About the third year for me since taking associate membership, and the third year when I have not received what I was after in terms of tickets! It seems that if you want to go to the new productions and/or anything by Wagner or Strauss, forgeddaboudit!
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I was on the "Waiting List" (as associate membership used to be called) for about twenty years before finally being offered membership a few years ago. I found that it was generally possible to get reasonable-price tickets for "popular" productions on their second outing; but for Handel, Janacek, Gluck and other superb composers whom the public at large don't seem to adequately appreciate, I could tickets for new productions.Originally posted by Prommer View PostComment
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When I was on the Waiting List it seemed to me that there was a correlation between how well the economy was doing and my chances of getting the tickets I wanted. The worse the economic news, the better my chances of getting everything I asked for, though I always got something. I sympathise with Prommer, but it is a ballot.Originally posted by David-G View PostComment
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Indeed it is, and I do not dispute that element of things. However, I suspect that even were my name first out of the hat from the associate members' ballot, these days the festival members would by this point have snaffled the new production tickets already (except of the more obscure pieces). This is understood, to a degree, but I suspect that they have let the festival membership get too large, and probably associate membership too - as it is a lucrative thing to have people handing over money annually by DD prior to getting any tickets. This is evidenced by the fact that four years or so after opening up the lists again, by asking festival members to propose people first of all, and giving the impression that this was a rare opportunity, they are still adding to the numbers and indeed advertising this fairly insistently. In particular, the takings from the £500 subvention to become an AM must be a terrible temptation when accounts time comes around... Beryl from Paper Clips (Glynde Branch) must be salivating!Originally posted by PhilipT View PostComment
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I'm reminded of Michael Portillo's comment on the Bayreuth ballot - he applied for years without getting anything, then the year he became a cabinet minister he got the seats he wanted.Comment
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This is obviously true, since they let me in. But bear in mind that members can't apply for Upper Circle Slips, while associate members can, so if your name were first out of the hat and you'd applied for Upper Circle Slips you'd get them.Originally posted by Prommer View PostComment
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And when he left the cabinet, as if by magic, the flow of seats dried up.Originally posted by Flosshilde View Post"I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is like a delicate exotic fruit; touch it and the bloom is gone. The whole theory of modern education is radically unsound. Fortunately in England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever. If it did, it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and probably lead to acts of violence in Grosvenor Square."
Lady Bracknell The importance of Being EarnestComment
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Glyndebourne hoi-polloi booking opens tonight at midnight. Just logging in today I see that there would appear to be tickets available for Rosenkavalier on certain dates although the heading states "Der Rosenkavalier is sold out". I'm wondering if I should stay "logged in" for the next 8 hours and hope to get early picking at midnight or will I have to refresh do you think - and enter the queue?
Any views on other productions/designers for this season? I don't want to repeat the Ariadne disappointment of last year. Onegin I like but have seen it a couple of times already. Rinaldo is a re-run of the 2011 production. Any views on this production set in an English boarding school?
And Mozart's "La Finta" looks an outside runner. Any views?O Wort, du Wort, das mir Fehlt!Comment
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Rinaldo - production - concept, dramatically - IMO dire. Why they are repeating it I do not know. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the music, the best I could do in the circumstances. .
In comparison, I didn't have the strong objections, held by many, to their Ariadne. E Onegin or Rosenkavalier appeal to me this year.Comment
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Bax of DsOriginally posted by Bax-of-Delights View Post
The Traviata and La Finta Gardiniera will be presented again by the touring company later this year, and it's possible to see these at Glyndebourne. It's often not more expensive to see those presentations at Glyndebourne itself, rather than in places like Woking and Milton Keynes. It's a shame IMO that the touring company doesn't seem to go very far north, or very far west. Does it ever go up as far as Scotland, or indeed anywhere near it?
OK - the touring company may not have some of the stellar names as the festival company, but often the overall quality these days is rather high, and seat prices are considerably less. There is no need to dress up, though the weather will inevitably be cooler and darker in the autumn going into winter months.
Re the Don - we've seen that a few times lately. The Glyndebourne production is worth seeing. Rinaldo, assuming it's the version with girls' school, and the mad game with the globe on a stick, is totally wacky - but the music is good. That leaves both Eugene Onegin and Rosenkavalier as possibly worthwhile options (for us) to book for this year's festival.
I think we'll stay up and see what we might get for those two. The web site for Rosenkavalier looks misleading, as it states that is is sold out, but then gives a list of dates, some with prices, and some with a comment about returns. Let's see what that looks like after midnight.
The Onegin looks feasible.
I don't think you need to stay logged in all night, but it might be worth checking in around 11.40pm.
Last year we had some of the cheaper seats for a couple of productions (Falstaff and the Rameau), and personally I found those higher up seats rather uncomfortable and unpleasant. The view was restricted. I swore that I would not have those seats again. We did have good seats for Ariadne - stalls circle I think - and apart from the weirdness of the production, it was a much better experience, and the music was glorious.
Last year of course the weather was great for such days out- no guessing what will happen this year.Comment
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Well, I got onto the site on midnight, put a couple of Rosenkavalier tickets in the basket and...the website went t*ts up. As it gives you only 30 minutes to complete the purchase I was sweating on the line as I started from scratch and logged in once more. The tickets were still in the basket but I realised I didn't have time to check any other performances so I went straight to check out. I finalised with 3 minutes to spare!
Now it's time for
I can tell Tania is already in the land of nod from the gentle foghorn noises drifting down the stairs. 
O Wort, du Wort, das mir Fehlt!Comment
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bax of ds.
I didn't see any worthwhile Rosenkavalier seats at all. There were a few standing "seats".
Well done if you managed to get some. We couldn't get on, and stay on the site consistently. Rosenkavalier does seem very popular - is that because the production is a new one?
However, we persevered with Eugene Onegin, and did manage a couple there. There was only one day with cheaper seats, and unfortunately that was one day we couldn't do. Makes Die Frau at the ROH with the offer mentioned recently - code word 'fraumarch" for the performances on the 17, 20 and 29 March seem very cheap.
Holland Park booking is also today - I'm not sure if that was from midnight too - as we decided that Holland Park presentations are likely to conflict with other things over the summer so we didn't even try. http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/subsites/oper...014season.aspxComment
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Dave2002, join the Returns Club (for free), you'll get notification a few day's before a performance of any availability. Provided you can be flexible, you should be able to get a ticket. As I suspected, the new production of Der Rosenkavelier is the hot ticket of an otherwise lacklustre season. This has the added attraction and opportunity of seeing the new Music Director, Robin Ticciati, being put and putting the LPO through their respective paces.
I hope you are successful.Comment
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belgrove
Thanks for the tip. I think we are already on the lists for returns - we do seem to get notified.Comment
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Dave2002:
I got a couple of Upper Circle sides which, apart from the standings, was all that was left. I know you have said you dislike these but we sat there a couple of times last season and found them quite amenable, especially those 5 or 6 back from the front (as these were). And at only (only!) £60 each we felt it was worth the punt for the only production we really wanted to see.
Our "diary" is fairly open and we live just 30 minutes from Glyndebourne so the chances are we'll be able to muscle in on a couple of other productions later in the season. Onegin and Don Giovanni are the likely choices.
Whatever comes your way - I hope you enjoy whatever you choose.O Wort, du Wort, das mir Fehlt!Comment
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