| Opera-L | London | Opera-L |
| Helen Elsom | ||
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City File: LONDON
For web maps see Multimap. London is a large city with a vast range of operatic and other activity. This file aims to point you at useful sources of current information. It does not aim to provide up-to-date information itself, because things change too fast. London telephone numbers changed in April 2000. The code 0171 changed to 020 7 and the code 0181 changed to 020 8. Only telephone numbers in this format work now. London is somewhere between mid-town Manhattan and downtown Boston for stress levels. Be prepared for crowds around Oxford Circus and Trafalgar Square/Charing Cross, and in the tube. The climate is moderate, rarely going below freezing in the winter, with highs in the upper 20s (low 80s Fahrenheit) in the summer. It can rain a lot, but there has also been a serious drought in recent years. The air quality in central London can be very poor indeed in the summer. Opera performances in major houses in London take place on Monday through Saturday. There are occasional matinees, usually on Saturdays, depending on the production. Fringe productions take place seven days a week, sometimes including a matinee or earlier evening performance on Sunday and no performance on Monday. Performances in major concert halls take place seven days a week. For performances and events in the week ahead, the definitive London listings magazine is Time Out, published Wednesdays (available Tuesday evening in central London). See also the Time Out web site. The London Evening Standard has an online site This is London that includes listings in the Hot Tickets section. The Guardian or Independent supplements (published Saturdays with the newspapers) are also useful, though less complete than Time Out for classical music and opera. Metro, a free morning newspaper, has daily listings. You can pick up season schedules in most venues once general booking is open. (See specific venues for details.) For general orientation and finding addresses, a street guide such as the A-Z is essential. You can get these in most bookstores or WH Smith/John Menzies newsagents. Folding maps of central London are often not detailed enough, and also unwieldy to use. You can also get a good detailed map of central London to fit a personal organizer from WH Smith or specialist organizer stores. Driving in central London is not advised. Traffic is congested, and parking can be very difficult and expensive. A weekly Travelcard for zones 1 and 2 lets you use public transport -- tube, buses and local trains -- in central London at all times. (If you are staying outside the centre, you may need a card for zone 3 or higher. Check when you buy your card.) A daily Travelcard lets you use public transport after 9.30AM on weekdays, from any time at weekends. There are tube maps on all stations and maps of the immediate area on all stations and many bus stops. Central London, and public transport, is normally safe, but use common sense. The tube runs until after midnight on most lines. The last local trains from main line stations normally leave between 11.00PM and midnight, as do the last buses from the centre. Night buses (all starting from central London) run through the night at hourly intervals. Black cabs can be more convenient if there are several of you. The fare from central London to outer London can be in the region of GBP 30. Black cabs are wheelchair accessible. Contact LUL for tube and bus information: Telephone: (0207) 222 1234 Contact Railtrack for train information: Telephone: 0345 484950 (local rate) See also the section on the theatre district for places to visit in the neighbourhood of the ENO and ROH. There are many guidebooks to London and the south of England. A personal selection of places to visit in central London:
Places to visit in southern England: Cambridge, Oxford and Canterbury are all worth visiting. You can spot future opera stars in the choirs, some of which are co-ed. Choral Evensong is normally at 5.30, 3.30 on Sundays, Communion at 10.30 on Sundays. Not all services are sung. Services at parish churches are at different times. Check individual places of worship for details. Southwold, not far from Aldeburgh, is nice for a weekend break. Brighton, for shopping, especially jewellery and decorative arts, is an easy day trip. The Brighton Festival, in May, generally has at least one substantial opera and other major musical events. There are a number of American-style coffee chains throughout central London. A chain called AMT has kiosks or trolleys that sell great coffee on most mainline railways stations. Pizza Express is a reliable pizza chain. Pizza on the Park, on Knightsbridge near Hyde Park Corner, is part of the same chain and has excellent live jazz. Other branches, currently including those in Bloomsbury and Hampstead, have live classical music. See Time Out for locations and times. The ASK pizza chain is similar, without music, and very good. Supermarkets (for food, booze, household goods, toiletries, newspapers and magazines): Tesco Metro at Oxford Circus, in Covent Garden, and Sainsbury's on Tottenham Court Road and Gloucester Road are open until 10PM Monday to Saturday, and Sunday afternoons (except Easter Sunday). Marks and Spencer's stores also have food and wine departments and are open Sunday afternoons in central London. There are a few B8 and similar twenty-four hour stores in London, including one on the Strand. A few branches of supermarkets, including Tesco's in west Kensington and Sainsbury's Local stores, are open twenty-four hours, though some of these close Saturday and Sunday nights. Oddbins is the best chain for wine, but branches in central London may be closed on Sundays. You cannot buy booze before 8.00AM, after 11PM, or on Good Friday afternoon. See Time Out or your preferred restaurant guide for pointers to high-end eating out. Watch out for promotions, for example, five- and ten-pound lunch deals in good restaurants, in some of the daily papers, including the Financial Times. Liberty's (on Regent Street, Oxford Circus tube) and Selfridge's (on Oxford Street, Bond Street tube) are the premium London department stores. Dickens and Jones (Regent Street, near Oxford Circus) and Fenwick's (Bond Street) are also very stylish. Harvey Nichols (for high fashion and food -- look out for the risotto rice with the old La Scala on the package) is right by Knightsbridge tube station. Follow the signs for Knightsbridge when you get off the train, take the Knightsbridge (south) exit then the left-hand stairs. Harrod's is right by the other station exit. Follow the signs for Harrod's. There are branches of most high street chains in central London. Boots the Chemist is often particularly useful. All branches stock standard healthcare products, and many are dispensing pharmacies. They also sell cosmetics, shampoo, toothpaste -- all the stuff you forgot to pack -- and bottled water and snacks. Superdrug is similar to a north American drugstore chain. Chapell's on Regent Street probably has the most comprehensive stock