Regarding creating new stars for opera: the Santa Fe Opera runs Sunday afternoon pieces with its younger, company singers in opera skits. They charge next to nothing, and the place is packed. The audience loves seeing the young people sing, and they develop new stars for the next season this way. Why not at the Met?
2
Get rid of the middle seats of the side parterre boxes. As a Marylander, I see most of my operas at the Kennedy Center where a box seat provides a high end experience with lots of leg room, superior views and shorter restroom lines than when joining a thousand close friends in an orchestra seat. I routinely buy those box seats and I happily pay the higher price. Imagine my surprise when the first time I purchase parterre tickets at the Met, my husband and I find that we are physically unable to sit facing forward in our seats. Literally, even at 5'5, short of crushing bones, I could not fit my legs in the space between my seat and the one in front of me, and my husband eight inches taller than me had even les of a prayer. We had to turn our chairs 90 degrees. Even the airline industry has yet to summon the nerve or perhaps is prevented by federal regulation to sell a seat so small that a person my size is incapable of sitting in it. Take out the middle seats and market spacious comfortable parterre seats to opera devotees with the disposable income to afford a higher ticket price for the privilege.
2
The Met has always been recognized as too large, so expecting a full house is inappropriate. Making cheap seats available is always a way to get music lovers in, and to hook young people on opera, who will hopefully move down to more-expensive seats as they prosper. Market opera in immigrant communities. It really shouldn't be too difficult, as long as the operas and productions are appealing. Therein lies the problem, bad concept productions, and dull opera choices too often prevail. Never fear the popular and the eclectic, exotic repertoire.
I would like to respond to several of the suggestions in the article. First, bravo to the critique of the "Grand Tier." My wife and I recently had a miserable experience there, and will not go back. Second, why not alternate periods of multiple productions with periods devoted to just one opera and gain the advantages of both approaches? Third, don't go overboard on the more modern operas; my wife loves them, but the older and more melodic operas are the only ones that I attend willingly. Fourth (goes with the third), marginal goers like me are turned off by the excessive length of many operas, especially after we find out that much of it is padding (e.g. silly and repetitive dialog, whether spoken or recitative, and repetition in the less appealing arias). Fifth, don't think of your audience as "New Yorkers (who) like to dress up." We take the train in from Maryland; my wife likes to look beautiful but not like a socialite and I prefer to be more casual. Finally, of course, do keep the prices as low as possible, keeping in mind that those who come from outside Manhattan may go to considerable expense for travel (perhaps Amtrak would consider special opera trains?).
1
There are many factors that go into ticket prices. I'm surprised at the snarky, unrealistic commentary regarding how much it costs to put on these productions! Did you know that most of the labor unions within the Met have given up wages and many benefits (and in return work longer hours)so that this great institution can keep the lights on? I also am wishing for new productions but there ARE reasons why the Met keeps many of the same works in the repertory. They sell. Puccini is GOOD. A lot of folks are talking about lower prices. The Met takes a great loss selling Rush tickets @ $25. They allocate over 100 seats at that price for EVERY performance. They sell student tickets at around $35 for almost EVERY performance, all you have to do is show your student ID or register on the website. We put on HD festivals on the plaza for FREE every year, we give FREE concerts in the parks every year, the Met also does offer discounted tickets on third party websites, subscriptions save you 15% and you get unlimited exchanges-if you don't want to spend $265 per seat-you DON'T have to-there are plenty of great seats for under $80, you can get a subscription for two people for as low as $300 or less for an entire season of 6-9 operas-just because people don't understand everything we offer doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The Met cares deeply for its audience, truly. We don't just cater to old, rich people. We cater to opera lovers of all ages and every background.
4
Combine some of the ideas by implementing a "Sunday Afternoon Tasting of Opera". The Taster Performance would group several productions of a similar nature that are being performed during the regular season (e.g., New Productions, Verdi, Verismo, Late 20th Century) and have Lindemann Young Artists perform scenes or several arias from each of the operas in the group. Ticket prices should be very cheap for "no subsequent discount" or just low cost for "subsequent discount". After the program, the Lindemann Young Artists could be available on the orchestra and lower level lobbies as well as grand tier restaurant area where tickets for full performances for any of the taster samples would be on sale. For those who have purchased a "subsequent discount" ticket to the Taster Performance a 50% discount on any seat in the house could be purchase. For those with no subsequent discount the price for a regular ticket would be reduced by the cost of the ticket for the Taster Performance. No subsequent discount tickets should be made available to the opera clubs around the city.
Operas should start no later than 7PM on weekdays - many people have at least an hour commute home, and don't want to get back at midnight only to have to get up 6 hours later to head to work. Discounted (that means under $40) tickets need to be made available for people past college (non-students) but not yet at the stage where they can afford luxuries like opera - several years ago, wealthy donors made $25 tickets in the orchestra level available for some weekday performances, but the catch was you had to be in line by 2PM the day of the performance to get the tickets! Guess what that meant - only retirees ended up with the tickets, because everyone under 60 was at work at 2PM on a weekday! Sorry to sound ageist, but such tickets need to be made available for those under 40 who are not students, if the Met wants to have new donors in the next few decades.
1
I'd suggest free afternoon performances.
2
Make it affordable -- absolutely; just like big-time pro sports, Met ticket prices are moving out of reach for many of us.
Take it to the youngsters -- Met stars should be out in public schools, developing future audiences through direct contact with young people.
Don't drop music from school curriculum -- probably the best experience I had as a youngster was our music program. You can't get people to go to the Met if they don't understand or appreciate opera and classical music.
Take it to the youngsters -- Met stars should be out in public schools, developing future audiences through direct contact with young people.
Don't drop music from school curriculum -- probably the best experience I had as a youngster was our music program. You can't get people to go to the Met if they don't understand or appreciate opera and classical music.
3
Has anyone figured out who is no longer coming to the opera? While the focus is on cheap tickets and gimmicks to entice young people to some version of opera, has any thought been given to older opera loving loyal audience who are no longer coming, not because they have died, but because they are no longer earning the salaries they were and can't he opera any longer? No ticket breaks for them, and they are a built-in audience who often want new and challenging work. Then there's the elephant in the room - the HD broadcasts. They don't seem to be bringing people to the Met - on the contrary. The Met broadcasts most of its new productions - so why go, esp if don't live in NYC. And its unlikely you'll go for one of the "training operas" you've seen before. Most of the people I see at the broadcasts are older and travel quite a bit, but no longer to New York for the Met. Why spend thousands when you can spend $20 at the movie theatre? How much of the audience is out of town? Single operas at a time will pretty much kill that audience. The Met gives no breaks to out of towners, unlike the Lyric in Chicago. Lastly, there are lots of young small opera companies doing wonderfully innovative work with new and old operas who are building new audiences and should be supported more. Real music education for students wouldn't hurt either. If the Met cant present the best voices and greatest music in the world (not the Coles Notes version) there's no reason for them to exist.
1
There should never be an empty seat at the Met. Starting at say 8:00 a.m. all unsold seats should be auctioned off on line. Or sold at decreading prices. Or given away to students. Better the Met gets half a ticket's sticker price than nothing at all.
3
I began a subscription to the MET as single woman, one seat, dress circle, because I loved going. Two years later my husband joined me and we had our seats, two on the aisle, Tuesday nights (less expensive) for the next twenty years. When our children were old enough they would often come with one or the other of us, and that is how they came to love opera. We loved out seats, at intermission we saw our friends who sat in different sections and we knew our seat mates who were also there year in-- year out. Then our seats were suddenly raised to "premium" price (50% hike) when Mr. Gelb took over--he dissed the middle class. These were now seats for rich people only. I called, I wrote--I was told to move out of the way for the wealthy and sit in the back. I asked to be grandfathered in--I mean over 20 years of paying full price in April for 7 operas often a year in the future! But he just told me that I was of no value to the organization. We love the lottery and have really enjoyed it, but I have stopped going to the opera 7 times a year. Which I did year in and year out. My friends also stopped going--their seats also got too expensive.
7
How about terminating Peter Gelb and his lifeless proudactions???
4
Have a special series, 'Operas Under 2 Hours' (or whatever the magic number is'. You will see those operas fill.
I have been to a few operas and there is nothing more painful than the third act of a boring opera. Like someone else said, if you have a bad experience your first time, you'll never go back.
I won't go see a movie over 2 hours, it's a time/interest thing. Unless it's the Godfather, or another movie of that calibre, it's not worth it.
Try this out for a season. A series. Still have the longer operas, but they would not be part of the series.
I have been to a few operas and there is nothing more painful than the third act of a boring opera. Like someone else said, if you have a bad experience your first time, you'll never go back.
I won't go see a movie over 2 hours, it's a time/interest thing. Unless it's the Godfather, or another movie of that calibre, it's not worth it.
Try this out for a season. A series. Still have the longer operas, but they would not be part of the series.
Don't know if this would hold true today, but an anecdote from many years ago: I was in line to pick up my reservation for Lulu one night (back when they still had the fine Dexter production), and a young man who looked like a student was ahead of me hoping to buy. He couldn't afford an available ticket, but even though it was close to curtain time. the box office refused to sell him a seat at a reduced student rate. (In Copenhagen as I recall by contrast, 1/2 hour before curtain all remaining seats are half-price.) Was the Met going to allow someone who actually wanted to hear the opera to go if he couldn't afford full price? No sirree! Far better to exclude that student than to take a small financial loss and let the guy see something he probably would have genuinely appreciated.
Of course, this being Lulu, after the mass exodus at the end of Act One due to the "horribly dissonant modern music," I myself moved up from rear orchestra to the best seat in the house.
Of course, this being Lulu, after the mass exodus at the end of Act One due to the "horribly dissonant modern music," I myself moved up from rear orchestra to the best seat in the house.
5
Stop the deplorable practice of replacing perfectly good, realistic productions with Eurotrashy versions of the same operas. Opinions will vary of course, but how many of these new productions can be defended against the previous often excellent ones? Stat with the expensive, disastrous restaging of the Ring using that silly "machine" and go from there. For every success - like the Roberto Devereux, the Butterfly, and the Werther - you will find any number of new productions that aren't a patch on the Met's previous stagings. The Traviata will that silly clock, the Boris, the Peter Grimes, the the Frau ohne Schatten, the Lulu, the Parsifal, the Otello, the Falstaff, and more: how many of these are genuine improvements over fine earlier stagings? And now we hear they're going to get rid of the decent Meistersinger and the beautiful Rosenkavalier. Millions of dollars down the drain, and the Met screams poverty. At least I can see some of these fiascos for a $25 movie ticket rather than the outrageous price of going in personl
4
Here is an idea: make it easier to buy tickets!!! Have mobile kiosks upstairs during intermissions so people can buy spontaneously for future performances. And, there should be absolutely no ticketing fees online or on the phone -- people are put off buy having to pay a fee to buy a ticket (and there is no good reason for charging people extra for a paper product that is basically free to print out at home), and then they just postpone going in person to buy them. And, make subscription tickets easier -- enough of this crazy paper form and exact seats being a mystery for months; let people buy their subscriptions online (again -- no fees!) and let people pick out and see their exact seats online right away, and let people change their subscription tickets online, easily, too, if they have a conflict. Also, make returns easier -- this is a big investment. Allow for returns with maybe a 10 percent of face value penalty.
5
Russian opera houses have cafes on every level that are open before the performance and at intermissions. This would permit the performance to start at 6 or 7 so people who need to get up in the morning can comfortably attend.
Maybe actually entering into the 21st century would do some good.
1
I am a 27 year old classically trained musician and opera lover. I can tell you very simply why we don't go to the Met: we can't afford to, and we've already seen every single opera in the "canon" rotation. Why am I going to scrape together a hundred bucks (at best) to go see my fifth Aida or Boheme? Either give us ticket prices within reach of anyone outside the 1%, give us new productions and new works, or ideally...BOTH.
Last time I went to the Met was a few years ago for Falstaff. I paid thirty dollars for a standing-room spot from which I could barely hear the singers or see the stage. I had a great view, however, of the well-dressed elderly patrons in the expensive seats, every last one of them fast asleep.
Last time I went to the Met was a few years ago for Falstaff. I paid thirty dollars for a standing-room spot from which I could barely hear the singers or see the stage. I had a great view, however, of the well-dressed elderly patrons in the expensive seats, every last one of them fast asleep.
6
The next twenty years will see the Met's audience continue to decline, through no fault of their own. Either benefactor(s) will come in to provide substantial funding to support or it will die by a thousand cuts. The Met should start planning to move to a new location with 2,200 to 2,500 seats or tear down the current structure to accommodate smaller audiences, without continuing to invest in the current one. As a Generation X-er who has traveled the world seeing opera, there are very few of my age and younger buying tickets, especially in the United States. It's time to be honest and say the venue has reached its high water mark.
1
Sell half price day of tickets at TKTS. Introduce all those young enthusiastic and loyal Broadway fans to the joys of opera.
4
Big theaters are difficult places to enjoy almost anything. Performers become dwarfed by the scale and distant from too many seats. Once you get past the chorus and orchestra, the sound of the music is challenged by the hall. Opera is inherently too expensive for a mass audience to develop in this traditional setting. The Met should shrink its house that can be focused on its core supporters while expanding the use of broadcasting as a means to grow audiences.
Opera in its most productive years was an elite activity and new works were demanded by audiences. It is now a museum without much relevance to contemporary life. Music is huge factor in how the young live and an enormously profitable business. Opera in this environment has to find a way forward that engages the present and looks forward to the future.
Opera in its most productive years was an elite activity and new works were demanded by audiences. It is now a museum without much relevance to contemporary life. Music is huge factor in how the young live and an enormously profitable business. Opera in this environment has to find a way forward that engages the present and looks forward to the future.
As a visitor from out of town, I recently attended a wonderful production of Roberto Devereux at a cost of $640 for three tickets in the side orchestra (gulp). A pre-event stroll through the gift shop said it all. Pedestrian merchandise for mature people in staid displays dominated. There were no affordable and relatively hip spaces on the premises to eat and drink before or after the event. The opera going experience needs serious updating. Improved scheduling options, more events geared to families, more contemporary repertoire (Akhnaten and Anna Nicole come to mind as examples) at lower prices (lower cost productions?), and revamped pre/post event spaces to create a more affordable, accessible and compelling operatic experience should all be on the table. Opera needs a Hamilton moment!
2
A common denominator among all my opera-loving friends: music education in the public schools.
4
It will be hard to get the new music director to do much of anything on his nights off - he'll be busy conducting down in Philadelphia.
Peter Gelb deserves a ton of credit for hurling himself, de facto, into the role of MET artistic director; a job for which he has boundless interest and enthusiasm. The problem is, he's not very good at it. It is not enough to seek innovative directors and designers and to emulate someone's idea of the operatic equivalent of Broadway pizzazz and cinematic glamor for the MET audience. What is missing is a strong artistic vision for this great establishment, a James Levine of day-to-day AND long-range artistic planning.
The current artist roster is in sad shape. It's not that I feel that the MET has no stars, but in nearly a half century of listening to live opera, I can't remember a time when they have been fewer and farther apart than now. We are talking about the MET. Exceptional singing should be the norm and not the exception. I'm not pining for the 'good old days.' I want a golden age of opera in the present, but a great artist is not made just because Mr. Gelb and his marketing department and the commentating voices on the Saturday broadcast (and the writers in OPERA NEWS) all tell us what a sensation this or that singer is. We have ears. And my ears (and eyes) are telling me that without someone of greater insight and vision in the role of Artistic Director, no amount of innovation in pricing, programming, education, outreach, LIVE in HD performances or changes in snack venues will pull the Metropolitan Opera out of its current funk.
The current artist roster is in sad shape. It's not that I feel that the MET has no stars, but in nearly a half century of listening to live opera, I can't remember a time when they have been fewer and farther apart than now. We are talking about the MET. Exceptional singing should be the norm and not the exception. I'm not pining for the 'good old days.' I want a golden age of opera in the present, but a great artist is not made just because Mr. Gelb and his marketing department and the commentating voices on the Saturday broadcast (and the writers in OPERA NEWS) all tell us what a sensation this or that singer is. We have ears. And my ears (and eyes) are telling me that without someone of greater insight and vision in the role of Artistic Director, no amount of innovation in pricing, programming, education, outreach, LIVE in HD performances or changes in snack venues will pull the Metropolitan Opera out of its current funk.
4
More microphones. Fewer , shorter intermissions.
Here's some thoughts:
1) Lower the prices! They're set for upper-middle-class and rich opera goers. If that's all the Met Opera wants to attend, fine. And your attendance will keep falling.
2) Program more 20th and 21st century operas. The Met Opera seems stuck in the late 19th century, with a heavy emphasis on Italian and German offerings. When the most modern operas in your season are from the early 20th century, you've got a problem. (The Adès opera was a step in the right direction, the Muhly not so much. But either way, they were contemporary.)
3) Discount the unsold seats and make them available by 3 pm on performance days through a lottery, accessible via an easy-to-use phone app.
4) Have more Saturday and Sunday matinees. It's very hard to attend a late-running opera on a weeknight when you have to work the next morning.
5) LOWER THE PRICES AND PROGRAM MORE MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY OPERAS!!!
1) Lower the prices! They're set for upper-middle-class and rich opera goers. If that's all the Met Opera wants to attend, fine. And your attendance will keep falling.
2) Program more 20th and 21st century operas. The Met Opera seems stuck in the late 19th century, with a heavy emphasis on Italian and German offerings. When the most modern operas in your season are from the early 20th century, you've got a problem. (The Adès opera was a step in the right direction, the Muhly not so much. But either way, they were contemporary.)
3) Discount the unsold seats and make them available by 3 pm on performance days through a lottery, accessible via an easy-to-use phone app.
4) Have more Saturday and Sunday matinees. It's very hard to attend a late-running opera on a weeknight when you have to work the next morning.
5) LOWER THE PRICES AND PROGRAM MORE MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY OPERAS!!!
6
Lower prices. I love the opera, but at the Met's prices, it's hard to go more than once or twice a year. Contrast that to Vienna, where we recently sat in the absolute best seats in the house for less than you pay for pretty mediocre seats at the Met. We were giddy.
And, play the hits. While an elite contingent may be excited about less accessible operas, and a few of those can and should be sprinkled in the season for balance, it's not the way to fill the house. My husband, for instance, will only go to hear Puccini or Verdi, and he might be the only man under 40 I know who enjoys the opera at all. (Sorry, it's true.)
And, play the hits. While an elite contingent may be excited about less accessible operas, and a few of those can and should be sprinkled in the season for balance, it's not the way to fill the house. My husband, for instance, will only go to hear Puccini or Verdi, and he might be the only man under 40 I know who enjoys the opera at all. (Sorry, it's true.)
4
The Met gorges on Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Strauss, Mozart, etc. That's not the problem. It's the 1-2 operas that fall outside this (Berg perhaps one season, Adams another, etc.) that's the issue. Your husband will hae more than enough Verdi to satisfy him. But what about anyone who wants to hear operas the Met never performs, like Hindemith's Mathis der Maler? Schreker's Die Ferne Klang? Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel? Messaien's St. Francois d'Assise? Or Henze's Gogo No Eiko? Or Britten's Billy Budd? Or Neuwirth's Lost Highway? Or Glass's Akhnaten or Waiting for the Barbarians? Or Corigliano's and Hoffman's The Ghosts of Versailles? Or Moravec's and Teachout's The Letter? Or Van der aa's Sunken Garden? Or Higdon's and Scheer's Cold Mountain? Or Floyd's Susannah? Or Krenek's Jonny Spielt Auf? Or Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny? Or Davis's X? Or Berio's Un re in ascolto? Or Adamo's Lysistrata? Or Ruders' The Handmaid's Tail? Or Benjamin's Written on the Skin? Or Rautavaara's Rasputin? Or Sheng's Dream of the Red Chamber? Or Daugherty's Jackie O? Or Eotvos's Of Love and Other Demons? Or Golijov's Ainadamar? Or Glanert's Caligula? Or Turnage's Anna Nicole? Or Weir's A Night at the Chinese Opera?
3
Congratulations, you have out-cultured me. I think the only opera on your list I have heard is The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonney, and I disliked it so much I left halfway through. The only opera in my entire life I have done that, and I have attended at least one opera every year of my life since I was 11 years old. It had no beauty, I'll leave it at that. Probably someone smarter and more refined than me (like you, I assume), would have appreciated it.
But the point of the article was not that we need to find a way to please the top of .001% of opera goers, but to fill thousands of seats in Lincoln Center. I don't know who you are or what your experience is. And I have not run any market surveys, so who knows what the real right answer is. I can only judge based on my own experience, which is this: I am 34 years old, very highly educated, with a wide and diverse group of friends and colleagues, and I am the only person in my generation who I know (other than a friend who actually sings opera and works for a small music production company) who cares about the opera at all. My friends who ever attend opera do so because I took them to their first opera as adults. And I have learned through trial and error that the way to create a new opera fan is to take them hear a sure-fire hit.
But the point of the article was not that we need to find a way to please the top of .001% of opera goers, but to fill thousands of seats in Lincoln Center. I don't know who you are or what your experience is. And I have not run any market surveys, so who knows what the real right answer is. I can only judge based on my own experience, which is this: I am 34 years old, very highly educated, with a wide and diverse group of friends and colleagues, and I am the only person in my generation who I know (other than a friend who actually sings opera and works for a small music production company) who cares about the opera at all. My friends who ever attend opera do so because I took them to their first opera as adults. And I have learned through trial and error that the way to create a new opera fan is to take them hear a sure-fire hit.
