Anna

Hi,<BR>We're looking for ways to celebrate New Year's in Prague. Has anyone been to or heard of Opera Gala/Ball on New Year's Eve at the State Opera. Is it a black tie event? Is there an opera performance, too?<BR><BR>Any responses are very much appreciated.<BR>Thank you,<BR>Anna

Christina

I've heard of that a little bit, if it's what I think it is. I think that is a special NY Eve performance of an opera (Die Fledermaus by Strauss), and then later on a NY eve party, basically, with music, drinks, some food and dancing. Both Ticketpro (www.ticketpro.cz) and Bohemia Ticket International (www.ticketsbti.cz) are selling tickets to it (although BTI claims to be the sole agent for the state opera), here is the description of the event from BTI:<BR>&lt;&lt;The State Opera will celebrate the end of the year with a New Year's Eve performance of Strauss' Bat(Die Fledermaus) together with a gala evening&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>I don't know about clothes as I haven't been to a special NY eve thing in Prague, but I would guess it would be typical cocktail party type dresses for the ladies or just dressy, festive clothes; suits for the men. I would not expect something like that to be black tie(nor is anything much nowadays true black tie), but I am just guessing.<BR><BR>If you really want to go, you might ask the ticket agents the expected dress. I've been in both Ticketpro and BTI offices and most of their staff speak English fairly well -- Ticketpro perhaps a little better, so I'd try them.<BR><BR>If you aren't that keen on opera, you might look for something a little different style. I like Ticketpro, they have a lot of stuff, but tend not to have events on their web site before a month ahead. YOu could email them and ask of special NY eve events, they have responded promptly to my special inquiries of them.

Anna

Christina,<BR>Thank you very much for your reply! Would you think we should order our tickets for the Gala in advance or we can buy them when we arrive to Prague (Decemeber 26th)? What about tickets for the regular opera performances? We're from New York and are used to booking everything well in advance but websites I looked at don't give seating info so maybe it's better to do the booking when we arrive?<BR>Also, I understand you probably don't have an answer to this but maybe... Do you think this Gala will last into midnight?<BR><BR>Thank you,<BR>Anna

Christina

Anna, I am sorry I did not see your question, although I don't have much to add, anyway-- I wonder if you are still reading. <BR><BR>I am just guessing from my experience there at regular opera and special concerts for the music festival -- I do think you should reserve tickets for someting like that special NY Eve Gala ahead from the agency. I imagine it will get booked up being a special event. Another guess is that it will definitely last until midnight being a NY Eve event. Finally, for regular opera, I also would book ahead to get good seats and see what you want, especially during the holiday period. I just think there will be a lot of people on holiday wanting to go to things. Normally, you can get last minute tickets to some opera, maybe not the most popular or best seats, in Prague. However, Prague is very arts-oriented and both opera and ballet do sell out in advance, from my experience. I have kicked myself for not reserving a ticket ahead for a ballet I wanted to see at the National Theatre, and all seats were sold out over a month ahead of time (that was in May). <BR><BR>As for dress, Prague is not quite as dressy or sophisticated as some other cities, such as Paris, NY, etc, which is why I doubted it would be black tie. What I mean is that in Central Europe, not as many people have the income to spend on expensive clothes as in other places, so dress is not quite as fancy or the latest designer styles. That is somewhat of a generalization, but you usually do not have to worry about being out of it dress-wise in Prague at things like that.<BR><BR>I would try to get tickets ahead if you want to go. The State Opera building is very beautiful, I think it sounds like a memorable experience.

Leslie

I'd just like to add two things. If you are going to go to a concert at the Rudolfinium, you will definitely see Czech women in gowns and men in tuxedos. I was there last November for the Queen/Czech Philharmonic concert in memory of Freddie Mercury, and people were dressed in everything imaginable. I also bought my ticket from Ticketpro. It was barely marked up. If you do buy tickets through Ticketpro, you have the option of having them delivered to your hotel for a minimal fee or held for you at the Ticketpro office for pickup.<BR><BR>Also the gentleman that owns Ticketpro is originally from Canada.

Anna

Hi,<BR>Thank you both, Christina and Leslie for replying. Yes, I'm still reading this post often since we don't leave for Prague till Xmas. We already booked tickets to Kaiserstein Palace for Opera Gala on December 28th and are leaning towards just booking another opera performance instead of the New Years Gala. So this is my next question. How can we celebrate New Years in Prague? Are there any clubs/restaurants that can provide a nice atmosphere with a good entertainment? We heard about a place called Zofin Palace. Is it good? Some people suggest going to the Karlov Bridge or to the square under the clock. But we're afraid that a)it will be too cold, and b)the crowd will be huge. I don't know what to choose but we want it to be memorable and different. Please help!<BR>--Anna

Christina

sorry, Anna, but I have not been there for NY Eve and I am not a NY Eve aficionado, in any case (I avoid this holiday wherever I am) LOL<BR><BR>I can give you some sites to look at that probably will have some events listings to give you an idea -- given how many people are out and about around the bridge and main Old Town square area, I'm sure they will be on that night, also, although wandering around may be nothing special like you want. <BR><BR>Look at Ticketpro's web site and the Prague Post (an expat English language paper) for events:<BR>www.ticketpro.cz<BR>www.praguepost.cz

Christina

Anna, I haven't found out anything too special on NY eve. Here is a description of it from the official tourist office:<BR>&lt;&lt;After Christmas we celebrate Silvester (Debember 31), the end of the old and the beginning of the new year. Unlike Christmas, which is a very festive time where families gather and contemplate, Silvester is usually very rowdy and little resembles celebrations in other countries. New Year`s Eve is mostly spent with friends nad acquaintances in restaurants or just in the streets of the town; the older generation prefers to watch TV at home. New Year's Day is the last festive day of this period. People usually eat lentils as a part of their New Year lunch in order (as a superstition says) to have lots of money in the upcoming year. However, you should not eat poultry, otherwise you will not have good fortune.&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>So, it sounds like you can either be in the streets (and I do understand your concerns, they would be mine), or probably reserve at a nicer restaurant. I'm sure there are lots of them and some guidebook or other info can help you with that. If it were me, I might consider the beautiful Art Nouveau restaurant in the restored Municipal House for that. They have special concerts and other events there but I don't see something for NY eve www.obecni-dum.cz<BR><BR>And, although it's not a fancy hotel or restaurant, I personally would prefer spending it at the Cafe Imperial (Kavarna Imperial) because I love that place, it is quintessential Prague to me, beautiful, comforting, Old Worldly elegant, and they do have live music (jazz) regularly, so I suspect will do something for NY Eve. That's near the Namesti Republicky metro stop on Na Porici. I found their web site which does list a special NY Eve menu (it's next to their Hotel Imperial)http://www.hotelimperial.cz/cafe/cz/silvestr.html<BR>They do appear to be having a &quot;Dixieland jazz&quot; band that night, and it looks like the tickets are 1500 CK per person for the dinner and entertainment and one drink. That's what I would do.<BR>