The ENO welcomes you to surtitle Shangri-La (English National Opera in general)

Member Name: edinburgher

Product:	English National Opera in general
Date:	06/02/09 (349 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful venue with talented performers, great sets and a lot of class

Disadvantages: Take a look at the seating plan to make sure you know where you'll end up

When we saw the advert for all tickets to the Magic Flute priced at £5, we instantly decided to go, despite the fact we'd never been to the opera and hadn't even heard an opera before! A cheap night out in London is as rare as hen's teeth and I've been gradually trying to introduce myself to a little bit more culture - a classical music CD here, some more good literature there. My girlfriend is always up for anything involving big frocks and a stage, so we booked the instant the tickets went on sale. We ended up in the dress circle (it seems that the boxes were already taken), but our seats were fantastic. I priced for the same show on a normal night and we would have spent over £70 for them. After the evening we had, I can honestly say that paying full price would have been no skin off my nose.

Our evening at the ENO's beautiful venue (the Coliseum) started off sharp at 7:30 pm and it seems only fair to give you a small description of the surroundings and a brief potted history of the opera company itself.

Tenors and tantrums:

1898 - Lilian Baylis presented a series of concerts at the Old Vic theatre, later establishing a theatre company that grew into an opera company, complete with dancers. The combined company was known as the Vic-Wells Opera Company, which doesn't exactly trip off the tongue. Interestingly enough, the dancers eventually went their own way, forming what is now the Royal Ballet.
World War II - Now known as the Sadler's Wells Opera Company, the company tours extensively during the war years.
1968 - The company moves to the Coliseum, their current home and an architectural gem in the heart of Covent Garden.
1974 - The decision is taken to rename the company the English National Opera, a moniker which has remained since.
2007-08 - This season shows the best ticket sales in a decade, as an increasingly imaginative and business-savvy company makes great use of the talents of their performers and their beautiful venue, with a range of clever initiatives and a great website. Capacity soars from 68-85% and subscriptions and a range of clubs serve to bring fans back again and again.

As I've already admitted, I'm not an opera buff. It is, however, well-documented that the English National Opera has not always done so well. Their modernistic presentations of classics and tensions within their management staff led to some real problems and there have been some damning articles in the press on their past inability to pull together as a team. Opera was less than fashionable and certain members of staff were alienating a lot of the potential audience. In an article taken from the Times in 2002, a group of senior staff from the company set out a new direction by saying that 'the aim must be to create a new audience that does not see opera as a middle-class trophy art form'. You know what? I think that they've done it:

Staff are courteous and welcoming and more than happy to offer directions, advice and assistance. They are all willing to help out (with the exception, perhaps, of the surly bar staff) and I did not feel at all out of place. For someone whose typical night out is a gig or a trip to the pub, it was a pleasant surprise. I didn't detect even a trace of elitism among the staff, although there were a few rather snippy members of the public in attendance. In short, it was entirely different from what I expected. The audience was varied (perhaps more so than usual?) and I can honestly say that there appeared to be a pretty representative cross-section of the population there, from city gents to folk in sports wear. I did think it a little lazy that some people couldn't be bothered even wearing a shirt for a classy night out, but it takes all sorts!

Tickets for performances at the Coliseum range from ~£10-100 and you can get a glass of wine from £4-12, depending upon your budget and preferences. You could 'slum it' in the cheap seats and get a cup of coffee for less than £25 a couple, or you could go nuts and spend £300 on a box and a bottle of Bollinger...

All seats are not created equal:

While our seats were great, there are some in the theatre with slightly restricted view where you can't see the surtitles. In case you're wondering, these are the opera version of subtitles! They appear above the proscenium arch and are fantastic for those of you who're a little hard of hearing. Also, for the purists out there, surtitles aren't as odd as they sound - traditionally the lyrics to operas were sold before the performance, much as we buy programmes these days. Still, for the bargain rates charged for the seats at the cheaper end of the spectrum, there's really no room for complaint.

Surtitle Shangri-La:

The Coliseum theatre was designed by famous theatre architect Frank Matcham and opened in 1904, although the ENO did not move in 'til later. They were able to purchase the freehold in 1992 and the cost of £12.8 million was considerable, even for the location. It is a beautiful traditional theatre, with immense drapes, red velvet and ornate gilding *everywhere*. It's a large venue for a theatre and can sit almost 2,500 patrons in comfort. It has a gigantic proscenium arch (the 'frame' for the stage) and wonderful murals and artwork.

The Coliseum can be found at:

8 Saint Martin's Lane
London, WC2N 4, United Kingdom
+44 20 76328300

The Magic Flute

Was a wonderful production, with true love, adventure and wit to spare. That and a heck of a lot of Freemasons! The costumes were flamboyant, the bosoms heaving and the singing epic. Whether they were mired in the depths of despair, singing yet another massive chorus or extolling their love for each other, the cast dragged me along on an emotional roller coaster. The sets were minimal but well thought out and the production staff had clearly done a very good job of planning sections that could be interchanged easily. It's incredible what they are able to do with so little. The Magic Flute is somewhat long in the tooth as far as the ENO's performances go, but it remains very vital and amusing. The ENO are well known for mixing more traditional performances such as this and La Boheme with more modern operas such as Britten's Peter Grimes, or even Doctor Atomic. The opera were on fine form and they definitely deserved the 10 minutes of clapping they got at the end. Opera seems to be a 40/40/20 split between singing, music, drama and comedy and it's a mix that works well.

Why not check out what other operas you can see at www.eno.org ?

A fantastic venue in the heart of London, with welcoming staff, great productions, class and a hell of a lot of character!

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Some figures taken from www.eno.org, www.timesonline.co.uk and www.wikipedia.org

Summary: A trip to the Coliseum will leave you grinning from ear to ear.