2
Sleater is right. Every opera house in North America is covered with Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, plus Carmen - the "training operas"- easy listening hits - so many of them I know people who are dropping subscriptions. Its amusing that younger people want the old "warhouses" but not modern work. Isn't that want the old fogies are always being accused of? Opera isnt supposed to be a Broadway musical. It helps if you know - and want to learn - something about the music. Lots of ways to do it - even just listening on the radio!
He's also not listing those operas to "out-culture" you, but to make a point that new operas are being written all the time and rarely heard. I support two companies created by "young people" who draw young audiences to new and reworked operas. The Royal Opera House in London presented a dozen new works this year (in addition to the surefire hits) although not on the main stage. Plus the ENO's thrilling Ahkenaten. Opera is the most exciting art form there is now.
Obviously ticket prices make a difference. Vienna has 3 opera houses that run concurrently and all are full. But its more than cost. In most of Europe, and esp Vienna, classical music/opera are part of their culture, in a way it isnt here. People of all ages love and appreciate it.
The Met may simply be too big. Most houses now have more than one venue - a larger house of 1800 to 2300 and a smaller one where newer work can be presented. Build a house for the 21st century?
He's also not listing those operas to "out-culture" you, but to make a point that new operas are being written all the time and rarely heard. I support two companies created by "young people" who draw young audiences to new and reworked operas. The Royal Opera House in London presented a dozen new works this year (in addition to the surefire hits) although not on the main stage. Plus the ENO's thrilling Ahkenaten. Opera is the most exciting art form there is now.
Obviously ticket prices make a difference. Vienna has 3 opera houses that run concurrently and all are full. But its more than cost. In most of Europe, and esp Vienna, classical music/opera are part of their culture, in a way it isnt here. People of all ages love and appreciate it.
The Met may simply be too big. Most houses now have more than one venue - a larger house of 1800 to 2300 and a smaller one where newer work can be presented. Build a house for the 21st century?
Many many great ideas but please, try to stay away from performing operas in English [except when it's written in English] because it's like watching Fellini dubbed in English, or worse even - Meryl Streep dubbed in Japanese.
Operas were intended to be performed in their respective original languages and not to be disfigured and [even partially] destroyed.
Operas were intended to be performed in their respective original languages and not to be disfigured and [even partially] destroyed.
4
Yes! I agree completely, and I can't understand the singing even at English operas, so what's the point? Plus, when I can understand it, it sounds awkward to me. I like the beauty of something I can't (literally) understand.
Most of the suggestions in the article offer logistical fixes - pricing, promotion, environment, socializing, demographics. Those that discuss repertory suggest moderate alterations to the balance of what exists. I'm not suggesting that more contemporary works will make a huge difference - I don't think there are enough good ones, although this is a subjective comment. But we must discuss product - that's where it starts. Perhaps the Met should consider expanding, carefully and respectfully, what its product is about. How about asking Lin-Manuel Miranda to write an opera, or something Hamilton-like that would be more suitable for the house? There could be a place for crossover into the contemporary theatrical world. Why can't the Met take on the role of fostering that kind of creativity? To make the house successful financially with the existing operatic repertory (plus the occasional new piece) might be too big a challenge. Think outside the box.
3
A few years ago, Terence Blanchard wrote an opera, Champion, using jazz and contemporary music, about the boxer Emile Griffith. It premiered in St. Louis and received strong reviews and attendance. It played in San Francisco last year. It's the kind of opera a smaller opera company might try, but it'll never see the light of day at the Met. But then so many operas never see the light of day at the Met. It's the same composers and operas over and over. And they wonder why the audience keeps falling! Imagine if the Met or MoMA or the Whitney etc., or any major literary organization, etc. only programmed a small number of works by a small number of artists from a fairly small epoch, and almost NONE of them were from the US! Those museums and literary organizations would go out of business. The Met doesn't seem to get this, or appear to care.
1
Add Sunday matinees and subtract HD offerings. Many Seniors go to the HDs, but not this one!
I like the idea of a new restaurant.
But I don't like the idea of cutting the operas!
I like the idea of a new restaurant.
But I don't like the idea of cutting the operas!
1
As a former bartender, I used to joke that tasting single malt scotch is like listening to opera - if you pick the wrong one the first time out, you'll never go back. I would suggest offering severely discounted tickets for the most accessible operas (my first was Carmen and I loved it but La Boheme would also be a good choice). Since most seasoned opera-goers have undoubtedly seen these a number of times, seats that might be empty would go to potential future fans. Also, establishing a program whereby tickets for such productions from season ticket holders to be donated to interested high school or college kids might also work. Listening to a world-class rendition of Nessum Dorma is a pleasure to be shared, not offered only to those who can afford ridiculously high ticket prices.
3
Exactly. This is what I was trying to get at in my comment (play the hits), but you said it much better. Someone who experiences Turandot or Butterfly or Traviata will want to go back. For sure. But I took a friend to hear Manon, and she wanted to murder me.
Are we talking about choices of opera or choices of friends? Kidding, of course, but the issue is so subjective. MANON may not typically be a great first opera experience, but I know plenty of folks who prefer it to TURANDOT. We don't all have the same idea of what makes a 'hit.'
Are these the right people to be discussing what is essentially a marketing question? My personal wish is that the Met would produce opera through the summer. We live in the age of air conditioning, and this practice began when we did not.
3
Create an aggressive rush ticket program specifically targeted at building the next generation of opera audiences, i.e., students and young professionals, to be paid for by cobranded corporate sponsorship.
http://parterre.com/2016/05/06/the-present-future
http://parterre.com/2016/05/06/the-present-future
4
So many wonderful suggestions in this article including doing away with the Grand Tier restaurant and the highly overpriced bars [ $6.00 for a cup of coffee!]. However how to get the message through to the young people that opera is not elitist, old classical music and not relevant to today? That is the first" must" before all these suggestions can make headway.
4
It's a complex issue, for sure, but I think one issue is the availability of HD broadcasts in movie theatres. Although a modest revenue stream, it seems that this is biting into subscriptions. One thing Broadway has championed is that it is mandatory to attend a performance in the theatre. Given the choice, would you go to a movie theatre with a great sound system and pay $20 or make the journey to Lincoln Center and cough up hundreds (tickets, parking, transportation, etc).
It also seems the Met theatre is a monstrous dinosaur. Gleaming and modern in its day, it's simply too big. They are selling tickets to an opera not an Adele concert at Madison Square Garden. A major renovation of the theatre should include downsizing the house (Cincinnati has taken on this challenge) and making way for much better common areas. In short, it's not comfortable or welcoming.
As far as repertory goes, the bulk of the work presented will always be limited to a few composers -- Verdi, Wagner, Mozart, Puccini -- but it seems invigorating the offerings is a must. There are so few presentations of new and newer works. It seems that so many companies throughout the country are benefiting from presenting new works by some very exciting composers and librettists.
Sunday performances are a must. That seems to be a no brainer. And making it easier to buy tickets (including rush tickets -- via TKTS?) should be examined. I would also say the advertising and marketing is very sketchy.
It also seems the Met theatre is a monstrous dinosaur. Gleaming and modern in its day, it's simply too big. They are selling tickets to an opera not an Adele concert at Madison Square Garden. A major renovation of the theatre should include downsizing the house (Cincinnati has taken on this challenge) and making way for much better common areas. In short, it's not comfortable or welcoming.
As far as repertory goes, the bulk of the work presented will always be limited to a few composers -- Verdi, Wagner, Mozart, Puccini -- but it seems invigorating the offerings is a must. There are so few presentations of new and newer works. It seems that so many companies throughout the country are benefiting from presenting new works by some very exciting composers and librettists.
Sunday performances are a must. That seems to be a no brainer. And making it easier to buy tickets (including rush tickets -- via TKTS?) should be examined. I would also say the advertising and marketing is very sketchy.
1
I see about 12 Met productions a year. I'm a subscriber, but I get the occasional $25 rush ticket (Manon Lescaut), and treated someone to Madama Butterfly this year ($192 each). I saw Otello in the Family Circle and revisited Butterfly with the HD transmission, and met other repeaters at the movie theatre. The problem is that the Met should be subsidized by the government. The house has about 1,000 seats too many, which makes viewing, even in the orchestra, remote. On Youtube you can find A & E and Bravo segments with opera singers and classical musicians. We know what happened to the dumbing down of these cable stations. We need music appreciation in schools, less anti-intellectualism. Sunday matinees are vital; perhaps add a Wednesday matinee. The art gallery in the front is dismal - make it a bar with light drinks. The Empire Hotel and PJ Clarke's across the street are wildly successful watering holes, and this can provide spillover. Does the Met really have to throw us out immediately after the show? The suggestion to do more with the Grand Tier is a good one. The Number 1 train after the show is the only place to talk about the opera, and it inspires so many great conversations.Did you hear about the Tosca production at the old bus depot in Bushwick that was turning away 500 people a night? With operas at BAM, Julliard and the Manhattan School of Music selling out, I don't believe there isn't an audience.
13
Great idea on the art gallery. It's currently wasted space; I've never seen more than a handful of folks there, and usually it is entirely empty, except for the security guard.
1
I'm proud to say I played in the orchestra in that Bushwick production of Tosca - our company is Loft Opera. We absolutely packed the house for a 6-show run and nearly everyone in the audience was under 40. Any time the Met tries to tell me there just "isn't an audience anymore" for opera and tries to sell me a $300 ticket to the same production of Verdi I've seen a thousand times, I invite them to take the L train a few stops and get educated.
1
My wife and I still try to subscribe. We didn't this season: one reason was too much Puccini.
We subscribed for next season though and are looking forward to it. Our only realistic option is Matinees. We tried midweek performances for a couple of years, but after working in the office until the last minute, getting the midnight bus back to NJ, and then having to get up for work at 5:30am, it was just too much. Some evenings I'm sure I struggled through some operas that I would have enjoyed if it wasn't for the almighty struggle I was having to stay awake.
But even then, putting on edited versions of operas does not appeal to me. I'll stick to the matinees until the time when I don't have to get up early in the mornings!
Also, I find it a shame that I can't imagine ever seeing a Birtwistle opera at the Met. But at the same time I can't imagine the Met selling more than a few hundred tickets if they tried to program one.
We subscribed for next season though and are looking forward to it. Our only realistic option is Matinees. We tried midweek performances for a couple of years, but after working in the office until the last minute, getting the midnight bus back to NJ, and then having to get up for work at 5:30am, it was just too much. Some evenings I'm sure I struggled through some operas that I would have enjoyed if it wasn't for the almighty struggle I was having to stay awake.
But even then, putting on edited versions of operas does not appeal to me. I'll stick to the matinees until the time when I don't have to get up early in the mornings!
Also, I find it a shame that I can't imagine ever seeing a Birtwistle opera at the Met. But at the same time I can't imagine the Met selling more than a few hundred tickets if they tried to program one.
6
I agree; edited versions of operas (or Shakespeare plays) are not appealing to me at all. I went to an edited Shakespeare play here in Chicago and was very annoyed. I don't like people talking down to me and I don't like theater or opera people assuming they know better than Shakespeare or Verdi.
4
Simple solution-cut all the wages by 20%, reduce all performances by 20%, do the stagione system, and include Sunday performances with 2 weeknights dark.
I love love love the Met Opera ... and try to go to one or two matinees every year. But I'm a solo since my husband would rather chew glass than ever see another opera, and leaving Lincoln Center alone at 11 p.m.,and taking the subway to catch a late bus home to New Jersey is less than appealing. So the simulcasts are a perfect solution for me, and many others. It is like having an orchestra seat and a view backstage as well. The recent Madame Butterfly was thrilling. I'd love to see the number of simulcasts increased.
6
The recent Madame Butterfly was a good example of everything that us wrong with the HD broadcast. It utterly failed to capture the drama and beauty of that stage production. I saw it live and on HD and was shocked by the difference. Also I really don't want to be thinking about a singer's nose hairs during a beautiful love duet. Back off the extreme close ups!
Make it FREE of charge. People will hang from the rafters.
I lived in Hungary for a couple of years. On a Saturday afternoon, seats at the ballet and the opera were full of families. For kids, it was a normal part of growing up. I know there were options for rehearsal tickets to the symphony on a weekday afternoon (Tuesdays?), and there may have been the same at the opera. Thus, there were loads of affordable opportunities to experience the classics as well as modern pieces all the time. Budapest had (and I hope still has) a fantastic public transportation system, too, so that going to any of these events didn't require major planning.
I don't know if the Met can incorporate any of these ideas, but I hope they come up with a long-term solution. I go to the HD broadcasts at a local movie theater and am enthralled.
I don't know if the Met can incorporate any of these ideas, but I hope they come up with a long-term solution. I go to the HD broadcasts at a local movie theater and am enthralled.
6
My husband and I use to have a subscription but we had to give it up as it just got too expensive. Then there is the commute time and cost as well as costs for a lunch and/or dinner.
Ticket prices are just too high.
Ticket prices are just too high.
7
Opera used to be the most involving form of storytelling around. And many of the great opera plots came from melodramatic, Gothic novels. We live in a golden age of great, operatic storytelling. Unfortunately, very little of it is happening at the opera. The National Theatre has done a spectacular job of getting young people into theater through productions like WarHorse, and His Dark Materials. We desperately need to develop new works for a young audience. Works ranging from Neil Gaiman's The Wolves in the Walls, to M. T. Anderson's National Book award winning Octavian Nothing, should be looked at as possible texts for adaptation. And let's set the standards a bit higher. I've been to a quite a number of new operas in the last few years, and many lack strong stories and memorable music.
In the meantime, how about Mr. Handler AKA Lemony Snicket and Mr. Gaiman and Mr. Julian Crouch collaborating on a Halloween Evening of Terrifying Musical Events at the Met?
Last, for those of us over 21, some extra bartenders at intermission? It is bad enough waiting for the ladies loo, without a refreshment.
In the meantime, how about Mr. Handler AKA Lemony Snicket and Mr. Gaiman and Mr. Julian Crouch collaborating on a Halloween Evening of Terrifying Musical Events at the Met?
Last, for those of us over 21, some extra bartenders at intermission? It is bad enough waiting for the ladies loo, without a refreshment.
3
Sounds like they miss City Opera.
3
I'm 73 years old and used to visit New York at least twice every year to enjoy the MET's performances. Each time I sat in the hall I felt elevated to another world, an artistic experience like no other one. I haven't been at the MET Opera now for two years. Why? I don't experience any more those spirit elations I used to have. Mr. Gelb has narrowed my choices to a bunch of frustrating performances. Many productions look more like Broadway than a real Opera House. His choice diva is petulant and self centered, lacking the vulnerability of the great sopranos of the past. Mediocre Toscas, Bohemes and supposedly popular operas are programmed year after year, but no Pélleas et Melisande, not even The Bartered Bride or l'Enfant et les Sortileges, which I saw at the MET many years ago. Not all of it is Mr. Gelb's fault. There are no Verdian or Wagnerian singers these days. I count in one hand's digits those singers which don't fail to raise my soul these days: Jonas Kauffman, Rene Pape (what a Mephisto), Juan Diego Florez, and Elina Garanca, but they cannot do everything. The orchestra remains in top form, may the departure of Mr. Levine not affect it adversely. It's time for the MET to hand artistic and musical matters to a knowledgeable person. I'm afraid the Times' critics suggested tricks won't do it. Let's face it: the quality of the MET performances has been deteriorating, and the money seems not to haver been well spent.
9
I believe that Pélleas et Melisande is coming back in 2017/18! I'm looking forward to that one.
With the departure and death of NYC Opera, Sunday opera matinees disappeared from L.C. for P.A. Sunday matinees were always popular. Mondays were dark with no performances.
4
All of the comments are suggestive. They can be summarized as: (a) Lower ticket prices (b) more aggressive marketing (c) more creativity involving tickets (i.e. apps) (d) change from a 'repertory' season to a 'one-production-at-a-time' season (e) scale back the production (f) add a more creative and less expensive restaurant/pub/bar, & do away with the Grand Tier Restaurant (g) add a Sunday Matinee (h) shorten the operas. A, B, C and G seem to be mentioned more. G is problematic due to the increase in payroll expense due to all Union contracts having to be renegotiated. Cost/Benefit analysis anyone? However, what interested me most is that only one comment hit head-on the real ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: the shrinking audience for classical music as a whole. The MET's lack of ticket sales is part of this systemic change. Any response done by the MET's governing board needs to be informed by this. They should at least engage some consultant or group to determine why this is happening, and Not assume they already know the answer ("Of course it's shrinking! All the millennials do is listen to MTV on their phones!!!!")Not addressing this huge change in the entire "system" would undercut all responses they try to make. Secondly, note the Albert Hall (UK) Ring series: lots and lots of young adults STOOD (cheap seats) for four, five, SIX Hours. NO CUTS! The question is: why? Don't assume you know. Guidance could be discovered here that just might help implementing A-H.
2
I am also surprised that there are so many people complaining about money. The $285 per seat for the Opera is a bargain. That is about what dinner cost in a nice restaurant. Try getting a reservation at Per Se or Masa just down the street. It is impossible. Do you know what it costs to rent or buy an apartment here. Don't people shop at department stores here. If someone can spend $2,500 on a hand bag they sure can spend money on participating in the re-creation of the great works of art that the Met constantly produces. If someone doesn't want to spend the money there are other options. I just checked and Family Circle standing is $20, not much more than a movie. I spend most of the '80 in Family Circle standing and I almost always got a seat. (The secret is to move down when the crystal lights start going up and they close the doors.) The sound of the music is best on top. Balcony a little better than family circle, but not much., and a whole lot better than anywhere else in the house. I love the intensity of being close, but the experience is almost as good on top, if you have opera glasses. Kathleen Battle had trouble reaching us on very rare occasions, but never Southerland, Pavoratti, Leona Mitchell, Freni (on very rare occasions), Norman, Stratas, Domingo, Scotto, Te Kanawa or the great orchestra and chorus.
No one likes new music. The last piece written that can sell out the Met is Capriccio. There will never be composers like Puccini, Wagner and Strauss again.
No one likes new music. The last piece written that can sell out the Met is Capriccio. There will never be composers like Puccini, Wagner and Strauss again.
10
'It's the economy, stupid'...
A night at the Opera is expensive. I go whenever I can, but no way I could afford season tickets.
The operating costs, salaries, budgets of the Met are very high. The cheaper seats are not easy to come by and they require binoculars to see anything.
I'm an opera enthusiast but for the average person...I suspect they feel the prices are very high, so why bother.
A night at the Opera is expensive. I go whenever I can, but no way I could afford season tickets.
The operating costs, salaries, budgets of the Met are very high. The cheaper seats are not easy to come by and they require binoculars to see anything.
I'm an opera enthusiast but for the average person...I suspect they feel the prices are very high, so why bother.
8
Why not have an orchestra swap with the NY Phil for, say, one months out of the season? Let the Met create a little mini season at David Geffen Hall while the Philharmonic takes residence in the pit at the Met and chooses repertoire? Might even be able to involve the City Ballet? Would take a lot of advance planning, but it would be a novel way to inject some life into the season and make Lincoln Center more of a holistic organization. I bet it would also reinvigorate the musicians and the audience.
4
I doubt having the NY Philharmonic in the pit at the MET would add anything to the quality of performances there. In all likelihood it would diminish them. Same for NYC Ballet orchestra. The MET has one of the finest ensembles in the world.
1
There is the elephant in the room no one cares to mention, or even notice: opera is a strange art form to the young. When I grew up in the fifties, its music was everywhere - we had music appreciation in school! - TV variety shows had jugglers, pop and opera singers. My favorite shows, Captain Video, used the Flying Dutchman overture as a them song, The Lone Ranger used the William Tell overture for its theme song, and let's not forget the Mighty Mouse cartoons which often told stories completely sung! Today, classical music is completely alien to the young; It's not part of the fabric of everyday life the way it was years ago.
As a teen eager, I could afford the $1.25 standing room - not to mention the occasional splurge on seats at 1.65 and - oh heaves! $2.50 for a splurge in the front of the Family Circle at the Met - on my allowance (not to mention all the Broadway shows I saw on my allowance). For my efforts, I heard all the great, post war singers, Callas, Tebaldi, del Monaco, de los Angeles, Corelli, Bergonzi ( I can go on forever).
I often wonder what my future would have been if my music appreciating teacher had not played Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers in my public school. Classical music is not for everyone, but today, no one has a chance to experience it "in the atmosphere," the way it was in the past and be affected by it in a less peer-pressured impressionable young age.
There's the problem: classical music is not valued anymore due to neglect.
As a teen eager, I could afford the $1.25 standing room - not to mention the occasional splurge on seats at 1.65 and - oh heaves! $2.50 for a splurge in the front of the Family Circle at the Met - on my allowance (not to mention all the Broadway shows I saw on my allowance). For my efforts, I heard all the great, post war singers, Callas, Tebaldi, del Monaco, de los Angeles, Corelli, Bergonzi ( I can go on forever).
I often wonder what my future would have been if my music appreciating teacher had not played Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers in my public school. Classical music is not for everyone, but today, no one has a chance to experience it "in the atmosphere," the way it was in the past and be affected by it in a less peer-pressured impressionable young age.
There's the problem: classical music is not valued anymore due to neglect.
13
I would say..."classical music is not valued BY SOME anymore due to neglect." Focus on those who do.
3
With a couple of exceptions I am so bored with the current crop of singers the Met hires. Too often they are vocally unsuited to their roles (e.g., Nina Stemme as Elektra) or they sound as if singing their graduation recital or worse, all stiff, impersonal and musically uninteresting. Nothing memorable beyond 5 seconds. Or they are rail thin with gorgeous faces fit for the HD broadcasts but, musically and vocally, they are a digit to the left of zero. Each time the Met marketing dept. throws an Opolais or a Netrebko at me with legs wide apart and pouty lips, I have to cringe. Translation - no ticket purchase by me. The Met is an opera house, not a bordello or a peep show. So the problem of attracting and retaining audiences new and old is much more complicated than some of the proposed incentives. Where are the great artists? Not at the Met for sure. Probably nowhere on the planet this late in the day for opera and classical music.
