ENO's Pearl Fishers in photos - with discount details

No, it's not Das Rheingold, it's Penny Woolcock's new production of Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, which opens at English National Opera on Tuesday. ENO have taken the unusual step of releasing dress rehearsal photos well in advance, which suggests sales are slow. That's confirmed by a glance at the ticket booking website. So expect bounteous special offers.

The first to appear was in the Telegraph some weeks ago. 

Now a Metro promotion offers dress circle tickets for £20 and upper circle tickets for £15 on 1 and 4 June (only). Visit www.eno.org/metro and enter the code "ENOMETRO" to book (thanks Ruth for the tip).

For discounted stalls tickets, the best bet is the TKTS booth in Leicester Square. Turn up on the day of performance, and remember of course availability is not guaranteed.

More photos over the page.

Hanan Alattar as Leila and Alfie Boe as Nadir:

Freddie Tong as Nourabad and Hanan Alattar as Leila:

Freddie Tong as Nourabad, Quinn Kelsey as Zurga, Hanan Alattar as Leila and Alfie Boe as Nadir:

Quinn Kelsey as Zurga and Alfie Boe as Nadir:

Hanan Alattar as Leila and Alfie Boe as Nadir:

Quinn Kelsey as Zurga:

Hanan Alattar as Leila and Alfie Boe as Nadir:

 

Comments

[John]

Thanks to you and Ruth for the tip. From the interview with the producer on In Tune it could be better than the usual oriental flummery to which it is usually subjected.

Eagerly await the offers for Idomeneo now.

[Doundou Tchil]

Wow ! I visited ENO last week, went backstage and talked to the people, saw the set being built, saw the diagrams and notes etc. etc. Fascinating how they've built this production up, and the ideas that have gone into it. I'm really looking forward to this because it sure doesn't sound "pink, fluffy and brainless". Checking the ENO site, sales are good, pretty normal, so it might be a good idea to book sooner rather than later.

[inter mezzo]

@Doundou Tchil there are actually 500+ seats still available for nearly every night - and that's excluding any agency returns not yet up on the ENO site. Although that is indeed pretty normal by ENO standards, it does suggest to me that some of the surplus will be making its way to TKTS.

[Anne]

I think it looks great.

[Another opera lover]

There's another special too from Travel Zoo for Idomeneo - Upper circle £29-£46 seats £10, Dress circle £61 - £77 seats for £22. Book through the ENO Box Office quoting IDOMTZ. I'm not exactly complaining, but in some ways it's sad, as you said some time ago, that no-one with any sense pays full ENO prices these days.

[John]

Thanks A.O.L. I have my £10 ticket for the first night of Idomeneo too.

[Keith]

You'd have to pay me to sit through this mindless hokum.

[Nik]

I would happily go and see more there if they didn't do everything in English. Actually I've been dying to see a decent Idomeneo for years, but I'm too worried I won't be able to ignore the language.

[Ruth]

With apologies for going off topic, I just wanted to say thanks to Another Opera Lover for the tip-off on Idomeneo tickets. It’s a really good deal – valid on all dates of the run, and for some reasonable seats as well (i.e. not just the back two rows of each circle, as with so many of these deals). Also, as the offer is available over the phone as well as online, the £22 deal covers those nice Dress Circle front slips seats which aren’t available online… you’ll pay a slightly higher booking fee for telephone booking, but the superior seats are definitely worth the extra 50p!

[Michael]

Last night was the third performance of this overfussy and confused production. Quinn Kelsey was impressive, Miss Alattar much les so. Alfie Boe was ill, his understudy Christopher Steele voiceless. Steele acted the part on stage (very well considering) while William Burden sang the role, superbly, from the side of the stage. Burden is reheasing Don Ottavio at Glyndebourne

[John]

I was at the performance on the 4th and an apology was made for Alattar before the performance and for Boe in the interval.It was would be unfair to comment on both in the cirumstances.

The production started brilliantly with the deep sea divers, but soon turned cluttered and hackneyed. Leila's twirling and flirting with her veil in the second act was like a bad amateur staging of Kismet ( and which company last staged that).

Off to OHP Pelleas tonight with fleece and rugs at the ready.

[David Hawgood]

Michael didn't mention that William Burden sang in French while the rest of the cast sang in English. So we had William Burden standing at the side of the stage in a suit singing in French, understudy Christopher Steele acting the part and mouthing convincingly in English. The Head of Casting, John McMurray, came on stage before the performance and when he said the part of Nadir would be sung in French from the wings the audience roared with laughter. And everyone enjoyed the show.

[Michael]

Forgot that bit! Quinn Kelsey switched to French for the chorus of The Duet