\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to be working in ballet or opera where it\u2019s like, \u2018Hey! Keep this thing alive\u2019, even though no one cares about this anymore\u201d. <\/em>– Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Let us pause for a moment because Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet’s <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a> is quite odd. There he was, sitting across from <\/span>Matthew McConaughey<\/span><\/a> at the <\/span>University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication<\/span><\/a> on 21 February, casually introducing this thought into the conversation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The context and his body language are important. The way he <\/span>delivered the sentence<\/span><\/a> made it easy for some listeners to interpret it as dismissive, even though it may not have been intended as a direct judgment. It came with a smirk and could be perceived as being elitist. This led me, as an average viewer, to interpret his statement as: \u2018<\/span>I’ve been in this circle my whole life, and yet I disapprove of it\u2019.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
So how is this even possible? Contrary to what he is suggesting, <\/span>Chalamet\u2019s family<\/span><\/a> is full of ballet dancers: his grandmother, mother, and sister all danced with the New York City Ballet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Furthermore, his mother, Nicole Flender, studied dance at <\/span>LaGuardia<\/span><\/a>, danced with the company, and performed in Broadway musicals such as <\/span>Fiddler on the Roof.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
Chalamet himself grew up in <\/span>Manhattan Plaza<\/span><\/a>, the same building that housed <\/span>Tennessee Williams<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Alicia Keys<\/span><\/a>. He has described himself as “<\/span>a Venn diagram of the best cultural influences of the 21st and 20th centuries\u201d.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Technically speaking, Chalamet, as an \u2018insider\u2019 of this <\/span>elite culture<\/span><\/a>, is dismissing the very foundations into which he was raised.<\/span><\/p>\n
What makes this particularly strange is that Chalamet is well aware of the ins and outs of how ballet and opera impact specific communities. He grew up backstage at the <\/span>Koch Theater,<\/span><\/a> surrounded by dancers and musicians.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
More than anyone else, he knows how much dedication and sacrifice these artists must endure. Yet, he chose to say that these art forms are irrelevant. But is he wrong? That is where it becomes complicated.<\/span><\/p>\n
Turning to the historical evidence, opera was not always seen as the elite choice. According to John<\/span> Storey’s<\/span><\/a> chapter “Expecting Rain: Opera as Popular Culture?” The first opera house opened in Venice in 1637 as a form of commercial entertainment for anyone who could afford a ticket. The audience at the Venetian opera house was a mix of all social classes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
By the nineteenth century, arias from Lucretia Borgia and Don Giovanni were <\/span>“everywhere popular.”<\/span><\/i> Their tunes could be heard in drawing rooms and concert halls, as well as whistled by street boys.<\/span><\/p>\n
So, what changed? Between 1825 and 1850, elite social groups in New York developed strategies to separate opera from everyday entertainment, according to Storey’s research. They established dedicated buildings, enforced dress codes, and insisted that only foreign-language opera could meet their standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
The Metropolitan Opera’s opening night in 1883 saw boxes occupied by people whose combined wealth was estimated at $540 million. <\/span>Vogue<\/span><\/a> observed that the house <\/span>“was avowedly built for social purposes rather than artistic.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
The economic data only reinforces this picture. Ruth Towse states in <\/span>A Handbook of Cultural Economics<\/span><\/a> that opera receives most of the government funding even though it’s the least popular.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
To understand why these patterns persist today, it is worth noting the financial realities of one of the world\u2019s leading institutions. The Royal Ballet and Opera offer a clear look at the current economic situation of these institutions. According to a <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> published by Arts Professional in June 2024, the organisation’s total income increased by almost a third to over \u00a3170 million in the year ending August 2023. Box office receipts accounted for just 31% of the total, having increased from \u00a339.6 million to \u00a352.6 million.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Arts Council England grant represented only 15% of the unrestricted income, amounting to \u00a323.6 million. What is surprising is that even though the institution achieved 96% of its seats sold, the theatre still had to deal with a 20% cut to its public funding, on top of rising utility costs and the urgent need for at least \u00a350 million in improvements over the next three years just to keep the building running. These show that the financial model for opera and ballet remains, even at the highest level.<\/span><\/p>\n
