Classical music, opera and dance - The Rough Guide to London - page 412

St Sepulchre-without-Newgate Holborn Viaduct,
EC1 T 020 7236 1145, W st-sepulchre.org.uk; ! St
Paul's. The “National Musicians' Church” holds free piano
recitals, chamber and organ concerts (Wed lunchtimes)
and fee-paying evening performances.

St Stephen Walbrook 39 Walbrook, EC4 T 020 7626
9000, W ststephenwalbrook.net; ! Bank. Free
lunchtime concerts (recitals Tues; sung Eucharist from the
professional choir Thurs; organ concerts Fri) in one of the
finest of all Wren's churches.

OPERA
Of the two main companies, the Royal Opera House is the place to go to see the top international stars, while English
National Opera continues to show what can be achieved with largely home-grown talent and lively, radical productions.
Other, smaller venues provide more intimate and less expensive alternatives. In addition to the listings below it's worth
checking listings at the Battersea Arts Centre (see p.419), which occasionally stages experimental opera shows.

- just one hundred bench seats - means the performers are
within touching distance. Tickets around £20.
Opera Holland Park Holland Park, Kensington High
St, W8 T 0300 999 1000, W rbkc.gov.uk; ! High Street
Kensington or Holland Park. Opera takes to the great
outdoors (albeit covered by a canopy) in leafy Holland Park
(June-Aug). Standard repertoire is the order of the day,
and productions range unpredictably from the inspired to
the workaday. Tickets £12-67.50.
Royal Opera House Bow St, WC2 T 020 7304 4000,
W roh.org.uk; ! Covent Garden. The ROH, one of the
world's leading opera houses, puts on wonderfully lavish
operas, with slightly more experimental productions
staged in the Linbury Studio Theatre. All are performed in
the original language with surtitles. Most tickets are
expensive (reaching as high as £900), though there is some
restricted-view seating (or standing room), which aren't at
all bad, from around £15, and various special offers. Just 67
day seats (at various prices) go on sale from 10am on the
day of a performance (not from visiting companies); these
are restricted to one per person, and you need to get there
before 9am for popular shows. Student standby tickets
(subject to availability) can be bought for £10 online.

OPERA COMPANIES AND VENUES
Barbican Centre Silk St, EC2 T 020 7638 8891,
W barbican.org.uk; ! Barbican or Moorgate. The
Barbican's regular operatic events include superb baroque
operas from the Academy of Ancient Music and innovative
works from the ENO.
English National Opera London Coliseum, St Martin's
Lane, WC2 T 0207 845 9300, W eno.org; ! Leicester
Square or Charing Cross. The ENO is committed to keeping
opera accessible, with operas sung in English, an
adventurous repertoire, dazzling modern productions and
non-prohibitive pricing (£20-99). Standbys for students,
senior citizens, under-16s and the unemployed (£15-35)
go on sale 3hr before the performance; under-30s can also
join, for free, the “Access all Arias” scheme, which gives
excellent discounts.
King's Head Theatre 115 Upper St, N1 T 020 7478
0160, W kingsheadtheatre.com; ! Angel or Highbury
and Islington. The acclaimed King's Head pub theatre, home
to resident company OperaUpClose, hosts an exciting rep
programme of new opera, experimental pieces and old
favourites re-imagined, all accompanied by piano, along
with classical music concerts with a twist. The intimate space

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DANCE
The current craze for street dance and sexed-up ballroom dancing has seen high-energy, populist dance shows take to
the stage at a number of West End theatres (see p.418). For classical ballet, the esteemed Royal Ballet , with a number
of outstanding ballet soloists, is based at the Royal Opera House, while the English National Ballet ( W eno.org)
regularly performs at the Coliseum (see above). The intimate The Place and Laban and the larger Sadler's Wells stage
the best contemporary work. The biggest of London's annual dance festivals, Dance Umbrella ( W danceumbrella.co.uk),
stages a season (Oct/Nov) of fresh new work at various venues around town. For an excellent round-up of the city's dance
events, check W londondance.com.

COMING SOON TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU…
If you are hungry for high culture, have very low funds, and don't mind being one step
removed from the live experience, simply head to the pictures. Many cinemas in the capital
screen live performances of the finest ballets, operas and theatrical performances - beamed
from gilded London venues including the Royal Opera House, or from esteemed stages
around the world - for little more than the price of a movie ticket. It's an odd feeling, giving a
rousing round of applause to performers who can't see or hear you, but the acoustics and HD
visuals tend to be superb, and the cost can't be argued with.