of music. Foyle's on Charing Cross Road has a good music department, and some other good specialist stock, though the store's organization is a nightmare and its presentation is non-existent. The Waterstone's chain and the London chain Books etc. have branches, including some specialist stores, throughout London. Hatchard's on Piccadilly is a branch of Waterstone's, whose flagship store is a few doors down the road in the old Simpsons building. There is a large Border's on Oxford Street, east of Oxford Circus. Dillon's academic store on Malet Street has been rebranded as Waterstone's. Blackwell's has a large branch on Charing Cross Road. (Ahem, go to Heffer's in Cambridge or Blackwell's in Oxford for a real academic bookstore. Blackwell's music bookshop in Oxford is also excellent.) Grant and Cutler on Great Marlborough Street has an excellent stock of non-English books, and some videos and music, as well as language teaching materials. Unsworth on Bloomsbury Street has recent remaindered and review copies of academic books, and some second hand books. It's probably the best of its kind, but there are several chains of similar stores, for example, BookHouse. Tower Records on Piccadilly Circus and HMV on Oxford Street, towards the Tottenham Court Road end, are the best sources for opera and other classical CDs. There is another main HMV branch opposite Bond Street tube. Tower has a separate section for contemporary composers, roughly post-Britten, who is in the main sections. Opera is in a separate section, in alphabetical order of title. The staff are very helpful and knowledgeable if you can't work out where to find what you want. The MDC chain seems to focus on German labels. I've never noticed that much in the way of discount, but they have a different range from the other stores, and interesting close-outs, and are worth a visit. The Strand branch probably has the widest stock. For specialist and second-hand CDs, and vinyl, Harold Moores is outstanding: Harold Moores,
Almost opposite Grant and Cutler, and more or less behind Marks and Spencer on the eastern part of Oxford Street. Take the turning on Oxford Street opposite HMV, then the first right. Other music shops, recommended by Andreas Praefcke: Gramex
Andreas writes: "Gramex has interesting and unusual stock, both vocal and non-vocal, including LPs. Eccentric and friendly, it doesn't look like a store at all, more like a sitting room. The CDs are lying around on tables, and you are urged to take a seat on the comfortable upholstered couches while browsing them. Even better, I have found second hand CDs there which I have never been able to locate anywhere else. The LP stock isn't as extensive as Harold Moores', but contains some precious items nevertheless, including quite a lot of operatic recordings and vocal recitals. The owners know a lot about the recordings they have in stock, and you invariably end up in discussing the pros and cons of some pre-war operatic recording." Notting Hill Classical Music Exchange
A few hundred yards from Notting Hill Gate tube station. Great for Sunday shopping. Andreas writes: "Make sure you go into the right shop. There are many Notting Hill Exchanges selling audio equipment, pop CDs and other things, but only one Classical Music Exchange. Notting Hill Exchange sells a great variety of CDs and LPs in a special kind of auction: the prices are cut by a pound every week or so, so you have to come back again and again - but then your desired item may well be gone... Be sure not to miss the basement, where thousands of LPs at the price of 20p each (!) are waiting for you. Quality can't be guaranteed here, of course, but it's a great opportunity for checking out works and recordings." Cheapo Records Ltd
Andreas writes: "For really cheap CDs, there's the aptly named Cheapo in Rupert Street. The owner is a sort of lunatic, however (don't mention the fact that you're German, for example - his reaction may be very much like Basil Fawlty on a good day). Unfortunately, the CDs are only sorted into two categories, pop and classical, so shopping may take some time. ("How ever did they win?")" Banks are normally open 9.30AM-5.00PM. Most banks in central London have a bureau de change. The branch of Thomas Cook near Marble Arch is open until 7.00PM. There are cashpoints outside most branches of banks, and in most main-line and tube stations in central London. All cashpoints take non-UK issued Visa and Mastercard, and some take Cirrus. American Express machines are also available in or near branches. There is a branch of American Express inside a clothes shop on Regent Street, near Oxford Circus. Contact your travel agent for hotels. Public transport is always available and convenient after performances in central London, so choose the best accommodation you can afford that is reasonably central, and take the tube or bus. If you are prepared to wait until you arrive to book accommodation, Andreas Praefcke recommends "the official, but nevertheless effective and friendly, London Tourist Board Accommodation Service at Victoria and Liverpool Street stations" and at Paddington. Comparatively inexpensive accommodation can also be available in university halls of residence out of term. Andreas suggests Rosebery Hall, a residence of the London School of Economics, on Rosebery Avenue, almost opposite Sadler's Wells. The UK national papers are all London-based and cover opera and other music and music-theatre in London. To read their on-line editions, you normally need to register, which is free. Reviews are often difficult to track down, as the sites are frequently redesigned. The main papers are:
2. English National Opera (ENO) The ENO was founded by Lilian Baylis in 1931 as the Vic-Wells Opera at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. In 1968, it moved to the Coliseum. The company became the ENO in 1971, and was given a government grant to buy the theatre outright in 1988. The Coliseum, the largest theatre in London, was built as a music hall (by Frank Matcham) in 1904 and retains its high-kitsch Roman circus decor. The sight lines are generally excellent. The seats in the balcony, which has a separate entrance around the corner from the foyer, are basically benches. The sound under the balcony overhangs is less good (reflected in cheaper seats), but there are no real dead spots. The best value seats are probably the sides at the front of the dress circle, which are often available for £27 on the day (see below), and are much better than the slightly cheaper seats at the back of the dress circle. Check the plan, though -- those in the second and third rows by the aisles have almost no knee room. The ENO season is from September to early July, with a break (recently filled with ballet) over the Christmas and New Year holidays. The ENO is often described as the New York City Opera to Covent Garden's Met. The company consists of young anglophone (mainly British) singers, with regular guests, generally cast because they suit a work in production, and few singers likely to be familiar to North Americans. Productions, always in English, tend to emphasize the