Lorgnette Glasses for the Opera or Theatre

This weeks question comes from someone wanting to know more about opera optics: They were going to the opera for the first time and wanted an opera glass, “but the one with a handle to hold them to your face.”

Lorgnette Opera Glasses

These theatre binoculars are actually know as Lorgnette Opera Glasses and are a progression of Lorgnette spectacles invented by an English optician called George Adams that also have a handle used to hold them in place and were popular in the 19th century.

Most specialist Lorgnette Glasses for the Opera or Theatre have a magnification of around 3x. This is because it is easier to achieve a large or wide field of view ensuring that you can view all the performance without having to move the optics around and at this level of magnification image-shake is kept to a minimum which makes watching the performance as comfortable and as easy as possible.

What is interesting is that even though they were invented by an Englishman, today they are much easier to find in the US than in the UK.

Popular brands who make Lorgnette’s include LaScala Optics and Zhumell who produce some great looking versions, known as Zhumell Mezzo Opera Glasses, they come in a ruby as well as silver colour and are worth looking out for.

Where to buy

Where to buy Lorgnette Glasses in the USA

Where to buy Opera Glasses in the UK

More Information

• Guide to Opera Binoculars & Theatre Glasses
• Zhumell Binoculars