German and English (English appears only on the right hand side of the display above the stage!) surtitles are provided for most operas performed at Oper Frankfurt but are not included in the price of a ticket. This means that refunds will not be made, or tickets reduced in price, if an opera is performed without surtitles or they are not able to be seen properly, or at all, from some seats at the sides of the auditorium, although new monitors at the sides of the auditorium have improved matters greatly.
Oper Frankfurt asks you to note that late-comers will generally not be admitted until the interval, although, for most productions, arrangements have been made with artistic management for an agreed moment, not very long after the performance has begun, when late-comers can be admitted. For productions where there is no interval every effort will be made to admit late-comers at some point. If you arrive late our front of house staff will let you know about when you will be allowed into the auditorium. In many cases, if your seats are in the middle of a row, for example, it would be too disruptive for late-comers to find seats so they should take the nearest free places to the door pointed out to them by front of house staff – and reclaim their booked places during or after the interval.
Lost or expired ticket vouchers, exchange Abonnement (subscription) vouchers in particular, cannot be replaced. It is also not possible to take tickets back to the box office for a refund. Tickets cannot be refunded if a performance has to be cancelled due to things beyond Oper Frankfurt's control (including things like strikes, civil unrest, natural catastrophes, an epidemic or order from the state). Tickets cannot be refunded if a singer is forced to cancel a recital if a suitable replacement has been found.
The General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter GTC) regulate the legal relationship between Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt am Main GmbH (hereinafter SBF) and its visitors. These apply when tickets or subscriptions have been purchased. The subscription terms from the respective publications (season brochures / internet portals) of the individual sectors are also valid for subscribers. The General Terms
Performances, when they begin and casts are announced regularly in monthly brochures and are available on the website. We reserve the right to make changes if there is a good reason, if one or several singers are ill, or somebody else, due to no fault of their own, who plays a vital role is suddenly not available. The Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt will make known any changes to the programme, cancellation, or starting time on the website as soon as they are known. The SBF cannot take responsibility for information published in other publicity material or the media.
3.1 The advance booking office is open during the times stated in the regular publications of SBF.
3.2 The evening box office normally opens 60 minutes before performances begin (this also applies to performances that begin in the afternoon). Tickets for that evening's performances are a priority at the box offices. The evening box office shuts when the performance begins.
4.1 Advance booking for the next season begins on the date specified in the SBF's publications and website.
4.2 Advance bookings can also be made through other ticket agencies in Frankfurt and Germany and other internet portals. The SBF assumes no liability for the way these other companies' terms & conditions, how they are run, or behave.
4.3 The SBF reserves the right, if necessary, to limit the number of tickets sold to one person. The SBF also reserves the right to limit the advance booking in temporal regard and/or in view of the sale of reduced tickets / places and/or with regard to certain sales channels.
4.4 If theSBF sends tickets / subscription cards to the purchaser, the purchaser / subscriber is responsible for the risk involved in using the post. The SBF is not obliged to provide replacements. The SBF is entitled to charge a fee for the postage/delivery.
5.1. You can, in theory, order tickets as soon as booking opens. Tickets reserved by telephone are considered temporary until paid for.
5.2. The deadline of a reserved ticket is 10 days. If a reserved ticket reservation is not paid for by that time it is automatically cancelled.
5.3. The purchase of tickets is completed when paid for (see clause 6.pp).
6.1 There are different seating plans & price categories for performances staged by the SBF, depending on the venue and event. A surcharge might be made for selected events, such as guest performances, New Year's Eve performances, etc.
6.2 Information about ticket and subscription prices are available from the SBF's publications.
6.3 Printed tickets allow the holder to use regional public transport, free to get to the performance and home again. Using your ticket as this means of travel remains a contractual relationship between you and the RMV (regional transport system).
6.4 You have to pay extra for leaving your coats and bags in the cloakroom, programmes, supertitles (see also clause 11).
