality of life in the world in 2013. Could this possibly be one of the reasons? 

As for excuses, even if opera tickets may be pricey sometimes somewhere, YouTube is free all over the world. So the price of tickets cannot really be used as an excuse.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

DrMike said:


> and who wants to go to a performance alone?


I go alone all the time! It's fun, you strike up conversations with all sorts of other opera goers. I was being facetious earlier, I normally pay around £30 for opera tickets and the views are decent from where I sit. I can't imagine what would make me pay $700. Maybe I'd think differently if I lived in NYC. Here in London you only need to think up to about £250 for a Jonas Kaufmann production and luckily I'm not fussed about him.


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## Ivansen (Aug 8, 2014)

Bit of a sunshine story here in Norway: I'm organising an opera outing at work, got 19 colleagues to join, and the tickets are only £ 15 each! For fantastic seats! It's a youth thing, we are all under 30 years old, and the regular tickets are £ 75. I just hope all my opera virgin colleagues will enjoy it.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2014)

Ivansen said:


> Bit of a sunshine story here in Norway: I'm organising an opera outing at work, got 19 colleagues to join, and the tickets are only £ 15 each! For fantastic seats! It's a youth thing, we are all under 30 years old, and the regular tickets are £ 75. I just hope all my opera virgin colleagues will enjoy it.


I'd have more of a chance of getting the 75 than being under 30 years old again.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2014)

deggial said:


> I go alone all the time! It's fun, you strike up conversations with all sorts of other opera goers. I was being facetious earlier, I normally pay around £30 for opera tickets and the views are decent from where I sit. I can't imagine what would make me pay $700. Maybe I'd think differently if I lived in NYC. Here in London you only need to think up to about £250 for a Jonas Kaufmann production and luckily I'm not fussed about him.


Well, I haven't enjoyed doing very many things alone since I was married. Part of the fun of being married is having someone with which to share experiences.

At any rate, I live comfortably, but am not wealthy. And I have young kids. There are too many other things I need to pay for, and so opera tickets don't rank very high. Would I like to at some point? Sure. But I still get meaningful enough experiences off of recordings.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

DrMike said:


> Part of the fun of being married is having someone with which to share experiences.


and the fun part of being divorced is sharing every new experience with a different someone  kidding aside, CDs and DVDs have their upsides over live performances.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2014)

deggial said:


> and the fun part of being divorced is sharing every new experience with a different someone  kidding aside, CDs and DVDs have their upsides over live performances.


Yup. You can control the volume. You can pause for bathroom breaks, snack breaks, bored, etc. Don't need opera glasses. You can control the temperature. Couches are so much more comfortable than any opera seat. Don't have to sit by strangers. You already know whether the performance is a good one.


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

Nothing like seeing it live, with a good seat.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2014)

Itullian said:


> Nothing like seeing it live, with a good seat.


How much of that is real, and how much of it is you wishing it to be so? Not being sarcastic here, but why is it better live?

I have been to live concerts that were absolutely horrible, and listening to a CD was a much more pleasant experience.

Do we convince ourselves it is better live?

It is all a performance, whether you are present, or listening to a recording. Maybe you will miss stuff on a recording, but you may also miss stuff in a performance. Maybe someone coughs next to you at a critical moment, or is in some other way noisy. Maybe you can't see the whole performance from your seat. Maybe the performers are having a bad night. And so on.

If it is affordable, I enjoy seeing a performance. But for me, with the prices that most places charge, I don't think that my experience is that much better that it justifies the sometimes exorbitant prices. Too aristocratic for my blood. With a recording, I have the best seat in the house.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

DrMike said:


> Do we convince ourselves it is better live?


there's something to that. "The magic of the moment" - unless the performance is just *****. You know what they say - "you had to be there". A very good and non-magical reason is to listen to the unfiltered voices/orchestra. A couple of months ago I went to see Dorothea Roschmann live. The performance was being taped by Radio 3 and I was able to re-listen to it very soon in the comfort of my home. I can tell you there was quite a bit of difference between the two experiences, including how her voice sounded (in her case, the low notes sound fuller live than on recordings). The sound engineer evened it all out (I was too close and my ears took the brunt of her projection) but that killed a good deal of the excitement (some of the funnier moments didn't come off anywhere as funny on the recording).


