ENO’S song and dance over vodka smuggling
Audience members have water bottles seized at the door in attempt to stop alcohol being sneaked in
The English National Opera is putting a stop to audience members smuggling colourless spirits into the auditorium disguised as mineral water. Audiences at the ENO’S controversial new telling of Richard Strauss’s Salome were appalled to find water bottles seized and the contents emptied out before being allowed in. But this was no security crackdown, explained Stuart Murphy, ENO’S chief executive. Instead it was to prevent audiences smuggling in vodka in water bottles.
‘I find it hard to believe you think I, or any of the squares I attend opera with, have consumed a straight vodka’
WITH tickets sold for as little as £12, one might expect visitors to the English National Opera to be happy to buy a drink at the bar.
But such is the thirst of opera lovers, the company is having to crack down on those trying to smuggle colourless spirits into the auditorium disguised as mineral water.
Audiences turning up to the ENO’S controversial, new telling of Richard Strauss’s Salome on Friday were appalled to find water bottles seized and the contents emptied out at the doors.
They may have found it as puzzling as Salome itself, described in this newspaper as “infuriatingly baffling as well as mightily pretentious …[but] rather gripping in its arid, robotic way”.
One opera buff complained that such strict security might be fine for airports – where water is not allowed on to planes for fear of the liquid containing explosives – but was unnecessary for the Coliseum, the ENO’S opulent home in the centre of London.
“Watching ENO stewards making punters empty water bottles across the steps of the Coliseum, rather than allow dangerous H2O into the building. This still feels like unwelcoming craziness,” tweeted Calum Kennedy, an opera buff and contrabassoonist.
The social media message, marked for the attention of Stuart Murphy, the ENO’S newly appointed chief executive, sparked a combative response. This was no security crackdown, explained Mr Murphy, 46, formerly a Sky television executive and keen user of Twitter. Instead, he explained, the ENO was trying to prevent operagoers smuggling in vodka – and presumably gin also – in water bottles. Mr Murphy tweeted back: “What’s unwelcoming is people decanting vodka into water bottles and ruining the experience for the majority of our audience.”
Mr Kennedy was unimpressed by the explanation. “People attending Salome do that?” he retorted, “I find it hard to believe you think I, or any of the bunch of squares I attend opera with, have ever consumed a straight vodka. I’m not nearly cool enough for that. Indeed, I’m at Welsh National Opera now. No one is knocking back vodka … and that despite it being War and Peace, perhaps the most appropriate opera for a cheeky stolichnaya.”
Mr Murphy stuck to his guns. “People do, sadly. So we’ve had to do this to make sure you and other opera fans have a really nice time. Sorry it’s a bit annoying but trust me – it would be far more annoying for you to have to witness the alternative,” he tweeted back.
Other opera lovers piled in, suggesting the ENO was simply trying to make money through its stringent policy, introduced in May.
Theatres and cinemas are increasingly concerned with audiences smuggling in alcohol, as well as snacks, to circumvent higher prices at the bar. One cinema chain in London has also recently begun searching movie goers for snacks and drinks bought at supermarkets for a fraction of the price charged inside.
The drinks menu advertised on the ENO’S website suggests there are big savings to be made for anyone who can evade security.
A single 30ml measure of Absolut vodka costs £7 and £8 for premium
Ketel One vodka. Gin is similarly priced. A tonic on top costs
£2.50 meaning a standard gin or vodka and tonic adds up to £9.50. The ENO policy was introduced after complaints that secret vodka-guzzling audiences had disrupted productions of the less highbrow Bat Out of Hell, a musical in tribute to rock star Meatloaf and initially staged at the ENO.
Cynics will suggest that while an audience for Bat Out of Hell might be prone to snifters of neat vodka, opera goers enjoying Salome would be less keen. The ENO insists, however, one policy must fit all, whether they be for musical theatre productions or for opera and ballet.
“We don’t allow any food or drink purchased from outside the theatre to be brought into the building apart from sealed bottled water,” the ENO states on its website. “If the bottle of water is opened or partially full, we will ask you to empty it or drink it outside. This is to prevent people bringing in alcohol, which has been an issue and breaks the terms of our licence and can cause disruption to others.”