Tickets may not be resold for industrial and / or commercial purposes without previous approval from the SBF. The SBF is entitled to exclude persons responsible who violate this prohibition from purchasing tickets in the future.
8.1 Opera Frankfurt grants a 50% discount on tickets for people who can prove they are students and aged 30 or younger, members of the the Federal Voluntary Service, the unemployed, holders of the youth leader card and people with a 50% GdB (grade of disability) and above, who need an accompanying adult. There are a few places allocated for wheelchair users (which cost €6) with documentation marked "B" to prove they need somebody to accompany them (the seat next to the wheelchair user, which costs €10).
8.1.1 Schauspiel Frankfurt: gives a 50% discount on normal prices on presentation or a proof - of holders of Frankfurt passes, holders of youth leader cards, the unemployed, and severely disabled persons with 50% GdB (degree of disability) and above, who need an accompanying adult. These discounts to not extend to first nights of new productions, guest performances, special and external events or New Year's Eve performances.
8.2 Groups and/or student groups accompanied by a supervising teacher - depending on the availability of tickets - get a discount tickets for bulk orders.
8.3 The SBR is allowed to sell unsold tickets for some performances, only at box offices, at reduced prices.
8.4 Admission to events with discount tickets (see Clause8.1.) is only possible with an ID card entitling the holder to the discount. Only one discount ticket will be sold pro person, with proof of entitlement. A combination of discounts is not allowed. Discounts do not apply to any fees. 8.5 Discounts can be changed or made void by the SBF at any time. The SBF is also entitled to restrict or exclude the sale of discounted tickets for certain venues, events, seating or price groups, in terms of time or with respect to certain sales channels.
9.1. There is no fundamental right to return or exchange tickets. A refund cannot be made if performances are cancelled or cut short because of force majeure. This being said, the SBF can sometimes make exceptions if it deems fit. In this case an administration fee of €2.50 will be charged per ticket.
9.2 If a performance is cut short then a substitute performance will be offered if less then half the performance had taken place, or, if this is not possible for programme or other reasons, the admission price will be refunded.
9.4 Additional claims are not accepted as our responsbility in view of cases 9.2.-9.3; other expenses incurred by the visit (travel/overnight accommodation costs, for example) cannot be reimbursed. Claims for reimbursement of the admission prices shall be void for reasons of legal security and of the financial planning of the SBF if not asserted within one month.
9.5 Reimbursements of advance booking or other fees are excluded.
10.1 If you lose a ticket the SER will issue a replacement ticket if the purchaser can prove - with seating number or other kind of proof, which ticket had been purchased.
10.2 If the original tickets AND replacement tickets for the same seat/s are held by different members of the audience then the holder of the original tickets has priority over the holder of the replacement tickets. If this happens than the holder of the replacement ticket/s has no rightful claim for other seat/s. The people checking your tickets when you enter the theatre are not obliged to check whether you are the rightful owner of the ticket.
11.1 Gift vouchers never expire. If the ticket value of a purchased ticket exceeds the voucher value at the time of redemption, the difference has to be paid by the customer. In all other cases, the customer will get a new value voucher for the difference.
11.2 Exchange vouchers or coupons from subscriptions are only valid until the end of the respective season.
11.2. No replacement can be granted for lost gift vouchers or expired exchange vouchers / coupons from subscriptions. 2. Surtitles, for most productions, during performances, the libretto, or part of it, of the opera is normally displayed synchronously, in German, on a screen above the stage and smaller screens at the sides of the auditorium. These surtitles are not a component of the ticket price. The surtitles cannot be seen from some seats, some have limited view and sometimes there are no surtitles. A refund, discount or return of tickets is not possible if there are no surtitles or they are not visible.
The personal data of ticket purchasers are collected, processed, stored and used in compliance with data protection laws in the scope necessary for the implementation of the contract. The SBF is entitled to pass on this data to persons or legal entities when they effect the ticket sales contract on behalf of the SBF.
