The Metropolitan Opera gets with the zeitgeist!

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Low earners and students pay more: Good news! Going to the opera in Gotham just got that much cheaper!

Plainly, the Metropolitan Opera was a bargain before—but from now on, the bargain is bigger. Daniel Wakin reports the good news in today’s New York Times:
WAKIN (2/27/13): Attendance is down this season at the Metropolitan Opera, and officials there acknowledge that the fault is their own. They made going to the opera too expensive.

So in a rarity in the rarefied world of the performing arts, the Met said it would reduce ticket prices next season. The average cost of admission will drop by 10 percent, or to $156 from $174, Peter Gelb, the general manager, said in a recent interview.
They're practically giving Otello away! Average price: $156. Truly, you can’t beat that!

Having said that, let us also say this: In keeping with the societal zeitgeist, everyone will be paying less—except college students and low earners. In keeping with the society's drift, these folk will now pay more:
WAKIN (continuing directly): The lower ticket prices will come in a 2013-14 season that includes the return of the music director James Levine to the pit after a two-year absence; an unusual appearance by a female conductor, Jane Glover; and, surprisingly, the first time Anna Netrebko, the Russian diva, will tackle one of the most famous Russian roles at the Met.

Experiencing those moments will still not be cheap, but the new ticket pricing will ease sticker shock. For example, an orchestra aisle seat that is $360 this season will be $330, and a grand tier box seat will go to $180 from $195. In all, more than 2,000 seats for each performance will cost less, the Met said. One exception will be the $20 seats in the rear of the family circle, which will rise by $5.
Thousands of people will be paying less. Example: If you buy an orchestra aisle seat, your price will be cut by thirty bucks, all the way down to $330.

As usual, though, there is one exception: If you buy the cheapest seats, you will have to pay more! Seats in the rear of the Family Circle will rise by 25 percent.

(The Family Circle is the level above the Balcony. The seats in question are the seats in the rear of this oddly-named section. To confirm these facts, just click here.)

With this move, the Metropolitan Opera moves fully into the present day. The wealthiest patrons will get to pay less.

Students, also known as “the takers,” will be asked to kick in a bit more.

46 comments:

  1. Supply/demand? Could it be that the "cheap seats" always sold out, and the more expensive seats were empty?

    Think of it this way. Suppose you sold bananas and apples. You always sold out of bananas but apples were moving slow. Isn't it time to raise the price of bananas and have a sale on apples?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry, Bob. But I read your link and I could find nothing about the Met doing anything to its special "Student" program, or its "Rush" program, which the story claims will remain the same, as well as the free dress rehearsal performances.

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  4. Poor people don't need classical music.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes, poor people DO need classical music. But this is the Met we are talking about. The absolute top of a very demanding and tough profession that people pour years of blood, sweat and tears into.

    That they offer a $25 seat is absolutely remarkable.

    But you know what? It's not the only source of classical music in New York City. There are lots of venues, including Julliard, that offer first-rate performances, some of them academic and free, or very inexpensive.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bob is looking at it from the POV of the poor students, which is valid. However, look at it from the POV of the Met. They need their ticket income to pay all their expenses. They were losing money because of the unsold expensive seats. By cutting the price, they'll fill the seats, but at less income to them. From their POV, it will already be difficult to live within the reduced income. They won't want to reduce their income still farther by cutting the price of the cheap seats.

    BTW lots of movie theatres broadcast live Metropolitan Opera performances at an affordable price. In some ways, the movie is a better quality for the viewer than the live performance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I disagree with your last point. The best seat to watch a simulcast on screen is worse than the worst seat at a live performance. There is no comparison, but I do agree it is one way to experience the Met at lower cost, and even if it is inferior, it is well worth it.

      Let us also note that the Met's "student discount" program is not affected by their new "family circle" pricing plan. The Met has long offered deep discounts for reserved seats to registered students, and those tickets are $25 and $35 this year. And all you have to do is register for the program in advance by showing a valid student ID.

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  7. Those now-$25 seats are not bad btw.

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  9. I called the Met to verify the ticket prices because it did seem pretty outrageous that they would drop the prices paid by hedge fund managers and raised the cost of the cheapest tickets that normal people can afford. The person with whom I spoke denied that any of this was correct. When I asked my question the Met rep immediately asked where I read this and then mentioned an article in the NY Times, saying that information was not true. Maybe this person didn't know what she was talking about, but she seemed very certain and seemed to have answered this question before. Mr. Somerby may want to double check this.

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  10. Hmm, well the article still hasn't been corrected, if it contains inaccurate info.

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