Turning to a broader international picture, the situation is quite similar. A <\/span>market report<\/span><\/a> published in February 2026 valued the international dance and ballet performance market at approximately USD 1.55 billion in 2023. The report also projected that the market would grow to over USD 1.9 billion by 2032. Europe currently holds around 40% of the global ticket volume, while North America accounts to roughly 35%.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
It’s interesting to note that more institutions and companies are using digital and hybrid models. For example, 60% of ballet companies now offer livestreamed performances. In the United States, the New York City Ballet’s “30 for 30” programme is a great example of a youth-focused initiative. It sold 17,000 discounted tickets in just one season, contributing to a rise in under 50 attendances from 41% in 2018 to 53% in 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
These trends suggest that while the traditional economic foundations of opera and ballet are under strain, there is genuine momentum behind efforts to diversify audiences and adapt to changing consumer habits.<\/span><\/p>\n
The picture in the United States reinforces these concerns, as according to <\/span>Shivlock<\/span><\/a>, ticket sales at San Francisco Opera now cover only 16% of revenue. This represents a linear decline from 60% in the 1960s.<\/span><\/p>\n
Building on this, a study by <\/span>the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego<\/span><\/a> found that education and social connections are more important than income in determining who goes to opera and ballet. Even if people can afford a ticket, they might not feel comfortable that they belong there.<\/span><\/p>\n
Similarly, <\/span>Lucy Martin<\/span><\/a> made a strong claim that ballet has “<\/span>real problematic associations with elitism and classism.”<\/span><\/i> Attending the ballet or opera has traditionally been a practice associated with elites, and this reputation has proven difficult to change overnight.<\/span><\/p>\n
And yet, here is something that needs reflecting on. Chalamet is not some working-class hero exposing hypocrisy. He is the product of that very elitism, and now, suddenly, he has decided to ignore that part of himself.<\/span><\/p>\n
This raises a very important question about the role of the class in this article. What does it mean when someone with such a strong cultural background says that these art forms are no longer part of mainstream culture? And who exactly is the “mainstream” he’s referring to?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Opera and ballet are still seen as cultural symbols and markers of social status, but they’re not as popular as they used to be. This shows that there are questions about whether these spaces are open to everyone, whether people feel like they belong, and whether these spaces have always been only for the elites. Chalamet says these forms are not important, but he is from the same world that made these forms important.<\/span><\/p>\n
On 10th of March 2026, <\/span>Chris Murphy wrote<\/span><\/a>, defending Chalamet in blunt terms: <\/span>“Was anything Chalamet said wrong? Not at all.”<\/span><\/i> Murphy pointed out that these art forms are mostly supported by wealthy patrons and donors rather than by the general public.<\/span><\/p>\n
This much is true. However, Chalamet could have made this point more subtly, acknowledging his own background and showing some respect for the artists working in these forms instead of dismissing them. Instead, the way he delivered his remarks made it easy for some to perceive a tone of superiority, as though he has always had it all and was simply bored by the world that raised him.<\/span><\/p>\n
That said, here is where I will offer a counterargument. Let us set aside his background and the way he expressed his thoughts for a moment. We must ask ourselves whether we would prefer an uncomfortable truth spoken in a less-than-elegant way or a comfortable falsehood delivered with elegance.<\/span><\/p>\n
Chalamet’s views often reflect what high-art culture believes the public thinks about opera and ballet. If you were to ask people on the street if they knew four operas or ballets, many probably would not know what you were talking about, as Murphy noted in Vanity Fair.<\/span><\/p>\n
Furthermore, The New York Times dance critic Gia Kourlas <\/span>defended him too<\/span><\/a>, writing that his point <\/span>“wasn’t that ballet and opera don’t matter, but that it isn’t really part of mainstream culture.”<\/span><\/i> She is right. The value of ballet and opera, and people’s perception of that value, are two different things.<\/span><\/p>\n
Do not forget that the ballet and opera worlds were quite defensive about his comments. So much so, that <\/span>The Seattle Opera<\/span><\/a> started a discount code called “TIMOTHEE\u201d<\/em>. In Italy, La Scala in Milan shared a video message saying, “someone cares,”<\/em> and inviting audiences to experience opera for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n
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