Here is the privacy policy (in German).
14.1 The entrance foyers normally open one hour before the performance begins.
14.2 The valid ticket and/or the subscription ticket must be shown to the staff manning the doors and proof of entitlement must be on hand for holders of discount tickets. Each ticket entitles one person to attend one performance.
14.3 Members of the audience who have arrived late can only be admitted to the auditorium - for safety reasons and in the interest of artists performing on stage and other members of the audience - at times already decided upon by the artistic management (a scene change, for example) and without any claim to the seat that was purchased until the interval. It is important that people who are admitted during the performance do as they are told by the people who let them in.
14.4 The ticket is invalid after the end of the performance and when you have left the premises of the SBF. But you can still travel home free on local public transport (not if you have printed out your ticket at home).
15.1 Cloakroom items : coats, umbrellas, large bags and bulky items may not be taken into the auditorium but have to be dropped off at the cloakrooms.
15.2 Items are handed over after performances upon presentation of a cloakroom ticket without the staff having to check whether the cloakroom ticket holder is the rightful owner of the items.
15.3 If a member of the audience has lost a cloakroom ticket the items will only be handed over if plausible reasons are given and accepted that he/she is the rightful recipient.
15.4 Incorrect, damaged or lost items or loss of a cloakroom ticket must be reported to the cloakroom staff immediately. The visitor is obliged to refund the €5 replacement cost of a lost cloakroom ticket to the management visitor services. If the lost cloakroom ticket is found this amount will be refunded.
15.5 By handing over the cloakroom ticket, the SBF shall be liable for loss or damages of the kept objects only if the cloakroom staff has violated its retention obligations intentionally or through gross negligence. The liability is limited to the fair value and/or to 250€ for all objects handed over under a given cloakroom ticket. Excluded from liability are identification cards and certificates of all kinds, credit cards, cash, keys and valuables such as jewellery, electronic equipment etc., especially if these articles are located in coat pockets or containers. The retention of these objects is at the risk of the visitor.
16.1 Valuables of any kind found in premises of the SBF are accepted by the front of house and/or cloakroom staff and are kept in the lost property office of the SBF. 16.2 The loss of valuables must be reported immediately to the front of house and/or cloakroom staff. 16.3 For the treatment of lost property, as for the rest §§ 978 pp BGB shall apply
17.1 The SBF exercises its authority in all its performing venues. It is entitled to pronounce house leaving orders or bans or to take other suitable measures within the scope of its domestic authority. In particular, visitors can be excluded from performances if they interrupt them, bother other visitors or have infringed the GTC in another and significant manner or have repeatedly done so. Admission can also be refused when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the visitor will interfere with the performance or bother other visitors.
17.2 Mobile phone devices and other acoustic transducers of all kinds may be taken into the auditorium but kept switched off at all times.
17.3 It is forbidden to take food or drinks into the auditorium.
17.4 Smoking is not permitted in all areas of SBF.
17.5 In case of fire or other dangerous situations, visitors must leave the house immediately without detours, (cloakroom will be closed) through the identified exits and/or emergency exits. The instructions of the staff must be obeyed.
18.1 Unauthorized image (film, video etc.) and/or sound-recordings are prohibited for copyright reasons. Failure to comply may incur damage claims. Taking pictures during the performance is not allowed because it disturbs the performers' concentration and annoys other members of the audience.
18.2 If this rule is broken front of house staff are entitled to confiscate recording devices, telephones, cameras, under exclusion of liability, and withhold them until the performance is over. If necessary, the visitor can be excluded from the performance. Recording material of any kind, on which parts of the performance is recorded will be confiscated and kept by SBF. These devices are handed over to the owner again if he or she has agreed, in advance, to delete the recordings.
18.3 If image and/or sound-recordings are made during a public performance by the SBF or their contracting partners, i.e. by persons entitled to do so, members of the audience with a valid ticket acknowledge and agree that they may be recorded in image and / or sound, and that these recordings may be published and/or used without claim for remuneration.