5
In what sense is Stemme unsuited to Elektra?
1
@Matt,
Vocally overparted thus strained. Fine acting-wise.
Vocally overparted thus strained. Fine acting-wise.
Opolais was incredibly moving as Butterfly. I can't wait to see her in Manon Lescaut next season.
I wish the Met would consider adding Offenbach to its repertory. I think his delightful operas would capture people of all ages. I've been waiting all my life for a chance to see Orpheus in the Underworld or La Belle Helene.
5
Lobby on a local and national level the importance of music education in public schools. Audiences are built from the ground up, and getting a child to come into the intriguing, wonderful world of opera--I imagine--is much easier than trying to convince an adult to come for the first time.
7
I disagree. My mother loved opera and had been part of a local amateur society which produced operas (so she sang in the chorus as a child.) My mother and father both tried to get me to listen to opera when I was a child, and I couldn't stand it. Much later, as I was entering my thirties, I took an Italian course. I would listen to operas on t.v. with my mother when I visited her. Suddenly I wanted to go to the opera (and I've continued to attend, though just a few performances a year because it is so expensive.) I needed to come to it on my own terms and in my own time. I know other adults who've had the same experience.
It's normal economic behavior to mark down your excess inventory until supply reaches equilibrium with demand.
4
Are we looking at the right problem? One of the very impressive changes that the Met has made has been simulcasting performances via HD to movie theaters. Many who have gone to the Big House and spent $500 for a night have found that there is far better value in attending eight or nine HD performances in theaters around the City. The Met should encourage more theaters to offer the simulcasts, at the same time that it makes more lower cost live seats available. If the objects are revenue and new opera fans, this would be effective marketing. Consider also encouraging sales to social, cultural and religious groups (say 6 tickets to each of ten operas that the club can re-sell to its members) with a discounted price for the sixty tickets. And lower priced "packages" --perhaps with other institutions in the City-- along the lines that are offered to overseas tourists. With a longer horizon, the Met should undertake a vigorous outreach into the City's public school system. With modern technology and access to young performers, the Met could begin to encourage the next generations of fans, while bringing back to the education system a value that used to exist seventy years ago. Opera is a glorious resource. It is a jewel in the City's tiara. It needs a marketing booster shot to bring it off life support.
2
I like Zachary Wolfe’s suggestion for gutting the restaurant and opening a more affordable and friendly place to gather and get a snack. The Met does offer drinks and light snacks at the bar on the Balcony level, but everything is too expensive (and not very good). But a place to gather with friends and get something quick and inexpensive to eat (something like a Hale 'n Hearty Soup) would be very appealing, especially if it opened early and stayed open after a performance, and might be especially appealing to younger opera lovers.
But one other thing: I find the Met’s recent updated productions visually drab and dramatically incoherent (the appalling recent productions of Rigoletto and both Manon and Manon Lescaut come to mind). For the price of those expensive tickets, we should get more than contemporary kitchen sink realism.
But one other thing: I find the Met’s recent updated productions visually drab and dramatically incoherent (the appalling recent productions of Rigoletto and both Manon and Manon Lescaut come to mind). For the price of those expensive tickets, we should get more than contemporary kitchen sink realism.
11
Perhaps a General Manager who understands what opera-goers wish to see - i.e. productions that follow the librettos, that are less "edge-y" and more reflective of what the composers intended, spend less money to redo beloved operas every several years -this might make opera more affordable to older audiences as well as new, younger audiences, allow students to buy student-tickets in advance rather than depending on Rush tickets when they might not be able to come to the theater
6
The days of the "affordable" tickets are over. Who has $150 to plop down on a 45 minute Christmas Spectacular show? Ditto with Broadway shows and other venues. It costs $13-15 to get into a movie theater in some places. This may be chump change to some New Yorkers, but for the working class of New York (who, by the way, are well versed in the arts , too) just can't afford to keep pace with the bankers and brokers who can afford the luxury of a show anymore. I have zero sympathy for the Met. They priced me out a long time ago.
9
For those of you who think the Metropolitan Opera costs a fortune, I defy you to find a seat for $28 (or sometimes less) for any major rock concert in NYC or Broadway show. Most major bands like Bruce Springsteen or U2 as well as the Jets, Giants and other major NY sports teams charge far more. I wrote about this exact subject a few months ago:
http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/02/classical_music_...
So don't blame the price of tickets to Met. Personally, I agree with many of the people who posted here and the writer that the Met should add Sunday matinees and maybe not have performances one night a week during the week.
I also think more people are going to see the met in movie theaters in HD instead of going to the Met in person. Even so, nothing beats a live performance there. I've been going to the Met since I was a kid. And just yesterday, my wife and I were fondly recalling seeing the Ring cycle just before we got married in 2012. Thanks for the memories and keep them coming!
http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/02/classical_music_...
So don't blame the price of tickets to Met. Personally, I agree with many of the people who posted here and the writer that the Met should add Sunday matinees and maybe not have performances one night a week during the week.
I also think more people are going to see the met in movie theaters in HD instead of going to the Met in person. Even so, nothing beats a live performance there. I've been going to the Met since I was a kid. And just yesterday, my wife and I were fondly recalling seeing the Ring cycle just before we got married in 2012. Thanks for the memories and keep them coming!
3
I gave up my Orchestra Center prime subscription Saturday Matinee Subscription after they put on the show about killing our fellow New Yorker, Leon Klinghoffer. I know that many others did also. Personally, I don't have much connection with anything going on outside of Manhattan. I am not offended about Israel or the Middle East. I hardly ever leave Manhattan. The worse thing that collectively happened to us here is 9/11. I can not look at the Freedom tower without missing the World Trade Center. 2 ugly towers, but our ugly towers. And the hard working people who died there. Why put on a show in the center of the city justifying terrorist by humanizing terrorist.
Tell the truth--the Metropolitan Opera's attendance tanked after they put on the Death of Klinghoffer.
Tell the truth--the Metropolitan Opera's attendance tanked after they put on the Death of Klinghoffer.
6
What does anyone die for if not for freedom of speech. Sorry you use Klinghofer to fight battles with the MET. I share your grief and your battle, but I fight for an American that treasures freedom, not suppression.
4
I am not looking to fight battles with the MET. Before I read about the Klinghoffer I was MET fanatic. I had my section of the Sputnik Chandelier prominently displayed in the house, the MET luggage tag, The MET ties, The MET Paper, etc. And the money I gave to the Guild. I think they should raise the prices so I can get better seats. The music is as good as it has ever been. They have great stars--though I miss Sutherland. The only bone to pick with them is that I think they should give the Chorus and orchestra more money. And, there can never be enough Puccini. The sets are so much better than the 90's with Gilda's Garden without flowers or a stark stage of a Flying Dutchman with a metal ladder.
They have the right to produce what the want and I have the right not to attend. I know there are two sides to every story. I would rather have them helped me understand the people doing the lynchings in the south or the Nazi elite. those have nothing to do with New York. They dishonored the memory of out dead in 9/11. I could care less what is produced in St. Louis. I will never go there and I have zero connections. I am only concerned with what goes on in Manhattan. I was born in NY and I will die in NY. They dissed their core audience and we will never forgive. It is dishonor beyond dishonor to support the 9/11 terrorist. I travel to Europe now for opera and I go to recitals at Carnegie Hall
They have the right to produce what the want and I have the right not to attend. I know there are two sides to every story. I would rather have them helped me understand the people doing the lynchings in the south or the Nazi elite. those have nothing to do with New York. They dishonored the memory of out dead in 9/11. I could care less what is produced in St. Louis. I will never go there and I have zero connections. I am only concerned with what goes on in Manhattan. I was born in NY and I will die in NY. They dissed their core audience and we will never forgive. It is dishonor beyond dishonor to support the 9/11 terrorist. I travel to Europe now for opera and I go to recitals at Carnegie Hall
I would love for the Met to provide packages for out-of-towners. An all-inclusive package that would include a hotel, transportation, and Met tickets that I could just order would be amazing. My husband and I are both big opera fans but the idea of getting Met tickets, finding a hotel close to the Met, making all the reservations, etc. is somewhat daunting. I'd come to New York for a long weekend if I had that kind of help.
27
There are several tour operators which organize classical music trips to NYC, and one in particular emphasizes opera, Great Performance Tours, located across Broadway from Lincoln Center. If you call their office at 212 580-1400, or find them on line, you will see their many available tours, and not just to New York. GPT provides hotel accommodations, transfers to performance sites and ticketd, as well as some meals. Long-time opera goers and 'first-timers' are all welcomed.
I also second the excellent idea of doing abridged versions of operas. Our world moves at a different pace than it did when these works were composed 150, 200 years ago. Similarly, why not offer short evenings of great opera scenes - variety shows, in other words? The Met did just that in its early decades before it became more "purist." But it might be worth trying again. Especially for newcomers, it's a chance to sample some of the "greatest hits" before moving on to deeper experiences.
2
It's a great idea. The Met tried this something like this in 2011 with "The Enchanted Island," a so-called "pasticcio" of tunes from Baroque operas that were stitched together with new lyrics and a plot that mashed "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with "The Tempest." The main shortcoming there was the new words and plot, which felt on the whole pretty lame, but the idea of creating something new out of the canon is promising.
2
Some thoughts:
1. Analyze how much money would be saved by switching to the saison format. MO is unique as far as I know in staging different productions every day. I suspect there would be a cost savings by switching away from this.
2. Echoing other comments about providing more outreach. I'm in my early 30s, and in 2015-6 season, attended 5 or 6 performances. I wouldn't do a subscription because I'm not clear on the benefits. But there should be some incentive to attend multiple performances. I think the suggestion of creating an app thru which to buy all tickets that would also keep track of your attendance, provide "rewards," suggest other performances, etc. is an excellent idea.
3. Casual "hang out" type restaurant is a great idea. Get Danny Meyer onboard. Having the equivalent of the Bar Room at the Modern at the MO would definitely draw people in and have them linger before/ after performances.
4. Discount tickets thru TKTS is a no brainer.
5. More innovative, exciting, controversial performances! The program for the 2015-6 season and again in 16-17 wouldn't be unfamiliar to a Titanic passenger. Let's get some new stuff!
Hope the MO leadership is aware of this article and these comments.
1. Analyze how much money would be saved by switching to the saison format. MO is unique as far as I know in staging different productions every day. I suspect there would be a cost savings by switching away from this.
2. Echoing other comments about providing more outreach. I'm in my early 30s, and in 2015-6 season, attended 5 or 6 performances. I wouldn't do a subscription because I'm not clear on the benefits. But there should be some incentive to attend multiple performances. I think the suggestion of creating an app thru which to buy all tickets that would also keep track of your attendance, provide "rewards," suggest other performances, etc. is an excellent idea.
3. Casual "hang out" type restaurant is a great idea. Get Danny Meyer onboard. Having the equivalent of the Bar Room at the Modern at the MO would definitely draw people in and have them linger before/ after performances.
4. Discount tickets thru TKTS is a no brainer.
5. More innovative, exciting, controversial performances! The program for the 2015-6 season and again in 16-17 wouldn't be unfamiliar to a Titanic passenger. Let's get some new stuff!
Hope the MO leadership is aware of this article and these comments.
16
Make the daily unsold matinee and evening seats available at TKTS for $50. Best suggestion on the list.
11
Inexpensive and easy: the Met should have a calendar app where you could download the Met season to your calendar at a click. I would go more often if each morning if each morning, I saw what was on at the Met that night, and could grab a seat if any were available.
Reducing prices for most seats might send the Met in to a death spiral. One way to fill empty seats without cannibalizing existing sales would be to give subscribers, and perhaps contributors of $100 or $250 a year the right to purchase unsold seats at noon on the day of a performance for, say, half price. Perhaps the Met could send out an e-mail each day at noon each day to this group, indicating what seats were available at what sections of the house and price, with a link to the “buy tickets” seating chart. You could require the subscriber or contributor ID to restrict purchases of those tickets only to subscribers or contributors.
Sunday matinees – yes. This would double the performances available to folks who need to travel but could avoid an expensive overnight stay, low vision elders who are reluctant to venture out at night, families.
Reducing prices for most seats might send the Met in to a death spiral. One way to fill empty seats without cannibalizing existing sales would be to give subscribers, and perhaps contributors of $100 or $250 a year the right to purchase unsold seats at noon on the day of a performance for, say, half price. Perhaps the Met could send out an e-mail each day at noon each day to this group, indicating what seats were available at what sections of the house and price, with a link to the “buy tickets” seating chart. You could require the subscriber or contributor ID to restrict purchases of those tickets only to subscribers or contributors.
Sunday matinees – yes. This would double the performances available to folks who need to travel but could avoid an expensive overnight stay, low vision elders who are reluctant to venture out at night, families.
3
I should have added to the group who could purchase discounted seats at noon on the day of the performance anyone under 30 - they'd have to show their drivers license at the box office to prove age.
1
Some of the suggestions are worth a try-Sunday matinees, a modified stagione system, complete hotel packages as festivals routinely have. Yes, a dynamic new music director, and going for hew management -Gelb has had his chance. But those suggestions and most of the comments fail to mention the fundamental point-that all "classical" music is in a crisis an audiences are diminishing. How do you change that?
Roughly from 1980 through today, attendance at classical concerts has dropped nearly by one third!! Where is your audience?. Whether the opera, or other classical music you are greeted by a sea of gray, canes walkers, and wheelchairs-young people almost rare. In the US classical music is relegated to snippets on commercials-and the suggestion that some form of music appreciation in American schools will do it is ludicrous. New studies say millenniasl check their smart phones 221 x a day-no time for something as extended as opera.
Another problem is that opera, particularly has always been driven by star voices-they seem to be extinct, and they were the big draw. Why no more-as complicated an answer as the death of culture and classical music. Maybe some mocked Pavarotti, but he was a real opera singer, who became a global star-and served an important function. Nothing like that exists, opera has become just another form of consumerism-=for old people.
All very sad.
Roughly from 1980 through today, attendance at classical concerts has dropped nearly by one third!! Where is your audience?. Whether the opera, or other classical music you are greeted by a sea of gray, canes walkers, and wheelchairs-young people almost rare. In the US classical music is relegated to snippets on commercials-and the suggestion that some form of music appreciation in American schools will do it is ludicrous. New studies say millenniasl check their smart phones 221 x a day-no time for something as extended as opera.
Another problem is that opera, particularly has always been driven by star voices-they seem to be extinct, and they were the big draw. Why no more-as complicated an answer as the death of culture and classical music. Maybe some mocked Pavarotti, but he was a real opera singer, who became a global star-and served an important function. Nothing like that exists, opera has become just another form of consumerism-=for old people.
All very sad.
7
It seems like there's less of a problem with how many people the Met is reaching (that number might well be as high or higher than ever) than with how many times they're attending. (The decline of subscribership, etc.) And while I agree that global star opera singers are rarer and rarer, that has nothing to do with the quality of voices, which remain wonderful. (Did the audience for Sondra Radvanovsky and Elina Garanca in "Roberto Devereux" this spring think the "golden age" was past? I don't think so.)
3
I don't agree that "star voices... seem to be extinct", even though I read variations on that line over and over. I think that certain generations of opera lovers hung onto the stars of their youth, and some opera lovers who came later latched onto legends. (It's not confined to opera - I find it hard to believe there are rock bands who can live up to Led Zeppelin, but I'm sure a younger fan could take issue with that as well!) I have heard many fantastic singers at the Met in the last 10 years.
For generations there were opera stars that were world renown, who were known to "regular" people who didn't go to opera. There are some good singers, but hardly fantastic ones.
Opera without "super stars" will never draw an audience.
For most of its history opera had several stars in each category who could create sell outs on their own-that doesn't
exist any more
Opera without "super stars" will never draw an audience.
For most of its history opera had several stars in each category who could create sell outs on their own-that doesn't
exist any more
One of the problems is that the House is simply too big and too expensive. All European Opera Houses are State subsidized. Also I think the live stream has badly back fired on the Met, great for us in Europe. It is mentioned below that Operas are too long, well you can't just cut a composers work because today's audience have an attention span of a two year old and have to sit there without the i Phone for 3 hours!!! I have seen The Ring at the Royal Albert Hall in London, full of young people, standing for 6 hours dead silent.
3
Grew up listening to the opera with frequent visits to live performances. Then I moved out of the city and haven't been back for many years until my daughter decided to give me tickets for birthdays, holidays etc. Since she lives in the city there is no problem concerning hotels. This prompted me to look into purchasing tickets on my own, not just to the opera but to the ballet and the symphony orchestra. I'm not a sophisticated listener, I only know that tears frequently run down my cheeks when I attend a LIVE performance. Never (or rarely) happens when I listen to a CD. I don't have a solution to the problem I only know the power that music has to touch the human heart in a way that can't be expressed in words. That is part of what makes us truly human and it CANNOT be lost. So I urge you to explore all options and think outside the box.
Perhaps open more dress rehearsals at discounted prices?
Perhaps open more dress rehearsals at discounted prices?
4
Why not acknowledge that the MET audience is older and do marketing research to figure out what that market wants? I have read that the average age of MET audiences is 65—given how humans age, that makes sense.
Hearing changes—it’s easier to hear music projecting from one direction, especially the front. The elderly do not like loud music. Opera gets loud at times, but not enough to distort hearing aids.
Vision changes—a well-lit stage with stationery sets works well. The elderly will avoid productions with sensory overload. Even in my mid-50s, I found the current production of “Lulu” hard to watch on TV during scenes where multiple projections moved around on stage.
Why aren’t critics raising the questions of what the core elderly audience would want? Would they attend Sunday matinees? What are the best start times? What type of restaurant/food/bars do they want? What would help with accessibility—valet parking, closer proximity drop-offs?
Is it realistic to bring in 20- or 30-somethings and hold onto them for 50-60 years? Don’t tastes change over time? I know mine have (and I was a music major). Might it not be more reasonable to market toward late-50s/early 60s and hold them for 20 years?
It’s clear that many critics prefer older productions—Zefferelli’s Tosca, Otto Schenk’s Ring Cycle; and, as I mentioned, John Dexter’s Lulu. Maybe that makes sense, given the physiological changes we go through as we age.
In sum, why not seek to increase the core audience?
Hearing changes—it’s easier to hear music projecting from one direction, especially the front. The elderly do not like loud music. Opera gets loud at times, but not enough to distort hearing aids.
Vision changes—a well-lit stage with stationery sets works well. The elderly will avoid productions with sensory overload. Even in my mid-50s, I found the current production of “Lulu” hard to watch on TV during scenes where multiple projections moved around on stage.
Why aren’t critics raising the questions of what the core elderly audience would want? Would they attend Sunday matinees? What are the best start times? What type of restaurant/food/bars do they want? What would help with accessibility—valet parking, closer proximity drop-offs?
Is it realistic to bring in 20- or 30-somethings and hold onto them for 50-60 years? Don’t tastes change over time? I know mine have (and I was a music major). Might it not be more reasonable to market toward late-50s/early 60s and hold them for 20 years?
It’s clear that many critics prefer older productions—Zefferelli’s Tosca, Otto Schenk’s Ring Cycle; and, as I mentioned, John Dexter’s Lulu. Maybe that makes sense, given the physiological changes we go through as we age.
In sum, why not seek to increase the core audience?
9
Thank you for this comment. I was recently in a conversation with a person who felt, similarly, that the way that many arts organizations talk about audience development can feel condescendingly ageist. The Met should be proud it has a core older audience, and I do think that many (too many?) of its decisions are being made with that audience in mind. Sunday matinees would likely serve older people well. I also think that moving the rush tickets program online has helped this part of the audience, made up of people who may not be able to wait for hours at the box office.
5
Sad, we old timers remember the great singers who had techniques. I squirm at the amount of out of tune singing, or just plain vocalizing with nary a consonant to be heard. The young audience never heard great singing and they just accept something that 40 or 50 years ago would be unacceptable.
Also, the old singers, unaffected by genius stage directors performed on impulses, giving us an organic, heartfelt performance - Rysanek would never be cast by today's directors, in spite of the fact that she elicited frenzied reaction from a moved audience with sometimes 20 minute ovations. Today we get "blocking" from singers, with no real impulse or need to perform the move, but to follow the director's instructions. We old timers seem to be a threat to the young, who want to protect their ignorance.
Also, the old singers, unaffected by genius stage directors performed on impulses, giving us an organic, heartfelt performance - Rysanek would never be cast by today's directors, in spite of the fact that she elicited frenzied reaction from a moved audience with sometimes 20 minute ovations. Today we get "blocking" from singers, with no real impulse or need to perform the move, but to follow the director's instructions. We old timers seem to be a threat to the young, who want to protect their ignorance.
2
When I was young and standing room didn't cost $30 plus fees (can you imagine?), I was at there at least once a week along with many another regular. It was so much fun and so exciting! Now that I'm half of a middle-aged couple that prefers to sit, we find we can only afford to go several times a year, and that's in the least expensive seats upstairs. It makes me very sad that the Met, which used to be a central part of my life, is now just an occasional splurge.
32
For you and for everyone else who complains about high ticket prices: those prices are a direct function of compensation costs, of which the vast bulk consists of salaries and benefits paid to union orchestra, chorus and stage hands.
So, let's bell the cat here: are you going to be the one who calls for union compensation to be slashed?
