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Theatre Views Newsletter
Views and News from The London Opera Glass Company
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Is Champagne heading to your theatre?  
In the last newsletter we awarded a bottle of champagne to the Shaftesbury Theatre. This was in recognition for the great job they do replacing lost or missing opera glasses. 
  
 This quarter there are TWO winning theatres. The Cliffs Pavillion in Southend on Sea and the Grand Opera House in York tied in first place with a superb performance. They closely pipped  the Prince Edward Theatre and the Apollo Victoria in London who also did extremely
well. Champagne will be on its way to the two winning theatres shortly.  
Have you had your free upgrade?
Since the new �1 dispenser was  introduced for the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre last year, over 80% of UK theatres are now operating the new standard machine. With fewer 50 pence pieces around, patrons find it more convenient and theatres receive larger commissions. This additional revenue is often used to help vital theatre restoration work. 
 �1 opera glass machine
 
If you would like to know more about the FREE upgrade to the latest �1 dispenser, please just reply to this email today.
The Italian Job
The London Opera Glass Company still make their glasses in England but don't only deal with UK theatres.
Virona Logo
 
This summer, special printed binoculars were supplied to the highly prestigious Arena di Verona in time for their 88th Opera Festival. This year the festival is entitled Franco Zeffirelli and the Arena and is dedicated to the great Italian Director.
Summer 2010
Greetings!

While sport might be grabbing the news headlines over the summer, a delightful letter that was received during the World Cup served as a powerful reminder that theatre and the performing arts can generate just as much passion as sport.
Mrs Rooney prefers theatre to football
 
It was a huge surprise to receive a letter from Mrs Barbara Rooney from Cambridge, just as the World Cup kicked off, requesting her own set of opera glasses. It turns out that Mrs Rooney is not related to the England star and is a much bigger fan of theatre than football. 
 

Mrs Rooney and Philip Main"We go up to London quite a lot and like to use opera glasses" explains Mrs Rooney 

 

"We use them if they are there but they are not always available. My husband bought me some expensive binoculars but they just don't do the job as well. I wear glasses and I can still use the London Opera Glasses without taking my specs off. I think they are very, very good." she adds.

 

Mrs Rooney has been a dedicated theatre goer since 1954 when she saw Guys and Dolls while on honeymoon.

 

These days Mrs Rooney is a much bigger follower of Andrew Lloyd Webber than any sports star. " Love Never Dies is absolutely fabulous" she tells us, "it was a standing ovation from the word go".

 

Mrs Rooney received her own set of London Opera Glasses outside the Apollo Victoria theatre from MD, Philip Main together with a complimentary ticket for Wicked.

Croydon to get up close and personal
 
Neil Chandler, front of house and technical manager at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon has no doubts about the benefits of opera glasses for his patrons having just had a complete installation.
Joseph 
"In a challenging financial climate we wanted to offer our patrons a new service as opposed to cutting our current offering in an attempt to save money. Opera Glasses were definitely the way to go" says Neil.
 
"Our patrons can now get up close and personal with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Russian Ballet and a whole host of other stars" he adds. 
 
The glasses were installed in time for the summer season and the opening of Joseph on 12 July.
Vaudeville glasses ready for Jeff Goldblum
Opera Glasses will be installed at the Vaudeville Theatre in time for the opening of The Prisoner of Second Avenue, the award winning black comedy depicting a New York couple, Mel (Jeff Goldblum) and Edna Edison, enduring the trials and tribulations of city life. 
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Theatre Manager, Alistair Sutherland, was delighted with the installation and was amazed how well the glasses fitted into the auditorium.
 
"It was good to see the advance in technology that opera glasses have made" says Alistair.
With the UK economy still looking fragile, more theatres are looking to offer patrons opera glass rentals and obtain vital additional revenue.
 
Please do get in touch if you think we might be able to help your venue.
 
Regards, 
 
Philip Main 
Managing Director
Serving the theatre community since 1913