March 2, 2026
Athens, GR 14 C
Expand search form
Blog

Covent Garden wants my money again

Covent Garden wants my money again

In 1999, I named a seat at the Royal Opera House after my eldest sister. She had been a devoted operagoer in the 1950s and my kid brother’s nod to her past happiness was much appreciated. The gesture cost me £500, money well spent at a time when the company’s future looked more than usually fragile.

I checked recently to see the plaque was still there. It is.

But today I got a letter, asking me to pay anothe £500 to keep it there for another 25 years.

‘Whilst we did not specify this criteria for how long your plaque would be in place when you originally made the gift,’ says the hopelessly ungrammatical Senior Fundraisuing Manager, ‘we hope you are open to a discussion about your future support.’

Not sure. Not at all sure.

It doesn’t feel like good practice to change the rules in mid-stream.

 

The post Covent Garden wants my money again appeared first on Slippedisc.

Previous Article

Wigmore Hall has sacked the Arts Council. You can, too

Next Article

Munich loses Mirga

You might be interested in …

Exclusive: Comedy duo calls it quits

Exclusive: Comedy duo calls it quits

We understand that the entertaining Igudesman & Joo are about to announce their retirement from the stage at the end of next year. The violin-piano duo will have been performing together for two decades, which […]

New baton is named at Yale

New baton is named at Yale

Yale Symphony Orchestra has named a successor to William Boughton, who has retired after seven years in charge. She is Elizabeth Askren, presently on the music staff of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She will […]

Death of the original Euro star

Death of the original Euro star

She was half-French, half-Italian, spoke six languages and sang in twice as many. The mega-hits of Caterina Valente, who has died in Switzerland at 93, came mostly in the 1950s. She made her breakthrough in […]