So, let's bell the cat here: are you going to be the one who calls for union compensation to be slashed?
Make opera more accessible by reducing the cost of production. Spend less on the grand staging and more on the grand voices.
3
1)The Met's outreach is virtually nonexistent. They need to hire a dynamic social media director that can engage people 50 and younger.
2) They need to come up with more innovative ways to sell tickets. For example, let a person buy a "package" of three operas at a discounted price. Then, let the person attend ANY three operas during the season, space permitting. Think about the many variations of this that might entice people with busy, unpredictable schedules to buy tickets.
3) The experience in The Met needs to be improved. Allow people to pre-order food and drinks online and have them ready before the performance or at intermission. Please get rid of the current food vendor and hire a celebrity chef or caterer who will provide better food at the same price.
4) And, finally, collaborate with, and commission works from dynamic young artists such as Lin-Manuel Miranda.
2) They need to come up with more innovative ways to sell tickets. For example, let a person buy a "package" of three operas at a discounted price. Then, let the person attend ANY three operas during the season, space permitting. Think about the many variations of this that might entice people with busy, unpredictable schedules to buy tickets.
3) The experience in The Met needs to be improved. Allow people to pre-order food and drinks online and have them ready before the performance or at intermission. Please get rid of the current food vendor and hire a celebrity chef or caterer who will provide better food at the same price.
4) And, finally, collaborate with, and commission works from dynamic young artists such as Lin-Manuel Miranda.
4
Excellent recommendations, especially the "package" of any three. We do that here at the Forestburgh Playhouse in the Catskills and I"m sure that other summer stock theaters do this as well. It's an easy way to sell tickets. Also, the social media director is brilliant (wouldn't it be embarrassing if they already have one!) Everyone seems to agree to ditch the restaurant!
To introduce the glorious opera house to new audiences and allow all those unable to buy tickets to the Btoadway show Hamilton, have it play once a month at Lincoln Center Opera.
1
Two of the suggestions are good: find some way to lower ticket prices; give Sunday matinees. Some of the others are wishful thinking (better singers? great, but, um, are you sure they're out there?). Most, in one way or another, are about marketing: more outreach, tweak the repertory, try abridged versions, make it "hot," or "cool," or something. What if the problem is just that not enough people have an appetite for drama whose main medium is a complex, multi-layered musical score? My guess: get choruses and bands back into every school, restore a couple years of instrument study to the "normal" middle-class childhood, and when those kids grow up, a fair number of them will find their own way to opera. Like you did, fellow-opera lovers, right? It doesn't take much prep to get ears ready for further growth - but it does take some, and with extremely rare exceptions, that "some" happens in childhood. Without it, opera probably sounds pretty boring.
All the operas should be performed as "highlights" from. Who can sit still for 3 - 4 hours nowadays ?
I like all the suggestions. Bring 'em on!
America is a place where BIG is what is important so the Met is BIG. In business, there's low volume & high prices or high volume and low prices. BIG is based on the high volume, low price basis. That's why we are suffocated by chain stores, but everyone gets a piece of the products.
To get 4000 people into the operatic barn some arrangement must be found to reduce prices. Student prices for the standing area should be really cheap. Senior discounts should be pretty cheap. The less desirable areas should be affordable and those who want the choice seats should pay the current prices. Or some such arrangement. The prices in these hard times are what it's all about.
Except costs. Stars want a million dollars? Let them try to get it in La Scala or Paris or... We're a lalaland of silly time in the eyes of most of the world. Leave lala to LA!
I've not been to the NYC opera for years, but go when I'm in Europe.
To get 4000 people into the operatic barn some arrangement must be found to reduce prices. Student prices for the standing area should be really cheap. Senior discounts should be pretty cheap. The less desirable areas should be affordable and those who want the choice seats should pay the current prices. Or some such arrangement. The prices in these hard times are what it's all about.
Except costs. Stars want a million dollars? Let them try to get it in La Scala or Paris or... We're a lalaland of silly time in the eyes of most of the world. Leave lala to LA!
I've not been to the NYC opera for years, but go when I'm in Europe.
OK here are my thoughts:
> Sunday matinees are crucial and the unions (all 26 of them) must agree to having Sunday performances without additional monetary compensation.
> A new music director (Salonen perhaps) to create a renewed excitement is imperative. Having Jimmy continue to come back in his emeritus role will cast a shadow on the new head and may scare off qualified candidates. (Too late for that)
> The hall is way too big. Create a recital hall on the top floor or create luxury boxes where people can pay top $$$ for a luxury suite that allows for entertaining clients (similar to sporting events) without disturbing the common folk in upper balconies.
> Suggestions like assisting young professional clubs is crucial. Great idea.
> Broaden repertoire with seldom done works from other countries and Broadway (similar to what Chicago Lyric Opera is doing).
> Sunday matinees are crucial and the unions (all 26 of them) must agree to having Sunday performances without additional monetary compensation.
> A new music director (Salonen perhaps) to create a renewed excitement is imperative. Having Jimmy continue to come back in his emeritus role will cast a shadow on the new head and may scare off qualified candidates. (Too late for that)
> The hall is way too big. Create a recital hall on the top floor or create luxury boxes where people can pay top $$$ for a luxury suite that allows for entertaining clients (similar to sporting events) without disturbing the common folk in upper balconies.
> Suggestions like assisting young professional clubs is crucial. Great idea.
> Broaden repertoire with seldom done works from other countries and Broadway (similar to what Chicago Lyric Opera is doing).
1
Lots of nice ideas of which I'll focus on three.
Productions need not be expensive. The Met's greatest lesson should be Dialogues of the Carmelites. Most of that production was cannibalized from other productions, making it dirt cheap. Outfited with a distinct vision, it's been one of the Met's best productions of the past 40 years. Yes, it's great and probably occasionally necessary to see a Roberto Devereux where each and every diamond sparkles, but you don't need many such productions. Remember: opera is about singing and music -- EVERYTHING else, is secondary.
As much as I dislike admitting it, much of the success I see in other arts institutions are based on the personality of a leader: Simon Rattle (whose musicality I dislike), Michael Kaiser, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gustavo Dudamel (whose musicality I also find lacking), etc. etc......all of these are charismatic people who, even when they fail, attract attention and admiration. Peter Gelb is definitely not that person, so that charisma hinges on either a new music director, or a replacement to supplant Gelb's particularly uninspiring leadership.
Where is the Met's marketing department? They should be creating and fostering a continuous buzz about the Met. Social media, folks - where are the 20 somethings on the marketing staff who stay up until 1 am Tweeting, or engaging on 100 other social media platforms. The Met is painfully lacking in marketing.
Productions need not be expensive. The Met's greatest lesson should be Dialogues of the Carmelites. Most of that production was cannibalized from other productions, making it dirt cheap. Outfited with a distinct vision, it's been one of the Met's best productions of the past 40 years. Yes, it's great and probably occasionally necessary to see a Roberto Devereux where each and every diamond sparkles, but you don't need many such productions. Remember: opera is about singing and music -- EVERYTHING else, is secondary.
As much as I dislike admitting it, much of the success I see in other arts institutions are based on the personality of a leader: Simon Rattle (whose musicality I dislike), Michael Kaiser, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gustavo Dudamel (whose musicality I also find lacking), etc. etc......all of these are charismatic people who, even when they fail, attract attention and admiration. Peter Gelb is definitely not that person, so that charisma hinges on either a new music director, or a replacement to supplant Gelb's particularly uninspiring leadership.
Where is the Met's marketing department? They should be creating and fostering a continuous buzz about the Met. Social media, folks - where are the 20 somethings on the marketing staff who stay up until 1 am Tweeting, or engaging on 100 other social media platforms. The Met is painfully lacking in marketing.
5
I will throw Gelb a bone and say the HD transmissions is a great idea; they are always sold out and he doesn't get enough credit for it. On the other hand, I was distressed to see how uninspiring the gift shop is, with the HD DVDs hidden in the corner.
1
I'm 52 years old and have been enjoying opera for three years - which makes me the kind of young person you're trying to attract! It isn't that my advice is better than anyone else's (and I appreciate the words of the writers), but I think I am the target audience.
Perform at least one opera per season from an American composer. Is there a good reason that Moby Dick has yet to be scheduled, for instance?
I know they cost more to produce, but improve the ratio of new productions to repertoire productions. Liven up the repertoire productions (as with Manon Lescaut, 'Rat Pack' Rigoletto).
Don't sweat the prices - has anyone been to a Knicks game lately? And they've stunk for twenty years.
BUT, a better last-minute source than Today Tix would be helpful - and if the Met is going to offer last-minute tickets, there is no need for them to always be the worst seats in the house.
Stop worrying about the elderly audience that has already made philanthropic decisions. You've done what they've wanted for decades - they'll complain at any change. You need new audiences - so the content has to resonate with new audiences - and new productions and less moldy staging does that.
Perform at least one opera per season from an American composer. Is there a good reason that Moby Dick has yet to be scheduled, for instance?
I know they cost more to produce, but improve the ratio of new productions to repertoire productions. Liven up the repertoire productions (as with Manon Lescaut, 'Rat Pack' Rigoletto).
Don't sweat the prices - has anyone been to a Knicks game lately? And they've stunk for twenty years.
BUT, a better last-minute source than Today Tix would be helpful - and if the Met is going to offer last-minute tickets, there is no need for them to always be the worst seats in the house.
Stop worrying about the elderly audience that has already made philanthropic decisions. You've done what they've wanted for decades - they'll complain at any change. You need new audiences - so the content has to resonate with new audiences - and new productions and less moldy staging does that.
3
Here's another thought: it is cheaper to fly to St. Petersburg, Russia for a weekend and to gorge on up to 8 different operatic and balletic events a day, everyday especially Sunday, than to buy a couple of top price tickets at the Met. Granted, the support from the government makes a lot of that possible, but it is instructive to go to the Mariinsky.ru website and look at what is available. On one weekend day, alone, you can go to the ballet or the opera at 12:00 noon, take the kids to a children's opera at 15:00, and go to the ballet or the opera (different show) in the evening. There are also opera and ballet films in separate small theatres, and lectures and concerts. Tickets for foreigners are $75 for the big productions. Perhaps it is time for the New York companies to consider a consolidation of some of the competing/potentially collaborating forces to better utilize administrative staff and physical spaces at Lincoln Center. If Lincoln Center were offering multiple events each and every day, especially on weekends, with a mixed program of events--lesser known works, including one act operas, works for the family and children, plus the usual blockbusters--it would be a beehive of activity, and perhaps astronomical ticket prices could come down. Certainly, children's operas and shorter works help prepare the next generation of opera-goers and donors.
1
When I went to see Aida in Rome last year, it was sold out. The ticket prices for good seats were about the price range of Boston Symphony tickets, not outrageous, and there were lots of affordable seats. The sets were extremely spare and minimalist, as were the costumes. The overhead was no doubt low. I go to the HD operas and opera in Boston or Saratoga because that's what I can afford. My adult kids will never go, although at least one of my daughters likes opera. The problem is not opera per se- it's easy to love Puccini the first time you hear it. It's the Met prices. Maybe the 1% will keep the Met alive as a private entertainment, but the only hope for opera for the next generation is the small pop-up opera performances put on by young performers for young audiences.
21
In addition to a sagging box office, the Met has sagging seats, literally. I go there mostly for American Ballet theater's 8-week spring season, and was greatly relieved when ABT took its short fall season to the David H Koch Theater, which is smaller, better suited to ballet, and has recently been renovated with what I believe are the most comfortable theater seats in NYC (higher and more firm). Other major dance companies are also going to the Koch if it is available.
Isn't there another billionaire in NYC who would underwrite a thorough renovation of the Met opera house, perhaps in exchange for having his or her name attached to it? In addition to doing something about the worn out and sagging seats, the cramped and outdated ladies' rooms, and various other issues, I would recommend reducing the number of seats by 25 - 30%, which would also free space for other purposes.
I agree they should start having Sunday matinees (and those Weds. ABT matinees are ridiculous). Is it true some of the stage hands make $200 - $300k? That's absurd -- they should shut up, be thankful for their huge incomes, and agree to Sunday matinees.
Isn't there another billionaire in NYC who would underwrite a thorough renovation of the Met opera house, perhaps in exchange for having his or her name attached to it? In addition to doing something about the worn out and sagging seats, the cramped and outdated ladies' rooms, and various other issues, I would recommend reducing the number of seats by 25 - 30%, which would also free space for other purposes.
I agree they should start having Sunday matinees (and those Weds. ABT matinees are ridiculous). Is it true some of the stage hands make $200 - $300k? That's absurd -- they should shut up, be thankful for their huge incomes, and agree to Sunday matinees.
2
I have studied long term audience trends and business models of some 100 performing arts organizations over the last 15-20 years. I have also been CEO of 3 orchestras and discussed with several extremely successful CEO's and Directors of Marketing from our industry. I have had the privilege to work with several performing arts organizations in Europe and been able to solve their audience problems.
In November 2013 I visited the Lincoln Center and I was very surprised by the marketing. I thought NYPhil and The Met were very successful organizations but the marketing they were running then was typical for organizations that had declining audiences for decades and were now panicking. It was interesting that in April 2014 it was made known to the world that Mr Gelb's organization had really big audience problems and in August 2014 that also the NY Phil had serious challenges.
What is the problem?
They seem not to recognize basic business models of the arts and their marketing becomes very short term focused, meaning they spend more and more resources on short term fire fighting. There are several parts to the basic business model and therefore for this short space can't accommodate, but I recommend Danny Newman's "Subscribe Now!". It is still working. If you want a more modern version, please check out my book Fill Every Seat - EVERY Week published April 2016.
There are no big secrets here. But you need to know and with discipline follow some basic principles.
In November 2013 I visited the Lincoln Center and I was very surprised by the marketing. I thought NYPhil and The Met were very successful organizations but the marketing they were running then was typical for organizations that had declining audiences for decades and were now panicking. It was interesting that in April 2014 it was made known to the world that Mr Gelb's organization had really big audience problems and in August 2014 that also the NY Phil had serious challenges.
What is the problem?
They seem not to recognize basic business models of the arts and their marketing becomes very short term focused, meaning they spend more and more resources on short term fire fighting. There are several parts to the basic business model and therefore for this short space can't accommodate, but I recommend Danny Newman's "Subscribe Now!". It is still working. If you want a more modern version, please check out my book Fill Every Seat - EVERY Week published April 2016.
There are no big secrets here. But you need to know and with discipline follow some basic principles.
7
I travel to the Met from Baltimore-Washington two or three times a year. Some of these suggestions answer to why I come, some don't. The most frequent reason is to see things I -can't- see anywhere else, at least easily: Die Fraue ohne Schatten, Prince Igor, The Rake's Progress, Parsifal, to name a few.
The second reason I come is for the Met experience: Aida, Falstaff-in other words, great productions with great voices.
I have mixed feelings about breaking up the restaurant. I've never had a chance to do that but it's an experience that would seem to be a neat one, though I think highly of The Smith!
More flexibility in time is better than less. The Sunday matinee could be a great thing (though every week could exhaust the singers and orchestra). The stagione system is not one that I am sure would work for folks that travel to see productions.
Finally, it would behoove Mr. Gelb to reconsider whether his emphasis on new productions is really working. I like Bartlett Sher's work but found the recent "Otello" to be visually distracting from great music. Going back in time, Prince Igor was something of a disappointment too, and never mind the Tosca that will thankfully be replaced. Turning off the HD broadcasts, or at least reducing them, and designing productions for the hall, not the screen, would make the experience of the opera and more tantalizing one!
The second reason I come is for the Met experience: Aida, Falstaff-in other words, great productions with great voices.
I have mixed feelings about breaking up the restaurant. I've never had a chance to do that but it's an experience that would seem to be a neat one, though I think highly of The Smith!
More flexibility in time is better than less. The Sunday matinee could be a great thing (though every week could exhaust the singers and orchestra). The stagione system is not one that I am sure would work for folks that travel to see productions.
Finally, it would behoove Mr. Gelb to reconsider whether his emphasis on new productions is really working. I like Bartlett Sher's work but found the recent "Otello" to be visually distracting from great music. Going back in time, Prince Igor was something of a disappointment too, and never mind the Tosca that will thankfully be replaced. Turning off the HD broadcasts, or at least reducing them, and designing productions for the hall, not the screen, would make the experience of the opera and more tantalizing one!
2
MetOpera's marvellous Live in HD video performances must surely be having an impact on seat sales. I pay almost the price equivalent of a reasonable ticket to watch these regularly, and they give me an experience as good as the best seat in the stalls - sometimes better. I used to go to the live performances whenever I was in New York, and had some memorable nights - like the last Met appearance of Birgit Nillson, in Strauss' Der Frau. Now I would think twice about the cost of the seat. In a nutshell, use some of the Live in HD money to subsidise seat costs, and bring down prices across the board.
2
To keep it short and simple:
- Fewer performances e.g. Wed-Sat and higher prices: if they are produced at a loss and demand is lower than the supply, seems a no-brainer.
- A better product: no old productions and more contemporary operas. I would even put that ahead of delivering music of extraordinary quality, which sells only to a very few with the ear to distinguish it from the plainly very good.
- Fewer performances e.g. Wed-Sat and higher prices: if they are produced at a loss and demand is lower than the supply, seems a no-brainer.
- A better product: no old productions and more contemporary operas. I would even put that ahead of delivering music of extraordinary quality, which sells only to a very few with the ear to distinguish it from the plainly very good.
4
I may have missed something, but are we not seeing the consequences of the HD performances shown in the NY area? I've been at the Met several times, but the closeu ps and even the movie theater acoustics truly rival the live experience.
It's true, it's been suggested that the HD broadcasts are "cannibalizing" the Met's live audience, at least in the tri-state area. Perhaps the company should go the way of sports teams and consider a policy of blacking the HDs out around New York, New Jersey and Connecticut if attendance is below a certain point?
3
I hard Jonas Kaufmann croon the Werther performance I attended because it was being filmed for the HD showing. The technicians were adding the nuance we in the theater were deprived of. I will never forgive Kaufmann for that. I heard everything he sang at the Met and he never crooned, but this night he did.
I witnessed many evenings at the Met where the singers were giving film performances; last week I heard - or barely heard - Waltraud Meier - in Elektra. I bet the HD audience heard her loud and clear.
In addition, am I the only one that finds the digital sound - I attended one - unnatural, completely unrelated to a human sound one hears live?
I witnessed many evenings at the Met where the singers were giving film performances; last week I heard - or barely heard - Waltraud Meier - in Elektra. I bet the HD audience heard her loud and clear.
In addition, am I the only one that finds the digital sound - I attended one - unnatural, completely unrelated to a human sound one hears live?
1
No, Eddie, you are not the only one who finds that digital sound unnatural. And I hope you remember me.
With all the money that *gates* donors have to dispense to foreign nations and populations, perhaps it is time for them to turn their purses homeward and support *high* culture which is as endangered as any animal, climate, or African nation.
2
All the Met's financial problems could be solved by moving Hamilton over to Lincoln Center for a season. At the moment, the top ticket price at the Met is probably half what a ticket to Hamilton costs these days. Not only that, but the Met titles system would be a big boon to understanding the rap lyrics as they are being sung.
1
I'm a New Yorker and really enjoy the opera. I have been to the operas in Barcelona, Vienna and Budapest. In New York, only the free outdoor DVDs at Lincoln Center each summer. Why? Because I can afford to attend the opera houses in Europe, but a decent seat at the Met is simply too expensive for my budget. If the Met is 1/3 empty, it seems like they could afford to reduce prices perhaps 25% and still come out ahead.
5
As an out-of-town Met Opera patron, I have watched the trials and tribulations of the Met over the past few years. Ticket price is certainly a factor although decent seats can be had at often for far less than the cost of a first-run Broadway show. Part of the problem, no doubt, is the relevance of the repertory to younger audiences that are needed to sell any tickets at all in the future. Shows like La Boheme are perennially popular if no longer the novelly they were when the Zefrrelli staging was rolled out more than three decades ago.
Broadening the repertory with more Russian, German, and other non-Italian fare sounds like a good idea but when we have gone to non-mainstream Met productions, the increase in empty seats is even more obvious. To borrow an idea from another company would be to consider a complementary season in a smaller venue like La Scala does with its Piccola Scala that would encourage performance of operas that would not work as well on a large stage--Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona, Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino or Wolf-Ferrari's Il Segreto di Susanna. While not new works in the literal sense, they would be new to a lot of today's audiences and are accessible and just plain fun.
Broadening the repertory with more Russian, German, and other non-Italian fare sounds like a good idea but when we have gone to non-mainstream Met productions, the increase in empty seats is even more obvious. To borrow an idea from another company would be to consider a complementary season in a smaller venue like La Scala does with its Piccola Scala that would encourage performance of operas that would not work as well on a large stage--Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona, Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino or Wolf-Ferrari's Il Segreto di Susanna. While not new works in the literal sense, they would be new to a lot of today's audiences and are accessible and just plain fun.
11
All the suggestions in the article, bar one, are purely structural. Perhaps the elephant in the room should be directly addressed - people aren't coming because the repertoire is astonishingly conservative, and the staging, although opulent, is hidebound and moribund.
In Europe, the works of living composers are regularly performed and stagings by (American) directors such as Robert Wilson and Peter Sellars are part of the standard repertoire and not presented as "odd" things only presented for three nights as part of a special festival and then never seen again.
It's not the restaurant, the building, or the treatment by the staff. It's about what's on stage.
In Europe, the works of living composers are regularly performed and stagings by (American) directors such as Robert Wilson and Peter Sellars are part of the standard repertoire and not presented as "odd" things only presented for three nights as part of a special festival and then never seen again.
