I think most of us would agree that however pants the old Royal Opera House website was, the new 'improved' site is far worse. Gone forever, apparently, is the brilliant 'view from seat' seating plan, and finding out basic stuff like what's on in six months time is ridiculously complicated. However there are a few useful pages hidden in the undergrowth......
Production information
A complete list of 2008/09 productions, with casts and performance dates. This is the only place to find detailed information on the full year: http://www.roh.org.uk/uploadedFiles/Press_and_Media/PDFs/theroyalopera0809season[1].pdf
A 2008/09 season summary - it shows only the names of the operas and when booking opens: http://www.roh.org.uk/booknow/whentobook.aspx
All press releases, including cast changes, are on this page. It's the only place on the site to find the cast change details which used to be (more sensibly) on the front page: http://www.roh.org.uk/pressandmedia/pressreleases.aspx
Ticket information
How to get day tickets and standby tickets: http://www.roh.org.uk/booknow/ticketinformation.aspx
Group booking discounts: http://www.roh.org.uk/booknow/group_bookings.aspx
£10 student standby scheme: http://www.travelex.royaloperahouse.org/StudentIntro/index.cfm
General information
The 2007/08 annual review, which summarises the past season, and includes audience and financial statistics : http://www.roh.org.uk/uploadedFiles/About_the_Royal_Opera_House/Annual_Review/annualreview0708[1].pdf
Royal Opera House productions at the cinema and on the radio in the near future: http://www.roh.org.uk/cinemas/index.aspx and http://www.roh.org.uk/whatson/onradio/index.aspx
An old page on the 2003 production of Peter Grimes which explains the mechanics of putting on an opera at Covent Garden and shows some of the people and processes involved: http://www.rohedpetergrimes.org.uk/
A similar page for the ballet, based on Swan Lake: http://www.rohedswanlake.org.uk/
And finally, your gripes invited: http://www.roh.org.uk/contact/index.aspx
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***UPDATE***
The Royal Opera House have responded (!!!) - see 'Comments' below - including a promise that "features that are currently absent and which may seem "gone forever" are actually in development."
New whizzy website eagerly awaited!
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