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

I don't think it's "aristocratic" at all.

My poor friends and I went to many concerts. Philharmonic and rock.
They were wonderful.
To hear what a great orchestra sounds like live is an incredible experience.
The same for hearing The Who live.
Very dear memories.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

DrMike said:


> How much of that is real, and how much of it is you wishing it to be so? Not being sarcastic here, but why is it better live?


I listen to Wagner's* operas a lot, and watch DVDs, and yet with all the recordings on my shelves, I love to see it live too. I need to use caps here... there is NOTHING like a good live performance of a Wagner opera. Aside from the tremendous aural quality (as close to being spiritual as I get) there is the communal aspect of sharing the experience both with companions and strangers. Nearly all of which are well behaved, considerate and sociable. And indeed the singers, conductors and musicians, who will quickly tell you what it means to them to play for an attention and appreciative audience. Plus you get a day out in a city, gawk at some nice buildings, maybe visit a gallery, get some food and drink, watch people go by. I could go on.

*Other great composers are also available.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

MAuer said:


> Well, I've been going to operas alone for more than 30 years now . . . and heard quite a few performances with some favorite singers in roles they never recorded (Siegfried Jerusalem as Idomeneo, among others). For me, the experience was worth the expense, air fare and hotel rooms included. But of course, each of us has to judge for him/herself how much he/she is willing to spend on something. What's worthwhile to me may not be to someone else.


There are several ways to enjoy opera but I agree with this 100%.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

DrMike said:


> - and who wants to go to a performance alone?


I go alone most of the time and love going alone. Lots of people go on their own and I have made lasting friendships with fans I've met.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

When you're there you can watch the singers _you_ want to watch and not who the DVD director thinks you ought to watch.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Alexander said:


> there is NOTHING like a good live performance


it's true that music brings people together. I've been to massive rock festivals and when you get 100,000 people singing along to a song it's a tremendous experience all right. I'm hardly one to follow crowds and trends but there is something to sharing music with large numbers of people. I also remember sitting next to a chap something like 50 years older than me (who was also there by himself) and bonding over the funny moments in Figaro. Just knowing you're there for the same thing tends to break down barriers.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

deggial said:


> I go alone all the time! It's fun, you strike up conversations with all sorts of other opera goers. I was being facetious earlier, I normally pay around £30 for opera tickets and the views are decent from where I sit. I can't imagine what would make me pay $700. Maybe I'd think differently if I lived in NYC. Here in London you only need to think up to about £250 for a Jonas Kaufmann production and luckily I'm not fussed about him.


I've been to many operas alone, too! It's nice to have someone to chat with before/at intermissions/on the walk home but those are a very small part of the outing. I got over unwillingness to go solo to movies, rock shows and classical concerts many years ago when I got sick of missing these events just because I didn't know that anyone else was going.

And I attended quite a few operas when I lived in NYC, most of them at the Met but I never paid anywhere near $700 for a ticket. I saw the majority of performances with $25 lottery tickets.

Also attending opera live comes off better because it is set up that way. Many many things about the live opera experience are designed to help you enjoy the evening (or afternoon!). It is a wonderful thing to be able to focus on an opera I am excited about with hundreds or thousands of other people that have chosen the same opera. It is much more fun than sitting at home, trying to ignore the phone, the cats, (the kids if you have them) and everything else or stopping (often in the middle of the scene) to take care of something else.

That being said, if we start factoring in cost it becomes a very different story. I don't attend near as many operas as I'd like because I don't have the time or money to do so. Even right now I'm trying to decide what to do with the upcoming San Francisco Opera season; how many can I afford to attend? Does it make more sense to buy a package now or get single tickets as they're coming up?

Meanwhile I'll watch recordings at home when I can. And be very happy about that.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

sospiro said:


> When you're there you can watch the singers _you_ want to watch and not who the DVD director thinks you ought to watch.


