Operas and ballet etc...any good?

[dirty boy]

As per above?

Are they any good? Any recommendations? Thinking about taking the wife to one, never been, so don't know what I should expect, but we're both the sort that would appreciate something different.

[Mobile Chicane]

It's a lot of money to shell out for something you're not certain you're going to enjoy.

I love classical music and am more than happy to pay to hear a favourite performer or piece, however opera and ballet I'd rather watch on telly.

[whirligig]

Very subjective - I've been to the opera once and wouldn't rush back and the ballet a couple of times which was OK, a bit long and hard to follow in places though.

You'll never know if you love it or hate it until you give it a go.

[glazbagun]

Depends on the performer/performance, too. I've seen Carmina Burana and thought it was great. Even if the performance does nothing for you, the sheer spectacle of so many guys laying into *huuge* drums and screaming at you in olde German makes it a worthwhile experience.

[Agrilla]

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake = Amazing

Do it - do it now. In fact, anything by Matthew Bourne - but Swan Lake in particular.

[peterperkins]

Probably best to pick a popular one, with a few well known tunes to start with, before heading off into the obscure or 18 hours of Wagners Ring Cycle. (That is great by the way, and a once in a lifetime experience) Once because four nights at 4hrs plus each = £1000 a ticket, and Once because you have to be dedictated to go every night for four nights!

For Opera something like

La Traviata (Verdi)
Rigoletto (Verdi)
La Boheme (Puccini)
Madam Butterfly (Puccini)
The Magic Flute (Mozart)
Don Giovanni (Mozart)

Those all have a tune or two you will have heard before.

For ballet (Not my area of expertise) but

Nutcracker or Swanlake are good standbys.

If you are going to Covent Garden then dress up a bit, have drinks in the interval and live a little brushing shoulders with the wealthy elite (Whoever they are!)

[br d]

I used to have a very posh charge card who would send me invites to the Opera at the Albert Hall from time to time, VIP room, canapes and champers and all that malarkey.I am as un-posh as it is possible to imagine so I ignored them for a while, then went to one on a whim. Absolutely feckin wonderful, didn't understand any of it but it was a joy. Carmen was the best one, fan-bloody-tastic.