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Bruce
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06-04-04, 06:23 PM (GMT) |
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1. "Statement from Tony Hall"
In response to message #0
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STATEMENT FROM TONY HALL,
Chief Executive Royal Opera House2004/5 Season At the core of this Season are two big names: Wagner and Ashton. Frederick Ashton, Founder Choreographer of The Royal Ballet, joined what was to become The Royal Ballet as choreographer and dancer in 1935, leading the Company as Director from 1963 to 1970. Monica Mason has planned an exciting celebration of the centenary of his birth with more of Ashton's work being performed than for a generation. For The Royal Opera, this marks the beginning of The Ring, a journey lasting across the next two Seasons, culminating in the full cycle in the autumn of 2007. Antonio Pappano conducts, Keith Warner and Stefanos Lazaridis, director and designer respectively. All of us who have seen what they have planned are thrilled. We are also presenting new productions of Werther, Don Pasquale, Un ballo in maschera, Il turco in Italia, as well as La Scala's La Forza del destino conducted by Riccardo Muti. For the third year running we are bringing a world premiere of a brand new opera to the main stage, 1984, composed and conducted by Lorin Maazel. The ROH Too programme of performances away from the main stage, is in its third Season. ROH Too aims to extend the range of work that we do, and to allow artists from our own and partner organisations, to use the Linbury and Clore to experiment and create new work. Both roles are crucial for any artistic institution, but especially so for one part funded from the public purse. So for example, this year we have six programmes of chamber opera – one of the key strands of ROH Too programme. They range from a world premier of Nigel Osborne's The Piano Tuner and Michael Tippett's The Knot Garden to nine new works written by Black British composers. ROH Too will present The Royal Ballet in a programme of new work inspired by Frederick Ashton and Constant Lambert, the Company's Founder Music Director. Jonathan Burrows' return to the UK will be as part of a rich dance season in the Clore, and Firsts, supported by the Helen Hamlyn Trust, brings a week of diverse performance art for young adults to the Linbury. I want to make the Royal Opera House a place where anyone and everyone can come, feel welcome and enjoy world class opera and ballet – that is why we are all committed to trying to keep our seats as affordable as we can. We have made some progress in the last three years, but as and when our finances allow, we want to do more. This Season, for the fourth year running, half the seats for every performance will be held at £50 or less. We are doubling the number of performances of our £50 top price operas – this year The Greek Passion and the world premiere of 1984. We are cutting the average price of all ballet seats by 7%. In addition, we are reducing the top prices for all Ballet Mixed Programmes this Season to £50 – a reduction year on year of 25%. This is the first time we have ever reduced the prices for ballet. I am also thrilled to announce a brand new initiative with Travelex, which will allow more people the chance to come, or come more often. For half the Season, under the banner of the “The Travelex£10 Mondays” we will put 100 of the best seats for Monday nights for half the Season at £10. This is an investment of over £1 million over three years by Travelex, and I am very grateful to Lloyd Dorfman, and his team for making this possible. We are also in discussion with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to build on last year's incredibly successful Paul Hamlyn performances where our top price was £15, and I hope to have more to say about that in the Summer. Everything about this season – from performance, to supporting new work, to price – demonstrates how important public and private support is for the Royal Opera House. For every pound we are given by the Arts Council, we find £2 more. The one gives us confidence to build the other. The ambition we have captured in this season would not be possible without the corporate support of Travelex, BP and Lehman Brothers as well as many more. Nor would it be possible without the generosity of individuals such as Donald Gordon, Thomas Lynch, Alberto Vilar, Simon and Virginia Robertson, Jean Sainsbury Dianne and Michael Bienes, Peter Borender, Bob and Tamar Manoukian, and, as well as the Trustees of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. In recognition of Donald Gordon's extraordinary gift of £10 million, I am delighted to announce that we will be renaming the Grand Tier section of the auditorium in his honour. Tony Hall
6 April 2004 |
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Bruce
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06-04-04, 06:24 PM (GMT) |
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2. "Travelex £10 Mondays"
In response to message #0
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Press Release TRAVELEX £10 MONDAYS COME TO
THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS The Royal Opera House and Travelex, the world's largest foreign exchange specialist, today announced a £1 million sponsorship agreement. This sponsorship will run for three years and will begin with the Royal Opera House 2004/5 Season. Travelex will provide 100 top price tickets every Monday for half the Season for just £10, some 2000 seats in total. The Travelex £10 seats will be sold one and a half hours before the performance, and we are currently seeking ways to ensure that these seats are available to as many people as possible. The seats are located in the stalls and stalls circle area of the auditorium. In some cases this would represent a saving of up to £165 on the price of the ticket. Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, said: “I want to make the Royal Opera House a place where anyone and everyone can come, feel welcome and enjoy world class opera and ballet – that is why we are all committed to trying to keep our seats as affordable as we can. This brilliant new initiative - Travelex £10 Mondays is yet another way of opening up the Royal Opera House to even more people. This means for just£10 you get the best seats to see such extraordinary operatic talents as Marcelo Alvarez, Cecilia Bartoli, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Simon Keenlyside, Amanda Roocroft, Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villázon and dancers Darcey Bussell, Alina Cojocaru, Tamara Rojo, Carlos Acosta and Jonathan Cope”. Lloyd Dorfman, Chairman and CEO of Travelex, said: “We are delighted to be announcing the Travelex £10 Mondays at the Royal Opera House. The first and only sponsorship of its kind in the world, this partnership enables people to see world-class opera and ballet from the best seats in one of the world's greatest theatres for an unbelievably low price.” “We have a track record of supporting world-class events and this partnership is yet another ground-breaking sponsorship that matches our global values of innovation, excellence and value.” Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport welcomed the sponsorship: “I am delighted that the Royal Opera House and Travelex are going into partnership. One of the truly great opera houses will now be able to reduce its prices further, and give even more people the chance to experience world-class opera and dance. The best available to the greatest number – what more could you want ?” “Travelex and the Royal Opera House management deserve every credit for putting this deal together.” - ENDS - Notes to Editors
About Travelex: Travelex is the world's largest foreign exchange specialist, with over 650 retail branches and 16,000 business customers. There are retail branches at key airport, seaport and rail locations, in addition to tourist and business centres around the world. Around 40% of the world's airline passengers, over 1.3 billion people, pass through airports at which the business operates including the major gateways at London, New York, Hong Kong, Frankfurt and Sydney. Travelex is the world's largest non-bank provider of commercial foreign exchange services, providing integrated solutions for businesses. The group is also one of the world's leading providers of outsourced travel money to banks, travel agencies.
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