Rnib Connect

The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, central London have been expanding their access offer to blind and partially sighted people by providing touch tours, live and recorded audio described performances for their opera and ballet productions. For the recent run of their production of Puccini’s Tosca during July 2024 not only was there recorded audio description for every performance but touch tours were available prior to the performances on Tuesday 16 and Friday 19 July 2024.  RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey along with a number of blind and partially sighted opera patrons joined the touch tour on Tuesday 16 July 2024 to explore the set, costumes and props prior to that night’s performance of Tosca with recorded audio description.   After the touch tour and during the second interval of that night’s performance of Tosca Toby chatted with Audrey and Bakul, two visually impaired opera lovers, to find out how they found both the touch tour and the performance of Tosca with recorded audio description. Prior t