Yesyesyes especially when you have a horribly capricious video director like Benoît Jacquot or Chloe Perlmutter.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

Coming back to live vs streaming or cd - with recorded sound - or streaming - you do miss out on the full beauty of the voice.

More so than instrumental music - opera is degraded to an extent if it not experienced live - in my experience


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## korenbloem (Nov 5, 2012)

The prices of an opera ticket, are absurd. Yet there are most cheaper ways to watch great preformences. For example: last summer, I was on vacation in Italy, there where allot of shows in small villages all over Toscany. I watched the final rehearsal of Theleman Pimpinone, for free.


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## Der Fliegende Amerikaner (Feb 26, 2011)

perempe said:


> best tickets for MET Opening Night Gala (Le Nozze di Figaro) are priced at $700.


Actually, as of right now there are still 11 seats in the Grand Tier for $1,500 each:
http://www.metopera.org/metopera/season/single/reserve.aspx?perf=13071

Those 11 seats are on the sides of the Grand Tier. I'm pretty sure the box office is holding back some seats in the prime sections of the Grand Tier and Orchestra for those who also purchase tickets to the gala.

http://metopera.org/PageFiles/46533/ON_2014_Invitation.pdf
http://metopera.org/uploadedFiles/MetOpera/support/special events/Figaro_Reply_WebSource.pdf


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Alexander said:


> I listen to Wagner's* operas a lot, and watch DVDs, and yet with all the recordings on my shelves, I love to see it live too. I need to use caps here... there is NOTHING like a good live performance of a Wagner opera. Aside from the tremendous aural quality (as close to being spiritual as I get) *there is the communal aspect of sharing the experience both with companions and strangers. Nearly all of which are well behaved, considerate and sociable.* And indeed the singers, conductors and musicians, who will quickly tell you what it means to them to play for an attention and appreciative audience. Plus you get a day out in a city, gawk at some nice buildings, maybe visit a gallery, get some food and drink, watch people go by. I could go on.
> 
> *Other great composers are also available.


Chatting with strangers about your operatic experience seems to be a Western thing. Here in Belarus you will be looked at funny and/or weird.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Der Fliegende Amerikaner said:


> Actually, as of right now there are still 11 seats in the Grand Tier for $1,500 each:
> http://www.metopera.org/metopera/season/single/reserve.aspx?perf=13071
> 
> Those 11 seats are on the sides of the Grand Tier. I'm pretty sure the box office is holding back some seats in the prime sections of the Grand Tier and Orchestra for those who also purchase tickets to the gala.
> ...


A little out of my league, I'm afraid. :lol:


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Der Fliegende Amerikaner said:


> Actually, as of right now there are still 11 seats in the Grand Tier for $1,500 each:
> http://www.metopera.org/metopera/season/single/reserve.aspx?perf=13071
> 
> Those 11 seats are on the sides of the Grand Tier.


nothing quite like a side view for $1,500! I'm on it.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

Met an old english couple (in their 70s or older) from London in the premiere of Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci in Budapest yesterday. they told me that they can not afford opera home.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

perempe said:


> Met an old english couple (in their 70s or older) from London in the premiere of Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci in Budapest yesterday. they told me that they can not afford opera home.


Nor me! I don't go so much now. When I know I can see great singers at a fraction of the cost at other houses in Europe, I feel like I'm being ripped off by ROH.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

sospiro said:


> Nor me! I don't go so much now. When I know I can see great singers at a fraction of the cost at other houses in Europe, I feel like I'm being ripped off by ROH.


ROH's Il Barbiere. Row 20. €230.

Only overpriced by about €200


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

Couac Addict said:


> ROH's Il Barbiere. Row 20. €230.
> 
> Only overpriced by about €200


but did you notice it's almost sold out already? I guess they're just about right priced for the London public.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

$150 in Montreal. $135 Quebec City. $200 in Ottawa. $220 in Boston.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

Upcoming "La Traviata" at Paris Opera, 269 EUR, or 349 USD.


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## RobertKC (Dec 9, 2013)

$116 US (based on season subscription) for a premium seat for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, at the beautiful Muriel Kauffman Theatre. This season: La Traviata, The Italian Girl in Algiers, Silent Night, and Tosca.

