Attending a concert, play, opera, ballet…

We asked any of you who attended a concert, a recital or any music or dance performance or stage production outside of the US in the last couple of years to tell us how you learned about it and how you obtained tickets. The responses this month, comprising part seven in this ongoing series, are about events attended in Australia.

When four of us were planning a trip to Australia in 2008, we knew that we would have only the night of our arrival to attend an opera at the Sydney Opera House (Macquarie St., SYDNEY, NSW 2000, Australia; phone +61 2 9250 7777).

We checked the website and saw that the opera that would be playing was one we had just seen, so we didn’t buy tickets. When we arrived, however, we learned that the program had been changed to one of my favorite operas, “La Traviata.” As soon as we checked into our hotel, located across the quay from the opera house, we rushed to see if tickets were still available.

Although it appeared that it would be a short walk, it took about 20 minutes to round the quay. The two men in our group stood in line while my friend and I waited outside. They returned ticketless, saying it was opening night and the only tickets available were “partial view.” By this time, I was desperate to go and would have gone with NO view. I tearfully persuaded the men to go back for tickets.

It was getting late. There was no time to walk back to our hotel and change or even to have dinner, so we grabbed something from a food stand, then joined the people entering the theater, they dressed in their finest while we were wearing shorts and T-shirts.

As we settled into our partial-view seats, a man struck up a conversation with us. He listened to our sad tale, then pointed out that if we moved about 10 rows back and STOOD, we would be able to see the full stage.

The performance was unforgettable and delightful; we gave the performers an automatic “standing ovation,” and we have another travel tale to tell.

If there is a lesson to be learned from our story, it is this: if you are going to a destination once in your life, don’t deny yourself the experience of doing and seeing what is unique and wonderful. If you can afford the trip, you can afford the expense.

Irma Gurman
Smithtown, NY

A friend and I left our cruise ship, Crystal Serenity, in Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 26, 2011, and flew to SYDNEY. We would spend a couple of days there, attend a performance at the opera house and get back on the ship when it arrived on Feb. 28.

Months in advance, I Googled the Sydney Opera House to find out if they had any performances on either of the two nights. “Carmen” was to be performed on the 26th. Their website provided a seating chart showing which seats were available and the price of each. I charged the tickets to my credit card and received a confirmation all within 10 minutes. It’s a very user-friendly website.

We had an early dinner that evening at the ARIA Restaurant (1 Macquarie St., East Circular Quay, Sydney 2000, Australia; phone +61 2 9252 2555), adjacent to the opera house. It’s a lovely restaurant, with a fabulous view of Sydney Harbour, the bridge and the opera house. Including a glass of wine each, our meal cost about $85 per person.

We then strolled over to the opera house, picked up our tickets at the “will call” window, attended the performance and walked back to our hotel, the Four Seasons (199 George St.).

A very civilized and elegant evening! Not inexpensive, however — the opera tickets cost $235 each.

I have attended plays in London’s West End in the past by the same method.

Marv Silverman
Carmel, CA

Wherever we travel, my husband, Ray, and I always scan local travel brochures and ads to see if any special events or sights are being promoted. Upon our arrival in MELBOURNE in October ’07, our first stop on an Australia tour, we noticed an ad for “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert — the Musical.” We love musicals but had never heard of this one.

The friendly desk staff at our downtown hotel, the Crossley Hotel (51 Little Bourke St., Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia; phone +61 3 9639 1639), raved about it and strongly encouraged us to experience it, if possible. We managed to get tickets at the theater’s box office for a performance the next evening.

The limited-engagement performance was at the elegant, intimate Regent Theater (191 Collins St., Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia; or phone Ticketmaster at 1300 111 011), built in 1929 and advertised as “Melbourne’s Palace of Dreams.”

The experience, itself, was akin to attending a traveling Broadway musical at Chicago’s Shubert Theater. The flamboyant disco musical tells the story of two female impersonators and one transvestite as they travel across the Australian Outback in an old bus named Priscilla. For us, it was a wild, perfect initiation to our tour of Australia!

As for any advice to share considering a night out in a foreign country — be vigilant searching for special events and activities wherever you travel, and take advantage of all feasible opportunities. Life is a precious journey!

Wanda Bahde
Summerfield, FL