Entering the Royal Opera House - front row of stalls

[smartsteve]

merry christmas to you ,i didn't realise that we 've created and discussion here if we should should illegally filmed or not but .

thanks for all the info ,next time I'll be in London I'll go on a back stage tour .a 45 seconds trush video what can do!

[selfreflectionII]

you shouldn't film inside the opera house

- for other's privacy and general respect for the audience and the theatre - it's just really annoying to see people wondering around like idiots with cameras/phones filming before or during a performance- it's a theatre not a pub or the apple store! (i don't mean in a snobby way, i mean the audience contribute to and affect the whole mood of an evening)

There's plenty of (much better) official pictures and films about the place to show other people

[milkandnut]

actually its for the privacy of other patrons.

and if you you really were a regular at the house you should know better!!

[joemartin1988]

it's not allowed.

[smartsteve]

not permitted does not mean it is not allowed,I found it interesting.

[selfreflectionII]

'not permitted' means EXACTLY 'not allowed' it has no other meaning or interpretation - look it up in a dictionary

it is not permitted for several good reasons

[smartsteve]

let all people see and enjoy opera,i was not talking in meaning terms ,am a linguist to know the difference between allowed,and permitted or when to use one word or the other ,i made my statement just to point out that opera houses have nothing to hide or do they ?

[selfreflectionII]

This has nothing to do with letting people 'see and enjoy opera'. It has everything to do with filming in the opera house when it is NOT permitted and being disrespectful of/annoying to your fellow patrons and the theatre itself.

Opera houses DO have something 'to hide' - the privacy of their patrons/staff/artists for a start!

If you are talking about PR and 'widening public appeal/ interest' then there are far more effective and less annoying ways to do that than this video!

[smartsteve]

i am sorry that you admitted that there is something to hide ,don't bother replying.

[selfreflectionII]

I see you have run out of discussion and now wish to move on to sarcasm/insults - in that case:

No you are right, smartsteve, what WAS I thinking!

Let's have everybody walking around the opera house filming everything like twits with their phones and camcorders before, during and after the performance.

That would make for a really awesome night at the theatre .. not to mention producing a whole bunch of really watchable youtube clips like this.

[smartsteve]

I know I did not keep my world i see these with people all the time ,they want to be the winners ,to say the last world,ok then you won ,but please if you are inside the opera theatre ,show the theatres to the puplic ,after all we want them to come,enjoy ,appreciate understand,more about opera,see for example LA OPERA HOUSE web page ,how they are coming to the puplic ,am 3,000 miles away from LA but I still enjoy their side and in my way I can contribute to their success

[selfreflectionII]

Hooray I win! ... joking .. let's call it a draw -or nothing ... it's xmas after all! Peace :)

There are backstage tours 3 times a day. It is open to public every day (not the auditorium though obviously). Also website, podcasts, video clips, live screenings, rehearsals, masterclasses, talks, insight events ... a youtube profile

profile?user=RoyalOperaHouse

Sure they can always do more .... but I just think when you go to an actual performance put the bloody camera away!

[joemartin1988]

what's the point in bothering filming... it's not permitted and what you did film is pointless...

[markhillary]

There is no harm in shooting a short film as I take my seat, at least I can't see the harm in that. I'm a regular at the opera house and I never film or photograph when artists are performing - I understand how that could be upsetting for others in the audience and potentially dangerous for the artists. Someone else here has commented how they found it interesting.

[selfreflectionII]

Maybe YOU weren't so discourteous to film DURING the performance but ANY filming in the opera house will no doubt encourage OTHERS (especially tourists, those who do not usually see live opera/ballet etc) to regard filming as acceptable, even during performance, putting dancers in danger and easily distracting a whole section of the auditorium if not the whole theatre.

[selfreflectionII]

I have seen filming of a performance done covertly, but also VERY overtly by people who clearly did not realize,or stop to even think, that holding up a camcorder with its LCD screen + lights etc, which lit up several rows behind, was a distraction during a sensitive pas de deux!

Your slightly annoying filming behavior only encourages worse I'm afraid.

And 'theatre magic' just does not happen so easily when the audience behaves like they are in a pub or a cinema or Dixons ! :(

[markhillary]

I can't see any performers on stage at this time this was filmed... it's just a short video of the seats in the theatre...

[selfreflectionII]

Of course there were no performers on stage - the house lights are still up and the fire curtain is down!

I never said YOU filmed during the performance (please read my comments again). I said wondering around filming at any time is annoying, disrespectful and encourages others to think filming is acceptable behaviour - including during the performance itself.