Rosencrantz

Hello there.

I am interested in watching the opera "Don Giovanni" in Milan on the 13th of December and I tried booking it through Teatro alla Scala but they were all sold our in 5 minutes. I was wondering if anyone knows where to get reasonably priced tickets because all the secondary retailers that I see on the internet have severely marked up their prices, which is quite infuriating actually. How do the locals buy their tickets then?

I saw that they are also gallery tickets sold 2 hours before each show but I'd really prefer the certainty of seats, and of course also to avoid the need to queue in the cold. But if I were to resort to this option, a. Is there usually much demand and long queues for them? and b. are they reasonably priced? Really hoping someone can help me with this; quite desperate to watch an opera.

Much thanks as always,
Rosen

Ingo

Sorry, not idea about La Scala, but in case you're still considering going to Berlin and Dresden you could easily see an opera there and pay less.

caroline_edinburgh

Most tickets for the top opera houses in Italy are sold to subscribers who have a standing arrangement to buy the same seats for all operas - and as you probably know, La Scala is *the* top house.

However there are sometimes returns. I've managed to buy tickets for La Fenice and the Teatro San Carlo several months ahead through their own websites (both of which lead to Vivaticket I think - most do); and I remember checking over several days and seeing the odd new ticket or pair of tickets appearing. So the first thing I'd suggest is keep checking the official website - although this late, I'm not sure what the chances are of new tickets appearing.

Otherwise, I think you're stuck with either forking out a large mark-up to buy tickets from a secondary retailer or queueing for gallery tickets or returns (which should both be priced as advertised). I can't speak for the length of queues & your chances for the latter option at La Scala specifically, but I've seen long queues at less-famous houses.

easytraveler

Opera Tickets for La Scala are very difficult to get.

Additionally, this <i>Don Giovanni</i> features Anna Netrebko making tickets an impossibility.

Either you pay the exorbitant prices from a secondary retailer or from a scalper standing in front of the theater on the day of performance (to give you some idea of what scalper prices can be like for an Anna Netrebko performance - earlier this year for the first performance of <i>Anna Bolena</i> in Vienna, the STANDING room tickets - which sell from 3 to 5 euros - were going for 700 euros)

Or you can try and get same day gallery tickets - again, for Netrebko I'd hazard a guess that people started lining up the night before, even in the cold. It's not unusual to see people with camping stools, etc. waiting long hours to get a standing room ticket.

Or some of the better hotels may be able to get you tickets.

If I were you and really desperate, I'd pay one of the secondary retailers, but be sure it's a legit organization.

Hope this helps a bit.

Rosencrantz

Yes that's basically my problem; I have no idea of which retailers offer fair prices and which try to rip you off. Caroline, do you know if Vivaticket is reliable?

Also Ingo; yes, I've considered several in Dresden, but do you know if they have English subtitles? Because I heard Scala provides them. Also, where's a good place to book them from?

Ingo

No English subtitles in Dresden. However, if you concentrate on the subtitles you'll miss what's happening on stage. And it totally distracts from the singing in my experience. Better do a little research on the internet (or library) in advance to get an idea about the plot - if the performance is really good you would not want to look at the subtitles (or surtitles).

In Dresden book through www.semperoper.de Regular prices. Or, if it doesn't work, ask me

Jean

If you're staying in a hotel in Milan, ask them if they can direct you to a reputatable ticket retailer.

easytraveler

Ingo is a wonderful resource in Dresden.

Rosencrantz

Yes I have come to the same conclusion, ha.

Ingo

Thanks, y'all.

<blushing>

caroline_edinburgh

Hi Rosencrantz. Yes, Vivaticket is totally legit, it's the outfit which many opera houses use to sell their own tickets - so if you go on to one of those opera houses' own website & click to buy tickets, it will lead you to the Vivaticket website. They used to be charta.it, in case you come across that name too. I've bought tickets from them several times, for opera & other things - most recently the Torre d'Orologio tour in Venice.

