To wear jeans to the Royal Opera House?

[Nutcrackerjack]

I’ve name changed as I feel a bit dim asking.

I’ve never been to the Royal Opera House and have heard that everyone wears super formal dress eg bow ties and evening dress.

I’m so excited that we have tickets to the Nutcracker (NHS ) for a matinee but I usually live in jeans outside work. I do have a smart dress though!

I don’t want to look like an idiot- does anyone who moves in ROH ballet and opera circles know what to wear?

Seems a shame to wear jeans to such a lovely event. Why on earth do you want to?

People tend to dress smartly at the ROH. At the Nutcracker matinee in particular there are lots of families all in their best clothes.

I think ballet at the ROH is dressier than the opera - different clientele. After all the costumes are a significant additional part of many people's motivation for going to the ballet, but very few people go to the opera for the costumes (though I'm off to Pinafore for the costumes next week) and that flows through to their personal approach to clothes.

Plus there's a hair shirt "I'm only here for the purity of Wagner/Janacek/Beethoven's music and am above such fripperies as dressing up" contingent at the opera.

@andyindurham

When I lived in London, I often used to go straight from the football to the ROH on a Saturday. Jeans seemed to be fine at both, although I didn't quite get round to turning up in a football shirt and scarf!

Saying that, if I was going now I'd probably take the opportunity to dress up a little, simply because I don't get that chance so often any more. But really, it's your night out so go with what makes you comfortable (unless it's a Newcastle Utd shirt!)

Oh, I was just going to ask if you were an Arsenal fan, as I once sat in the day seats beside a nice couple in retro away strips for a performance of Tosca.

I used to go to the opera all the time, often in the cheap day seats, sometimes in expensive ones passed on from a friend who worked there. My dress code was virtually always ‘what I happened to be wearing because of what I was doing earlier’.

Even a long satin skirt is going to look pretty dressed up for a Nutcracker matinee at the Royal Opera House. However it's the sort of place where you dress for you, and what the occasion means to you, not anybody else there so if you want your satin skirt (or even ballgown) then go for it, no one else will sneer and they will be glad you are having a great time.

We go a lot (it's DH's main hobby) and jeans is a totally fine look even in the posh seats.

Lots of people in the evening have gone straight from work so are just in their office wear. Or some effort but not as much as my colleagues make for a Christmas party.

Nutcracker matinee will be awash with small girls in princess dresses and parents trying to ensure they behave. Absolutely no-one will look at what you are wearing in that environment!

Agree ballet crowd is different to opera - but maybe not the Nutcracker which draws in lots of people taking their children to a Christmas show, so all the fairy dresses.

Other ballet will have a more fashiony and younger crowd who look v cool and sophisticated. Opera - not so much

I saw The Nutcracker at the ROH when I was five - can't for the life of me remember what I wore, but it has stuck in my memory as truly magical! The Waltz of the Snowflakes was my favourite bit

Not much help OP, but I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!

I go a lot and have since a child in 70s. Around 20 times a year both opera and ballet. It’s all relaxed a lot over the years. In order of dressy audiences I’ve found -
Opera skews older and often more formal.
Linbury is not formal at all and really never has been.
Ballet galas and some final performances of major dancers can see some astonishing attire partic when filmed interviews are going on in intervals in Floral Hall/PHH.
When Russians are out in force for ballet it all ramps up dress wise often.
Weekend main stage audiences tend to dress up more as it’s often more of an ‘outing’/special occasion.
New ballets/triple bills etc usually more relaxed and often younger crowd.
Mid week audience lots straight from work so really just ‘smart casual/suits’.
Families with children often all dressed up more - small girls at ballet especially.
Jeans a frequent feature.
Crush bar dining (by boxes and Grand Tier) can skew more formal although it’s basically a long busy corridor and not the best place to eat.
I sometimes dress unusually smartly but often just don’t have time or inclination and have never felt underdressed in eg smart (clean) jeans.
Everyone just dresses as they see fit. The only ‘performance dressing’ remaining that I’ve witnessed - truly astonishingly beautiful dresses / suits tends to be formal galas evenings.