theatrical. Jonathan Miller, Graham Vick, and David and Christopher Alden regularly direct new productions. Workhorses include The Cunning Little Vixen, Miller's Rigoletto and a high-camp Pearl Fishers. Highlights of recent seasons include new productions of From the House of the Dead, Falstaff, Parsifal, Semele, Alcina, Pelléas and Mélisande, and Ernani, the British stage premiere of Nixon in China, Dr Ox's Experiment, a new work by Gavin Bryars, and The Silver Tassie, a new opera by Mark Anthony Turnage. The 2000-2001 season starts with a special Italian opera season, which includes new productions of eight operas on a single set and lasts from September to December 2000. There are special subscriptions and prices for this season. The 2001 part of the season includes a concert version of Das Rheingold (the first step towards a full Ring in 2005), From Morning to Midnight, a new opera by David Sawer, new productions of Il Trovatore, Don Giovanni and The Rape of Lucretia and revivals of Falstaff and Lady Macbeth of Mtensk. The Baylis Programme, one of the ENO's education and outreach programmes, presents Palace in the Sky, a community opera by Jonathan Dove, at the Hackney Empire in November. See the ENO website or Operabase for full details. The Musical Director is Paul Daniel. The ENO is a regular part of the London gay scene, maybe because it's in easy reach of Old Compton Street (see below). An excellent article, "An American Opera Queen in London", in the New York magazine parterre box in 1996 got some coverage in the British press and revealed this fact to members of the audience who would never have noticed otherwise. Brief Encounter, the gay bar mentioned in the article is still there, accessed by a discreetly marked entrance in the highly-designed St Martins Lane hotel and currently open pub hours only. London Coliseum, St Martins Lane, London WC2N 4ES Box office: (0207) 632 8300 Fax (0207) 379 1264 Booking by telephone or in person at the box office: 10.00AM - 8.00PM Monday-Saturday. Telephone reservations are held for three days for payment by cheque or in cash. twenty-four hour credit card booking (no fee) on the same number. Day seats: 46 Dress Circle seats at £27 and 100 Balcony seats at £2.50 (now the best value seats in Europe) are available from 10.00AM in person at the box office and from 2.30PM by phone with credit card on the day for weekdays and Saturday matinees (by phone from 12.00). Balcony day seats are also available on Saturdays. Day seats are not available for the first performance of an opera in a season. Unsold tickets are available at £18 to students, seniors and UB40 holders (with proof of status for each ticket) from 3 hours before the performance. Unsold Stalls and Dress Circle seats are available to all at £28 from three hours before the performance on Saturdays. When all seats are sold, standing places at £2.50 are available at the management's discretion. (Standing room is normally at the back of the Dress Circle.) In addition, half-price seats are sometimes available (cash, in person only) in the ticket booth on Leicester Square. Check the boards there for availability. Balcony seats are occasionally upgraded (when the balcony is closed), but increasingly less so these days. Do not count on it. Performances of popular works and works or productions with word-of-mouth buzz can sell out weeks in advance. Group reductions: a half-price child seat can be bought with every full price Stalls or Dress Circle seats. Groups of 10 or more booking together save 25%. Groups of ten or more students or seniors booking together (with proof of status) save 35%. Disabled Access: Tickets for each disabled patron and a companion are £12.50 each. These are generally stalls seats, as appropriate for access or view of the interpreter. The interpreter can be on either side of the stage depending on the production. (Wendy Ebsworth, the regular sign interpreter, is a star in her own right.) Contact the box office for a leaflet with full details, number as above or Minicom: +44 (0) 171 836 7666. Subscriptions: Booking 3-6 operas at the same time gets you an automatic discount, 15% for 3, 20% for 4, 25% for 5, 30% for six. In addition, booking any three full-price performances gets you 10% off subsequent full-price tickets in the same season. If you book more than three operas in one period, you can book ahead of new subscribers in the next booking period. Contact the box office or pick up leaflets in the foyer for details of Friends of the ENO and the mailing list. Librettos (in the ENO guide series or specially printed) are available in the foyer before and during performances. The ENO guides are widely respected introductions to the works covered. Programmes contain historical background and director's notes or other background to the production. Nearest tubes are Charing Cross and Leicester Square. Bus stops are in Trafalgar Square. 3. Royal Opera (ROH) at Covent Garden The Royal Opera was founded in 1946 in its present home, the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, which it shares with the Royal Ballet. It has been regarded as the leading British company, comparable to the Met or La Scala, with ticket prices to match. The theatre was built in 1860, the third on the site. The first was built by John Rich in 1729, and had the first performance of The Beggar's Opera, as well as some of Handel's operas. The second theatre on the site was renamed the Royal Opera House. The present building was used as a dance hall during the second world war. The Royal Opera and Ballet were established after the war with a mixture of public funding and sponsorship which puts the companies in an often difficult position. There is still pressure from donors and the traditional audience for conventional international productions, although in the early years of the opera company the emphasis was on English performers and works. But there is also political and media pressure for wider access (generally meaning cheaper seats). Productions are normally lavish, supported by state-of-the-art stage equipment that nearly works, and the repertoire generally mainstream but perhaps not as conservative as the Met. Casts include names comparable to the Met, tending to showcase "international" names. The 2000-2001 season, planned by Michael Kaiser is notably less adventurous than previous seasons, planned by Nicholas Payne, who has since decamped to the ENO. The Royal Opera House was completely rebuilt between 1997 and 1999. New facilities include public areas open all day, among them a link between Bow Street and the piazza, the refurbished Floral Hall with a champagne bar and restaurants, a terrace which is the only place smoking is permitted, and a new Studio space. The layout of the house is roughly the same as before, with a very steep amphitheatre and restricted views from the slips. The lower slips have "semi-restricted" views, and are more expensive than the upper amphitheatre seats which have a much better view if you don't get dizzy. Standing space at the top of the amphitheatre can be difficult to find but is good for both sight and