have you been to see live theatre/opera/concert?

On the subject of children not being able to sit through things... my older DS now aged 14 has learning disabilities and ADHD (which was not diagnosed until he was 12) so sitting through anything was a massive challenge.

I did persevere though, because i love the cinema etc. I realised that I had to be prepared to walk out half way through (once 30 minutes through) as his ability to cope faded. It's really pretty expensive (and often frustrating) to pay for something and then to leave before it finishes. But I was determined to expose him to as much as possible.

It did pay off eventually (although like I said upthread- I'm already prepared to leave at the intermission of the ballet if need be). He can sit through now quite long films (Although we have had to just forget about the mere thought of seeing Wicked) and we have had some wonderful experiences over the years. We have seen all sorts of things, from classical concerts to theatre to cover bands of Abba and lots and lots of cinema. Once I sunk mega bucks on a major music festival which was one of the worst experiences of my entire life. Too loud, too many people, too everything. And it rained. But horses for courses etc. I'd never consider going to any sort of football match because it's not for me. (But we do try and go to the Windsor Horse show every couple of years, which is very much me).

But again- I have the disposable income to do that. If you don't have the funds then wasting tickets on anything that you may have to walk out of at intermission can very much be seen as a total waste of money.

TBF I love classical music but have to agree about Mahler. See also most of Shostakovich IMO.

All three. I go to classical concerts more than any other type of performance.

This.

All three, yes.

Expensive these days, mind.

Opera no, but classical concerts and live theatre yes, often. I have also performed at the Royal Albert Hall....

A) 3/4 times
B) about 10 times
C) Many times

I haven't been to opera as it does not particularly appeal. I have only been to one classical concert. I have been to the theatre quite a lot of times and ballet is my favourite.
In comparison, I rarely go to the cinema. I do go to pop concerts, but not festivals. I do go to museums and art galleries more often than the theatre.

Not sure if I’ve ever been to opera been to lots and lots of concerts and theatre. And other stuff like ballet/contemporary dance.

Obviously there is a cost associated with all of these things. I know that sometimes it doesn’t have to be expensive but I’m finding that increasingly with booking fees etc it ends up costing a lot more than you originally thought/planned for.

I think location also factors into it. People in small towns/rural areas don’t have the same opportunities that city folk do. Even in a suburban area, events in the city can be almost inaccessible.

And sometimes it’s a case of wanting to go, but not having anyone to go with and not wanting to go alone.

But in my immediate social circle, parents of young kids tend not to do anything like this unless it is specifically child-oriented. It’s always “oh no, she couldn’t sit through that” and I’m like “how would you know until you try it?” DD went to her first musical aged 2 and has never had an issue.

Neither of my parents were musical so we never went to concerts or opera as children. (My mother went to stay with friends in Vienna and was taken as a treat to a Mahler concert. It was such a waste of a ticket! Afterwards she said “Mahler not only composed music, but he also invented a Time Machine which turned 2 hours into 10).

Anyway, we go to the opera and classical concerts quite often but rarely to the theatre. I took both my children to concerts when they were young - dd loved them from the get-go and ds went once but never again.
As pp have said, horses for courses.

I've just checked the cost of going the Champions League football club local to my old university as an adult non-member with no concession, the cheapest ticket is £31. The cost for the cheapest seat in the theatre there to see the Birmingham Royal Ballet on tour is £15, and theatre is in the middle of town, so much easier to reach for anyone without a car. I don't think it's inaccurate to say their orchestra are in the premier league when it comes to British Classical Music. It's exceptional value by comparison.

Well- this thread has just inspired me to see what is on at our regional theatre. Just booked 3 tickets to a ballet in 3 weeks time. Neither DS14 or DS12 are keen but I said we can always leave in intermission if they truly hate it, and it's something new that they have not seen before. I suggested they might find it inspiring and the look of sheer horror was quite funny. i think they will enjoy it tbh. Both love classical music so I think we have a good start.