It's not the restaurant, the building, or the treatment by the staff. It's about what's on stage.
15
I just posted this. The Met's repertoire is DULL. It's more conservative than what one can hear in any major European city. It's more conservative than the San Francisco Opera or the Houston Grand Opera or even the tiny little Opera Theater of St. Louis. It's utterly, stultifyingly conservative. The same few Italian and German composers and operas, all from before 1950, over and over and over again.
Finally, next year, there'll be an opera by a woman, Kaija Saariaho, the first in many, many decades. Where are all the other modern and contemporary operas? Where are the operas that the great little Gotham Chamber Opera put on? Where are the operas that City Opera, when briefly under Mortier's tenure, planned to bring to town? Why is the only opera from the Modernist era Strauss's *Salome*?
Why are operas after 1950 so few, and the war horses so frequent? Is it the wealthy, aging funders? Is it fear? Will the Met too have to go out of business before things change?
Finally, next year, there'll be an opera by a woman, Kaija Saariaho, the first in many, many decades. Where are all the other modern and contemporary operas? Where are the operas that the great little Gotham Chamber Opera put on? Where are the operas that City Opera, when briefly under Mortier's tenure, planned to bring to town? Why is the only opera from the Modernist era Strauss's *Salome*?
Why are operas after 1950 so few, and the war horses so frequent? Is it the wealthy, aging funders? Is it fear? Will the Met too have to go out of business before things change?
1
Service charges for online ticket purchases start at $6 and go up from there. While this sort of gouging has become common practice, the Met's fees are among the highest I've seen and the practice is particularly disrespectful for an organization that puts so much effort into marketing their "affordability." $25 tickets are at least $31 in reality, if not higher. It's not a petty difference. Also, the illusion that fresh stagings of Verdi can be hip needs to end. If you want to be relevant, commission some work. Here's a short list of composers from a range of styles that I have no doubt would do something daring and exciting and take full advantage of the space: Wadada Leo Smith, Kate Soper, Bernhard Lang, Caroline Shaw, Michael Nyman, Laurie Anderson, Louis Andriessen, Meredith Monk.
5
First rule of sales: make it convenient for the customer. Matinees and Sunday performances are required.
4
Enough. I paid $200 to see Lulu "acclaimed production with no set but digitilized projections. Where was my money going? Lulu was good, not as great as I had hoped but certainly Met caliber. All the rest of the cast just stood ther e and 'barked:' in time with the music. No thanks! My late husband sang at the Met long before they started miking their 'artists'.. (no secret among singers nowadays). Intermissions are too long. Get rid of the restaurant and cater to hungry, bored, almost ready to leave young patrons. Give them late happy hour prices. Stop with these ridiculous prices at intermission. Mr. Gelb should afford his own apartment. Hi elitiist dad did, after all, control the NYT
.
.
3
Rotate a Sunday production in each borough, bring the opera to the people since the people are not going to the opera. Simple, it will be a huge success.
3
Great idea. The Met used to do regular performances in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Boston. Add Newark and there may be a difference. Stop with the bloated, over designed productions too. Beggars can't be choosers; the Met better realize it's got to come back down to earth - the elitist, entertainment for the rich old Metropolitan used to go to the people, Caruso and all the greats in tow, flopping painted canvas scenery to boot. When will we realize opera is not about misguided directorial "geniuses" but great singers moving their audience to tears.
3
I love the Met - adding Sunday performances seems like a no brainer and go dark on Mondays like most theaters. To your point I don't get out of work til at least 7pm & a 3 plus hr opera is just not workable on a weeknight
While they were growing up, I brought four kids I knew to the Met for a Saturday matinee. And, I brought them to adult performances. (i.e. no Julie Taymour) Of those four, one is now my regular companion. [He's 33 now] Why not ask current patrons to do the same? And, give them an incentive to do so. Any marketer will tell you that a 1 out of 4 is a damned good hit ratio.
1
I take students to the opera, explain it to them - as a veteran of 59 years of attending - and they have a great time. The problem is, they're students and can't afford to go on their own. At every performance I ask, "So, who's afraid of opera?" They laugh and realize they had a great time, but I know it may be the last time. Maybe when they're older, but it's a remote chance.
When I was a student, it cost 1.25 for a standing room spot (1.65 for a Family Circle seat) to hear Corelli, Nilsson and Price in Turandot, well within my allowance budget.
When I was a student, it cost 1.25 for a standing room spot (1.65 for a Family Circle seat) to hear Corelli, Nilsson and Price in Turandot, well within my allowance budget.
3
Some people take to opera like a duck to water. But most just can't relate. I think if adult classes on opera history and appreciation were offered, there'd be new audience members.
2
Or use YouTube - but more effectively - for opera education.
Most of my education in opera has been via YouTube. I would start out checking out clips of singers I'd heard of operas I was interested in, those would lead me to different versions of arias. Haphazard, but effective.
The Met has a lot of good video clips on its site, but they might be more accessible if the Met used YouTube as well to spread the gospel.
Most of my education in opera has been via YouTube. I would start out checking out clips of singers I'd heard of operas I was interested in, those would lead me to different versions of arias. Haphazard, but effective.
The Met has a lot of good video clips on its site, but they might be more accessible if the Met used YouTube as well to spread the gospel.
1
David Allen isn't dealing with the reality that, for better or worse — let's face it, for worse — the more obscure the composer or the more challenging the opera, the less seats are filled. Conversely, the old workhorses — the Bohemes, Butterlies, Traviatas — are nearly filled to capacity.
What's really surprising is that no one bothered to deal with the 800-pound elephant in the room: the horrific interpretations imposed on these classic works by directors desperate to be noticed. I, for one, loved the old, old-fashioned, straightforward productions. The few ones I've seen of newer productions — like the bare-staged, eye-piercing Lohengrin — are horrible.
Also: How about bringing in the "sung-through" Broadway shows that everyone loves? You know, like "Porgy and Bess" and "Most Happy Fella"?
What's really surprising is that no one bothered to deal with the 800-pound elephant in the room: the horrific interpretations imposed on these classic works by directors desperate to be noticed. I, for one, loved the old, old-fashioned, straightforward productions. The few ones I've seen of newer productions — like the bare-staged, eye-piercing Lohengrin — are horrible.
Also: How about bringing in the "sung-through" Broadway shows that everyone loves? You know, like "Porgy and Bess" and "Most Happy Fella"?
5
Edit operas to cut down their running time. Yeah, that one will really fly with Wagner fans!
2
Gut the restaurant!
"Send choristers in costume out to the lobbies to pose for selfies"
This "operatic spitballing" is very telling about the times we live in and the future of opera, which unfortunately looks very grim thanks to the incredibly short attention spans of young people, and their unyielding desire for instant gratification and showmanship.
As older patrons who channeled funds into the operatic world (and kept its pulse steady) face the inevitable, the younger generations will be the ones left in charge to cultivate the traditions of old. There is no cause for optimism and it appears that in thirty years we won't be hearing Puccini or Mozart anymore.
The youngsters (so-called "millennials" and their ilk) will never be able to understand nor enjoy such complex art forms as opera, which actually requires them to focus and mostly sit still in one place for 2-6 hours, (mission impossible even with a hefty dose of Adderall) instead of staring blankly at their smartphone screens, flicking their fingers left and right in order to find yet another one-night stand on Tinder.
How could they possibly understand intricacies of a 200-year old work if all they know is how to apply filters to their instagram selfies and hashtag the picture into oblivion so that they can get more people to follow them and keep the self-admiration machine going?
Blame our popular culture.
P.S: Ms. da Fonseca-Wollheim should think twice before posting such brilliant ideas.
This "operatic spitballing" is very telling about the times we live in and the future of opera, which unfortunately looks very grim thanks to the incredibly short attention spans of young people, and their unyielding desire for instant gratification and showmanship.
As older patrons who channeled funds into the operatic world (and kept its pulse steady) face the inevitable, the younger generations will be the ones left in charge to cultivate the traditions of old. There is no cause for optimism and it appears that in thirty years we won't be hearing Puccini or Mozart anymore.
The youngsters (so-called "millennials" and their ilk) will never be able to understand nor enjoy such complex art forms as opera, which actually requires them to focus and mostly sit still in one place for 2-6 hours, (mission impossible even with a hefty dose of Adderall) instead of staring blankly at their smartphone screens, flicking their fingers left and right in order to find yet another one-night stand on Tinder.
How could they possibly understand intricacies of a 200-year old work if all they know is how to apply filters to their instagram selfies and hashtag the picture into oblivion so that they can get more people to follow them and keep the self-admiration machine going?
Blame our popular culture.
P.S: Ms. da Fonseca-Wollheim should think twice before posting such brilliant ideas.
5
There are sensible things the Met can do, like reduce ticket prices, run youth programs, etc. All necessary and all...well, a bit dull. But this is New York, goshdarnit, and the Met. I think we can do better...and that means making the Met an aspirational destination.
Imagine a summer night, where one of our best modern operas is presented. Say, Akhnaten. At the same time as it is on in the hall it is simulcast and projected on *public* spaces throughout the city. Up on the side of a building in the Bronx. In a park in Brooklyn. In cinemas and funky clubs (talk all you like!). As DT would say, really yuge: you basically blanket the city and turn a closed event for a few hundred rich old people into a city wide celebration. Now everyone can listen (radio, streaming, etc) and they get to spend a shimmering night at the opera in New York City. You market the fact that fabulous as this is, the people with tickets to the Lincoln Center itself had an ever better experience. This is where TV coverage and suchlike helps make the LC aspirational. Once you have captured a few audiences like that, people will want to come to the mother ship of the Lincoln Center to see the real deal.
Imagine a summer night, where one of our best modern operas is presented. Say, Akhnaten. At the same time as it is on in the hall it is simulcast and projected on *public* spaces throughout the city. Up on the side of a building in the Bronx. In a park in Brooklyn. In cinemas and funky clubs (talk all you like!). As DT would say, really yuge: you basically blanket the city and turn a closed event for a few hundred rich old people into a city wide celebration. Now everyone can listen (radio, streaming, etc) and they get to spend a shimmering night at the opera in New York City. You market the fact that fabulous as this is, the people with tickets to the Lincoln Center itself had an ever better experience. This is where TV coverage and suchlike helps make the LC aspirational. Once you have captured a few audiences like that, people will want to come to the mother ship of the Lincoln Center to see the real deal.
17
Akhnaten? You could come in 30 minutes into the performance and not have missed anything.
I tweeted earlier to Zachary Wolfe what a great list of ideas this is -- and I am one of those "seniors" who welcome change rather than fight it. My stepfather was an opera singer (pre WWII) so grew up in an opera loving household. My kids detest opera, (sons) but their spouses love it. I sure hope Mr. Gelb and the board, read the article and most important the reactions to this article. A common thread seems to run through the responses so far.
Recently there have been entire seasons I did not attend due to the roster of same old, same old. This season was better, with the mind blowing Elektra and the wonderful Pearl Fishers, but ... where is Dr. Atomic, The fabulous Tempest, The Macropulos Affair? How about Die Tote Stadt?? It's been years! Sunday performances absolutely. 1/2 hr intermissions NO!!!! I always sort of joke that the operas are too long, so happy to see some agree! Shorten the operas that need it. Lower the prices, especially for the family productions! I take 4 granddaughters every Christmas and their mothers to the tune of over $600. That's insane. They are little so I want good seats so they come back when they are no longer little! Regarding a new music director, Alan Gilbert said on Charlie Rose not too long ago, that he wants to conduct opera! That's a big hint, no?
Also, Yannick (Philadelphia) or James Gaffigan (Luzern) who is a native New Yorker, are also good candidates, and I'm sure there are others qualified.
Recently there have been entire seasons I did not attend due to the roster of same old, same old. This season was better, with the mind blowing Elektra and the wonderful Pearl Fishers, but ... where is Dr. Atomic, The fabulous Tempest, The Macropulos Affair? How about Die Tote Stadt?? It's been years! Sunday performances absolutely. 1/2 hr intermissions NO!!!! I always sort of joke that the operas are too long, so happy to see some agree! Shorten the operas that need it. Lower the prices, especially for the family productions! I take 4 granddaughters every Christmas and their mothers to the tune of over $600. That's insane. They are little so I want good seats so they come back when they are no longer little! Regarding a new music director, Alan Gilbert said on Charlie Rose not too long ago, that he wants to conduct opera! That's a big hint, no?
Also, Yannick (Philadelphia) or James Gaffigan (Luzern) who is a native New Yorker, are also good candidates, and I'm sure there are others qualified.
1
My math was wrong in my earlier post. The Met now loses sales of thirty-six tickets per season from my friends and I.
Creating more community is a great idea. Clubs, theme nights, and an after hours hang out spot are great ideas. However, focusing on freebies for the younger crowd seems discriminatory and likely to alienate current loyal followers. Oh, and don't gouge your audience on ticket prices.
Agreed. The Grand Tier restaurant is a waste of valuable space. Use it for 30-60 minute mini-lectures before performance –free or paid at the door, for, say $10-20. Also use it to encourage affinity groups. A major barrier to going to the opera for a single person such as myself if finding friends to go with. I’ve gradually developed a group of opera-loving friends, where we e-mail each other what operas we want to see, each get our own tickets, meet before, at interval, afterward. But the Met could make it a lot easier to link up with other opera lovers.
1
Offer a 2 opera season ticket plan
1
Get them young. Instill love for classical music and opera to middle and high school kids. Forget the performances, encourage music schools, music teachers to bring their students to dress rehearsals. Let them enjoy the grandeur of opera without cutting into the budget. For some of them, it will stick and they may become opera fans. Probably, some marketing won't hurt. Pretty pictures in the subway are a nice distraction from its grime.
1
Brilliant; however, pop culture and exploitative capitalism won't allow it. Sadly, even parents now are totally removed from any "classical" culture to encourage their young to experience it. Peer pressure makes it uncool to love classical music. IMO, the prognosis is grim for getting more bodies into the Met.
Offer half priced tickets for unsold seats at half price on the day of the opera. Also I would love to buy the HD performances as a DVD.
2
When I was young the Met had a program for younger folks, perhaps under 30 or so. I recall that I got a libretto for each opera I saw, and there must've been some discount on the tickets. After that I kept going at least occasionally until Act 2 of the Zeffirelli production of La Boheme was just too much spectacle for me... But there are certainly opportunities in a program like that, designed for younger folks.
Another comment mentioned not being able to exchange subscription tickets. The NY Philharmonic has a great arrangement for that, with unlimited online exchanges. I'm sure it costs them a little bit to run but it enables me to get a subscription and not worry too much about the exact dates, and it does free up seats for last-minute purchasers. Why not at the Met?
Another comment mentioned not being able to exchange subscription tickets. The NY Philharmonic has a great arrangement for that, with unlimited online exchanges. I'm sure it costs them a little bit to run but it enables me to get a subscription and not worry too much about the exact dates, and it does free up seats for last-minute purchasers. Why not at the Met?
1
You can exchange subscription tickets, but it's confusing. It would help if the Met would print on subscriber’s tickets both the retail price and the subscriber price. This would make subscribers more aware of the deal they are getting, and make exchanges easier. I have degrees in economics and law from Harvard, and even making an Excel spreadsheet, I never could accurately figure out what exchanges I could make when I had a subscription. I gave up my orchestra prime, third row center subscription seats for family circle seats for the operas I actually wanted to see.
In recent seasons the MET's tickets have been priced for the hedge fund crowd unless you're willing to sit so far away from the stage that you can't even tell the singers have mouths. If your business model is based on the concept that only the ultra rich can appreciate opera, then what you ultimately get is a lot of empty seats.
7
Ten or twelve years ago, my friends and I discovered the cheap seats up in nosebleed heaven. The sound was amazing, tickets were only fifteen dollars and we would go ten times a season. Now those same tickets are thirty-five dollars (new productions are more expensive than those already in repertory). So we go only three or four times a season. There are six of us. Right there the Met has lost eighteen tickets. The Met is pricing itself out of the reach of its audience. (And it's not just young people who need affordable tickets. We are in our fifties and early sixties.)
5
Lower the price. How hard is that to figure out?
You, and Broadway and everyone else, including rock concerts, can't continue to charge such exorbitant prices and then wonder why it's so difficult to get future generations interested in what you are pushing.
Soon, if we're not already there, it will only be possible for a rich person to attend a cultural event, and then where will we be?
You, and Broadway and everyone else, including rock concerts, can't continue to charge such exorbitant prices and then wonder why it's so difficult to get future generations interested in what you are pushing.
Soon, if we're not already there, it will only be possible for a rich person to attend a cultural event, and then where will we be?
45
If one considers the shrinking middle class, stagnant wages, etc., then I agree opera will be only available for an entirely *other* class of people.
1
They said it in the article. Kauffman canceled, people didn't show up.
Everybody knows it started when they started casting some good singers mixed with ok ones that look good, because they wanted the show to be about the directors and not the singers. It's about money and they will rather let it go to hell than to put a 300 lb Pavarotti-like singer on stage.
Everyone knows the issue is the singers.
Everybody knows it started when they started casting some good singers mixed with ok ones that look good, because they wanted the show to be about the directors and not the singers. It's about money and they will rather let it go to hell than to put a 300 lb Pavarotti-like singer on stage.
Everyone knows the issue is the singers.
11
I'm under 50 and love opera, and couldn't see a single opera this year. My schedule allows me to go to a 2:00 theater performance on a Wednesday, so I have seen Blackbird, The Father, She Loves Me, Fun Home and Something Rotten in recent weeks. Why not a Wednesday matinee for people like me who aren't free at night or on weekends? If it starts at noon or 1, it gives schools a chance to bring students, especially if they offer 'highlights' performances once a month. Discount tickets would also help, and keeping the season to only the spring is a little limiting. Perhaps offer a better schedule as well, and a much broader selection of choices. Wagner and Rossini were made for the chillier weather, I think one month of opera in the fall may help generate interest.
I'm sorry your schedule prevented you from attending - although I find it hard to believe that you couldn't find at least one free evening or Saturday afternoon between September and May.
With regard to your other suggestions: the Met brings in lots of school groups to dress rehearsals during the week. The best sound in the house is in the Family Circle - where regular ticket prices run from about $30 to $50. (I'll bet you paid more for your Broadway shows!) The season runs from September to May, not "only the spring". Only one Wagner opera was offered this season (to my dismay), and only two Rossini operas; quite a few other composers were represented among the other 22 choices.
With regard to your other suggestions: the Met brings in lots of school groups to dress rehearsals during the week. The best sound in the house is in the Family Circle - where regular ticket prices run from about $30 to $50. (I'll bet you paid more for your Broadway shows!) The season runs from September to May, not "only the spring". Only one Wagner opera was offered this season (to my dismay), and only two Rossini operas; quite a few other composers were represented among the other 22 choices.
Not a single opera written after 1950, though. That's pathetic.
It's some years since I attended the Met live. These days I have to rely on HD. But the empty seats are visible on HD and troubling. If nothing is done, the Met will enter a death spiral. What would I do? Quality vocal and orchestral productions is the starting point. The Met has always had a tendency to allow singers to continue past their sell-by date. At the same time, the Met is often very late to engage artists: I recall how long it was before Beverley Sills "made it" to the Met. Second, productions need theatrical appeal. Not just displays of director or designer ego. Third, the "user experience". It has to be easier to book tickets, attend at times convenient for the audience, feel part of a valued family of patrons. Fourth, youth. Tomorrow's audience will take enormous effort to capture and retain, but without that effort we are left with the 70 and 80-somethings that accompany my wife and I to the HD screenings. All this and more will fall to the next music director and to Peter Gelb's successor (for this is the time Mr Gelb should also pass the baton). Difficult challenges, but if not faced the Met will not be with us many more seasons.
1
All of the suggestions are good, and are eminently doable and eminently insufficient. What is needed above all is a Met that is alive --and by this I mean productions that become the talk of the town, either famously or infamously. And they should come and go, and be precious.
But this means that the old way of doing things, of great stars, masters, and bureaucrats appointed for many years, if not for life, need to go before the coffers are empty--new blood is needed. And no appointment of over two years or so should be assumed --unless the musician, the stage manager, the singer, the director, the bureaucrat and administrator, proves his or her mettle. And dispatch the big egos and the big stars to only two or three nights a season --the rest needs to belong to upcoming talent that will perform as if there is not tomorrow.
This is of course, the gig hand-to-mouth economy --something known to all musicians except those that were able to obtain lifetime appointments at our stellar, now all dying, music museums . Yes, these appointments were great for the fortunate few. These resulted in excellence sometimes, but far too often in ossified performances. Regardless of merits and faults, fair or unfair, today's economy and diminished middle classes can no longer afford that past.
Like it or not, the Met needs to become agile, nimble, much more lower cost, younger, daring, and innovative --under humble, low paid management-- or it will die.
But this means that the old way of doing things, of great stars, masters, and bureaucrats appointed for many years, if not for life, need to go before the coffers are empty--new blood is needed. And no appointment of over two years or so should be assumed --unless the musician, the stage manager, the singer, the director, the bureaucrat and administrator, proves his or her mettle. And dispatch the big egos and the big stars to only two or three nights a season --the rest needs to belong to upcoming talent that will perform as if there is not tomorrow.
This is of course, the gig hand-to-mouth economy --something known to all musicians except those that were able to obtain lifetime appointments at our stellar, now all dying, music museums . Yes, these appointments were great for the fortunate few. These resulted in excellence sometimes, but far too often in ossified performances. Regardless of merits and faults, fair or unfair, today's economy and diminished middle classes can no longer afford that past.
Like it or not, the Met needs to become agile, nimble, much more lower cost, younger, daring, and innovative --under humble, low paid management-- or it will die.
