Out of the 13,000 tickets that were available for the six shows in March 2020 featuring famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann, the Royal Opera House refused to say how many were available for members of the public after pre-selling them to members.
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How much would you pay for a ticket to the opera?
The Royal Opera House have been criticised after they’ve sold almost all of their tickets for their must-see show of the year to members who pay up to £2,500 per year for this early access.
Out of the 13,000 tickets that were available for the six shows in March 2020 featuring famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann, the Royal Opera House refused to say how many were available for members of the public after pre-selling them to members.
They only said that there were “hundreds” still left. Even with early access, the tickets cost up to £275 apiece.
This is particularly difficult for young people – although the Opera House has a student scheme where school and university students have access to tickets for as little as £10, one is left wondering what to do if you’re a young professional who doesn’t have the means to drop £250 for a night at the opera.
Kristy Swift, a professional soprano who works in opera, said: “Sometimes people who are in that slightly older age bracket have the least money flow… they don’t have an endless tap from their parents that is going to continue indefinitely.”
So how can people without a large disposable income access the epic drama that is opera?
Timothy Langston, a singer and director, pointed out that many opera companies are striving to increase accessibility and make opera more attractive to younger audiences by performing in more unusual venues.
“These people perform in pubs, restaurants or small theatres, within community projects – really taking it into new places and spaces,” he said.
This, in fact, is exactly the project Kristy is working on at the moment with the company Opera On The Move.
She described the ethos of the company, saying: “We take opera into venues that aren’t necessarily theatres, so we’re touring next year to a farm, we do restaurants, we do all sorts of different locations.”
Schemes such as Opera On The Move are opening opera up to a wider range of audiences, but why should people be interested in the first place?
As Kristy points out: “At the end of the day, it is one of the most stimulating and entertaining art forms.
“These are really enduring stories, there are catchy tunes that people know.”
“People really embrace huge things like Game of Thrones – big, fantastic, epic ideas. Opera is no different from that; it’s telling often quite big, epic stories with incredible, driving music which is identical to what you’d have in a film soundtrack.”
Timothy agrees, saying that the emotional value of opera means that people should be coming to it with an open mind: “It’s a time in your life where experimentation and experiencing new things is what your life is really all about…
“I personally have never met anyone who’s gone to the opera for the first time and not said exactly the same thing to me which is ‘oh my goodness, it’s not at all what I expected and I loved it.’”
Perhaps young professionals should therefore be frequenting the opera more often, whether that’s in the hallowed halls of the Royal Opera House or among the pigs at the local farm. It seems that the drama and music can appeal to all – and maybe more should be trying it.
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HeadlineWhy should young professionals be going to the opera?
Short HeadlineIs opera accessible to young people?
StandfirstHow much would you pay for a ticket to the opera?
Interior of the Royal Opera House, London, 28/12/2007. Stage stages box boxes theatres curtain curtains panorama panoramic (Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)
How much would you pay for a ticket to the opera? The Royal Opera House have been criticised after they’ve sold almost all of their tickets for their must-see show of the year to members who pay up to 2500 pounds a year for this early access.
Out of the 13,000 tickets that were available for the six shows in March 2020 featuring famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann, the Royal Opera House refused to say how many were available for members of the public after pre-selling them to people who pay for Opera House membership, only saying that there were “hundreds” still left. Even with early access, the tickets cost up to £275 apiece.
This is particularly difficult for young people – although the Opera House has a student scheme where school and university students have access to tickets for as little as £10, one is left wondering what to do if you’re a young professional who doesn’t have the means to drop £250 for a night at the opera.
As Kristy Swift, a professional soprano who works in opera, says: “sometimes people who are in that slightly older age bracket have the least money flow… they don’t have an endless tap from their parents that is going to continue indefinitely.”