sounds. The main access to the amphitheatre is by an escalator next to the Floral Hall. Signposting in general is not always adequate, and the routes to most parts of the house are oblique. There are surtitles over the stage and monitors in the stalls circle. You cannot see the titles from the stalls circle standing room. There is flat access to all levels of the auditorium except the Orchestra Stalls. There are three times as many Ladies' loos as Gents'. The rebuilt house also includes the Linbury Studio, a small theatre under the Plaza that is used for fringe and student performances. The way in is down the stairs next to the newer Bow Street entrance. There is a bar in the foyer. Again, seats are often difficult to find. You enter at the top of the theatre and go downstairs into the orchestra. The main house reopened with a gala on 4 December 1999 and Bryn Terfel as Falstaff on 6 December 1999. The season also included Gawain, La Clemenza di Tito, Rossini's Otello and The Greek Passion. Le grand macabre and a performance of Gawain were cancelled because of technical problems with other productions. The 2000-2001 seasons includes revivals of Falstaff, Tristan, Tosca, Billy Budd, Katya Kabanova, Hoffman, Traviata, Turandot, I Capulet, Rossini's Otello, Cerentola, Seraglio and Palestrina, new productions of Henze's Solitude Boulevard and The Queen of Spades and a concert performance of Gluck's Orfeo. A subscription and priority scheme new for the 1999-2000 seasons makes subscribers ("Friends") pay more for higher priority but leaves twenty per cent of tickets for all performances available for purchase in advance by the general public. These include standing places. There are a small number of day tickets and unsold seats are available to those eligible for concessions (students, unemployed, seniors) two hours before each performance. The Royal Opera House (Box Office)
Telephone: (0207) 240 1200
Maybe I was unlucky before, but the staff who deal with telephone bookings are much more helpful than they used to be. ROH web site (includes current schedule and access information) The nearest underground station is Covent Garden.
The Coliseum and ROH are in the heart of central London's theatre district. There are many cafés, restaurants, bars and clubs within easy reach for before and afterwards. It is also possible to pick up a day ticket then get in a day's or an afternoon's shopping or sightseeing. Covent Garden is the area immediately to the east of St Martins Lane and north of the Strand. The ROH is about seven minutes' walk from the Coliseum. There are branches of Aroma, Pret a Manger and other chains on St Martin's Lane. In fine weather, take a picnic to Soho Square, or Phoenix Garden, at the end of Phoenix Street, off the Charing Cross road just below Denmark Street (both 7-10 minutes' walk from the Coliseum.) The independent Italian cafés on St Martin's Lane are a better bet than the chains such as Caffé Uno, Bella Pasta, Pizza Piazza. There are branches of Pizza Express on St Martin's Lane, Wardour Street (just off Leicester Square) and on Bow Street, a few yards from the ROH. The Bow Street Pizza Express has poor non-smoking areas. Browns, in the old law courts on St Martin's Lane, is part of the chain. Food is standard bistro fare, pasta and salads. It's often crowded, so book or leave plenty of time. Service is quick once you're seated. In Covent Garden, The Neal Street Restaurant is fairly expensive, but a lot nearer than the River Café for outstanding Italian regional cooking. Carluccio's food store, next door on Neal Street, has a small trattoria for picnics, and is a good source of Italian ingredients (some of which you can also get in other up-market food stores). Anne Cheng recommends Le palais du jardin, which she found was "relatively inexpensive and served good food in pleasant surroundings". Neal's Yard, on Shorts Gardens, is (these days) a standard wholefood store, part of the Holland and Barrett chain. Neal's Yard Dairy, on Short's Gardens, is one of the best cheese shops in Europe. The Covent Garden Tesco Metro (corner of New Row, off St Martin's Lane, and Bedford Street) is open until 10.00PM every day except Sunday, when it shuts at 6.00PM. Good for sandwiches, or for picking up breakfast or a bottle after some performances. Ponti's on Neal Street (near the Market) is open early for (acceptable) coffee while queuing for day seats at the ROH. There are several other chain coffee shops on Long Acre. Chinatown is around Gerrard Street just north of Leicester Square. China China has no frills and large helpings. Old Compton Street is the main drag of Soho. It's the focus of the gay and TV scene (I once nearly rammed my nose into RuPaul's belly button not looking where I was going), but also full of boho cafés. Confiserie Valerie is the standard, though don't touch their coffee. There are many small Italian and other restaurants on and just off Old Compton Street. There are also an increasing number of giant restaurants, such as Mezzo, and Quo Vadis (always there, but now under trendy ownership, including Damian Hirst). Soho is awake 24 hours, and exotic but generally safe. Trafalgar Square is a few yards from the Coliseum, as are the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery. There are boutiques for all tastes in Soho and Covent Garden, as well as branches of national chains. There are two branches of Lush in Covent Garden, for expensive but irresistible bath potions, including the original bath bombs. There is a branch of Boots with a pharmacy on James Street, between Long Acre and the market, at the back of the ROH. The chains Waterstone's, Blackwell's and Borders all have large branches on the Charing Cross Road. There are many small (expensive) specialist bookstores on Cecil Court, between St Martins Lane and Charing Cross Road, and a mixed bag of second-hand stores on Charing Cross Road, plus several Zwemmers, specializing in Oxford University Press publications. Travis and Emory in Cecil Court specializes in music books, and several other shops specialize in musical and theatrical memorabilia. The Waterstone's branch with entrances on New Row and Garrick Street has a good selection of performing arts reference works. There is a branch of MDC next door to the Coliseum. The South Bank Centre (SBC) was originally built for the Festival of Britain in 1951. Subsequent additions and changes haven't made the 1950s functional architecture look any more organic, but the facilities themselves are excellent. The centre is probably most attractive on a misty winter night when all you can see is the brightly lit interiors. But it is also a high-minded place to hang out, with coffee, food and books for sale all day every day and seating indoors and out. There is an open-air book market outside the NFT. Rebuilding schemes are proposed quite often. The current (2000) proposal is for a new concert hall in Jubilee Gardens, to be followed by complete rework of the Festival Hall. The South Bank Centre (SBC) has
its own web site and consists of:
The RFH venues (RFH, QEH, PR) have a single box office for advance booking.
