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| Valery Gergiev - Going cheap? |
Why? No one seems to be saying. Is it a rather tepid Walkure on CD from Gergiev last year? Or is it that this particular cycle did not receive anywhere near universal approval from audiences and critics last time it was in London? We don't know, but tickets prices starting at £240 ($386) and going upto £720 ($1160) for an entire Cycle cannot be helping (If you are not a frequent opera goer in Europe. it might help that you can see an entire Ring Cycle at Bayreuth for £98 - $148!).
Whether this has anything to do with today's announcement from Birmingham I shall leave upto you. Should you have not bought tickets yet, Birmingham Hippodrome has announced 100 tickets per opera will be made available on a ballot basis at just £30 each (plus 5% transaction charge), representing a discount of up to 85% on some tickets.
According to Birmingham Hippodrome Chief Executive, Stuart Griffiths "After years of planning we are delighted to be presenting The Ring Cycle in its entirety right here in Birmingham. And, thanks to the generous support of BP we are thrilled to be able to offer more people the experience of live opera at an extremely discounted rate via this special ballot."
To take part, if seeing the entire Ring at still more than you would pay at Bayreuth interests you, you can do so by emailing ringcycleballot@birminghamhippodrome.com with your full name, contact phone number, address and the best time to be contacted by Wednesday 29 October. Successful ticket applicants will be drawn at random and contacted by phone by Birmingham Hippodrome for payment in advance following the deadline. (Terms and conditions apply - apparently),
If you would like more information you might trying contacting the Birmingham Hippodrome by clicking here,
Details below:
Mariinsky Theatre's presentation of Richard Wagner's The Ring Cycle runs at Birmingham Hippodrome Wed 5 - Sun 9 November 2014 with the following four opera performance schedule:
Wednesday 5 November 2014 - Das Rheingold - 7.30pm
Thursday 6 November 2014 - Die Walküre - 5pm
Saturday 8 November 2014 - Siegfried - 5pm
Sunday 9 November 2014 - Götterdämmerung - 5pm
Standard tickets can be booked online at birminghamhippodrome.com or by telephone on 0844 338 5000.Calls from 5p per min, 5% fee applies, postage from £1. Prices and discounting subject to change.
* Terms & Conditions:
No refunds, transfers or exchanges;
Tickets can only be used by named applicant;
Tickets void if resold for profit.
Successful applicants only collect tickets with ID on the night.
This offer cannot be combined with any other offer or applied retrospectively.
Unsuccessful applicants will not be contacted.
Photo: Conductor VALERY GERGIEV
