<B>Tuesday 23 July 2002 at 7.30pm</B> <P>From the <A HREF="http://www.royalballet.org/ballet/index.cfm?ccs=99&cs=581" TARGET=_blank><B>ROH website</B></A><P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>This year will mark the 50th anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen’s accession to the throne. The Royal Opera House is delighted to be presenting this Golden Jubilee Gala, at Covent Garden on Tuesday 23 July 2002 in Her Majesty’s honour, in aid of the Royal Opera House Foundation.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>It will include highlights from The Royal Ballet’s Season, including excerpts from Carmen, Don Quixote, In the middle, somewhat elevated, Onegin, Remanso and Romeo and Juliet and Christopher Wheeldon’s new one act ballet Tryst.<P>The cast include Leanne Benjamin, Darcey Bussell, Alina Cojocaru, Jonathan Cope, Johan Kobborg, Tamara Rojo, Inaki Urlezaga, Zenaida Yanowsky and Miyako Yoshida, Sylvie Guillem, Carlos Acosta, Roberto Bolle and Robert Tewsley. <P>But the best part is that it will be <B>relayed live onto the big screen in the Covent Garden Piazza</B>!<P><B>TICKET BOOKING INFORMATION</B> <P>Please contact the Development Office for a booking form on <B>020 7212 9517 / 9349</B>. <P>Booking opens <B>27th May 2002</B>.

I find the RB plans for the Jubilee Gala very lacklustre. For the silver jubilee Ashton created a new pas de deux for Fonteyn & Nureyev based on Hamlet & Ophelia and the entire programme was televised. To simply perform "highlights from the current season" seems to indicate a lack of effort on someone’s part. There is little in the season that lends itself to gala performances anyway. I predict Carlos Acosta will dance the Don Q. pas de deux and it will prove the high spot of the evening.

I wonder if they will sell the standing places. For previous Galas they have not done this and in the old ROH that was understandable to avoid the usual scramble for an unreserved place. However, with the new numbered standing places this excuse does not apply.<P>I hope they will enable 100+ extra ballet fans the chance to enjoy this special performance. <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited May 17, 2002).]

I'm hoping for standing spots too. I'm not sure if it's worth making the trip given that the whole gala's a rehash of the season I'll have seen it all already.<P>But speaking of possible highlights I'm betting on Alina and Johan in the R&J balcony pdd - at least it'll give a lot of people an opportunity to see them in a fragment of R&J if they didn't see it before.

As a soon to be expat, I'm hoping that they screen the evening on the TV at some date - and on free-to-air, not subscription channels. Here's hoping.

I'm not too hopeful - there's never been any indication that previous live relays would be on tv.<P>I gave the development office a call and unfortunately there won't be any standing places available because of the video cameras and the cables running all over the place and technicians running around. Disappointing, but I guess the fact that it's being screened in the piazza makes up for it. They're also hoping to fit the people who applied and were not allocated a seat a place in the Linbury and Clore for free, but this is still being sorted.<P>So has anyone decided yet? I'll apply for a ticket but the seats I want are pretty specific so it's doubtful I'll get them.