The address for postal booking is:
Include name, address, phone number and a self-addressed envelope with a first-class stamp. (Alternatively, add 50p to the maximum on your open cheque.) Booking generally opens at the start of the month before the performance. Check for details. Services for disabled customers seem to be comprehensive. Contact Customer Services on (0207) 921 0926 for a booklet on the services available, to arrange a wheelchair or volunteer companion or with any queries. The nearest station for the RFH venues is Waterloo (tube Northern Line or main line). Alternatively, Embankment tube is almost as near. Walk across Charing Cross bridge. The view of the river is splendid. The RFH box office is in the basement of the hall. Hours are 10.00AM-9.00PM every day. There is also a stall in the main foyer (inside the ex-gift shop) that is open shorter hours. The RFH is used mainly for orchestral events -- the London Philharmonic is the orchestra in residence -- but it occasionally has major concert performances of opera. The hall is cavernous, with a deep "terrace" behind the stalls, and a balcony above. Seats in the balcony are generally better than those at the back of the terrace, because of the overhang and general gloom there. There are good sight lines and famously dry acoustics. It is as typically 1950s as the rest of the centre, with polished wood everywhere. The class distinctions of the 1950s are preserved in the increasingly Spartan decor of the loos as you go up the stairs. If you are eligible, check out the Norman Hartnel fashion shots in the stalls ladies. The RFH foyer has several bars, a buffet and restaurant and a concession coffee shop that serves soup and sandwiches. There are bars and coffee carts on the upper floors, open during the interval. There is a branch of Farringdon's record store, and a branch of Books etc. with excellent music and poetry sections. The People's Palace restaurant on level 3 has a great view of the river. It describes itself as "contemporary European".
The QEH and PR are in the same building, next to the RFH. There is a single box office for the current performances, open 45 minute before each performance, and a desk in the foyer for collecting prepaid tickets. The QEH is used for small staged productions as well as concert performances of operas. Chelsea Opera do thinly advertised bel canto and early Verdi rarities here a couple of times a year. The auditorium is rather spartan, but has first-rate acoustics and sight lines. The seating is on a single slope. Seats at the back of the front section are the most expensive, but the hall is comparatively small and the cheaper seats are very good value. The Purcell Room is generally used for chamber works. There is a concession coffee shop and a bar in the foyer. Books etc. and Farringdon's normally sell stuff related to the current performances on stalls in the foyer, and sponsoring organizations may do so as well. The south bank is in a dreary-looking area that has some interesting surprises. In particular, Lower Marsh, a street full of second-hand shops, is worth a visit. (It is also sometimes referred to as The Cut, though this is technically a different street.) It is sign posted from the Waterloo Road exit of the mainline station. Waterloo mainline station itself is a souk of concessions, including a branch of Boots, a Sock Shop and similar for emergencies. The Oxo restaurant, beyond the NT, is an offshoot of Harvey Nichols store restaurant. The river view from the bar is recommended. Livebait, on The Cut almost opposite the Young Vic, does excellent value Saturday lunches and excellent fish at all times, including shellfish at the bar. Tas, a few doors down, does excellent Turkish food with lots of choice for vegetarians. There are a number of other restaurants on The Cut. The nearest places to eat for the South Bank Centre are Chez Gerard and Pizza Express, opposite the centre on Belvdere Road. The nearest cashpoint is at Lloyds, York Road, just by the footbridge. There are also cashpoints in the Waterloo stations. You might prefer to eat across the river, in Covent Garden or Soho for example. Allow 15 minutes on foot from Charing Cross to QEH, via Villiers Street. Before 10 PM you can walk on the raised route from the Villiers Street exit of Charing Cross main-line station across the bridge. The Sadler's Wells Theatre reopened in October 1998 after a complete rebuild funded by the Lottery. On the site of three previous theatres, it was the original home of the Vic-Wells company which finally became the ENO, and also has a strong tradition of dance. The new theatre is designed specifically for dance performances, but also touring opera, notably the Welsh National Opera. It has 1600 seats, 1800 with the use of movable seating. The second circle is steeply raked, with entrances and exits only towards the lowest point and just about acceptable legroom. Sightlines are good, even from the slips, and supertitles are visible from almost everywhere in the house. The acoustics are dry. Sadler's Wells Theatre
Telephone: (0207) 863 8000 Nearest tube is Angel, about 5 minutes walk. Turn left when you come out of the station. The roof of the theatre is visible immediately. The 38 bus, from many points in central London, stops almost outside the theatre. Sadler's Wells is in a semi-desert between the media-trendy area around Farringdon Road and even more trendy Islington, north of the Angel tube. There are a number of up-market restaurants on St John Street, and some simpler eateries close by. The vegetarian Indian restaurant Ravi Shankar has inexpensive comforting food and no corkage. Most of the basic chains can be found around the Angel tube station. St John's is an elegant redundant church used for recitals and concerts. There are occasional concert performances of opera, plus Bach passions around Easter and Messiahs around Christmas. The Box Office
Telephone: (0207) 222 1061 The box office is open 10.00AM-5.00PM , or until the start of the performance, on weekdays, and an hour before performances at weekends. Seats can be booked in person or by telephone (pay within three days, or by credit card to confirm a reserved seat immediately). Normal concessions apply. City of Westminster Res Card holders get 10% of two tickets. Booking opens at the start of the month before the performance. Reserved seats are in the body of the church. Unreserved side seats, at a lower price (normally £6) have a restricted view. Unreserved gallery seats are sometimes sold, and these also have a restricted view. Wheelchair access is limited. Please phone the box office for details. There is an induction loop. The Footstool Restaurant in the crypt has waiter service and a buffet counter. Pre- and post-performance meals are often available for (typically) £10. (The church was nicknamed "Queen Anne's footstall" because it is supposed to look like an upturned footstall.) St John's is in the heart of Westminster. The nearest tube stations are Westminster and St James's Park. The neighbourhood consists of MPs' London homes, and political offices. There is a small branch of Boots by Westminster tube station, open until 7.00 and convenient for picking up a sandwich or a bottle of water. Unless you like the idea