I also have a full season subscription to the Kansas City Symphony at the adjoining Helzberg Hall. $67 US (based on season subscription) for a premium seat. Joyce DiDonato sang last night – it was wonderful.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

RobertKC said:


> $67 US (based on season subscription) for a premium seat. Joyce DiDonato sang last night - it was wonderful.


now that's lucky! It pays that she's a local gal, eh?


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## RobertKC (Dec 9, 2013)

deggial said:


> now that's lucky! It pays that she's a local gal, eh?


Yes, Joyce DiDonato is native to the Kansas City area. Last year she performed in The Capulets and the Montagues, so I've had the good fortune to hear her in both Helzberg Hall and the Muriel Kauffman Theatre.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Vaneyes said:


> Upcoming "La Traviata" at Paris Opera, 269 EUR, or 349 USD.


That's for Row 1. Row 20 is €70. The point I was making was that row 20 is almost at the back. That seems a lot for sitting at the back but as previously mentioned, the tickets are selling so I guess it's a supply/demand thing.

The USD is a weak currency these days, so it will always be expensive at the exchange. For comparison, €70 is about 10 big mac meals in Paris.

Di DiDonato for $67 at Kansas? Hard to complain about that. Sounds very reasonable to me.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

Matinee prices for Carmen (Erkel Theatre, Budapest)
it's the same opera company that plays in the Opera House.
booked tickets to a gallery side box (no restricted view, only one row) for about 1€.

the best seats are 6€, the cheapests are 0.66€.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

perempe said:


> the best seats are 6€, the cheapests are 0.66€.


Love the Forint!


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

Never liked seats at the front anyway. End up with a neck ache in some venues. Best half way back for me. As long as no one is wearing a top hat or a bee hive hair-doo. Prices these days for front seats are crazy though. It shoudnt stop someone going to see an opera live at least once in their life. Its something special.


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

i'm going to see Neue Oper Wien's guest performance in Budapest (Punch and Judy). the guest performance tickets cost 1.66 - 5E EUR compared to Vienna's 18 – 48 EUR. so 90% discount.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

I can't imagine there being an issue with sneaking into an opera after the first intermission, free of charge, aside from missing the first act of the opera. Security in these places is very poor. Do wait long enough in the sides to take your seat until you can determine which seats are free that evening.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Couchie said:


> I can't imagine there being an issue with sneaking into an opera after the first intermission, free of charge, aside from missing the first act of the opera. Security in these places is very poor. Do wait long enough in the sides to take your seat until you can determine which seats are free that evening.


Haha! And I've been known to give myself an 'upgrade' after the interval.


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

sospiro said:


> Haha! And I've been known to give myself an 'upgrade' after the interval.


No Comment...


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Badinerie said:


> Never liked seats at the front anyway. End up with a neck ache in some venues. Best half way back for me. As long as no one is wearing a top hat or a bee hive hair-doo. Prices these days for front seats are crazy though. It shoudnt stop someone going to see an opera live at least once in their life. Its something special.


Is it just me or do the folks in the front row look a bit creepy? haha. Sad, old gents who think they're still a chance with the soprano.


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## deggial (Jan 20, 2013)

^ I always thought it was odd for opera singers. Even when they're in their 20s most of their fans are from their Nan's generation...


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## DonAlfonso (Oct 4, 2014)

Opera was the first 'multimedia' art form. It's not just about the singing, or the music/acting/sets/production/directing but all of these in (hopefully) harmony. Live performances are the best (only?) way to get the full experience. Even DVDs and live streaming leave you subject to the video director's opinion as to what you "should" be watching at every point. Also every performance is unique and I feel the ones I see live are somehow 'mine'.
I saw a performance of the original production of Baz Lurhmann's Boheme in Sydney where Rodolfo couldn't find the 'little bonnet' so he and Mimi sang to a hub cap. Also a Midsummer Night's Dream when they cast a Hermia who was much taller than Helena - in a comedy it raised another laugh. Seeing Catherine Malfitano at the Met as Violetta on a half-price ticket bought on the day - no CD/DVD/streaming compares.
In my opinion it's always worthwhile seeing opera live, even with 'second tier' singers.

