Dressing for the Royal Opera @ Rules?
Feb 19, 2003 | 2:15 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: London, England.
Programs: BA
Posts: 8,779
birdstrike:
It all depends where you are sitting. If you are in the stalls (the frontmost seats) then you will find that very few chaps are without a tie (evening wear has died out except for first nights). If you are "Up in the gods" (the cheap seats at the back on the topmost level), then you will be fine.
In any event, you will not be turned away from the Opera. And if you speak straight away in your best American accent you may even get away with it at a restaurant that would ask me "does sir have a tie". Did I say "Americans are better tippers"?
Should that restaurant be "Rules"? e-mail them and ask.
You don't need a suit at all if you are not going into a business office.
Just over a year ago I had the misfortune to see the dreadful production of Don Giovanni at the English National Opera. There was certainly no need for any dress code on that occasion !!! The singers wore ripped jeans, there was a car on stage at one point, and the booing at the end was intense! It even made the regular press. Here's an old quote about what you (fortunately) missed.
[This message has been edited by WHBM (edited 02-19-2003).]
It all depends where you are sitting. If you are in the stalls (the frontmost seats) then you will find that very few chaps are without a tie (evening wear has died out except for first nights). If you are "Up in the gods" (the cheap seats at the back on the topmost level), then you will be fine.
In any event, you will not be turned away from the Opera. And if you speak straight away in your best American accent you may even get away with it at a restaurant that would ask me "does sir have a tie". Did I say "Americans are better tippers"?
Should that restaurant be "Rules"? e-mail them and ask.
You don't need a suit at all if you are not going into a business office.
Just over a year ago I had the misfortune to see the dreadful production of Don Giovanni at the English National Opera. There was certainly no need for any dress code on that occasion !!! The singers wore ripped jeans, there was a car on stage at one point, and the booing at the end was intense! It even made the regular press. Here's an old quote about what you (fortunately) missed.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Mozart gets 'Tarantino' treatment
by Luke Leitch
Boos, whistles and catcalls echoed all through the London Coliseum last night as opera's cognoscenti reacted with horror to a violent new production of Don Giovanni featuring sex scenes and drug-taking.
Spanish director Calixto Bieito's "updated" production of Mozart's classic for the English National Opera features opera's most famous womaniser reduced to having sex behind a car and at the back of a bar, snorting cocaine and enjoying a drug-fuelled orgy.
Giovanni is portrayed as gun-carrying lecher, and instead of being dragged to hell at the end, as in the original, he is ritually stabbed to death by the characters whose lives he has defiled.
Afterwards audience member Michael Seligman, a 63-year-old investment consultant, branded the new Don Giovanni an insult to Mozart's memory.
He said: "I certainly booed the producer. I would never see another performance of his again. Mozart is a very subtle man; the director is as subtle as a donkey."</font>
by Luke Leitch
Boos, whistles and catcalls echoed all through the London Coliseum last night as opera's cognoscenti reacted with horror to a violent new production of Don Giovanni featuring sex scenes and drug-taking.
Spanish director Calixto Bieito's "updated" production of Mozart's classic for the English National Opera features opera's most famous womaniser reduced to having sex behind a car and at the back of a bar, snorting cocaine and enjoying a drug-fuelled orgy.
Giovanni is portrayed as gun-carrying lecher, and instead of being dragged to hell at the end, as in the original, he is ritually stabbed to death by the characters whose lives he has defiled.
Afterwards audience member Michael Seligman, a 63-year-old investment consultant, branded the new Don Giovanni an insult to Mozart's memory.
He said: "I certainly booed the producer. I would never see another performance of his again. Mozart is a very subtle man; the director is as subtle as a donkey."</font>
[This message has been edited by WHBM (edited 02-19-2003).]