1
Hire Teodor Currentzis as musical director.
More ladies. Daniela Dessì, Mariella Devia, Carol Vaness ...
1
You might consider lowering prices.
3
Get a new General Director. That's the first step
1
Thank you for this caring and thoughtful piece about an institution that promotes joy, community and remarkable achievement. As a freshman at college, I didn't even know that the opera existed. Some roommates/hallmates knew more. One of my fondest memories of more than 50 years ago was being led by my buddies to take the the NY/NH & Hartford RR from New Haven to New York to go to the Old Met.We would buy "rush tickets" and take a freight elevator up to "Pluto" where the joy and appreciation was beyond what I had ever experienced.
3
Totally agree with all of the suggestions that these NY Times opera lovers offer here. While I want to see the MET opera keep its high attitude, it does need to expand its fan base, by attracting the younger and sophisticated crowd , with a more creative programming and experimental repertoire, and yes, more Friday evening, Saturday matinee performances, and Sunday matinee for these emerging opera fans who actually need to go to work during the weekdays in order to pay for those sky high opera tickets.
1
Higher quality drinks at the bars during intermission...? Right now only the parterre has slightly better offerings. New Yorkers who pay opera ticket prices tend to prefer nicer booze.
I didn't see anything about the possibility of streaming an opera. I live in California so the chance or me seeing the MET now or ever is slim to none, but I might be willing to pay $5 for a live or later stream. It should be easy to block out NY IPs so that doesn't cut into the local audience. Stream it through Netflix, Amazon. PBS, CSPAN, They might even DONATE the time slot free. Lots of possibilities.
Maybe feature LOCAL vocal talent during ONE production to get "kids" interested. There may be some high school vocalists or college vocal majors who want a shot. do it on Saturdays.
Maybe feature LOCAL vocal talent during ONE production to get "kids" interested. There may be some high school vocalists or college vocal majors who want a shot. do it on Saturdays.
1) You can see numerous "Live in HD" performances in your local movie theater for about $25 each.
2) PBS stations show taped broadcasts of "Live in HD" performances all over the country FREE; check out your local listings.
3) The Met streams live performances (sound only) on their website FREE at least once a week.
4) For those who want to pay for the service, the Met streams live performances (sound only) almost every night on Sirius.
2) PBS stations show taped broadcasts of "Live in HD" performances all over the country FREE; check out your local listings.
3) The Met streams live performances (sound only) on their website FREE at least once a week.
4) For those who want to pay for the service, the Met streams live performances (sound only) almost every night on Sirius.
1
Actually, the Met does have a streaming program, which they call Met Opera on Demand. You can learn more here: http://www.metopera.org/Season/On-Demand/
1
I don't know who CORINNA da FONSECA-WOLLHEIM is but she has some great suggestions! If anything can turn things around, it's those suggestions.
Opera strikes me as something my parents did to align themselves with the upper class. It was a method of social climbing for the baby boomer and silent generations. Opera doesn't have the same function for later generations.
Opera strikes me as something my parents did to align themselves with the upper class. It was a method of social climbing for the baby boomer and silent generations. Opera doesn't have the same function for later generations.
2
Ridiculous, most people loved opera because it MOVED the emotionally. Stop repeating old wives tales.
I have no idea who Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim is, but the Met should hire HER! Her ideas are fantastic.
The MET should bring "Opera" back to "Opera." The audience is missing the epic sweep, the bigger than life, the grand productions (real sets and costumes)... and finally the super stars. Paging Pavarotti, Sutherland, and Price. This is what happens when the management doesn't hear the audience, so how can they expect the audience to listen.
3
It is too big. It needs a smaller theatre - offering a more intimate experience with the performers. Paying well over $100 and yet perched up high in uncomfortable seats does not induce me to book again anytime soon. My local theatre allows me to fully recline in a comfortable big chair ... why can the MET not try that? Have fewer but more comfortable seats.
If the MET is reluctant to present 22 fully staged performances of rarely heard works, try to present 2-4 concert performances of operas such as Les Huguenots which may be beyond the MET's ability to stage in this day and age.
Bring back more works which we heard once but need a second or third hearing to let it settle into our souls. The Last Savage was played at the MET in 1964 and then shelved. Bring it back for a hearing!
People come to the MET for many reasons but the primary reason is to hear the greatest singers sing their greatest roles!! In the old days, we could hear Price, Corelli, Tebaldi, Peters, Sutherland, etc. sing several roles each season and not just one. Now we have them sing one and discard it ... maybe the MET needs to nurture more house artists ...
Have more Live From the MET at local theatres!!!
The bottom line is New York and America should be proud to have the world's greatest opera house resident here and it should be celebrated!
If the MET is reluctant to present 22 fully staged performances of rarely heard works, try to present 2-4 concert performances of operas such as Les Huguenots which may be beyond the MET's ability to stage in this day and age.
Bring back more works which we heard once but need a second or third hearing to let it settle into our souls. The Last Savage was played at the MET in 1964 and then shelved. Bring it back for a hearing!
People come to the MET for many reasons but the primary reason is to hear the greatest singers sing their greatest roles!! In the old days, we could hear Price, Corelli, Tebaldi, Peters, Sutherland, etc. sing several roles each season and not just one. Now we have them sing one and discard it ... maybe the MET needs to nurture more house artists ...
Have more Live From the MET at local theatres!!!
The bottom line is New York and America should be proud to have the world's greatest opera house resident here and it should be celebrated!
2
Occasional concert performances of rarer operas would be a great way of building excitement, I think. And star singers would be more willing to make the shorter time commitment.
2
I saw a concert performance of Rubinstein's (?) The Demon when the Kirov did a couple of weeks' of staged operas at the Met. That's a good idea!
1
For context, opera’s my biggest love, I’ve gone to the MET 200+ times and study scores to death. Some thoughts:
1) There is a core repertory of 100 best operas for a reason – the drop-off is huge. Tommasini took Levine to task for no modern works. People won’t pay for accessible works like The Magic Flute and you push Klinghoffer? Critic’s fantasy!
2) I don’t know anybody who pays for to ANY opera at any price. Most go to any live event except sports, and if they do, prefer shorter music, in English, without crowd silence
3) Cutting music education in schools is a culprit. No theory or instrument instruction ruins exposure and appreciation. The MET should offer free, to schools, things like on-demand video or courses
4) A new music director or young stars is a red herring. No person I know could name a single conductor or singer beyond Pavarotti, Domingo or Levine, if that.
5) Sunday performances are a great idea
6) Festivals are interesting, but MET in the park and other touring events failed for a reason
7) Cutting the length of operas adjusting the language is farcical. If that “saves” the artform, I’d prefer extinction
8) Courting young people isn’t a bad idea, but somebody has to pay for it and fundraising is already heavy. Also, this is an unproven investment in arts studies
Opera in America will disappear over 40 years. In our busier society, people want 3-5 minute orchestration/harmony light songs they can easily digest. While not my taste, I understand why
1) There is a core repertory of 100 best operas for a reason – the drop-off is huge. Tommasini took Levine to task for no modern works. People won’t pay for accessible works like The Magic Flute and you push Klinghoffer? Critic’s fantasy!
2) I don’t know anybody who pays for to ANY opera at any price. Most go to any live event except sports, and if they do, prefer shorter music, in English, without crowd silence
3) Cutting music education in schools is a culprit. No theory or instrument instruction ruins exposure and appreciation. The MET should offer free, to schools, things like on-demand video or courses
4) A new music director or young stars is a red herring. No person I know could name a single conductor or singer beyond Pavarotti, Domingo or Levine, if that.
5) Sunday performances are a great idea
6) Festivals are interesting, but MET in the park and other touring events failed for a reason
7) Cutting the length of operas adjusting the language is farcical. If that “saves” the artform, I’d prefer extinction
8) Courting young people isn’t a bad idea, but somebody has to pay for it and fundraising is already heavy. Also, this is an unproven investment in arts studies
Opera in America will disappear over 40 years. In our busier society, people want 3-5 minute orchestration/harmony light songs they can easily digest. While not my taste, I understand why
5
You make a good point: Gelb is all head and no heart. He thinks novelty is the answer and is affected by jaded critics and musicologist, who are bored because they go so often and need diversion. The average person will happily plunk down money to see a favorite production, regardless how old it is, because he or she sees it sporadically, and it's not stale. Put opera on for the audience, not for "experts" needing diversion because they're intellectually bored.
1
But people AREN'T GOING to the same old operas over and over. That's the problem!
How about some commissions that cross genre boundaries? I'm thinking libretto by Lin Manuel Miranda and music by Kamasi Washington. That might pack the house. And making it more of a party makes sense - what about a later start and allowing drinks at your seats, like a jazz club? Finally shorter, punchier performances from time to time are also a great idea. People need to have fun at the opera. Then they will come back.
2
It's easy. Get rid of Gelb and bring in someone who knows what he's doing.
8
matinees are very important .
I also like the idea of cutting the opera. I know that this sounds like a crime but, face the fact, a three hour performance is quite daunting (I am 69) especially getting back home and up the next day at a reasonable hour.
I also like the idea of cutting the opera. I know that this sounds like a crime but, face the fact, a three hour performance is quite daunting (I am 69) especially getting back home and up the next day at a reasonable hour.
1
If you don't want to face a three hour performance, skip the first act or leave at intermission. Some of the rest of us still want to hear the whole performance.
7
Invent a machine to take me to the Met without airports or train stations.
The best thing that has happened to the Met is having James Levine retire. I don't think he is retiring far enough. He will still conduct next year even though the musicians complain they can't figure out what he is doing with his left arm. The Met should make a cleaner break with him and hire someone who can be his own person is continuing the legacy at the Opera House. As long as Maestro Levine is still employed there, he will cast a dark shadow on some of the changes that need to take place. The best idea is to attract a younger audience with discounts which can lead to a new generation of opera lovers.
1
Nonsense. Sheer nonsense. Have you been to any performances conducted by Levine lately? I have, and they were wonderful.
1
Ridiculous statement. Levine's Boccanegra was one of the best shows of the season. His cast was superb, as they usually are because he had the power and was able to use singers the tin-eared Gelb has no clue about. Getting so many in one show was fantastic. Del Monaco's old production was a model of coherent, organic stage directing, something missing in the opera hating "geniuses" directors Gelb seems to be seduced by.
2
I recently started attending Met opera shows and even though I enjoyed many of them, most shows are too long for the younger, more contemporary audience. What can be told in 1 minute is painfully stretched out until it becomes almost unbearable. Life runs at a different pace now than it did when the operas were written and produced. While I understand that editing and cutting away the music may be a difficult decision, it is worth condensing the opera (2 hour maximum) for some shows and increase the appeal to a wider, younger audience than not to have broadened the appeal to them at all. Unless you're really into the opera, a 3-hour show is way too long and many of us have other plans and places to go to after the show in busy, time-bound schedules. The opera scene needs to adapt and keep up with the tempo of present society by contemporalizing some shows while leaving other shows for the opera lovers who can dedicate their time to watching the longer, unabridged versions. Using focus groups, gather feedback on new and existing opera productions with younger audiences who have not attended the opera to test their appeal.
17
Yes, a two-hour "Gotterdammerung" would be great. Which acts would you cut out?
1
What? Opera is definitely not for you. Go to a museum and see one Rembrandt and one Monet and then rush back to your "time-bound schedules, or maybe see more paintings and sculptures if they were cut up into manageable portions. You sound like one sensitive person when it comes to art.
Horrible suggestion!
Opera used to be a living art with people rushing off to see the latest by Verdi or Puccini - now its all old dead operas. Why not commission and perform more contemporary works - listenable works not academic horrors composed by professors for other academic composers.
Classical music suffers from the same problem: warhorses from old dead composers performed in half empty hall populated by elderly subscribers.
For goodness sake the public thinks 100 year old Schoenberg pieces are too modern. There has been a total failure to inform tastes and what's on offer is a million miles from what the kids want to listen to.
It been years since seat tickets have covered the costs of classical music. If an art form can't demand an audience it can and probably should disappear.
Classical music suffers from the same problem: warhorses from old dead composers performed in half empty hall populated by elderly subscribers.
For goodness sake the public thinks 100 year old Schoenberg pieces are too modern. There has been a total failure to inform tastes and what's on offer is a million miles from what the kids want to listen to.
It been years since seat tickets have covered the costs of classical music. If an art form can't demand an audience it can and probably should disappear.
19
Absolutely spot on. The Met needs to decide if they want to be an opera house or an opera museum.
Another term for war horse is "most loved works". The very reason opera still exists is that so many people love its core repertory, thus there is in fact a large demand for it. That the MET is having a rough patch simply means it needs to be more market sensitive and improve its practices. The majority of people have never heard even one live opera so the idea that it's become stale is wrong. Many people by dint of their tastes and inner workings could very well be the next loyalists should they catch the opera bug. That's the trick.
What is certain is that crazy modernist works lacking discernible melodies and harmonies drive audiences away in droves. New rep can only be introduced with great care lest it makes for permanently disaffected people.
What is certain is that crazy modernist works lacking discernible melodies and harmonies drive audiences away in droves. New rep can only be introduced with great care lest it makes for permanently disaffected people.
1
"contemporary works - listenable works" Good luck with that! Adams, yes, but Ades? I think not. Contemporary composers have to develop their audience through some concessions to most peoples' idea of listenable music. Maybe the Met could do more productions of semi-operatic works by Weill et al.
$200-300 packages of airfare, hotel & 2 tickets?
We go to all the MET LIVE broadcasts and would LOVE to go in person if airfare, hotel and tickets for 2 didn't cost $2k.
We go to all the MET LIVE broadcasts and would LOVE to go in person if airfare, hotel and tickets for 2 didn't cost $2k.
29
Dream on.
So... the sage advice boils down to:
~ make it cheaper (lose more money);
~ annoy your long term patrons to court the 'poor' youngsters (lose your endowments and people who actually come to the opera);
~ forget the actual 'art' part of opera - more Gilbert & Sullivan (lose your soul)
~ make it cheaper (lose more money);
~ annoy your long term patrons to court the 'poor' youngsters (lose your endowments and people who actually come to the opera);
~ forget the actual 'art' part of opera - more Gilbert & Sullivan (lose your soul)
34
Right on point
2
Are you familiar with the concept of a gateway drug?
Something enticing to get you interested and wanting more?
Don't decry G&S for that function and on its own accord.
Opera has a reputation for being for snobs; don't play into that trope
Something enticing to get you interested and wanting more?
Don't decry G&S for that function and on its own accord.
Opera has a reputation for being for snobs; don't play into that trope
1
Gilbert and Sullivan were geniuses.
Don't forget retirees who are on a fixed income...often much less than can afford a ticket...make some concession for this community of educated, cultured, loyal lovers of what counts in life.
67
One word: Hamilton.
1
The discount Lincoln Center event ticket booth across the street sells tickets to all the musical venues except the Metropolitan Opera. It is unclear why the Opera is not putting unsold tickets for sale to the general public at a discount there, just like Broadway does at TKTS. And considering that tickets for theatrical productions at the Vivian Beaumont are available at the TKTS, why not the Opera too?
86
Probably afraid — not without reason — that everyone will then wait for a rush when the Met releases unsold seats an hour or two before performance.
How much revenue is generated by the HD, big screen movie houses on Saturdays?
2
$33 Million dollars
Stream past recorded operas on TV and charge for them.
20
I believe they are on Roku
Great productions get butts in seats. The productions at the MET have been sub-par. Focus on great directors (please no more Bart Sher) and the audiences will show up.
25
And really, really great singers.
A director has to be intimately familiar with what music does and how it functions in opera. None of the "name" Broadway directors understand this.
Giving young people the opportunity to sit in the finest seats at give-away-prices is the WORST idea.
Once pampered with those close-up views, no way they'll ever be happy later on with the far-away seats the rest of us feel privileged to sit in. Once the hand-outs end and reality sets in, the non-moguls will be gone, never to return.
As regards to repertoire, while the seasoned might enjoy a change to the edgy and rarely-heard, the non-seasoned are far more likely to be captivated by the big, old fashioned productions of warhorses that critics turn their noses up at and which the MET has been phasing out.
Once pampered with those close-up views, no way they'll ever be happy later on with the far-away seats the rest of us feel privileged to sit in. Once the hand-outs end and reality sets in, the non-moguls will be gone, never to return.
As regards to repertoire, while the seasoned might enjoy a change to the edgy and rarely-heard, the non-seasoned are far more likely to be captivated by the big, old fashioned productions of warhorses that critics turn their noses up at and which the MET has been phasing out.
51
Well, if you care about music, the "secret" of the Met is that the best sounding seats are in the Balcony and Family Circle.
I think Corinna understands the modern world . The issue is not how to get Opera lovers to go more- it's how to figure out who the next generation is and bring them into the fold. It's about developing a new audience . Opera is dramatic, exciting, emotional, beautiful. The MO needs to get out of its own head and understand a world exists of people who havent experienced opera. Make it hot!!!modern! Fashionable. The alternative in America is death.
10
Many opera goers from not too far away would love to come for a package of, say, two or three operas and a nice hotel and a meal or cocktail with someone learned about the production.
20
That's precisely what I plan on when I go to Santa Fe - 3 operas in one extended weekend. It's a blast. And NYC is even closer than Santa Fe!
1
I've been a life long opera fan and singer. When I finally was able to plan a trip to the Met (first time) I tried to buy a ticket online and was IMMEDIATELY shuffled off to a ticket aggrandizer who besides charging me the going rate for a seat in the Dress Circle, charged me an extra $25 just for providing the ticket. I was outraged, eventually went and found that the guy sitting in the box next to me paid less than half what I did. Not only that, being in the box just over the stage, the stage was over half obscured. I saw Trovatore. It was the "B" cast. The soprano was magnificent and the rest, meh. I don't know if I'll go back the next time in the City.
31
That's weird. I always get online tickets from the Met itself, except when they're sold out. I've never been shuffled off anywhere else.
Just make it affordable instead of playing games with customers. Also why not hold performances in washington Dc's kennedy Center?
5
Have Hamilton play there too.
2
Let these authors become the opers's new managing directorate! Fabulous suggestions.
9
I appreciate your writers' ideas, many of which should be tried out -- but truly this is not rocket science. The Met's seats are incredibly expensive, full stop, case closed. Go on the Met website and price out a decent seat -- one that you can choose in advance and that will allow you to meaningfully experience the entirety of the staging without having to put your neck and back out just to get a glimpse of Scarpia's feet - and see what you find. Deflating doesn't begin to describe the experience.
87
Unlike the heavily state-subsidized European houses, the Met has to pay for itself. If you can figure out a way to do that, get in first-class singers, a full-time orchestra, chorus, etc. without making the audience pay for it, you should let the Met know pronto.
1
But then who pays for the production? Need to figure that one out or else we can just say tickets should be free and get done with it. Subsidize? Why should someone else pay for me to go to the opera? Besides you are then a slave to the poor opera tastes of that rich donor that wrote a million dollar check and all he/she wants to see is another Boheme and another Zeffirelli production. Personally, I think that is the root of the problem... By the way, I go to the Met for $35. Other seats are still way cheaper than other entertainment, not to mention my monthly cable bill!
Its all about money.
Cut the price of ticket.
Cut the price of ticket.
59
Play Hamilton.
10
Gelb should take this remark seriously and try to get a collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda.
1
Hamilton's too "modern," too "contemporary." It's full of hip hop rhythms, and at least 5-6 different styles of rap alone (as well as R&B, reggae, etc.). Its cast is mostly brown and black.
Consequently, it would NEVER appear on the Met's stage. The long-term fanatic fans would storm out.
Consequently, it would NEVER appear on the Met's stage. The long-term fanatic fans would storm out.
They could start staging the operas for the stage again, instead of for movie theaters like they currently do.
34
I have only seen the HD performances so I can't compare. Is there a marked difference in staging when they are broadcasting? How does it affect the in person experience?
Well, for one the HD sound has no relation to a human voice.
the best thing the met can do is fire that incompetent gelb, who lacks any idea of what opera and singing are.
31
As to a new musical director... That person will not have much input as far as planning and casting I fear. Not with Gelb's new Met and the board seemingly soundly behind him. It will prevent someone who has the will and ability to shake things up to take the gig I fear.
7
For out-of-towners who would love to come to the Met Opera, the price of hotel rooms in NYC is a big obstacle. Could there be some kind of package deal between the opera and a hotel or two in the city to keep costs from being astronomical?
35
Agree. I used to come to NY for the MET several times a year. Now hotels in NY cost much more than tickets.
1
How about improving the standard of the singing with less emphasis on making a super-stylized art form "realistic" theater (whatever that is). Too many bland, pretty people who sing mediocrely and have no star quality. My first opera was "I Puritani" with the very tall, not very slim, not very much of an actress, and not very young Joan Sutherland celebrating 25 years at The Met. It was thrillingly sung and converted an 18 year old me.
53
I absolutely agree. I mourn the fact I will never hear the likes of caballe, sutherland, bergonzi, even Pavarotti, because they would not be telegenic enough for HD. ...Basta! I wonder...if you surveyed the majority of live attendees and the HD attendees and asked them if they would rather see a lithe Salome vrs hear a more formidable exceptional voice from an ordinary looking singer...which would they choose? I am betting the vast majority live attendees and HD fans would say they want THE VOICE.
Mr. Gelb et all are only presuming they know what we want.
Mr. Gelb et all are only presuming they know what we want.
4
My first opera was The Valkyrie with Rita Hunter, sung in understandable English. I became a Wagnerite in short order.
I have been to the Met only twice, once for Eva Marton in Turandot, once for Pavarotti.