Lithuanian National Opera in Vilnius - top prices (centre first balcony) about 40 Euro, good seats in the stalls about half that.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

DonAlfonso said:


> I saw a performance of the original production of Baz Lurhmann's Boheme in Sydney where Rodolfo couldn't find the 'little bonnet' so he and Mimi sang to a hub cap.


Was that the one where Schaunard smacks his head on the door frame and has to promptly lie down?


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

sospiro said:


> Haha! And I've been known to give myself an 'upgrade' after the interval.


I thought that it's only my special move.

last time (Iphigénie en Tauride on Friday) we managed to take the most expensive seats with one of the cheapest tickets, but I won't give details.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

perempe said:


> I thought that it's only my special move.
> 
> last time (Iphigénie en Tauride on Friday) we managed to take the most expensive seats with one of the cheapest tickets, *but I won't give details*.


:devil:

Well done!


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## DonAlfonso (Oct 4, 2014)

Couac Addict said:


> Was that the one where Schaunard smacks his head on the door frame and has to promptly lie down?


Must have been a different night - wish I'd been there. Lovely production though and the cast were all young enough to be believable characters. I know it's not this thread but yes sometimes the physical appearance of the singers/actors does make a difference.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Do remember that you're doing the singers a favour in occupying a vacant spot. They don't give their best when the have to sing to seat backs.

I think the houses should operate an airline upgrade system at the door if there are going to be empty seats in the stalls. Dedicated balcony dwellers would love the occasional treat of front stalls view.


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## Couac Addict (Oct 16, 2013)

Couac Addict said:


> Was that the one where Schaunard smacks his head on the door frame and has to promptly lie down?


First 30secs.
Shaunard: I'll give you two a little privacy. On second thought, I'm just going to lie here if that's cool with you. 
Is that Mimi or Violetta? Where am I? Is this _Rent_?


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## perempe (Feb 27, 2014)

60€ will be the best seat for next season in Budapest, but you can no longer buy cheap tickets to the 2nd row of 3rd level boxes for 2€, as those will rise to 19€. the cheapest seats with no view at all will cost 2€ to the upper circle.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

perempe, That seems like quite a price hike if I recall from my recent visit. Will this extra cost go towards better padding on the stalls seats?

But maybe that's good for you as if people stay away because of the price. Just by a €2 ticket and do a self-upgrade 

I trust the Erkel will still be more reasonable.


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## Belowpar (Jan 14, 2015)

stomanek said:


> Yes well wolf hall did hurt -
> 
> as for ROH my wife was prepared to sit at the top top save money - but I have insisted we have the best seats - stalls in the somewhere in the middle probably.


Had to laugh at this comment. took my wife and daughter as a present to Wolf Hall and the seats in the Upper Balcony literally hurt. Had to lean forward to see anything. West end theatres are generally very poor and that's the assessment before you consider the facilities offered. One advantage of basing your business model on selling musicals to tourists is you don't have to worry about generating repeat trade. Bothe the ROH and Coliseum are exempted here and are decent venues.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

perempe said:


> 60€ will be the best seat for next season in Budapest, but you can no longer buy cheap tickets to the 2nd row of 3rd level boxes for 2€, as those will rise to 19€. the cheapest seats with no view at all will cost 2€ to the upper circle.


I can see the issue here with self-upgraders and their box seats. Not surprised that's been changed. 
I had a front row centre balcony seat in Budapest tonight and for a big opera/production and voices it was ideal. And the seat was more comfortable than the stalls! I guess this was about £10/€14/$15, quite excellent. The €2 seats at least gets you in and tonight the usherette was ushering the cheapseaters into seats with a better view. There does seem to be a lot of seats up there with no view. Surely better to stand at the back? I don't think I could do a 'listen only' opera night. I can stay home and do that. Even the worst upper slips seats at Covent Garden have some kind of view.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Luckily I have paid only twice for opera tickets... twice for standing room only at the Met.

All of my Philadelphia Opera and Utah Opera visits have been complementary thanks to my stepdad.


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