Intermezzo

The two hats of Calixto Bieito

Calixto Bieito's Fidelio opens at ENO on 25 September - and his Die Soldaten just three days before that, on 22 September in Zurich. 

Fidelio has already been staged (and revived) in Munich. Die Soldaten is a brand new production of a long and complex work. So which production will get the lion's share of Bieito's personal attention?

Of course directors often delegate revivals and transfers to other people, and there's nothing wrong with that - unless the show is sold on the director's name, as all ENO productions are this season.

If ENO's strapline "Fidelio - Directed by Calixto Bieito" is currently missing a " 's assistant", now would be the time to add it.

Free opera tickets from ENO

ENO can't sell tickets, but can they give them away?

We'll see. Six tickets for Philip Glass's The Perfect American are up for grabs by any 18-26 year old opera virgins willing to subject themselves to hideous Wozzeck-style marketing experiments, beginning with a pre-match questionnaire. Free drinks (it doesn't say how many) will be handed out afterwards to take away the nasty taste.

If ENO want to convince young sceptics that opera is the cultural equivalent of soggy brussels sprouts, they're making a fine job of it.

ENO, late again

An anonymous reader appears to have rumbled why ENO never fill the Coliseum.

Here's the email they sent to remind him about his booking - 66 hours after the performance started.

ENO £20 seats - book today

Public booking for the first half of ENO's 2013-14 season begins on 10 June. But if you're planning to see three or more operas, you can book a 'subscription' from today.

And maybe even get a few quid off as well. A reduction of 5-20% applies if you book 3 or more operas between now and 2 September 2013. Next season's price rises are shocking - top stalls price up from £99 to £125 (26% rise), and top balcony price up from £30 to £39 (30% rise) - so any discount is welcome.

An even better offer, for gamblers anyway, is the 'Secret Seat' option. For £20, you are guaranteed a seat normally priced at £25 or more, but you don't find out exactly where until three days before the show.

Given that all seats except the front two rows of the balcony cost more than £25 next season, and that recent special offers have all been priced at £20+, this is a real bargain for anyone who likes to book in advance. And ENO have guaranteed that at least some of the Secret Seats will be in the stalls. The downside is that you could end up in the cramped balcony, or in the claustrophic rear circles with no surtitles.

ENO haven't disclosed how Secret Seats will be allocated. I would hope that ENO will follow the example of Kings Place's similar Saver Seats scheme and go with a 'best available' basis, rather than just sticking everyone in the balcony.

ENO say a limited number of Saver Seats will be released. They don't specify a number, but commonsense suggests that opening nights and popular operas may sell out at some point. They also say that not all performances are included. However my own brief search failed to unearth any shows without a Secret Seat allocation.

The Secret Seats can be booked from today (for 3 or more operas only) but the subscription discount mentioned above doesn't apply.

Rolando Villazon gets chopped in half

Get half price tickets for Rolando at the Royal Festival Hall on 15 May with a Time Out offer.

The discount is only valid on the bottom three price bands (no front stalls), and you don't get to pick your seat. Prices after discount run from £21 to £34.

Time Out also have a half price offer for ENO's Wozzeck (dress circle and upper circle seats only).

ENO 2013 - 2014 season details

English National Opera finally announced their 2013-14 season today. With one world premiere, four brand-new productions, four productions new to ENO,  and just four revivals it looks at first glance pretty adventurous.

However with massive losses to stem, (£2.5m last year and reportedly a further £800,000 this season) ENO are steering more cautiously going forward. Most of the titles on offer are recognisable, if not downright overexposed. And the directors' roster, at long last, is comprised almost entirely of people who can actually direct opera.

The only real gamble, and the most exciting prospect on the list, is Julian Anderson's first opera, Thebans, which premieres in 2014. But the column inches are going to Terry Gilliam's second bash at Berlioz. He's back at ENO to direct Benvenuto Cellini, as he let slip a couple of years ago.

Despite ENO's earlier bizarre denials, Calixto Bieito is also returning. His spectacular but totally mystifying Munich Fidelio finally makes its way to London. Sadly, the unmissable Stuart Skelton isn't singing in all performances.

Christopher Alden has been one of ENO's most reliable  (if divisive) directors of recent years, and he gets two cracks of the whip this season with productions of Rigoletto and Die Fledermaus first seen in Toronto.  Brother David is also back for a revival of his superb Peter Grimes.