Feb 19, 2003 | 4:15 am
#3
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I don't think Rules has a dress code. Very few restaurants in London do now. I've been there a couple of times in the last year and I'm pretty certain I just turned up in whatever I was wearing, and on one occasion I was taking visitors who I'm equally certain were not dressed up. Certainly I would never think about it if I was planning on going there. (But then I take the view that if they threw me out I'd just go to one of at least 20 other good restaurants within 10 minutes' walk.)
The Royal Opera House is a lot less stuffy than it used to be. (And it's not Glyndebourne, which is different.) While there are a lot of "suits" in the stalls, many people go there straight from the office during the week. Smart trendy casual would not be "terribly out of place" there. In fact, if you are not in a suit somebody might get the impression that you know something about the art, rather than just spending the company's (or trust fund's) pound. But much will depend on how self-conscious a person you are.
If you are up in the nosebleed seats, though, definitely dress for comfort. Nobody will care. Those who turn up there in dinner suits (there are some, occasionally) are the ones who strangely out of place.
The Royal Opera House is a lot less stuffy than it used to be. (And it's not Glyndebourne, which is different.) While there are a lot of "suits" in the stalls, many people go there straight from the office during the week. Smart trendy casual would not be "terribly out of place" there. In fact, if you are not in a suit somebody might get the impression that you know something about the art, rather than just spending the company's (or trust fund's) pound. But much will depend on how self-conscious a person you are.
If you are up in the nosebleed seats, though, definitely dress for comfort. Nobody will care. Those who turn up there in dinner suits (there are some, occasionally) are the ones who strangely out of place.
Feb 19, 2003 | 5:31 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 4,135
birdstike - it's just like premium cabins on British Airways. If you've paid (for your opera tickets and meal) then wear what you like (within reason - ie keep your socks on). If it's a freebie, then err on the side of caution. 
Seriously, don't worry about a suit or tie for either of these places.
[This message has been edited by Wingnut (edited 02-19-2003).]
Seriously, don't worry about a suit or tie for either of these places.
[This message has been edited by Wingnut (edited 02-19-2003).]
Feb 22, 2003 | 9:31 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Los Angeles
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Posts: 933
Actually, just went to the Royal Opera two weeks ago and ate at Rules after.
Definitely no dress code at Rules (what you described would be fine).
Seriously, I'd wear a tie at the Opera if you're in the stalls or a box. I wasn't sure beforehand and was very glad I wore a tie(and I'm always very casusally dressed when flying first class).
[This message has been edited by jtrader (edited 02-24-2003).]
Definitely no dress code at Rules (what you described would be fine).
Seriously, I'd wear a tie at the Opera if you're in the stalls or a box. I wasn't sure beforehand and was very glad I wore a tie(and I'm always very casusally dressed when flying first class).
[This message has been edited by jtrader (edited 02-24-2003).]
Feb 25, 2003 | 12:32 pm
#7
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and how about the Proms? Will be there this summer when they are going on. I think they must be less formal, yes or no? And are tickets very hard to get. I know they have a range of performances. Any info would help. Thanks.
Feb 26, 2003 | 4:18 am
#8
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See http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/ . Bookings start on April 30. If you book early, you can get pretty much any one you want except the Last Night (and who would want to be seen dead there anyway 
). As for dress code, you'll see loads of people in shorts and T-shirt, especially amongst the promenaders. This is a reflection of the standard of air conditioning, so if you're wearing more than that (which most, if not all, patrons do in the more expensive seats) you may want to leave your jacket in the hotel on a hot day.
). As for dress code, you'll see loads of people in shorts and T-shirt, especially amongst the promenaders. This is a reflection of the standard of air conditioning, so if you're wearing more than that (which most, if not all, patrons do in the more expensive seats) you may want to leave your jacket in the hotel on a hot day.
Feb 27, 2003 | 3:10 pm
#9
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Passmethesickbag
Thanks much. That's just what I was looking for.
Edited because apparently English is not my native language.
[This message has been edited by OB one (edited 02-28-2003).]
Thanks much. That's just what I was looking for.
Edited because apparently English is not my native language.
[This message has been edited by OB one (edited 02-28-2003).]