of the Footstall, eat in Covent Garden or Soho and get the bus to Westminster, or walk (allow 30 minutes). The Barbican Centre is an arts and residential complex on the site of, and named after, one of the ancient gates of the City of London. Although it is almost as monstrous outside as the SBC (one alleged feature looks like a sewer outflow), the inside of the arts centre goes to great lengths to be different. The result is very dated 1980s trickiness. A rebuild is promised to make it easier to find things. The centre contains a theatre, a concert hall, two cinemas and a gallery. The theatre is the London home of the RSC. The London Symphony Orchestra is the main orchestra in residence. Its programme usually includes concert performances of operas. The Great Performers series generally includes vocal recitals and opera. In previous seasons there have been visits by Les Arts Florissants. There are a number of bars and restaurants and a bookstore. Searcy's is highly recommended. The Balcony café normally has a special of something like a (good) burger, fries and a glass of wine for £10, and a well-thought out brasserie menu. The cloakroom is free, but service can be very slow. Avoid checking coats and bags if you can, though security precautions may require you to. The main toilets are on the lower level of the building. There are limited toilets on the top level of the Barbican Hall, and off the restaurants. It's often quicker to take the lift to the gallery floor, which has plenty, than to queue. Barbican Centre
Box Office: (0207) 638 8891
Barbican web site The box office is open for telephone bookings 9.00AM - 8.00PM daily. There is a one pound charge for all telephone bookings, which includes first class postage where appropriate. The advance box office, near the Silk Street entrance, is open the same hours. There is a ticket desk open in the foyer 90 minutes before each performance for collecting tickets booked by telephone and purchasing tickets for the current performance. There are reserved places for wheelchair users and two-for-one tickets to allow you to bring an able-bodied companion. Contact the box office for more information. Tickets can be exchanged or resold by the box office for an administrative fee. The Barbican is on the north eastern corner of the City. The nearest tube stations are Moorgate, Liverpool Street and Barbican. Follow the pedestrian signs from the tube stations and the yellow lines within the centre. The walk takes between 10 and 15 minutes, and can involve stairs or escalators. For the walkway back to Barbican, Moorgate or Liverpool Street tube station, exit from the Library level. To get back to Barbican station, you can also exit by the main doors of the foyer and go to your right and up the stairs. For the walkway from Barbican tube station, you need to go up the stairs immediately outside the station. You can also get from Barbican station into the Barbican centre at ground level, by following the pedestrian signs. The following buses also go or near to the Barbican: 8, 11, 228, 25, 26, 56, 133, 141, 214, 271 (all daily); 4, 43, 76 (Mon-Sat); 158, 21, 23, 172, 501, 521 (Mon-Fri). The City area around the Barbican is generally closed after hours and at weekends. The bars and restaurants are aimed mainly at weary bankers, and you may be better off eating either in the West End or in the centre. Alternatively, there are a number of restaurants in Clerkenwell, around Farringdon Station. The Quality Chop House (on Farringdon Road), St John (on St John Street, where there are a number of trendy restaurants) and The Nosherie (on Greville Place, open 24 hours) all have their fans. There is also a wine bar in Bleeding Heart Court, which is worth a visit just for the name. There is a cashpoint by the Moorgate tube station entrance on Moorgate, and in a bank foyer to the left of the Barbican tube station entrance. The Albert Hall, the other high Victorian monstrosity opposite the Albert Memorial, is not opera-friendly, but it is occasionally used for special events and concert performances, especially during the Proms, the summer festival sponsored by the BBC. See the yearly Proms brochure for booking details. This is available in bookstores (price about four pounds) from April each year or on the web at http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms. There are several restaurants and bars in the Albert Hall. Booking is recommended before performances, especially at weekends. The nearest tube station to the Albert Hall is South Kensington. Turn right at the top of the stairs, then right again, then left on to Exhibition Road. Take the last left before the end of Exhibition Road, which is Prince Consort Road, and the hall is on the right. Kensington High Street tube is a little further, but may be more convenient if you are travelling from west London or via Paddington. Buses stop in Kensington Road, right outside the hall in either direction. The number 10 from Euston and Oxford Circus is particularly useful. There are places to eat on and around Kensington High Street and Church Street, and around South Kensington tube station. The Polish restaurant Daquise, on Thurloe Street, a few doors from the station, is highly recommended (though maybe not the coffee), as is the grander Polish Club on Exhibition Road. There are cashpoints at South Kensington tube station and outside banks on Kensington High Street. The Wigmore Hall was built at the beginning of the last century by the Bechstein family, next to their piano showroom. After the Bechstein business was lost during the first world war, the Debenham's department store bought the hall. It is now owned by the Prudential insurance company. It is the preferred venue in London for début vocal, piano and other instrumental recitals, and for chamber music. Established singers increasingly perform here as well. There is a popular series of concerts at 11.30 AM on Sundays with coffee, juice or sherry included in the price. The auditorium is a rather austere shoe box with impeccable acoustics. The decor is reminiscent of a spartan Byzantine church. Not everyone likes the allegorical Arts and Crafts mural across the small stage, but it's easy enough not to look at it. Even the cheapest seats offer a reasonably good view for vocal performances. Wigmore Hall,