Only one baroque opera this year. Even if Richard Jones' new Rodelinda turns out a dud, it should be redeemed by the fantastic cast, which includes Rebecca Evans, Iestyn Davies and John Mark Ainsley.

The new Cosí Fan Tutte comes with an obligatory Katie Mitchell warning. A 'rewritten' text from Martin Crimp is also threatened. Whether this means just a decent translation, or something more along the lines of his misconceived Misanthrope is not clear.

Replacing Nicholas Hytner's much loved Magic Flute is a well-received Simon McBurney production from Amsterdam. Could this prove to be something that has so far eluded the John Berry regime - a revivable warhorse?

Thomas Ades's Powder her Face has, in the face of sneery critical opinion, turned out to be something of a late 20th century classic. After multiple productions around the world in the 18 years since its debut, this will, surprisingly, be ENO's first staging of Ades's delicately-orchestrated masterpiece. It won't be flattered by the chosen venue, Ambika P3, a subterranean concrete barn with the acoustics of a fully-tiled urinal despite its publicity-friendly post-industrial looks.

Also included in ENO's 'new opera' count is River of Fundament, a Matthew Barney movie project that as far as I can tell contains filmed performances only.

Public booking opens for all productions from Fidelio to Rodelinda opens on 10^th June, and the trailer, above, is for once informative and worth watching.

Full list of productions, including casting, below.

Multiple savings at ENO

Buy drastically reduced tickets for ENO's remaining operas this season (Death in Venice, La bohème, The Perfect American and Wozzeck) on the London Theatre Direct website.

Dress and Upper Circle tickets are half price plus £5, which equates to around 45% off. All dates  included.

For La bohème, you can alternatively get two tickets for the price of one on ENO's own website using the code ENOBOHEME.

 

ENO 2013/14 season announcement

No, ENO haven't announced their 2013/14 season yet, even though 1 April would have been the perfect date.

Instead they've plumped for 1 May. Prime your alarms.

 

ENO to blow £1/2 million on making opera "more mainstream"

Woman in Black at the Opera - Mary Cassatt

English National Opera - the same English National Opera that just lost £2.5m in a year - is to spend an estimated £500,000 on "a marketing campaign, which aims to make opera more mainstream". But at the same time promotes ENO as "the entertainment destination for the cultural cognoscenti". Broad - but narrow. Non-elitist - but elitist too.

We all know that opera companies need to market themselves, and marketing costs money. And ENO certainly need to do something to fill those acres of empty seats. But is spending more than 5% of annual box office income on sending conflicting messages the way to do it?

Audiences are not as stupid as some organisations think. If the price is right - and, crucially the quality is too - then people will flock to even the most challenging work. The Royal Opera House proved that decisively with packed-out houses for The Minotaur and Written on Skin. ENO need to address what they're selling before they think about how to sell it.

ENO's Boheme half price

Tickets for the latest revival of ENO's La bohème are 50% off with a new Time Out offer.

This brings the dress circle price down to £41.50 and the front upper circle to £31 - but the best bargain has to be the back two rows of the upper circle at £12.50 (no subtitles visible). You won't get anything cheaper than that.

The main drawback with Time Out offers is that you don't find out which seats have been allocated until you pick up the tickets on the night - and £31+ for anything behind the front couple of rows is not a great bargain.

More ENO half price deals

ENO. Half price. Yet another offer.

LondonTheatreDirect.com have a very limited allocation of seats for La bohème, The Barber of Seville and Medea in all areas of the theatre at half price (plus £3 fee).

Ignore the 'save £29' and similar banners on the site, because most of the discounts are even higher. Just pick the number of seats you want for the selected date, and you are shown exactly which seat numbers are available, and how much they cost. Brilliant.

Bear in mind that, as ever, bigger discounts will probably be available on the day at the TKTS booth (availability not guaranteed).

Thanks to reader Grahame for spotting.

ENO's Barber and Boheme at half price

Here's something to make Jonathan Miller even grumpier. Get 50% off seats for his two upcoming ENO revivals, La bohème and The Barber of Seville, with DiscountTheatre.com.

Their ticket allocation includes Stalls, Dress Circle and Upper Circle, though not all areas are available for all dates. You don't get to pick your seats, but you are told exactly which ones have been allocated.