19.1 The SBF, its legal representatives or vicarious agents shall be liable for damage, for whatever legal reason, only in case of intent or gross negligence. 19.2 To the extent that liability for damage is excluded or is limited in these General Terms and Conditions, this does not apply to damage that is based on intentional or grossly negligent behaviour by the SBF, its representatives or vicarious agents or is based on injury to life, body and health through the categories of persons referred to above.
German law shall apply in principle. Place of performance and place of jurisdiction is Frankfurt am Main.
In accordance with the Corona Contact and Operating Restrictions Ordinance (passed on May 7 2020) events can take place again under strict hygiene conditions.
22. State of health of people visiting the theatre
22.1 You may only attend performances at Oper & Schauspiel Frankfurt if you are not infected with SARS-CoV-2 and are not displaying any COVID-19 symptoms (such as temperature, aches and pains, diarrhoea) or suffering from accute respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, a runny nose).
22.2 People who become ill and have purchased tickets should get in touch with customer services / ticket sales by email.
23. Ticket prices
Might change during the corona crisis. These will be announced by the SBF.
24. Collecting data and proof of identity
24.1 The SBF are obliged by law to keep a list of people entering the building to ensure that a chain of infection can be traced if necessary. So we need your name, address and date of birth when you purchase a ticket. People buying tickets for several people must have this information on the people using the other tickets to hand.
24.2 All people going to a performance must have means of identification with them, and present it when buying tickets at the evening box office.
24.3 Your information will be deleted in the usual way according to German law.
25. Rules about keeping your distance and number of people allowed in the audience
25.1 A distance of 1½ metres must be maintained between people (even when seated) at all times, except between people from the same household.
25.2 The rules mean that a seated person must have 5 people-free square metres around them. In addition, a maximum of one person per 10 square metres of floor space accessible to the public.
25.3 No more than 100 people can sit in the audience at any one time, unless the authorities change their minds and allow more people to attend.
26. Seats in the auditorium
26.1 The 1½ metre between people rule applies here too, unless you are a couple, when you can probably sit together. 26.2 Members of the audience will be seated in every second row.
26.3 With three empty seats between allocated places.
26.4 Couples/people from the same household can talk to front of house staff about sitting together. There is no right for people from the same household to sit together.
27. Distance keeping and hygiene rules in the theatre and foyers
27.1 A mask must be worn before entering the building. You may only remove it once you are sitting in the seat you have been shown to.
27.2 Information about safety regulations are on display throughout the building.
28. Using the toilets
28.1 No more than two people are allowed in the toilets at any one time, and they must stay 1½ metres apart from each other.
28.2 A mask must be worn.
29. Coats (cloakrooms) and luggage (ergänzend zu § 14)
29.1 Current laws mean that we are not allowed to have manned cloakrooms.
29.2 You can take smaller items including handbags and jackets into the auditorium with you, but no luggage or umbrellas.
29.3 There will be places where larger items may be left, but we cannot be held responsible for them.
30. Getting to your seats / queuing to get to your seats (ergänzend zu §13)
30.1 Reminders about having to keep 1½ metres from each other in a queue will be on display by the doors into the auditorium.
30.2 Front of house staff will ask people to keep their distance if there are too many people trying to get in at once. 30.3 Once the doors are open you will be asked to take your places relatively quickly, to avoid queues building up. Front of house staff will be on hand to help and ensure regulations are adhered to.
30.4 Doors into the auditorium will be opened and closed by front of house staff, to minimise hand contact on the door handles.
31. Coming into force
These conditions come into force with immediate effect and replace earlier versions of the General Terms and Conditions of Oper and Schauspield Frankfurt.
Frankfurt, 22.05.2020
Bernd Loebe & Anselm Weber
Geschäftsführer and Intendants of Oper Frankfurt & Schauspiel Frankfurt
