The head of the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) has expressed gratitude towards Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet for significantly enhancing ticket sales at the London institution following his contentious comments regarding ballet and opera.
Alex Beard shared insights with a publication, noting that Chalamet’s earlier statement this year, which suggested that „no one cares“ about ballet or opera anymore, resulted in a remarkably positive public response.
„I thought it important that we didn’t issue a kind of hoity-toity response to Chalamet,“ Beard remarked.
He continued, „We simply said, ‘Take a look at what we’re doing, mate’—for instance, the fact that the largest portion of our audience by age is 20 to 30-year-olds.
„And you know what? Our post got two-and-a-half million engagements and half a million shares, just on Instagram. And our ticket sales got an immediate boost. So cheers, Timmy!“
Chalamet, who has received an Oscar nomination, faced backlash from the performing arts community after seemingly downplaying the significance of these art forms.
During a discussion with Matthew McConaughey at the University of Texas in February, he expressed his reluctance to engage in ballet or opera, stating, „I don’t want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore.’“ He quickly added, „All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there,“ acknowledging the potential misinterpretation of his comments.
His remarks sparked criticism from various stage performers, opera houses, and ballet companies; however, some entities viewed his comments as a marketing opportunity.
The Seattle Opera capitalized on Chalamet’s statements by launching a promotional campaign for an upcoming performance of Carmen. They encouraged ticket buyers to utilize the promo code „TIMOTHEE“ for discounts on select tickets that weekend, adding, „Timmy, you’re welcome to use it too.“
Royal Ballet and Opera’s Dynamic Pricing Strategy
In a comprehensive interview with a publication, Beard also defended the RBO’s recent announcement regarding dynamic pricing.
„What we do is not full-on dynamic pricing,“ Beard explained.
He clarified, „We don’t change prices at all during the priority-booking period or the first couple of weeks of public booking. All the lower price bands are constant. And there’s a cap on what top-price tickets can rise to. It’s a long way from what you might call the full Oasis experience.“
Beard concluded that „tweaking the top price“ could help maintain lower prices for audiences.
- Ballet
- Opera
- Classical music
- The Royal Ballet
- Music
Bildquelle: Bildquelle: Mika Baumeister auf Unsplash