Bookings must be made by 2.30pm on Friday 15 February.

Thanks to reader Alison for spotting.

Behind the scenes at Konwitschny's La traviata

The current ENO La traviata was first seen in Graz back in 2011. Ioan Holender (yes that one) secured a peek at rehearsals and an interview with director Peter Konwitschny for his Austrian TV show kulTOUR mit Holender.  Watch above - in German with English subtitles.

And for those who can't get to the London performances, or just want a preview/reminder, here's the finished show in full:

More ENO half price offers

My blog runneth over with ENO discount deals.  Right now they seem even more plentiful than usual - no doubt the recent financial revelations have increased the pressure to fill seats.

The Ambassador Theatre Group are the latest organisation to join the merry band of cut-price ticket providers, with half price offers on the new Peter Konwitschny La traviata and the revival of Jonathan Miller's The Barber of Seville.

All seating areas are included in the offer (even stalls), and all dates after 21 February. Seats are picked for you on a 'best available' basis, but you are shown exactly which seat numbers have been picked before you pay. It appears ATG have been given a limited allocation, as not all areas are available on every night.

Thanks to reader Alex for spotting.

First look at Philip Glass's Perfect American

Philip Glass's latest opera, The Perfect American, premieres tonight at Madrid's Teatro Real. Based on Peter Stephan Jungk's novel of the same name, it presents 13 fictionalised episodes in the life of Walt Disney in a production by Phelim McDermott.

Mickey, Donald and the rest of the cartoon crew are no-shows. In their place are a robotic Abraham Lincoln, an owl attack, and a visit from Andy Warhol.  A largely British cast features Christopher Purves in the principal role.

If you can't wait until it turns up at ENO in June, you can watch it live on 6 February on the Teatro Real's web channel, where it will remain on demand (price from €9.95). It will also be shown later on TVE (Spain), ARTE (France and Germany), WDR (Germany), France Television and NHK (Japan). (UPDATE - to be shown on Mezzo TV too).

 Photos below, video here.

Medea offer

Half price tickets for ENO's Medea, which opens on 15 February, with this Time Out offer.

The discount is valid for all shows, but only Upper Circle (£50-£55) and second price Dress Circle (£83-£86) seats. As with all Time Out ENO offers, you don't get to pick where you sit - seats are allocated by the box office on the day of the show.

As nearly half the tickets remain unsold, it may be worth waiting to see if better offers turn up later. My guess is that it's extremely likely TKTS will have seats for less than £30 on the day.

Arts Council's big opera shakeup

Just as ENO's staggering losses have emerged, it has been revealed that the Arts Council are taking a look at "new models that would enable opera and ballet to continue to thrive."

Or, reading between the lines, how they can slash opera and ballet funding without killing the artforms outright.

The review is at an early stage, and a formal report is due in late spring.

A Guardian article by Charlotte Higgins provides a reasonably balanced picture of the issues, but bear in mind while reading it that ENO's drop in public funding last year was matched by an equivalent rise in private funding, and her assertion that "artistically, the 2011-12 ENO programme was judged a success" seems to be missing a 'not'.

ENO - the bottom line

Not every opera company shares the rude financial health of the Paris Opera.

A big thank you to reader Susan, who spotted that ENO's 2012 results were sneaked out a few days ago without fanfare. When you see the numbers, you won't be surprised that ENO wanted to keep a lid on them. They paint a disturbing picture of a company on the brink of a financial precipice - no exaggeration.

ENO traviata offer

Upper circle tickets for 2 - 9 Feb shows of ENO's La traviata are half price (£31-£33) with this TimeOut offer.  Seats are only allocated on the night, by the way.

The seats in the offer all have a view of the subtitles. If you don't mind doing without (remember, it's sung in English), seats in the back two rows are even cheaper at £25 (weekday shows only) when you book direct with ENO (no code required).

GILT secret

The annual Get Into London Theatre offers have just begun.

They include drastically reduced prices for ENO's Mikado and La traviata, with dress circle seats down to £25 and upper circle £15 (including all fees).

Also of interest to Onegin obsessives may be the Deborah Colker Dance Company's Tatyana at the Barbican, with £23 tickets reduced to £15.

The GILT ticket allocation is limited, so it's best to buy as soon as you can.

Book on the GILT site.