A nice bar with an opera house attached

 

The Royal Opera House may claim to be strapped for cash but that hasn't prevented some serious - and many would say unnecessary - refurbishment of the Floral Hall over the summer break.

Out goes the end bar with its coffee and cakes and sandwiches. In comes a more upmarket champagne bar in the centre of the hall and some smart new furniture. Very nice.

And yet we're stuck with three Traviatas this season because the ROH can't afford to mount anything better.

 
 
  
  
 
 

Comments

[Nikolaus Vogel]

I doubt Covent Garden paid a penny for this. Ruinart has the new champagne franchise so I presume they will have forked out for the furnishings - a small outlay for the return they will get on their ridiculously overpriced fizz.

[Ruth]

To be fair, my understanding is that we ended up with three Traviatas because two(?) other productions fell through at relatively short notice.

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Intermezzo replies - and my understanding is that they fell through for financial reasons

[FC]

But what kind of revenue do they generate with booze? I for one dropped at least 20 to 30 quid on two intermission drinks during Tannhauser at my last visit to the Royal.

The Met isn't much better with 8 dollar glasses of beer or wine and 12 dollar glasses of watered down cocktails and cheap champagne.
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Intermezzo replies - prices are comparable with any bar in London, but the costs of running the operation means catering generates minimal profit - check the ROH accounts. A captive audience won't buy more drinks just because the bar looks fancy - they buy drinks because it's the thing to do (or maybe they're just thirsty). Regardless of decor.

[Morgan]

Gosh!I didn't even notice these refurbishments when I was there last night. Looks nice, but I agree that it's not really a priority in the current climate. The previous set up was sufficient for now.

[Gert]

What's the yellow quilted material? It looks like fabric in the photos which is a bit worrying - could look grubby & tacky very soon. As well as being an unfortunate throwback to 1950s Estate Pubs

[Stephen]

The ROH has been a restaurant complex with an opera house attached for a long time now, as more and more space is given over to catering. You can occasionally even get cooking smells inside the auditorium, especially near the stage. There is nowhere now to just wander round in the interval. The crush room is turned into a restaurant, the floral hall is unbearably noisy and the amphi bar is so packed you can't move. Ridiculous, but it actually feels more cramped and overcrowded than it did before the redevelopment.

[Alexander]

They would better pay more attention to the design of this area altogether with the menu and wine list... judging from your pictures ( you posted Ms.Intermezzo;) it looks like a snack area at some international air hub - I'm just curious whether they have their announcements on an intermission's end via loudspeakers or some soprano ( or baritone) appears and sings it out to the public ;)....just my opinion of course ;)

[M-L]

I disagree with some of Stephen's comments. Before the redevelopment the tiny spaces that were the amphi bars were always crushed and I often spent the interval squeezing through the crush or sitting on the concrete stairs.
I agree the restauarants are high vis but it probably helps to keep my slip seats nice and cheap. I've eaten in all the restaurants and had very nice meals. Usually get by with free cast list and free water .....

[Manou]

Relax, people - it's only a bar, probably heavily subsidized, and yes, there are lots of eating places scattered throughout. They must bring some revenue, otherwise they would not be allowed to proliferate as they have, and there most definitely are places one can wander around (the entrance foyer, for one).

Why not go to the opera with anticipation and a smile on one's face instead of always grumbling about this or that? It was a very special evening yesterday and I for one went home elated and grateful that I was able to have such a wonderful time, and looking forward to the rest of the season.

[Rannaldini]

The ROH doesn;t operate these bars. The franchise (in effect) is sold, and catering companies bid for the right to operate there. At least that's my understanding?

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Intermezzo replies - correct, but the ROH absorbs any profit or loss they make. Catering comes under the umbrella of Royal Opera House Enterprises Ltd - which incidentally recently lost its managing director, who has not been replaced. Who knows what's going on there.

[Steve W.]

The new champagne franchise is with Ruin Art!? Titters from twitters...

As I'm always upstairs and a smoker, I'm more aggrieved by the apparent permanence of the balcony smoking ban that means a f***ing long treck out the front at the interval.