So how can people without a large disposable income access the epic drama that is opera? Timothy Langston, a singer and director, pointed out that many opera companies are striving to increase accessibility and make opera more attractive to younger audiences by performing in more unusual venues. He said: “these people perform in pubs, restaurants or small theatres, within community projects – really taking it into new places and spaces.”
This, in fact, is exactly the project Kristy is working on at the moment with the company Opera on the Move. She described the ethos of the company, saying “we take opera into venues that aren’t necessarily theatres, so we’re touring next year to a farm, we do restaurants, we do all sorts of different locations.”
Schemes such as Opera on the Move are opening opera up to a wider range of audiences, but why should people be interested in the first place? As Kristy points out: “at the end of the day, it is one of the most stimulating and entertaining art forms. These are really enduring stories, there are catchy tunes that people know.” She pointed out how similar opera can be to young people’s other interests, saying: “people really embrace huge things like Game of Thrones – big, fantastic, epic ideas. Opera is no different from that; it’s telling often quite big, epic stories with incredible, driving music which is identical to what you’d have in a film soundtrack.”
Timothy agrees, saying that the emotional value of opera means that people should be coming to it with an open mind: “it’s a time in your life where experimentation and experiencing new things is what your life is really all about… I personally have never met anyone who’s gone to the opera for the first time and not said exactly the same thing to me which is ‘oh my goodness, it’s not at all what I expected and I loved it.’”
Perhaps young professionals should therefore be frequenting the opera more often, whether that’s in the hallowed halls of the Royal Opera House or among the pigs at the local farm. It seems that the drama and music can appeal to all – and maybe more should be trying it.
How much would you pay for a ticket to the opera?
The Royal Opera House have been criticised after they’ve sold almost all of their tickets for their must-see show of the year to members who pay up to £2,500 per year for this early access.
Out of the 13,000 tickets that were available for the six shows in March 2020 featuring famous tenor Jonas Kaufmann, the Royal Opera House refused to say how many were available for members of the public after pre-selling them to members.
They only said that there were “hundreds” still left. Even with early access, the tickets cost up to £275 apiece.
This is particularly difficult for young people – although the Opera House has a student scheme where school and university students have access to tickets for as little as £10, one is left wondering what to do if you’re a young professional who doesn’t have the means to drop £250 for a night at the opera.
Kristy Swift, a professional soprano who works in opera, said: “Sometimes people who are in that slightly older age bracket have the least money flow… they don’t have an endless tap from their parents that is going to continue indefinitely.”
So how can people without a large disposable income access the epic drama that is opera?
Timothy Langston, a singer and director, pointed out that many opera companies are striving to increase accessibility and make opera more attractive to younger audiences by performing in more unusual venues.
“These people perform in pubs, restaurants or small theatres, within community projects – really taking it into new places and spaces,” he said.
This, in fact, is exactly the project Kristy is working on at the moment with the company Opera On The Move.
She described the ethos of the company, saying: “We take opera into venues that aren’t necessarily theatres, so we’re touring next year to a farm, we do restaurants, we do all sorts of different locations.”
Schemes such as Opera On The Move are opening opera up to a wider range of audiences, but why should people be interested in the first place?
As Kristy points out: “At the end of the day, it is one of the most stimulating and entertaining art forms.
“These are really enduring stories, there are catchy tunes that people know.”
“People really embrace huge things like Game of Thrones – big, fantastic, epic ideas. Opera is no different from that; it’s telling often quite big, epic stories with incredible, driving music which is identical to what you’d have in a film soundtrack.”
Timothy agrees, saying that the emotional value of opera means that people should be coming to it with an open mind: “It’s a time in your life where experimentation and experiencing new things is what your life is really all about…
“I personally have never met anyone who’s gone to the opera for the first time and not said exactly the same thing to me which is ‘oh my goodness, it’s not at all what I expected and I loved it.’”
Perhaps young professionals should therefore be frequenting the opera more often, whether that’s in the hallowed halls of the Royal Opera House or among the pigs at the local farm. It seems that the drama and music can appeal to all – and maybe more should be trying it.
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