88 replies to this topic

[Natalia]

Thanks for sharing the on-site aspect of this morning's ticket saga, carbro.

I just saw my boss about taking time off in April 2008 to see the Kirov. You should have seen the dumbfounded expression on his face, as if to say "You have to be kidding!" Then he chuckled, "You've taken this ballet thing to a whole new level." No problem - vacation time has been reserved! No proposal deadline is important enough to keep me from taking my annual leave as requested today. of course, it will take a few reminders between now & then.

[Helene]

I had no problem getting through to any other sites by the City Center site from the USB modem with my laptop.  I just went onto my building's shared computer, and voila!  Tickets for April 17 and 18.  

If I can get off from work to do this trip to Paris/London, I may be sleepwalking through the school performance on the 20th, but it will be worth it

Edited to add:  Mais non!  I forgot this would be from NYC, where there are morning flights to London that get in early-mid evening, avoiding all semblance of a Saturday the 19th red-eye.  An overnight in London, hopefully close to Waterloo station, and then on the 9:09 Eurostar to Gare du Nord, giving me 1.5 hours to get to Palais Garnier by 2:30pm for the school performance with only one transfer on the Metro

I figure if I'm not taking more than three days in a row off between July 2007 and February 2008, I should be able to convince my boss that taking two weeks in March and ten days in April is only fair  

[Leigh Witchel]

Helene - starting May 1 there's AF 004 to Paris - leaves JFK 7:50 am arr CDG 9 pm.  Saves you the London transfer - my guess is you can do a split ticket on AF or a skyteam ally (go AF out, then AF to LHR and DL the rest of the way as a codeshare.)

I'll see you there.

[Helene]

My tickets came Monday!!!

[richard53dog]

Helene, on May 2 2007, 11:41 PM, said:

My tickets came Monday!!!

Mine came on Monday too! Now I have a whole year to misplace them!

[drb]

richard53dog, on May 2 2007, 10:22 PM, said:

Mine came on Monday too! Now I have a whole year to misplace them!

They seem to be aware of the absurdity and risk in selling tickets so far in advance:
I was told by the phone sales person to save my order number, so they could take care of me if I misplaced the tickets.

[carbro]

richard53dog, on May 2 2007, 10:22 PM, said:

Now I have a whole year to misplace them!

Here's a suggestion, if you'll forgive my overfamiliarity:  In your underwear drawer, taped so the top of the envelope is near the top of the drawer.  That way, you'll see them every day.  

Or so.  

[Andre Yew]

Just got my tickets too:  orchestra seats for the last night of the Forsythe, and the first night of the Balanchine.

--Andre

[papeetepatrick]

post deleted by author

[Natalia]

I got mine, too. I've always kept my ballet tickets & travel vouchers in their very own jewel box, all stacked in chronological order. My treasures - a stack of ballet tickets beats a bag full of diamonds, in my book.

[Waelsung]

I hope it will not look too inappropriate if I ask what kind of seats everybody managed to secure.

I bought mine at the box office and was told that the best orchestra seats that were actually available started at row K or (in some instances) L. I found it quite unbelievable that they had sold all the center seats in all the front rows for all the performances in just a couple of days (I went to get mine early last week) and was told by the gentleman in the window that those seats (center, rows A through J) had been reserved by the "house". I understand that this is a common practice everywhere and that not every single goes on sale to the general public. But all of the first 9 rows? I was absolutely stunned.

Hence my question. What kind of seats did YOU get? What section were you interested in and was your request accomodated? Were you disappointed in what they offered you or pleasantly surprised? Did you get the section that you wanted? Or is it possible that I was discriminated against and am actually the only person that the box office clerk decided to move as far away from the stage as possible?

[carbro]

As far from the stage as possible?  Are you kidding?

I'm in Rear Mezzanine, row R or S, depending on the date.  I got exactly the seats I requested, because I ordered by price (cheapest, as money is a big consideration)   and seat number, not row number.  But those are the lowest rows at that price.  I made a huge effort to get to the box office as soon as it opened, because I expected prime tickets at each price level to be snatched up very quickly.  This is, after all, the Kirov, and it always sells out in New York.

However, if money were not a consideration, I still would not want to sit in the front of City Center's orchestra.  It's better than it used to be, but there's still the matter of not seeing feet.  "The best" is not necessarily the closest.  The rake is such that you can be assured you'll see the feet in those "best" rows.  You can almost be guaranteed not to from the first few rows, though.   If one must sit in the orchestra, the rear is much better.  It is still pretty close to the stage compared to similarly lettered rows at the Met, for example.

Don't you like to look down and see the whole stage picture, Waelsung?  I find I miss a lot when I sit on the orchestra level.  At City Center, the Grand Tier is very close to the stage, but gives a nice, elevated view, enabling you to see the dancers in the back rows as well as everyone's face.

P.S.  I would be surprised if the Box Office did not set a fair number of center orchestra seats aside for the Kirov itself.  It's conceivable that some will go on sale within days of the performance, but you'd be taking a huge risk if you wait in hopes of getting some.

[Waelsung]

Well, I was not looking for the very first rows, but rather for row E or F. I think they're sufficiently removed from the stage to allow the full picture including the feet. Am I wrong on this?

As for the seemingly eternal Orchestra vs. Balcony argument, I do like to be able to look down and see the whole stage, but the first rows of the Grand Tier do not seem to be for sale, either and I can hardly tolerate leaners

Please correct me, if I'm wrong, but Kirov itself is not selling tickets when they go on tours. Sure, they get some seats reserved for them, but the first 9 rows? I have an impression Ardani Artists (the agency that represents the Kirov Ballet in the States) decided they would need to accomodate a lot of V.I.P.s later on and simply pulled all the best (or what is perceived as such by uninitiated) seats.

They may change their mind, but I completely agree with you, Carbo, about the risks involved in waiting to see if these seats ever do go on sale, that's why I decided to take what was offered to me.

Now I might need a good bankrupcy lawyer

[papeetepatrick]

carbro, on May 6 2007, 03:15 AM, said:

I'm in Rear Mezzanine, row R or S, depending on the date.

Me too.

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'I got exactly the seats I requested, because I ordered by price (cheapest, as money is a big consideration)   and seat number, not row number.

Seat number only possible if you go to the box office or call, I think? that's why I don't order online unless it's for out of town.

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But those are the lowest rows at that price.  I made a huge effort to get to the box office as soon as it opened, because I expected prime tickets at each price level to be snatched up very quickly.  This is, after all, the Kirov, and it always sells out in New York.

I liked the attitude, because I always feel that anything I'm enthusiastic about will sell out immediately, so if I hadn't called the box office and found out things were pretty lethargic (not the old Maria Callas days) I'd have had the pleasure of meeting you, since I think you said you were first in line.  However, I was still able to get Center Aisle on Row R to see 'Rubies' and it was just this past Thursday, so those still looking should still be able to find something, but not wait too long.

[carbro]

From Ardani's website:

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Under the artistic direction of Valery Gergiev since 1988, the Kirov continues its tradition of discovering exceptional dancers: Uliana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Daria Pavlenko, Igor Zelensky, Igor Kolb, Andrian Fadeev, Danila Korsuntsev and Leonid Sarafanov will be part of the 200-member company performing at City Center.