The right and left orchestra areas tend to have good seats for seeing the action taking place on the sides of the stage, provided the seats are reasonably close.Īlso, the first few rows in the center mezzanine, lower balcony or dress circle have good views of the entire stage. Generally, the best seats in the house are going to be in the center orchestra and right in the center of the house. Still, seats too far back or higher, may leave you squinting to see the performers.

But sitting close to the stage makes it more difficult to take in the entire sense of the production, such as patterns created by the corps de ballet moving as a school of fish.

When you're close to the stage, of course, you can see every, facial expression and hear every word and note. This way everyone in the theater could see the wealthy and recognize their status in society.Įach section of seats offers different views of the stage and, as a result, very different experiences. In the distant past, only the richest and most well heeled people sat in the box seats. In other cases, these troublesome seats, like the boxes, were built not for seeing the action on the stage, but for people watching. Poor sight lines are typically caused by architectural elements such as the angle of the seating to the stage, or a beam or wall that are part of the building’s design and engineering.

However, older, historic theaters such as La Scala in Milan often have a handful of seats that, surprisingly, don't allow you to see the stage. Seats with obstructed views are uncommon in modern, state of the art theaters such as the National Theatre in London or the Opera Bastille in Paris. The last thing you want is a theater ticket for a seat that doesn't allow you to see the stage. Articles >The Best Seat in the Opera House The Best Seat in the Opera House

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