http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17950 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17950 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11470 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11470 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10944
However, quality opera performances and productions do not appear to come
much more low-cost than Prague.

There, the National Theatre (Narodni
Divadlo), together with its little sister, the Estates Theatre, and the State Opera (Statni Opera) provide excellent performances.

The NT has a stunning little auditorium in a large building so there is plenty of room for bars and restaurants. With its superb orchestra it
provides a substantial diet of the classics whilst putting on more Czech opera than the opposition.

The musical and production standards are very
high. Really worth catching are Jenufa (I have seen Anja Silja, Rosalind Plowright and Eva Randova all give wonderful and different versions of the
Kostelnicka), Dvorak's The Devil and Kate (why isn't this hilarious twist on the Orpheus and Euridice story more popular abroad? As fine as Hansel and
Gretel, it is perfomed most Sunday mornings to hoards of delighted children) and an operatic version of Verdi's Requiem. The musical director, Oliver
Dohnanyi, conducts regularly. The intendant is the superb designer Daniel Dvorak who often works in tandem with the theatre director, Jiri Neksavil. Jenufa is the best I have seen.

The State Opera, with a larger auditorium, squeezed into a smaller building is more variable and more based on the classics. Former conductors include Mahler, Klemperer and Szell. Both houses have excellent productions of
Dvorak's Rusulka. The best principals seem to appear in both houses and occasionaly one is spoilt for choice with Aida or Carmen on at both houses
on the same night.

Hardly surprisingly, as the birthplace of Don Giovanni and Il Clemenza diTito, the gorgeous little Estates Theatre mostly does Mozart and Donizetti. In all
the theatres opera prices are extraordinarily low by our standards; £20 - £25 for the best seats. The subtitles are in English, as are large sections
of the programme notes which come in paperback books at the NT for about £1
or glossy magazines elsewhere. Tickets are usually available at the box offices if you go between September and March or are easy to book online
www.narodni-divadlo.cz will show full repertoire and let you book. They also run the Estates Theatre). For the State Opera, details can be found on
operacz/en/index/opera and booking made through Bohemia Ticket: www.BohemiaTicket.cz

Forget hotels: go for apartments. Mary's Travel in Prague can put you near the NT for about £20 a night. Restaurants cater for every taste and nationality. Czech food itself is filling with the ubiquitous dumpling and meats acting as a ballast.

The city itself? Need one say more than it holds the most varied and
stunning architecture? Prague is an opera lover's paradise.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10944 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10819
You can enter and walk around most buildings - even go upstairs and walk in gardens - and there are few of the restrictions you'll find in Pompeii. We went on a Sunday afternoon and the place was spookily almost deserted.

In the summer, the amphitheatre often hosts open air performances of folk and opera. A real find. Plus you can round off the day with a swim with the surf girls and boys at Rome's funky beach suburb, Ostia, a train stop away at Lido Centro.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/10819 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9945
It's horribly cheap (25-35LE (about £3) for a mainshow) - but if you're looking for grandeur, make sure you get tickets to the Main Hall show, the Small Hall is underwhelming.

Their website (and lots of other listings websites) lie about their program, so it's best to get down there to ask. Or call (they speak English)]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9945 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9607
Concerts en balade are held on the first Sunday of every month and have a uniform seat price of 5 euros. They usually take place in the morning or early afternoon and cover music from Mozart to Messaien and Holst to Haydn. You can reserve online.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9607 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9513
Right on 26th of July street (the main arterial avenue) there are lots of bars, restaurants and cafes, so give it a wander and select things if you like the look of them.

The Cairo opera house, which is meant to have good performances, is further south on the island of Gezira.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9513 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9038 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9038 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7859 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7859 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5775 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5775 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5340 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5340 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4883 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4883 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2990 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2990 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1373 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1373 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9488 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/9488 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7249
Bampton has an outstanding reputation for its lively and accessible productions, sung in English, with the country’s leading young professionals. ]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/7249 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/6947 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/6947 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/6523
At the Residenz, there are so many wonderful buildings such as Schatzkammer, the courtyards, theater and halls. Hofgarten is next door.

If you have one day to spare, you could happily go around all the areas within Residenz and pop into the National theatre (almost next door) in the evening to see an opera.

There are some boutiques and cafes nearby, so if you get bit peckish, you could always pop into a cafe for a cup of Milchkaffee. Or if you get bored, you could go to Maximilianstrasse to do some shopping.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/6523 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5296 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5296 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4956 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/4956