[Stephen]

M-L is right that the old amphi bars were cramped. But do you remember how cheap the amphi seats were, even the good ones at the front, and even taking into account that everything cost less then? When the new house opened, I thought the fact that you could sit in the amphi but have access to the whole house in the interval was great. There was so much space and you no longer felt like a leper. Then it dawned on me (and the ROH) that, if you no longer had to be keen enough, and fit enough, to make it up all those stairs, you could jack the amphi prices way up (£86 tops of late). Result: it's no longer just the regulars who want to sit in the amphi, the best seats are in much greater demand from patrons who wouldn't have been seen dead there before, and the prices have increased astronomically. But now there's an escalator and a lift, so mustn't complain.

[Justin Chapman]

What were the two shows that were axed? I heard rumours that one was Delius' 'A Village Romeo and Juliet' and the other a revival of 'La Calisto'...any advance on that peeps?
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Intermezzo replies - Weber's Oberon {weeps}

[Michael Y]

The beauty of the 1830 curtain is that the first interval comes early enough to escape for a perfectly acceptable espresso at Caffe Nero round the corner. Less than half you're fleeced for inside, and somewhere comfortable to sit as well ...

[Nikolaus Vogel]

Weber's Oberon has been given the chop several times. I remember reading a "We hear that..." entry in Opera almost three decades ago that "Robert Tear will sing the title role in a new production of Oberon" - it really is a disgrace that Covent Garden does not cherish the repertoire created on the site where it stands - and that includes the great Handel operas of the mid 1730s, plus Britten and Tippett. I think I masnadieri was premiered in London, but at Her Majesty's Theatre (the Royal Italian Opera House) where the present Her Majesty's stands. If you've ever wondered why the Arcade behind it is called Royal Opera Arcade, that's why. Of course Oberon is difficult to stage, but so it the Ring and Die Frau ohne Schatten. And Aida......

[Rannaldini]

Re: Earlier posting IM.

I don;t understand that. If ROH absorbs profits and losses, then why would anyone be incentivized to bid for the gig? Weird.
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Intermezzo replies - Company of Cooks *manage* the bar and catering, that's all. In the 2010 financial year, the ROH generated income of £7.5m from catering for costs of £6.2m, which left them with a profit of £1.3m. Straight from the ROH accounts.

[manxmaid]

I presume the tea dancers are going to have to waltz around the new bar as it looks too big to push over to one side. The quilting does look very dated. It is clear from comments tonight that the long black banquette is no longer available to dash for in the interval as a reward for being a Stalls Circle standee. This and the lack of seating in the Amphi bar and Foyer area( perishing cold there in winter, Manou !) means that many standees may resign themselves to "borrowing" seats + stay in the auditorium for one interval at least . . .

[Frances]

The new bar is still "demountable" and last night there was some electrical problem and they had split it with one smaller part at the side by the escalator and the main part at the end under the mirror like the old bar. Most of the tables were in neat rows in the middle.... looked as though we were taking an exam! The "long black banquette" is still there but it is now beige!
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Intermezzo replies - not quite like the old bar.The new bar when placed at the end was much shorter than the old one - so the queues were much longer. If you could find anywhere to queue in between the tables that is. Not very well thought out!

[amac]

I understand from a friend it was in a completely different configuration last night. Half of the new bar was along the back and the other part by the escalators.

Taking accounts at face value ! always a risky thing.

Depends very much on what is covered by "costs" - £6.2 - sounds a lot for the comestible costs (given the bar prices). If the "costs" include a proportion of running costs as heat, light, maintenance etc for areas that are bars/restaurants then the overall position looks better.

[Manou]

I was at the Faust dress today and the bar was completely gone - they had set up the Hall with several round dining tables for some function.

Obviously a fly bar.

Manxmaid - it's only cold in the foyer if lots of smokers are going outside to rot their lungs.

[KM]

@Gert: The yellow quilted material is actually beige leather.

I quite like the look of the new bar when it's divided.

[rosieM]

The bar was OK I suppose, but I really thought the chairs and tables looked somewhat canteen-like!Horrid! Not what I'd expect in otherwise beautiful surroundings