For this performance and at such short notice, though, it sounds as though your only option may be one of the other outfits which charge a huge mark-up.

Are you going to Berlin too ? It has 3 opera houses (the Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper & the Komische Oper) so you may have more luck there, especially with the Komische Oper.

easytraveler

If you're going to the German opera houses, especially those in Berlin and Munich, you may already be aware that regietheater is all the rage - which means nude bodies wandering around, <i>Tristan and Isolde</i> being set on a blank modern ocean liner (let's get rid of Wagner's romanticism altogether), and just about the most disjointed, discombobulated scenery settings that these producers can come up with.

Dresden's not like that, fortunately. A lot more creative and meaningful.

Anyhoos, one man's meat is another man's poison. You may like that kind of stuff.

Good luck with your La Scala tickets!

caroline_edinburgh

easytraveler, are you referring to the 'Tristan' in Bayreuth ? If so, isn't it ugly ? I particularly felt sorry for the woman singing Isolde, this great romantic role - wearing an ugly knitted two-piece and the rest.

easytraveler

caroline: no, not Bayreuth. Curiously, I've never had an urge to go to Bayreuth, especially when it's probably easier to seek the Holy Grail than to get a ticket to Bayreuth. You must be one of the fortunate ones to be able to get tickets, as one gentleman I met recently said he's been on their waiting list for the past nine years - lord knows how long he had been applying before he even got to be on the waiting list!

In addition, Bayreuth is at the head of all this modernization. Just reading about the "rat-infested" Lohengrin (or was it Tannhauser?) is a deincentive. so, I can sympathize with your reaction to the ugliness.

I looked up the Bayreuth <i>Tristan</i> and it appears that the soprano was Irene Theorin. She sang <i>Turandot</i> which opened the San Francisco Opera season here this year. Big voice but not the most melodic.

The <i>Tristan</i> I saw starred Peter Seiffert, one of my favorite heldentenors and it was in either Berlin or Munich, probably Berlin.

Rosencrantz: sorry to hijack your thread.

caroline_edinburgh

Hi easytraveler. We were actually successful in buying tickets for 2 dress rehearsals ('Tristan' & 'Rheingold') in a charity auction here. They were donated by members of the chorus (everyone involved in productions gets a couple of free tickets for the dress rehearsals) and surprisingly went for less than we'd expected - we didn't think we'd be in the running. This was in 2009 so not sure if it was still the same production this year (or the same singers), but the first act at least was set on an ocean liner, maybe in the 1930s - everything was very brown. In the UK the average waiting time is supposed to be 10 years, but less if you are a member of a Wagner society. We enjoyed the whole Bayreuth experience very much but thought maybe it was nicer being there before the season proper started, as the town wasn't crowded and it was easy to get into restaurants etc. I do generally quite like modern productions (and preferred our own Scottish Opera's 'Parsifal' to the Met's more trad one a few years ago) but that 'Tristan' was just ugly. We really liked the 'Rheingold' but it was frustrating not to be staying for the rest !

Rosencrantz

Vivatickets doesn't have any available tickets, unfortunately. Does anyone know of any other reliable ticket vendors, or any other way of obtaining tickets?

I wonder why you think my attempt to get a ticket now is done at short notice, Caroline, because I was led to believe that tickets to Don Giovanni were only made available early this week. Was there an earlier release?

caroline_edinburgh

Hi Rosencrantz. Well, I've normally booked opera tickets for Italy about 6 months ahead (apart from Palermo where we were able to get them on arrival). Admittedly however I haven't yet attempted La Scala and I seem to remember recently reading elsewhere that their tickets for public sale are released 2 months ahead - but if this is a very special performance I daresay special arrangements may have applied. You could try putting out a call for StCirq who has friends who recently got tickets for a highly sought after performance in Rome next month - she may now know which route they used.

Rosencrantz

Yep, think I will. Thanks, Caroline!.