By Stuart Jeffries

”The unintended genius of English National Opera’s modern-day, 90-minute staging of Puccini’s opera is to spread the class politics from stage to audience. The VIPs are ushered to the best seats in the house – that’s to say cars parked near the stage. These are called “uber boxes”, though, as far as I can see, they are Toyota Priuses in which up to four people can sit. (There’s no need for a driver since these cars aren’t going anywhere.) Behind are the middle classes who’ve come in their own vehicles (£100 per car). Hotel Chocolat servers take orders for ice cream, chocolates and drinks. Surtitles above the stage tell drivers to tune their radios to 87.7FM to get the best audio, though quite a few have their windows open to hear the music from speakers placed around the car park. All the singers are miked.

Meanwhile, 20 or so cyclists (£35 per bike) are directed towards socially distanced cells on the concrete. No server asks us what we’d like to order from the Hotel Chocolat concession. Luckily, I had been advised to bring something to sit on: I take my place on my garden kneeler.”

Source: The Guardian