It is not possible to go by public transport from NJ- you get out too late for the last train back- and going in by car is a nightmare of congestion, tolls, and parking charges. There's not much the Met can do about that because if they started earlier it would be difficult for people to get there after work.
If the HD cinema screenings make money perhaps the Met could try out a subscription service like the Berlin Philharmonic, or come to an arrangement with a subscription service like medici.
Their arrangement with Sirius XM is wasted, as far as I am concerned, because the sound quality is dreadful. The service only offers one other 'classical' channel which is truly ghastly. I cancelled after an initial subscription (with a new car) ran out.
While I was a student the SF symphony had a university student outreach- the Symphony Forum. It offered schools and students the opportunity to buy season tickets at a cut price for the slowest night of the week. I don't know how many became regular concert goers at full price, but it might be worth exploring for the Met.
I have been to the Met only twice, once for Eva Marton in Turandot, once for Pavarotti.
It is not possible to go by public transport from NJ- you get out too late for the last train back- and going in by car is a nightmare of congestion, tolls, and parking charges. There's not much the Met can do about that because if they started earlier it would be difficult for people to get there after work.
If the HD cinema screenings make money perhaps the Met could try out a subscription service like the Berlin Philharmonic, or come to an arrangement with a subscription service like medici.
Their arrangement with Sirius XM is wasted, as far as I am concerned, because the sound quality is dreadful. The service only offers one other 'classical' channel which is truly ghastly. I cancelled after an initial subscription (with a new car) ran out.
While I was a student the SF symphony had a university student outreach- the Symphony Forum. It offered schools and students the opportunity to buy season tickets at a cut price for the slowest night of the week. I don't know how many became regular concert goers at full price, but it might be worth exploring for the Met.
1
Part of the timing problem is the need to grab something to eat before the opera - hard if the opera starts at, say, 7 to make it easier the catch the last train/bus. If the Met sold small bite plates, before curtain and at interval, it could make it easier to get there immediately after work, meet friends, snack enough to enjoy the opera without hunger pains, and still get home at a reasonable hour.
The Met could sell tickets for prix-fix plates and drinks as a add-on to your opera ticket, the way the airlines let you prepay for checked luggage, preferred seating, etc.
The Met could sell tickets for prix-fix plates and drinks as a add-on to your opera ticket, the way the airlines let you prepay for checked luggage, preferred seating, etc.
1
Bring back many of still active singers from the '80s and '90s in roles congenial to them at this stage in their careers. Do that and I'll return a little more often. If Roberta Alexander and Kathleen Battle (albeit in recital), both past their best years, are getting invitations to sing at the Met, why not others? Very short list, in no particular order: Aprile Millo, Cheryl Studer, Jane Eaglen, Edita Gruberova, Dawn Upshaw ... And that's just the ladies.
5
What a great list of ideas!
Opera is too exciting a medium not to be widely shared and appreciated, I hope some of these are put into action.
Opera is too exciting a medium not to be widely shared and appreciated, I hope some of these are put into action.
2
Much of my concern is rather simple -- the Met just doesn't really try very hard to reach out.
They must think that they do. But I don't think that they do.
When I was in my 30s, I was a rarity, perhaps. A single straight guy who liked Opera. I subscribed for a few years, but it was not only expensive -- it was nearly impossible to change dates when work caught me by surprise. it was hard to find others to go with. These are all tings the Met could do if it really wanted to help young people attend.
Now I have two kids. Grandma brought me and my daughter to the "made for families" Magic Flute. It was GREAT! My daughter loved it.
And since then the Met has done ZERO outreach. Do I get notices of other family events? No. I didn't know there was a Barber of Seville until I read it here. I tried to get a video of the Magic Flute version to play for my kids and keep them excited. I can't find it.
Really, couldn't they just try a bit harder? Opera lovers are out here. The Met has great product. They just aren't marketing to us.
They must think that they do. But I don't think that they do.
When I was in my 30s, I was a rarity, perhaps. A single straight guy who liked Opera. I subscribed for a few years, but it was not only expensive -- it was nearly impossible to change dates when work caught me by surprise. it was hard to find others to go with. These are all tings the Met could do if it really wanted to help young people attend.
Now I have two kids. Grandma brought me and my daughter to the "made for families" Magic Flute. It was GREAT! My daughter loved it.
And since then the Met has done ZERO outreach. Do I get notices of other family events? No. I didn't know there was a Barber of Seville until I read it here. I tried to get a video of the Magic Flute version to play for my kids and keep them excited. I can't find it.
Really, couldn't they just try a bit harder? Opera lovers are out here. The Met has great product. They just aren't marketing to us.
47
Give them your email and you will be constantly bombarded. They will reach out to you daily.
2
The Met Opera will greatly improve their bottom line by producing more works that showcase the wonderful benefits that corporate CEOs and Wall Street bankers bestow upon this country. The audience, that glorious 1%, will eat it up. They'll flock there in droves.
How is it possible that no one mentions singers in these suggestions? Mariella Devia hasn't sung at the Met since the 90's. Nor is Anne Schwanewilms listed in the roster next season. The art of opera relies on great singing for its unique thrill: this is lacking at the Met on a dispiritingly regular basis despite the raves and publicity-fueled excitement.
8
#1 Lower ticket prices. Remember that some of these students and mid level serfs and muppets may grow to enjoy opera and evolve into masters of the universe who write the big checks to support the Met
#2 Like the idea of a cheaper restaurant open after the the performance. Discuss what you learned about opera over a burger and beers. Look at up coming operas and plan to return.
#2 Like the idea of a cheaper restaurant open after the the performance. Discuss what you learned about opera over a burger and beers. Look at up coming operas and plan to return.
15
... the idea of cutting absolutely-ridiculous ticket prices to make the opera more accessible was like 5th on the list of possible solutions to a dwindling audience? Are you kidding? Offer two-fors on select weeknights to bring in locals and couples, monthly family nights with deep discounts to introduce a new generation, and slash prices by at least 30% for premium seats on average nights. You will see a whole new crowd learning to love opera without having to take a second job to pay for tickets for 2 (or more) plus requisite transportation and meals for a night out. With endless entertainment opportunities in NYC--and even at home with folks binge watching 60 hours of Netflix over a single weekend for $8--the opera has to understand its future, its audience, the economy, and focus on how to keep opera accessible to people 20 years from now--which starts today.
42
The one thing that seems to be missing from the conversation is the need to change programming to appeal to a younger audience. The ballet has done a great job of this by leveraging graffiti artists, JR and Faile.
Discounted prices help but that is not sustainable. More appealing programming will enable the MET to keep prices that will ensure continuation without jeopardizing its revenue goals. When the programming is great, people will pay. It may just be that the changes needed are far beyond the artistic flexibility that the board can imagine.
Discounted prices help but that is not sustainable. More appealing programming will enable the MET to keep prices that will ensure continuation without jeopardizing its revenue goals. When the programming is great, people will pay. It may just be that the changes needed are far beyond the artistic flexibility that the board can imagine.
1
This makes no sense. Young people will not go to the opera just because something is supposedly hip.
You people don't understand. Young people have no understanding/experience of opera because all of their lives it has been way too expensive for any of them to attend. But that seems okay with most of you. So, yikes.
You people don't understand. Young people have no understanding/experience of opera because all of their lives it has been way too expensive for any of them to attend. But that seems okay with most of you. So, yikes.
1
Michael Cooper has it right: Cut ticket prices. I love orchestral music and have a mild interest in opera. $175 to try out a mild interest doesn't work. I don't know the Met's economics, but if cutting prices by 1/4 or more is possible, then please try it.
17
Hard to do, when supernumeraries make over 100k a year and chorus over 200k.
Terrific suggestions here! Hope they make more rush tickets easily available. I can never manage to get the tickets I want--they're gone immediately. Not sure about cutting down the operas, though
4
I'd say expand the repertory. Stop thinking of Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti et al. as "standard" operas and the pillars of a season. The idea does disservice to the other operas, which become "rarities,", and flattens under the routine the inventiveness and the strangeness of these Italian pioneers. And where is the Messiaen St. Francis? Its reputation as one of the greats is older than I am and has yet to play at the Met.
9
Organizations that are used to being supported by big donors lose touch with reality. When I was growing up opera, symphony and theater were accessible to the middle class. Now tickets to the arts are not just a treat but a luxury. The audience has shrunk, not from lack of interest but from a lack of disposable income. It will take a redistribution of income in our country to change this!
74
Stop spending so much $$ on productions. It's always about the music. La Fenice had the smallest stage in the world and glorious sound (pre fire). I frankly don't want to see the soprano do cartwheels or flips -- or balance precariously - it makes me very nervous-- after the initial gasp it's always the music.
create a four- day work week so more people will have more free time --
create a four- day work week so more people will have more free time --
7
Same old, same old. Repetitive silly stories fail to excite, the music too often mediocre, the ticket prices too high, the productions absurdly overblown … what's not to like? Stay home & listen to great recordings, much more satisfying.
5
No it most certainly is not!
2
Broadcast operas on virtual reality. It is better than seeing an opera on television
Every time I am in New York I go to the Met
Unfortunately I do not get there very often
Every time I am in New York I go to the Met
Unfortunately I do not get there very often
When we go to the Met (from Albany), one of our biggest expenses is the hotel. You can spend $500 on a couple of tickets and a modestly priced hotel. That's a big hit especially compared to local resources like Tanglewood, Glimmerglass, and the Saratoga Opera. Perhaps if the Met had some marketing deals with hotels it would help bring in some of us out of town people a little more often.
The Met did have a deal where you could enter a lottery for very inexpensive tickets. You had a shot at getting a lottery low priced ticket at noon and if you were prepared you could hop on a train and get down there in time. Now however they just open those tickets first come first serve, and based on my last trip I was under the distinct impression that the cheap tickets had gone to scalpers. At any rate we seemed to have more luck with the lottery than with the sign-up-at-noon-first-come-first serve, though we tried to buy the tickets at the exact moment they became available.
The Met did have a deal where you could enter a lottery for very inexpensive tickets. You had a shot at getting a lottery low priced ticket at noon and if you were prepared you could hop on a train and get down there in time. Now however they just open those tickets first come first serve, and based on my last trip I was under the distinct impression that the cheap tickets had gone to scalpers. At any rate we seemed to have more luck with the lottery than with the sign-up-at-noon-first-come-first serve, though we tried to buy the tickets at the exact moment they became available.
7
The Met has an incredible partnership with my children's public elementary school - and the kids get to go to a dress rehearsal - why not give families of those kids access to steeply discounted tickets? and more information about family friendly performances. My boys loved magic flute and hansel and gretel - but now that they are getting to middle school age they might love carmen and others...unfortunately tickets for a family of four to sit where you can really see what is going on are out of the price range for most new yorkers.
21
More incentives: 1. once a year special rate or discount "membership" for out of towners (akin to the out of town memberships at NYC art museums)
2. Receipt for an HD showing gives a one-time discount
2. Receipt for an HD showing gives a one-time discount
12
All nice ideas. But the real solution is to break the unions so the ticket prices can come down and all the seats don't have to be filled. The unions are killing classical music in NYC.
13
Having union wages and benefits is the only thing that ensures quality musicians and crew members can afford to live in or near New York City and be available. And it's not the unions that are making the artistic decisions that have dampened many opera lovers' enthusiasm. Better management is needed; marketing will never work if there's no vision. And ticket affordability must be part of that vision.
2
I am a life-long supporter of unions to protect workers from abuse and exploitation by ownership/management. That said, I believe that one of the most significant reasons why ticket prices are so high and rehearsal time is so limited in classical music is due to the stranglehold exercised by the stagehands' union. It does not take any particular skill to carry and move chairs and music stands. I, too, agree that the ideas presented by the music critics are generally worthy (some of the suggestions are gimmicky). However, unless and until the power of the stagehands' union is effectively dealt with, classical music concerts (including, but not limited to, opera) will continue to be expensive, and new, challenging music that requires substantial rehearsal time will continue to be presented in limited fashion.
One other factor contributing to higher ticket prices which needs to be remedied (but which is not unique to the world of classical music, however) is the additional fees associated with ticket sales: processing fees, handling fees, maintenance fees, etc. There has got to be some way to put an end to the existence of that monster.
Just sayin' . . .
One other factor contributing to higher ticket prices which needs to be remedied (but which is not unique to the world of classical music, however) is the additional fees associated with ticket sales: processing fees, handling fees, maintenance fees, etc. There has got to be some way to put an end to the existence of that monster.
Just sayin' . . .
2
Thanks to the recent negotiations we know that the unions take about about 2/3 of the Met's budgets. Not only is that not unusual, but 2/3 of overall budget is *typical* for any non-profit organization.
1
So many wonderful ideas! I went from a subscription to a once a year patron. Sunday performances would help. Family and friend pricing would be amazing- it's hard to pay a few hundred dollars to bring along the kids. The opera should be fun, not an expensive hassle.
17
Make the tickets affordable to average middle class person. I love opera but after retirement in ten years I could attend the LA Opera only once which set me back over $200 for two hours of entertainment. Somebody thinks to afford opera you have to be millionaire. And the management is to be blamed for that.
47
Give a call to the British rock band The Who. They played their rock opera "Tommy" there back in the early 70's, a first. Get them for a week's worth of shows to do "Tommy" again? Also more recently they developed their second opera-ish piece "Quadrophenia" into an orchestral arrangement, played it in London as such not to long ago, with real opera singers, etc. Run that version for two weeks, that should scare up some funding. I think they intend to retire after this year, so...
8
Reinstate the senior tickets that had been generously provided in past years and reinstate the process of being able to secure them as originally set up, online. The new system does not distinguish by age and it is extremely difficult to get through. Better to fill some extra seats and you could charge more for them than the original $20.00, say $30.00.
19
The house is too big, the seats are too small - there's an obvious fix here. I've bought tickets to hear Glass, Picker, Muhly, Adams, Janacek and Shostakovich. The Family Circle is it's own special hell for my arthritic joints and I don't choose to suffer it ft to hear the same old thing (and that would include the newly staged production of the same old thing).
21
But the sound is best in the Family Circle. Worth it if you can get an aisle seat. Or even standing room up there.
Sunday matinees are essential. Saturday matinees are becoming some of the most sought after tickets as many people have punishing workweeks. Some of my greatest pleasures involve Sunday matinees when visiting the Chicago Lyric or San Francisco Operas.
As a loyal Met fan, I would be there both days most weekends.
As a loyal Met fan, I would be there both days most weekends.
53
i switched my subscription at Lyric Opera of Chicago a few years ago to Sundays along with the "Plan Your Own Season" option, except for opening night of the season. it's so much more civilized than rushing to dinner or forgoing it because it's too late.
2
A friend of mine who grew up in Paris and came here to study as a foreign student seemed bemused at the notion and fuss associated with classical music and with the opera in particular. She said that they sang many arias when they were children. It wasn't seen as anything fancy. Just songs. If we can somehow make it that way we might get more young people interested. Of course, this is not a quick fix but rather a longer term strategic vision.
My own nephews and nieces grew up singing arias from The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro. I remember their parents saying that when the kids' pediatrician asked them what they liked to do (at their annual physical examinations), they said they liked to sing arias. The pediatrician left the examination room, got his cell phone and had them sing to his son who manages classical artists at IMG. Point being, these kids were not exposed to it bc it was lah di dah but rather because the melodies were catchy and easy to sing.
I think if kids were exposed to this at the elementary school level, it might make a difference. Again, not a short term fix. Lastly, as silly as this sounds, get Taylor Swift involved. Seriously. Kids listen to her and value her opinions. Same for other musical acts that kids like and look up to.
My own nephews and nieces grew up singing arias from The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro. I remember their parents saying that when the kids' pediatrician asked them what they liked to do (at their annual physical examinations), they said they liked to sing arias. The pediatrician left the examination room, got his cell phone and had them sing to his son who manages classical artists at IMG. Point being, these kids were not exposed to it bc it was lah di dah but rather because the melodies were catchy and easy to sing.
I think if kids were exposed to this at the elementary school level, it might make a difference. Again, not a short term fix. Lastly, as silly as this sounds, get Taylor Swift involved. Seriously. Kids listen to her and value her opinions. Same for other musical acts that kids like and look up to.
13
As a young professional who likes opera, i.e. the type of patron the Met needs to attract, I found the 2015-2016 season disappointing with too few contemporary or even Modern operas. There are too many years when the Met's only premieres are of rarely heard operas from the 17th-19th centuries. I know it's a hard sell for some of the audiences the Met counts on, and I certainly don't advocate abandoning the great classics, but for the Met to stay relevant in the global opera world it needs to offer more than Verdi, Rossini, Puccini and Donizetti. Personal anecdotal experience suggests that modern operas attract a somewhat younger audience -- perhaps the Met could view new operas as an investment that will pay off in the future, even if some of the usual customers stay home today.
6
What if the Met partnered with colleges in the Northeast so that college students in large numbers can be exposed to opera? Suppose further, that the colleges, in collaboration with the Met, offered courses on opera and then brought their students to the Met for performances as part of the curriculum. As an example of such a course, one need only look to Professor Robert Greenberg's DVD lectures on opera for the Great Courses. Teaching students in college about opera and having them attend performances at the Met might be a great way of developing a whole new generation of opera lovers. And wouldn't such training help round out a student's liberal arts education? Liberal arts colleges. after all, promote composition, drama, history, literature, music, philosophy, poetry, theater, voice, etc. and opera, perhaps more so than any other art form, combines all these in glorious ways. Thank you.
9
I'm not an opera goer routinely, preferring Broadway acting to opera grandstanding. The terrible "Daughter of the Regiment" really turned me off going to the Met - so dull, so poorly acted, so stiff and ugly to look at. So reading these comments as a not avid opera goer - the ones that smack of ageism won't work. The ones that take away perks from existing opera goers won't work. What would work - shorter operas is mentioned, that works. Better prices is mentioned - that certainly works. It seems to me that going to the opera is still a rare thing because opera treats itself as being precious and apart from people, regardless of age. To appeal to more of the population, the Met should go out there and be among the people - do popup arias at lunch time in pedestrian plazas around the city, take part in summer festivals, have singers appear in the auditorium during an opera as well as on the stage. Hold daily lotteries to offer low price tickets to New Yorkers, get tickets on the board at TKTS, and advertise in the videos shown on planes landing in NY. The Met is not easy to get to, nor easy to afford, nor easy to sit through - so offer additional things to everyone attending, free soft drinks and coffee at intermission, free food items - do away with the long lines and massive prices at the refreshment stands at intermission. And offer pre-opera education videos, outlining the story and the singer bios - they cannot act, but most of them can sing, so tell us who they are.
3
The decline of opera ticket sales is just one of the many signs of the approaching death of classical music which has been predicted for years. This will be here in earnest when the last of the pre-Boomers stops attending performances around 2030. These are members of the last generation that values traditional culture. They form the bulk of classical music audiences, art museum memberships, historical societies, fraternal and service organizations, etc.
What people are unable to admit is that the problem with classical music is the music itself and that cannot be changed to any great degree. Flashy stage productions and more convenient performance times do not address the basic problem that most people do not like the music. Why do you think classical music is played in the bus terminal? It is used as an effective teen repellent.
I see no option except to be stoic and recall Handel's comment on unsold seats, "Never mind; the musick will sound all the better."
What people are unable to admit is that the problem with classical music is the music itself and that cannot be changed to any great degree. Flashy stage productions and more convenient performance times do not address the basic problem that most people do not like the music. Why do you think classical music is played in the bus terminal? It is used as an effective teen repellent.
I see no option except to be stoic and recall Handel's comment on unsold seats, "Never mind; the musick will sound all the better."
1
The death of classical music has been discussed for decades, perhaps centuries. The reality is that most of the audience is over 55+, subscribers over 65+. For the untrained eye, that might seem like a problem. "I could only see gray hair all around." However, there always seems to be new 55 plusers replacing the ones leaving us.
This is a very important part of the business dynamics of the industry. Understand (and accept the implications) of this and the marketing will become much easier.
This is a very important part of the business dynamics of the industry. Understand (and accept the implications) of this and the marketing will become much easier.
3
I see the Met in HD theatre distributions since I don't live in NY, but I would never pay hundreds for a 3 hour opera, no matter how well done. Or, I would say, often overdone. The productions are, in my view, far too lavish. Casts with chorus and dancers and so on simply don't have to be so lavish, nor do sets. There is too much pyrotechnics and so on, which must add to cost but don't really add commensurately to the musical experience. They may satisfy producer's ambitions and egos, but does that showiness draw in more customers than it costs? It seems not, from this article. No matter how truly magnificent they often are, if opera goers really just want Disney, they should go to Florida for it (but that trip plus tickets might cost even more!). Of course, as the article says, the color of the attendees hair needs to darken quite a bit if there is to be a future. And especially in that context, if one has to hope (vainly?) that the HD broadcasts, no matter how wonderful for us in the distant proletariat, don't gut attempts at local production companies that could engage young people more. Or, maybe opera is just for the wealthy few, as it has always mainly been, and there aren't enough 1%ers, even yet, to fill all the seats.
1
When I moved to New York City seven years ago, I fell in love with the Metropolitan Opera. I attended performances frequently, and when the time came to find a new apartment, I moved three blocks from Lincoln Center. But I haven't purchased a ticket in three years. The wonderful music and stagecraft soon lost its luster with the increased seat prices, performer and conductor cancellations, and a repertory that didn't create a sense of urgency to attend.
Perhaps it's time to return. I miss the performances of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra and the company's exceptional chorus. And the promise of a new music director has reinvigorated my interest.
I've considered purchasing season tickets, but the small payment plan window of two installments creates a sizable monthly expenditure. If the Met offered a season ticket payment plan over 4 or more months, I'd be much more likely to pull the trigger and commit to the season ahead.
