31 JANUARY 1981, Page 17

UnFriendly

Sir: I would like to echo Mr Courtauld's complaints about the Royal Opera House (Notebook, 17 January). Not only is it a near-impossibility to obtain seats without being a Friend of Covent Garden; but even when one is a Friend (which I am driven by necessity to be) the box office is, to put it mildly, unhelpful. And there are so many instances of mismanagement: out of the last 15 ballets I have seen, there have been 11 substitutions, including seven in leading roles.

Judith Flanders 71 a Golders Green Road, London NW11