Never mind the dress code. If you'll feel uncomfortable wearing jeans to such an event, don't wear jeans. If you're happy to wear them, do so. I've worn a nice top with unfaded/dark denim jeans and don't feel under- or over-dressed

Hardly anybody wears formal wear to the opera, even at ROH. When I first started to go to theatre / opera regularly, which was when I moved to London in the mid 90s, most people would get a little bit dressed up (albeit not to full formal wear). These days anything goes and many people would be casual. I like to still dress a little, but if I opted for jeans, I personally would wear them with a nice top and shoes, not a hoodie and trainers.

I’ve been in jeans and tshirt before. Felt mildly self-conscious, but also quite ‘too cool for school.’

I don’t think you can go wrong unless you go in full black tie, I think overdressed is much worse than underdressed for this one.

Meh. You could wear jeans, the same way you could wear black tracksuit to a funeral, or the way you could just not bother with a Christmas tree and lights.

Honestly, jeans are fine - as long as they’re not ones that “bite” your legs when you’re sitting: wriggling about to rearrange them during the performance is what’s not ok

Clean, whole & comfortable is all that matters - if you see Company members watching performances from the auditorium they’re almost always dressed casually.

Have a fantastic time - The Nutcracker really is absolutely magical

@Crepuscularshadows

I've been to the matinee for the nutcracker at the roh in jeans. There were people in everything from jeans and a torn jumper (me - we got the day tickets and I hadn't expected to be far enough up the queue) to little girls in ball dresses and everything in between. It's not as formal as la Scala so wear what you're comfortable in.

P.s I don't hold truck with dress codes so my advice might be more militant than others'.

I agree. There were people wearing all sorts and it was fab. Lots of little girls wearing tutu type dresses. Tbh, I’d beed tempted myself but I’m in my 40’s

@JollyJoon

Meh. You could wear jeans, the same way you could wear black tracksuit to a funeral, or the way you could just not bother with a Christmas tree and lights.

How often do you go to things at the ROH?

So jealous op i flipping love the nutcracker. You can go as dressy or as casual as you like

For reasons too complicated to explain I found myself, quite unexpectedly, in Covent Garden shortly after lunchtime today. I happened to pass the ROH and decided to stop by the box office, not really expecting to get a ticket.

Well, it turned out that this matinee was the NHS performance and, inexplicably, not all tickets had been sold, and they were selling the leftovers to ordinary punters. Which is how I ended up in one of the best seats in the House........ for £20.

The Royal Ballet's Nutcracker is just sublime. I'll probably go and see it at least once a year until I pop my clogs.

PS: @Nutcrackerjack - I hope you enjoyed it!!

PPS: As this was totally unplanned, I was wearing........ what I happened to be wearing, i.e. ancient leggings, a nondescript jumper, and...... ..... trainers. I did not feel underdressed

@FlowerArranger thank you, yes we had a fabulous time, I’ve never seen anything like it, it was spectacular!
The dancing, sets and costumes were so beautiful, it was just like watching a Victorian Christmas card come to life. What good luck that you saw it too at such a bargain price.

Thanks again everyone for all your advice. I wore my mid-calf satin skirt and jumper and felt just right but most people were smart casual or casual with a smattering in pink tutus and I did see someone in a bow tie and someone else in a beautiful floor-length gown. Everyone (except @Flowerarranger) was NHS from various trusts so that might have made a difference anyway.

Mind you, when it came to knowing when to clap, that was another evident minefield that I hadn’t thought about :)

The only problem is that now I’ll have to save up for full price tickets for next year!

Fantastic! Thank you for the update, glad you had a great time.

Ooh lovely. Couldn’t get tickets going to a live stream of it at local posh cinema next weekend- I will dress up for that! Any excuse!

Am glad you’d such a good time

As for future!tickets, there are some lovely non-bank-breaking ones in the amphitheatre, but you’ll want to find out when Public Booking Day is for Nutcracker & the rest of the operas & ballets in that season, obviously, but… to give you a good chance of snagging them.