Perhaps it's time to return. I miss the performances of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra and the company's exceptional chorus. And the promise of a new music director has reinvigorated my interest.
I've considered purchasing season tickets, but the small payment plan window of two installments creates a sizable monthly expenditure. If the Met offered a season ticket payment plan over 4 or more months, I'd be much more likely to pull the trigger and commit to the season ahead.
17
The problem with opera is it is opera. I tried to force myself to like opera in my late 20s with with a couple seasons worth of tickets to the Lyric in Chicago. I regret to inform you that not a single performance connected with me in any way. I do not understand how anybody can appreciate or enjoy people with limited acting skills screeching out improbable and archaic plots in a foreign language. The spectacle was there, but that's it.
So you came on this thread to say that???
2
Here's an anecdote that might shed some light on the Met's poor ability to retain subscribers.
My family had the same seats for nearly 30 years, side Dress Circle row 1, starting when I was in college. For most of those years, to the left & right of us were 2 other couples whom we got to know well.
In the Spring of 09 we received our renewal notice with a huge 70% price increase. Turns out that 4 of the 6 seats from our informal group had been reclassified as premium. The Met made no attempt to inform us of the change & no effort to relocate us ... just that unexplained price jump. Four of us found it too expensive to retain our seats.
We wrote to Peter Gelb, hoping that someone in his office would contact us. Not a word. Finally, in July an unpaid intern cold-called us to renew.
For 3 decades we had attended 15 to 20 operas a year. In the 7 years since dropping our subscription, we've gone 8 times. Quite a lot of lost revenue for the Met, I'd say.
Should I point out that we live a 15-minute walk away from the Met? It was a delight to go.
We miss it, but we felt the treatment was shabby & that perhaps the Met thought we were bluffing when we said we wouldn't renew.
And we're still waiting for a response from Mr. Gelb's office. Maybe they misfiled our letter? Here's a hint to the Met: Dress Circle A6 & 8, Monday 5 series; look it up & I'm sure you'll find us in your sizable Lost Subscriber Archive. I suspect there are many others with similar experiences.
My family had the same seats for nearly 30 years, side Dress Circle row 1, starting when I was in college. For most of those years, to the left & right of us were 2 other couples whom we got to know well.
In the Spring of 09 we received our renewal notice with a huge 70% price increase. Turns out that 4 of the 6 seats from our informal group had been reclassified as premium. The Met made no attempt to inform us of the change & no effort to relocate us ... just that unexplained price jump. Four of us found it too expensive to retain our seats.
We wrote to Peter Gelb, hoping that someone in his office would contact us. Not a word. Finally, in July an unpaid intern cold-called us to renew.
For 3 decades we had attended 15 to 20 operas a year. In the 7 years since dropping our subscription, we've gone 8 times. Quite a lot of lost revenue for the Met, I'd say.
Should I point out that we live a 15-minute walk away from the Met? It was a delight to go.
We miss it, but we felt the treatment was shabby & that perhaps the Met thought we were bluffing when we said we wouldn't renew.
And we're still waiting for a response from Mr. Gelb's office. Maybe they misfiled our letter? Here's a hint to the Met: Dress Circle A6 & 8, Monday 5 series; look it up & I'm sure you'll find us in your sizable Lost Subscriber Archive. I suspect there are many others with similar experiences.
84
This explains a lot of their problem. If they are not sensitive to subscribers, they will lose their core audience and get into the problems they are seeing right now.
4
You're absolutely right. I was also ousted from my Dress Circle subscription seats several times as they became encompassed within the ever expanding "premium" sub-section, with a corresponding astronomical price increase. I also have never received any explanation for the changes other than a comment that it was engendered by "dynamic pricing," which I assume to be some manifestation of Gelb's marketing genius. Like you, I used to purchase a number of tickets each season in addition to my subscription.
Given the price increases and the constantly changing fee structures designed to squeeze every last dime out of subscribers, I now view dealing with the Met the way I view dealing with the airlines -- as an ordeal one simply has to endure in order to have a meaningful and enjoyable experience. I no longer purchase tickets in addition to my subscription and regard the institution with suspicion and hostility. Opera is very important to me, and it is therefore infuriating to read Gelb's moaning in the papers about a decline in attendance that his own policies precipitated.
Given the price increases and the constantly changing fee structures designed to squeeze every last dime out of subscribers, I now view dealing with the Met the way I view dealing with the airlines -- as an ordeal one simply has to endure in order to have a meaningful and enjoyable experience. I no longer purchase tickets in addition to my subscription and regard the institution with suspicion and hostility. Opera is very important to me, and it is therefore infuriating to read Gelb's moaning in the papers about a decline in attendance that his own policies precipitated.
1
In Europe since at least the renaissance and in the US since after the civil war the performing arts(opera, ballet, symphony) as well fine arts and museums were largely supported by the very wealthy. Regular folk got to sit in the cheap seats and went to museums on the free admission day, usually a weeknight. While the appeal of opera may be waning somewhat, no amount of "innovation" will substitute for substantial and regular injection of capital from the one per centers, which has declined since WW II.
4
I've subscribed to the Met since I moved to the city as a twenty-something 20 years ago, but I am at the point of giving up, so rare are the flashes of intelligence and emotion in most of the Met's productions. The problem, for me, is the very dull cadre of directors that Gelb uses over and over again: McVicar (rumor is he'll be directing not just one but two new productions in 17-18), Richard Eyre, Michael Grandage, Bart Sher . . . none of whom has directed a good production, let alone an emotionally and intellectually engaging one, at the Met. Why isn't Gelb engaging great directors like Robert Carsen much more frequently?
26
The power of an audience can never be underestimated. For years my husband and I would revel in the age span of the audiences at BAM events- it made whatever the performance- extra exciting.
This past year, I took my daughter to Lulu at the Met for close to $600 for two seats. Much as I would like to repeat the pleasure of that evening, the cost is too prohibitive.
Years of Glimmerglass when Paul Kellog was running it and NYC Opera was also
exciting evenings of opera: Mice and men, Lizzie Borden, Handel, - not all "great' but interesting, different and affordable.
The new proliferation of small opera companies must be a clue to possible changes- even at the venerable Met.
The rich children of the present wealthy donors are the next generation of givers and have to be enticed in some way.
This past year, I took my daughter to Lulu at the Met for close to $600 for two seats. Much as I would like to repeat the pleasure of that evening, the cost is too prohibitive.
Years of Glimmerglass when Paul Kellog was running it and NYC Opera was also
exciting evenings of opera: Mice and men, Lizzie Borden, Handel, - not all "great' but interesting, different and affordable.
The new proliferation of small opera companies must be a clue to possible changes- even at the venerable Met.
The rich children of the present wealthy donors are the next generation of givers and have to be enticed in some way.
8
What the Met really needs is to explore alternative subscription models. The League of American Orchestras published a study about it earlier this year as it relates to orchestras. Both opera companies and orchestras need to find a new business model that works, because the current one is broken. Perhaps the Met should have a general admission section of the theater and charge a monthly subscription for that. I would certainly pay $20 a month for one, and would both succeed in paying the Met more per season than I already do and attend more opera performances in general.
Additionally, I personally believe the Met should present more new music instead of of older works. It's such a let down and a turn off to see them performing the same pieces over and over again each season, even if the production is new. Who needs a new production of La Boheme when you could commission a new opera by someone like David T. Little?
Additionally, I personally believe the Met should present more new music instead of of older works. It's such a let down and a turn off to see them performing the same pieces over and over again each season, even if the production is new. Who needs a new production of La Boheme when you could commission a new opera by someone like David T. Little?
2
The recommendations of the League of American Orchestras (or to be more precise: the consultancy Oliver Wyman) are very dangerous. 10 years ago, The League ordered another study by Oliver Wyman and the effects of that study has been disastrous for e.g. NY Philharmonic but also far beyond the borders of the US. The problem is that Oliver Wyman studies buying patterns but (as outsiders to the performing arts) do not understand the business model of the industry.
What the Met probably needs is to fill seats in difficult-to-sell productions. When there are easy-to-sell productions, they probably do well and the capacity numbers from these productions keep up the average capacity for the season. The problem is most likely the more demanding productions (less known composers/ operas performed by less known artists and/ or less successful productions). These mostly keep down the attendance numbers. This is such a simple equation it is incredible most professionals or amateurs don't get it.
If you would introduce a monthly subscription or sell more flexible subscriptions without obligation to attend certain less-known (but probably very interesting) performances, this wouldn't help the Met at all.
The Met’s foundational problem is most likely that they have lost thousands of traditional subscribers to fixed performance subscriptions. Fix this and you will fix a lot of the problem.
What the Met probably needs is to fill seats in difficult-to-sell productions. When there are easy-to-sell productions, they probably do well and the capacity numbers from these productions keep up the average capacity for the season. The problem is most likely the more demanding productions (less known composers/ operas performed by less known artists and/ or less successful productions). These mostly keep down the attendance numbers. This is such a simple equation it is incredible most professionals or amateurs don't get it.
If you would introduce a monthly subscription or sell more flexible subscriptions without obligation to attend certain less-known (but probably very interesting) performances, this wouldn't help the Met at all.
The Met’s foundational problem is most likely that they have lost thousands of traditional subscribers to fixed performance subscriptions. Fix this and you will fix a lot of the problem.
1
The Met is a rigid, pretentious and exclusive enclave that does little to engage nor attract new and younger audiences.
An evening of scenes from various operas with distinguished or even young singers; dance, jazz, puppets, rock interpretations of opera scenes; dynamic staging and shortened productions; and the engagement of attractive and enthralling singers - as opposed to overweight, grizzled and effete singers who hearken to retrospective productions... all would be an improvement. For now, watch the Zefferelli films or head for a recital. The Met is a gasbag filled with one-percenters who wouldn't know an aria from an Amex card.
An evening of scenes from various operas with distinguished or even young singers; dance, jazz, puppets, rock interpretations of opera scenes; dynamic staging and shortened productions; and the engagement of attractive and enthralling singers - as opposed to overweight, grizzled and effete singers who hearken to retrospective productions... all would be an improvement. For now, watch the Zefferelli films or head for a recital. The Met is a gasbag filled with one-percenters who wouldn't know an aria from an Amex card.
2
There are some great ideas here!
I've been a Met subscriber for 40 years, but some changes are really necessary.
Sunday performances, absolutely! Discounts and programs for young adults and students. The audience is way too skewed towards seniors - and I'm one of them.
Make judicious cuts. In this day and age, nobody wants to sit through a five-hour epic like Tristan und Isolde, except a few die-hards.
James Levine made the Met what it is today, but his time is past. Don't forget that he was furiously opposed to titles - can you imagine what the audience would be down to today if people sat there without knowing a word of the opera?
The Grand Tier Restaurant is the pits. Too expensive for young people and students, or for anyone on a budget. Yes, encourage people to stick around. The current attitude of the ushers is to scream at people who dare spend an extra moment in the restroom or take a picture on the staircase. They are insufferable.
Earlier start times. I live in the suburbs, as do a large part of the public. If the opera ends at 11pm, then it's a trek to Grand Central or Port Authority, plus at least another two hours to wait for and take public transport. Home at 1am. It's just not doable.
I've been a Met subscriber for 40 years, but some changes are really necessary.
Sunday performances, absolutely! Discounts and programs for young adults and students. The audience is way too skewed towards seniors - and I'm one of them.
Make judicious cuts. In this day and age, nobody wants to sit through a five-hour epic like Tristan und Isolde, except a few die-hards.
James Levine made the Met what it is today, but his time is past. Don't forget that he was furiously opposed to titles - can you imagine what the audience would be down to today if people sat there without knowing a word of the opera?
The Grand Tier Restaurant is the pits. Too expensive for young people and students, or for anyone on a budget. Yes, encourage people to stick around. The current attitude of the ushers is to scream at people who dare spend an extra moment in the restroom or take a picture on the staircase. They are insufferable.
Earlier start times. I live in the suburbs, as do a large part of the public. If the opera ends at 11pm, then it's a trek to Grand Central or Port Authority, plus at least another two hours to wait for and take public transport. Home at 1am. It's just not doable.
16
About titles. The best titles do not distract you from what's on stage. Most don't pass that test. To read them you have to look elsewhere.
The only production I have seen and enjoyed, that really got it right, was La Boheme on Broadway. There the titles appeared at several different point in the set itself, so no matter where you were sitting you could see them.
If titles are important, and I think for anything not sung in the language of the audience they are, this might be something to try. I imagine the 'directors' would be horrified though.
I have attended opera in the US and UK performed in English, and at various places in Europe where the operas were first performed. The involvement of the audience was clear- I can't imagine a Met audience laughing at the jokes or comedy in the libretto, but these audiences did. Imagine that!
The only production I have seen and enjoyed, that really got it right, was La Boheme on Broadway. There the titles appeared at several different point in the set itself, so no matter where you were sitting you could see them.
If titles are important, and I think for anything not sung in the language of the audience they are, this might be something to try. I imagine the 'directors' would be horrified though.
I have attended opera in the US and UK performed in English, and at various places in Europe where the operas were first performed. The involvement of the audience was clear- I can't imagine a Met audience laughing at the jokes or comedy in the libretto, but these audiences did. Imagine that!
"Make judicious cuts. In this day and age, nobody wants to sit through a five-hour epic like Tristan und Isolde, except a few die-hards."
Nonsense. Just total nonsense. Tristan und Isolde is sublime, monumental and towering. If you'd care to do some studying and would be willing and put in some effort - perhaps on your train ride from the suburbs - you'd find that the five hours are totally irrelevant. This opera transcends time in its beauty, majesty and grandeur.
Nonsense. Just total nonsense. Tristan und Isolde is sublime, monumental and towering. If you'd care to do some studying and would be willing and put in some effort - perhaps on your train ride from the suburbs - you'd find that the five hours are totally irrelevant. This opera transcends time in its beauty, majesty and grandeur.
1
Agreed on Grand Tier Restaurant - daunting, expensive, exclusive, everything that the Met should be trying to shed.
Open the space, allow opera-goers to buy drink chits with their ticket to speed lines, maybe a chit for one pass through a buffet line with cocktail nibbles, or a desert chit. Fast, high volume, mostly self serve, but good food is essential. The food concession at Theater for a New Audience comes up with decently priced, good food that I look forward to, or even dash over from BAM to sample.
Open the space, allow opera-goers to buy drink chits with their ticket to speed lines, maybe a chit for one pass through a buffet line with cocktail nibbles, or a desert chit. Fast, high volume, mostly self serve, but good food is essential. The food concession at Theater for a New Audience comes up with decently priced, good food that I look forward to, or even dash over from BAM to sample.
I always joke that I've been going to the Met for 30 years and I'm still among the youngest there. I'm 46! We need more young patrons. How about transform the Grand Tier Restaurant into an opera cafe with live streaming. Young patrons could enjoy a drink and a bite while enjoying the broadcast in a relaxed atmosphere. Experienced opera goers (volunteers) could serve as ambassadors and peer educators. This could help educate and transform a generation into regular patrons.
7
These are all good ideas worth exploring. I'd be particularly interested in offerings with reimagined stagings. Not necessarily "modern" in the most perjorative sense, but completely redesigned from the ground up and jettisoning the "stodgier" aspects. Of course there will always be a place for traditional presentations, but opera can benefit from new insights as can any art form.
Bring in a new audience with some back-to-basics; hand-holding is needed.
- Use short videos on the Met web site to introduce the main performers and their careers so that we have real personalities to link to the performance.
- Use short videos instead of a written synopsis (who reads anymore?) to explain and describe each scene; opera doesn't care about spoiler alerts; we just want to understand what we will be seeing on stage.
- Use short videos to present the history of the composer and the work. Assume that the viewer knows nothing about opera.
- A tip sheet for first-timers. Is wearing a tuxedo a requirement? Don't laugh, for newbies an opera is a cross between a trip to the dentist and an audience with the Pope.
Personally, I would love to see an opera but I'm much too intimidated and besides I don't own a tuxedo.
- Use short videos on the Met web site to introduce the main performers and their careers so that we have real personalities to link to the performance.
- Use short videos instead of a written synopsis (who reads anymore?) to explain and describe each scene; opera doesn't care about spoiler alerts; we just want to understand what we will be seeing on stage.
- Use short videos to present the history of the composer and the work. Assume that the viewer knows nothing about opera.
- A tip sheet for first-timers. Is wearing a tuxedo a requirement? Don't laugh, for newbies an opera is a cross between a trip to the dentist and an audience with the Pope.
Personally, I would love to see an opera but I'm much too intimidated and besides I don't own a tuxedo.
9
We saw Il Trovatore in February in jeans and nobody looked askance at us. Oh yeah, the tickets were 480.00 on row U.
1
No tuxedo required. Or suit. Or tie.
Love classical music performed live in real space. Opera is like nails on a blackboard, only adding to our stress levels with its grating crasendos. No surprise less people are drawn to it. Not a beautiful or peaceful experience to endure an opera performance. It's time has past in today's high stress world in which we live.
Your grammar and spelling are as poor as your understanding of opera.
1
What an excellent list of ideas. One more I'd like to add, let school children experience opera in their own time and learn about the ins and outs of staging such beautiful and impeccable performances. New Yorkers love to expose their children to culturally rich experiences and would give the Metropolitan Opera the next generation of devoted followers.
10
While I am not an avid opera fan, I appreciate the local Santa Fe Opera occasionally. There are many good ideas in this article to make performances more available and less stuffy for younger audiences. What's really needed is a better bunch of opera-goers who can be so off-putting.
When the Met was doing theater broadcasts, I attended one here. At the end, many in the audience stood and applauded at the screen!!! Obviously the performers could not hear the applause, so what was the point? After a little thought I realized that those people were actually performing for their peers--what a bizarre moment. Such weirdness could easily turn off a new opera fan forever.
In addition, the local opera guild members had corralled all the main-floor seats, so those of us with mobility problems had to climb stairs (no elevator) to the balcony. Another example of complete thoughtlessness by the opera establishment.
When the Met was doing theater broadcasts, I attended one here. At the end, many in the audience stood and applauded at the screen!!! Obviously the performers could not hear the applause, so what was the point? After a little thought I realized that those people were actually performing for their peers--what a bizarre moment. Such weirdness could easily turn off a new opera fan forever.
In addition, the local opera guild members had corralled all the main-floor seats, so those of us with mobility problems had to climb stairs (no elevator) to the balcony. Another example of complete thoughtlessness by the opera establishment.
When everyone I know saw the movie "Dreamgirls," everyone burst into applause after Jennifer Hudson sang "And I Am Telling You." They weren't being pretentious or preening. They were spontaneously showing their enthusiasm for a fabulous performance.
1
As a high school opera fan and frequent Met attendee (posting from my dad's account), I could not be more happy to hear someone saying these things. Almost every single thing recommended is something that I think would increase appeal to my generation.
Rebuilding cultural interest around opera is going to take decades. It requires opera to regain a celebrity it had in the 20th century: big stars (hence the artist in residence idea), lots of buzz, and loads of glamour balanced with accessibility of the art form. People (especially young adults) need to feel like they are partaking in the epitome of "in" high culture without breaking the bank when they attend the opera. These ideas would be a welcome start.
Rebuilding cultural interest around opera is going to take decades. It requires opera to regain a celebrity it had in the 20th century: big stars (hence the artist in residence idea), lots of buzz, and loads of glamour balanced with accessibility of the art form. People (especially young adults) need to feel like they are partaking in the epitome of "in" high culture without breaking the bank when they attend the opera. These ideas would be a welcome start.
19
I developed my love for opera when my eighth-grade class attended a special afternoon performance, exclusively for students, of Tosca, with a good but not superstar cast (people like Curtis-Verna, Rigal, Gari, Carelli, Hayward, Cassel, Valentino, and Singher). This was in the 1950s, and the student program has long since been suspended for financial reasons. Is there any way to fund a return?
Also, why must we assume that new audiences like barren, minimal, concept-heavy productions instead of being introduced and immersed into a different world, namely through more traditional settings and stagings?
Finally, in the search to discover recent operas to entice larger audiences, don't forget some time-tested musical masterpieces that have never been performed at the Met, but have been successful everywhere else. I'd start my list with Douglas Moore's American classic, The Ballad of Baby Doe, a sure-fire crowd pleaser. I welcome other suggestions of neglected, but popular and splendid operas.
Also, why must we assume that new audiences like barren, minimal, concept-heavy productions instead of being introduced and immersed into a different world, namely through more traditional settings and stagings?
Finally, in the search to discover recent operas to entice larger audiences, don't forget some time-tested musical masterpieces that have never been performed at the Met, but have been successful everywhere else. I'd start my list with Douglas Moore's American classic, The Ballad of Baby Doe, a sure-fire crowd pleaser. I welcome other suggestions of neglected, but popular and splendid operas.
18
I think opera needs to be introduced in the schools, even for young students. As a teacher, I would do the opera, Peter Grimes, with my students. They loved it. Not only are they introduced to exciting and different music but there are so many teachable moments about social justice, mob mentality, isolation, etc. that can be elucidated in ways that are very powerful to students.
21
My introduction to the Met was the free summer film festivals on the plaza. But it wasn't until I stepped inside that magnificent building -- as someone's guest at a special Barbara Cook concert -- that I was successfully seduced into buying tickets. So I suggest having daily matinees of HD opera films in the grand theater itself. Charge $20 and turn the place into a tourist attraction during off hours. Once someone enters that compelling space, they will be compelled to buy a ticket.
26
This is a fabulous suggestion and an idea that could definitely create activity at the Met, during the day...great for retirees, tourists, school classes! PLEASE DO IT!