THE culture buffs of Glasgow, or anywhere else in Scotland, are

unlikely to have to pay more to appreciate the performing arts, despite

the findings of a report which claims that most people attending the

theatre would pay more for their seats.

Delegates at a conference in the city yesterday, on current thinking

about pricing for performing arts events, were told a study on ticket

pricing found that most people attending the theatre -- be it for drama,

opera, or ballet -- were willing to pay more for their entertainment.

Apart from leaving the arts world wondering just which punters said

they would willingly shell out more for a good night out, theatre

establishments in the city were largely unmoved by the revelation that

there are untapped seams of funding in the front stalls of each

performance.

Scottish Ballet -- which has actually enacted a price freeze on its

shows for the past two years -- did not want to be seen leading the

charge to extract more funding from their audiences. At up to #27.50 a

fling (or is that pirouette?) they might be accused of having a brass

neck if they tried.

The #27.50 tag is, of course, for ''absolutely the best seats in the

house'', said public relations officer Jim Fletcher, the house more

often than not being the Theatre Royal.

Concessions are available for all shows and Mr Fletcher knew of no

plans to increase prices. He said: ''We are constantly extending our

performances to include all sections of the community. Midweek matinees,

which are no lesser a performance, are only #5 for any seat. A family

could afford the royal box for that.''

Scottish Opera -- perhaps already sensitive to charges of elitism when

it comes to prices and audience figures -- went on the defensive when

the subject was raised.

The opera company, which received an Arts Council grant of more than

#4.3m this year (about 21% of all SAC grant funding), said its prices

were already set at a realistic level.

Tickets for a night at the opera, in the Theatre Royal, Glasgow,

average at about #16 a seat, with #38 being the going rate for the best

in the house.

''Will they pay more? I suppose that depends on what how much money

they have in their pocket,'' said an official. ''People pay these prices

because they expect a quality show. And you can get seats for #3.50 just

by phoning in advance. It costs more than that to go to a multiplex

cinema.''

It might be hard to believe, but Scottish audiences really get opera

on the cheap, especially when prices are compared to London venues.

For example, a seat for a November showing of Strauss's Die Frau Ohne

Schatten in the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, comes in at #43.70 --

for a seat in the gods. Tickets for special performances can go up to

#250, depending on who is doing the singing.

Such charges -- often leading to accusations of high art, high prices

and snobbery -- are unlikely to be levelled at that citadel of

accessible pricing, the Citizens' Theatre in Glasgow. An official said

its thinking was unlikely to be affected by the findings of any report

which said the theatre could make money by charging more.

Over half the audiences attending plays at the theatre in the Gorbals

qualify for concessionary #2 tickets, and #6 secures any seat in the

house. ''If the whole allocation of seats was taken up by concession

tickets we wouldn't mind,'' said the Citizens' press office.

''The management sees seat pricing as an integral part of the whole

theatre. By keeping prices low we can maximise the number of people

benefiting from subsidised theatre. It's all about access.''

The Scottish Arts Council's director of planning, Christine Hamilton,

one of the conference organisers, said that increasing prices for seats

was only one method of maximising income.

She said: ''We have to look at the role concesssionary schemes play in

attracting new audiences and those who already think tickets are too

expensive, or cannot afford more.''

She added: ''With the imminent introduction of competitive tendering

for local authority theatres and concert halls, council arts departments

have to ask themselves if they are doing enough to maximise their income

and if they are ready to compete against private sector operators.''