Box office: (0207) 935 2141 The box office is open on days when there are concerts (which is most days) for personal callers 10AM-8.30PM Monday to Saturday, 10.30AM-5PM Sunday (November to mid March), and 10.30AM-8PM every day (mid March to October). On days when there are no concerts, the box office is open 10AM-5PM. There is no advance booking during the half hour before a concert. Hours for telephone bookings are 10AM-7PM Monday to Saturday, 10.30PM-4PM Sunday (November to mid March), and 10.30AM-6.30PM every day (mid March to October). There is a one pound fee for telephone bookings, which covers first-class postage if applicable. There is a six pound minimum for credit-card bookings. Discounts are available for groups. Standby tickets (all tickets sold at the lowest price) are available one hour before performances for concessionary groups and Youth and Music members. Standby tickets are not available for Sunday morning concerts, and may not be paid for with a credit card. There is wheelchair access and other facilities and an induction loop. Guide dogs are welcome. Call the box office for full information about access. The nearest tube station is Bond Street. Oxford Circus is within easy walking distance. Many buses go down Oxford Street. There is a restaurant, café and bar in the basement of the hall, and a number of somewhat up-market places to eat in the immediate neighbourhood. ITS Pizza on Wigmore Street a block west of the hall is very handy. It is also possible to eat in the various department stores. Sandwiches are available from Tesco's, or from the branch of Pret in Selfridge's. There are the usual chain restaurants on Oxford Street, towards the Marble Arch end. There are some unusual specialized shops on Wigmore Street, including one devoted to talking books and a Christian music store. There are also many pharmacists and medical supply shops because of nearby Harley Street, the top location for doctors. 6. Fringe Companies and Venues The Drill Hall is a performing arts centre converted from the eponymous hall. The auditorium consists of half the hall, and is wide and shallow. Seats at the ends of the rows have a very oblique view of the performance. There is no platform or pit. The centre also contains rehearsal rooms and classrooms, used for adult education and community activities. There is a bar, and a vegetarian restaurant in the basement. Music Theatre London provide some opera performances. They do mainstream works in modern adaptations, with singers/actors from west end music theatre. There is also a range of radical theatre, and an annual pantomime which is usually something special. The Drill Hall
Telephone: (0207) 637 8270
The area east of Tottenham Court Road is mainly University of London territory. There are a few cafés. Charlotte Street, with a good range of places to eat, including Pizza Express, is less than ten minutes' walk. Spaghetti House on Goodge Street is a classic of its kind (1960s Italian chain), and reasonably priced. Café Grec on Charlotte Street has enormous mezedes. The Hackney Empire is a jewel-box music hall with an empire (Mogul) theme (a sort of top-loaded pocket version of the Coliseum, by the same architect, Frank Matcham). It is used for a variety of performances, and often hosts travelling opera companies or fringe groups, including Pegasus Opera. Hackney Empire
Telephone: (0208) 985 2424
There are a few takeaways near the Empire, and a bar (pub prices) in the back of the theatre's stalls. The BAC is a large all-purpose arts centre. It has a theatre, studio spaces and an exhibition centre. The theatre and studios are used frequently for opera performances by fringe companies. The Old Town Hall is a fairly attractive example of nineteenth-century neo-classical civic architecture. Look for the bees in the foyer. The yearly BAC opera season in August includes a broad selection of new work, radical productions and work in progress. There is also an even more experimental season, "A sharp intake of music", earlier in the year. This can include previews of works in the main season. BAC
Concessions are available to Friends of BAC, under 18s, students, OAPs, registered disabled and UB40 holders. There is a Pay What You Can Afford scheme on Tuesdays, and on Sundays for 14-18 year olds. There is full access for wheelchair users. Induction loops are available. Nearest station: British Rail Clapham Junction (frequent trains from Victoria and Waterloo). Exit via the shopping centre and turn left. The Old Town Hall is near the top of Lavender Hill. Lavender Hill and Battersea in general are going up in the world. There are a number of sheesh cafés on Lavender Hill, as well as Pizza Express and a branch of Oddbins. There are also a café with excellent food and a bar (both with smoking areas) in the otherwise non-smoking Old Town Hall. Opera Holland Park, run by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, presents opera, mainly ottocento rarities and summer-stock operetta, during the Holland Park Festival in June to August. The festival also includes ballet and visual arts. All events take place in Holland Park. Performances are in a covered area outside Holland House, and are not affected by the weather. Audiences are encouraged to bring picnics, but not catered meals, as at Glyndebourne. Holland Park Festival,
Telephone: (0207) 602 7856 Booking for holders of ScenarioCards and Associates opens on 20 April. You can join these schemes by phone during this period. Membership also allows you to book picnic tables and has various other benefits. See the festival brochure for details. General booking by post or phone, or in person, opens in May. The nearest tube stations for Holland Park are Kensington High Street (turn left on leaving the station), Holland Park and Notting Hill Gate. There is a café and a restaurant in the park, and a number of restaurants and cafés on and just off Kensington High Street and Church Street, and in Notting Hill. Almeida Opera is a short season of opera in July. It usually consists of two or three new and experimental operas, plus other musical events. The 2000 season ran from 23 June -16 July. It included Ion, based on the play of Euripides, by Param Vir and David Lan and Nuit des Hommes by Per Nørgård and Jakob F. Schokking, based on the poems by Guillaume Apollinaire. The Almeida Theatre is a converted small music hall in Islington. (Windows and other traces of its original use remain.) It is home for the rest of the year to a highly successful theatre company that concentrates on small-scale new productions and new works. Leading actors, directors and others work willingly for minimum rates. The theatre is to close in late 2000 for refurbishment. There will be touring theatre productions, but there is no Almeida Opera schedules for 2001. Almeida Theatre,
Telephone: (0207) 359 4404 The theatre is just off Upper Street, Islington, mid-way between the Angel and Highbury and Islington tube stations. The Angel (probably slightly nearer if you have a choice) is in the heart of trendy Islington, where there are a large number of restaurants, bars and cafés for all tastes. There are also cash points, bookstores and shops you shouldn't go into if you have the faintest tendency towards interior decoration. The Lyric, Hammersmith was built with music theatre in mind (hence the name) and has a long history of staging new music theatre and opera, including Holst's Savitri and Britten's The Rape of Lucretia. Under the direction of Neil Bartlett, who has been in charge since 1994, there are regular seasons of contemporary music theatre. The auditorium is another one by Frank Matcham, built in 1895. It is similar in shape and size to the Hackney Empire, though with more up-market decor. It has ideal acoustics for chamber works. You enter it through a 1990s building which has a studio (also used occasionally for opera), several bars and a cafeteria. Smoking is allowed (and done) everywhere except in the auditoriums and one area of the cafeteria seating. Lyric Theatre Hammersmith,
Box office: (0208) 741 2311 Both Hammersmith underground stations are two or three minutes walk
from the Lyric. The journey from central London takes 25-30 minutes.
