To: Dr Rosa Solinas, Arts Council of Northern Ireland
Dear Dr Solinas,
Further to my correspondence recently, perhaps I could assure the Arts Council that, whatever the future holds for opera in NI, I intend to encourage my readers to maintain the proud tradition of dressing formally for the summer season, especially if it takes place at a country house; black tie being obligatory.
I have noted that the Council infers that Castleward Opera has been "exclusive".
Perhaps the Arts Council would care to clarify what it means by "exclusive"? If it is intended to subsidize ticket prices even more, that would indeed be a welcome development.
In my opinion, NI needs to maintain the summer opera season at a country house, with the same successful format; along the lines of Glyndebourne.
With kind regards
etc
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4 comments :
Well, my statement is the whole point. Anybody could apply for and receive tickets for Castleward Opera!
They invited patrons to dress formally; some did not dress formally, and that was their choice.
From what I could see, the people at C Ward Opera, including self, enjoyed dressing for the Occasion. Why not?
I would again ask the Art Council to clarify what they mean by "exclusive". I would be happy for them to have a tiered ticket price system like the Royal Opera House, if that is the route they wish to take.
Did they respond to your initial e-mail stating they wished wash away the ancien regime?
If the dress code is open; wear a dinner jacket if you want (I would do the same), let the plebis do whatever they want.
If the dress code specifically denies one the option of black tie, which I doubt it ever will, one really ought respect that anyway, no matter how misguided it is.
W.
They were too subtle to confirm or deny anything! I cannot believe that all those patrons have nothing to say; I guess they're keeping their powder dry, which is what I ought to be doing, fool me!
Still, these bodies have a habit of announcing something as a fait accompli, so like-minded folks really ought to make their views known.
We'll have to wait and see...
Actually, this reminds me a little bit of a "Two Ronnies" sketch, set around a snooty restaurant with a tie policy. A bunch of men got told to sling their hooks for not wearing one, then Ronnie Corbett rocked up naked other than a huge tie covering his nether regions! "Your usual table sir!" I think was the punchline.
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