After six months of closure, the Royal Opera House will be opening its doors to the public as part of Open House London weekend, giving visitors a taste of one of the world's most famous theatres for free.
In a specially-curated, socially-distanced programme called ‘Take a Bow', visitors will be granted access to the Royal Opera House's two stages: the 1858 Main Stage and the new Linbury Theatre which opened in 2018. Visitors will be able to see the viewpoint of a performer from the stage and – yawn – be able to take a bow and a selfie on stage.
The Linbury Theatre will loop a film of ballet and opera highlights from Royal Opera House productions. The Café and Shop will also be open.
Open House at the Royal Opera House will take place between 10am – 7pm across the weekend of 19 and 20 September, but visitors must pre-book in advance. In order to adhere to social distancing guidelines, access can only be permitted to those who have pre-booked and visitors will be required to register their details for track and trace procedures.
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
the resemblance with the MET is astonishing