There is a Tesco Metro in the District/Piccadilly line station mall, and
a Safeway in the main part of the King's mall.
The Bridewell is a small theatre on the edge of the City of London that hosts fringe productions. Over the year, it generally has a good selection of chamber operas and music theatre, including vintage musicals and new works. Productions during 1999 included Michael Nyman's The man who mistook his wife for a hat, Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's Floyd Collins and the London premiere of Of thee I sing; productions in 2000 included a promenade Sweeney Todd (with a chance to taste the pies). The theatre is adapted from the swimming pool of a turn of the century local authority building. It still has the original ironwork on the balcony (where the band usually perch), also the echo. The 160 seats are raked and generally unreserved. Bride Lane,
Box office: (0207) 936 3456 The nearest tube station is Blackfriars. Blackfriars BR and Thameslink City are nearby. Any bus that goes through Ludgate Circus also convenient. Bride Lane cuts off the south-western corner of Fleet Street and New Bridge Street. The area is comparatively quiet out of office hours. There is a wine
bar on Bride Lane, and a couple of small restaurants on Fleet Street. The
Bridewell has a bar that serves sandwiches, in the converted laundry in
the basement, where you can also see the eponymous well.
The Bloomsbury Theatre is part of the University College, London, students' union building. It is used for productions by student groups, including UCL Opera, which specializes in rarely performed works. It also hosts visiting productions. The theatre has good sightlines from stalls and balcony. It can be suffocating on hot days. 15 Gordon Street,
Box office: (0207) 388 8822 The nearest tube station is Euston Square, Euston or Goodge Street. The nearest restaurants are on Goodge Street and Charlotte Street.
Camberwell Pocket Opera
is based in London and tours throughout the UK. They present reduced
or piano arrangements in English versions of a wide range of operas
in all kinds of venues. The 2000 season includes a "picnic" tour of The
Barber of Seville and Hansel and Gretel in the winter.
Founded in 1950 by Colin Davis and David Cairns, the Chelsea Opera Group presents concert performances of ottocento and especially bel canto rarities, often in the Queen Elizabeth Hall. It has a regular orchestra and chorus. Principal singers are frequently announced at the last minute, but performances are generally good value. Broomhill opera, founded in 1993, performs established and commissioned operas with young performers in innovative productions. Its current home is Wilton's Music Hall near Tower Bridge. Recent productions there have included Weill's Der Silbersee, The Beggar's Opera and The turn of the screw, directed by Elijah Moshinsky. The nearest tube station for Wilton's is Tower Hill. Turn left, cross the big junction (or use the underpass) and follow Royal Mint Street across the next set of lights, where it becomes Cable Street. Take the first right (signposted) after the lights, and Wilton's is a few yards down Grace's Alley on the left. Shadwell on the DLR is further along Cable Street. There is a basic bar for performances. The fish and chip shop on the
corner of Cable Street and Dock Street (by the lights) is very good, but
they cook to order, so you can't be sure to get chips in the interval.
The London music schools all do showcase productions, often of very high quality. In addition, the London Royal Schools Vocal Faculty, a joint post-graduate programme by the Royal Academy and Royal College, does two or three productions a year, including in recent years a Handel rarity during the London Handel Festival. Royal Academy of MusicMarylebone Road,London NW1 5HT Box Office: (0207) 873 7300 Nearest tube: Baker Street (opposite direction and side of the road from Madam Tussaud's). The Sir Jack Lyons Theatre is comfortable, wide, and airless. Royal College of MusicPrince Consort Road ,London SW7 2BS Telephone: (0207) 589 3643 Nearest tube: South Kensington (follow directions for the Albert Hall). The Britten Theatre is rectangular, with seating on three levels. The same seat numbers can occur on all three levels in the same place -- check carefully. Remaining seats seem to be sold at reduced prices on the evening. Check out also the great painting of Tito Gobbi as Scarpia on the stairs. Guildhall School of Music and DramaSilk Street,Barbican, London EC2Y 8DT General telephone: (0207) 628 2571
Nearest tube: Barbican or Moorgate (follow signs from station. The school is next to the Silk Street entrance to the Barbican Centre). The theatre is basic, as are the food and drink available in the cafeteria downstairs. Productions are generally of high quality, though. Trinity College of Music11-13 Mandeville Place,London W1M 6AQ Telephone: (0207) 935 5773 Nearest tube: Bond Street. See advertised venues for box office information.  Acknowledgements
Thanks to Anne Cheng, Janos Gereben, Mike Gibb, Dave Hall, Deborah Magid and Andreas Praefcke for contributions and feedback. |
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© 1997-2000 Helen Elsom