Moving seats at concerts...

[PhilipT]

.. I was then escorted into the area that I believe is used for the Royal Box when such occasions happen. As I was sitting there, in splendid isolation ..

Eh? The RAH does not have a Royal Box (this is a favourite trick question among Promenaders), but it does have a Queen's Box, a double box on the Grand Tier level. RAH boxes are held on leaseholds, and Queen Victoria bought this double box when the Hall was built. Usually, if the Royal Family don't want the use of the box for a particular concert, and usually they don't, then the seats are made available via a ballot to members of the Royal Household - it's a perk of working in the Royal Household. It's very rare for the Queen's Box to be empty at a sold-out Prom; the only occasion I remember was in 1997 on the evening of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. The box was empty, and in darkness.

[pastoralguy]

Eh? The RAH does not have a Royal Box (this is a favourite trick question among Promenaders), but it does have a Queen's Box, a double box on the Grand Tier level. RAH boxes are held on leaseholds, and Queen Victoria bought this double box when the Hall was built. Usually, if the Royal Family don't want the use of the box for a particular concert, and usually they don't, then the seats are made available via a ballot to members of the Royal Household - it's a perk of working in the Royal Household. It's very rare for the Queen's Box to be empty at a sold-out Prom; the only occasion I remember was in 1997 on the evening of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. The box was empty, and in darkness.

Well, being a hick from the sticks, I don't know about the lack of Royal boxes. It was a big area in what appeared to be the best seats.

I'm not making it up...

[Flosshilde]

I go down into the Arena for part 1, casually look around for an empty stalls seat, then home in on it for part two after the interval looking as if I own the place.

... My guess is that people come down from the gallery having trained their binoculars on picking out likely seats below.

Doesn't this distract you from the music?

[Flosshilde]

Eh? The RAH does not have a Royal Box .

Well, PG did say "escorted into the area that I believe is used for the Royal Box", not "escorted into the Royal Box".

[Petrushka]

Doesn't this distract you from the music?

Not between movements, pieces or applause it doesn't! It's just 'out-of-the-corner-of the-eye' stuff really and while the music is on I concentrate fully on that.

[Ferretfancy]

Eh? The RAH does not have a Royal Box (this is a favourite trick question among Promenaders), but it does have a Queen's Box, a double box on the Grand Tier level. RAH boxes are held on leaseholds, and Queen Victoria bought this double box when the Hall was built. Usually, if the Royal Family don't want the use of the box for a particular concert, and usually they don't, then the seats are made available via a ballot to members of the Royal Household - it's a perk of working in the Royal Household. It's very rare for the Queen's Box to be empty at a sold-out Prom; the only occasion I remember was in 1997 on the evening of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. The box was empty, and in darkness.

Remember Dud an Pete at the theatre ? " There's nobody gracing the Royal Box this evening, not unless they're crouching."

[Flosshilde]

I once sat in the Venetian equivelant of the Royal Box in La Fenice - twice the height of the other boxes, lined with mirrors framed by gilt palm trees.

(It had some other people in it, & I just wandered in by accident)


(It was for a free concert, when the orchestra was occupying the theatre for some reason)

[MrGongGong]

Before they refurbished the RFH the only toilets on level 6 (I think it's that one ?) with disabled access were in the Royal Box. Having done several performances around there with groups of people including wheelchair users we got quite familiar. The temptation to leave a copy of the Beano in the loo
The RAH has some rather swanky "Royal Retiring Rooms" that are sometimes used for meetings etc

[jean]

When I went to the Bolshoi in the mid-1990s, what I assume had originally been the Royal Box still had a hammer and sickle over it.

[Vile Consort]

Thirty years ago the BBC didn't make much effort to sell tickets for BBC Phil concerts, with the result that the Free Trade Hall would be only one eighth full, and people used to migrate to better seats between works (or even between movements) and loll around with their feet over the back of the seat in front and their jackets and other paraphernalia spread out over several adjacent seats.

I recently went to hear Olivier Latry at Ripon Cathedral and moved into the cheaper seats after the interval because I suspected the acoustics were better there. I was right.

[Beef Oven!]

people used to migrate to better seats between works (or even between movements) and loll around with their feet over the back of the seat in front and their jackets and other paraphernalia spread out over several adjacent seats.

Sounds like my experience at Gong concerts, nearly 40 years ago. Shocking.

[teamsaint]

Sounds like my experience at Gong concerts, nearly 40 years ago. Shocking.

back then I made it a point of principle never to attend a concert where there was seating provided.

[MrGongGong]

Sounds like my experience at Gong concerts, nearly 40 years ago. Shocking.

I don't think you were doing what Daevid intended then

[amateur51]

Huge seat-swapping potential at Royal Festival Hall in London tonight

Daniil Trifonov, an award-winning young Russian pianist, is making his RFH debut andf there are hundreds of empty seatss., particularl;y in the balcony where you can pick up a seat for £10 and then swan down

Programme includes JS Bach, Beethoven piano sonata op. 111 and Liszt Transcendental studies.

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/daniil-trifonov-piano-81370

[salymap]

Years ago I was turned out of an empty stall seat at h RAH by Harold Holt who was sitting facing me in the then BBC box

Most annoying as my friend stayed put..