The Royal Opera House: What Do You See?

The Royal Opera House aims to enrich people’s lives through opera and ballet, and is home to two of the world’s great artistic companies – The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet. Find out more at http://www.roh.org.uk/news/watch-our-...

This film is fronted by actor Lesley Sharp, best known for her performances in The Full Monty, Bob & Rose and Clocking Off.

'This year I started to get interested in seeing opera and ballet and the Royal Opera House was the place it seemed obvious to go to', says Lesley. 'I'm not from a background that was full of classical music influences – my parents didn't listen to a lot of music, and certainly didn't see any dance. So to come to the Royal Opera House in a relatively late stage in my life has been the most extraordinary, eye-opening and wonderful experience.'

Tickets in the 2015/16 Season start at just £2 for ballet performances and £5 for opera with more than 150,000 tickets priced at less than £20. In addition, last Season 17,500 low-cost tickets (targeted at first-time audiences) were provided through the ROH's extensive Learning and Participation programme which runs projects including Chance to Dance, a series of creative in-school workshops provided to 1,246 pupils across Lambeth, Southwark and Thurrock. As well as engaging audiences at Covent Garden and through extensive outreach projects, performances can be seen around the UK and the rest of the world through regular cinema relays and live-streams. And away from the stage and orchestra pit, the Royal Opera House has more than 1,000 employees and 17 apprentices across various backstage departments, making it a major employer in the creative industries.

'I would say to anybody – "Come here"', says Lesley. 'It's for you. It's ours. The Royal Opera House belongs to Great Britain.'