That said- it was still £90 taking into account two under 16s at £20 each and we have to travel there. So I can see how it's not necessarily affordable for many to just book on what amounted to a whim.

But I am looking forward to it!

Love a bit of musical theatre and have seen loads of musicals. Never seen an opera and only one classical concert. They’re not really my things.

Classical music is my biggest passion in life - I play a couple of instruments (see user name) and play regularly which means I am in several concerts per year and go to others - my idea of a good night out is hearing the Nash Ensemble at the Wigmore Hall (pleased to see someone mention it above).
I enjoy opera too and had a couple of trips to ENO recently, one of which only cost £10.
Theatre I try to get to when I can - my birthday treat to myself was Guys And Dolls last year! Obviously I enjoy musicals most as I am a musician but I’ll happily go to straight drama too (Shakespeare, Wilde, Tennessee Williams…..).
I agree that most of us have a limited budget for fun and can choose to prefer football matches and theme parks over the other options but, if you’re not actually struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head (I totally understand that some people are), you do have a choice so I think that the cost argument can be spurious.

Comparison of costs:
Tickets to see Hamilton this year in Sunderland, £15-£132 each.
Tickets to see RPO in Sunderland £17-£62 each
Tickets to see Swan Lake next week in local theatre: £20-48 each (this is typical for most shows at our local theatre including live theatre and opera. It's 10 minutes from our house and parking is free. Joys of living in the north)
Tickets to see opening match of Women's Euros in 2022: £40 per adult, £20 per child. Mens football is more expensive and much harder to get tickets for.
Prebooked ticket to Alton Towers: £39 (quite surprised how reasonable this is, we went to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen and paid a lot more than this).
Tickets to see Taylor Swift in Edin urgh last year £50-£100s
Tickets to Glastonbury 2025 £373.50

Live pop music is much more expensive than other options.

Lots of theatre, RSC in Stratford on Avon, National Theatre and other London shows, local touring rep.

Classical music or opera - never. Partial to a bit of Gilbert &Sullivan though.
I think there must be a gene for appreciation of opera - I haven’t got it!

All three, often, thought theatre less than concerts and operas. We have fantastic arts in this country. But each to his own, maybe they just aren’t interested.

All 3, mostly B and C, plus ballet. Two classical concerts within the past fortnight.

But for me going to the opera or a classical music concert isn’t something I want to try. It would be a waste of money as I know I wouldn’t enjoy it. I don’t feel my life is any worse for not having tried

All three. Me and DH love opera, ballet and theatre - usually musical theatre but also plays - Shakespeare predominantly.

I used to go to classical concerts as my ex-boyfriend worked for a music magazine back in the day so we used to get complimentary tickets to a variety of shows.

Not been to an opera, but would like to try it - same as a ballet.
Been to lots of theatre performances including plays, musicals, comedians, children's performances - both professional & amateur.
Not been to a classical concert at the theatre but have outside/in the park.

We take DC to the theatre a few times a year - last year we saw War Horse, Bluey's Big Play, Wicked, Horrible Histories, Science Museum Live, Steve Backshall Ocean, & the panto. DC have gone with school twice (Aladdin & panto).

I go to loads of live theatre. Mostly plays, very rarely musicals.

I’ve never been to the opera because I really loathe opera.

I go to lots and lots of live music events in loads of genres, but the only classical or classical-adjacent acts I go to see are people like Max Richter or the North Sea Radio Orchestra. Or contemporary stuff like Steve Reichs and Olafur Arnalds. That isn’t because classical music is inaccessible to me; it’s just not really my thing. I vaguely remember being taken to a couple of kids’ classical concerts when I was a kid and a classic movie soundtrack concert as a teenager because I was a massive film buff then. But my dad is a huge modern jazz fan though so if I got taken to live music with my parents it was usually something at Ronnie Scott’s.

I once got front of the grand circle on student standby for £5 and saw Sergei Poulin! I loved those deals.

All 3, hundreds of times (though less than 20 for live opera)

I go to a music concert every Monday afternoon for 2 hours