Opera's Chalamet Clapback Missed The Point

The Metropolitan Opera tagged Timothée Chalamet in a clapback video after he said nobody cares about opera. That same Met Opera has pulled $120 million from its endowment since the pandemic and just signed a deal to send its company to Saudi Arabia every winter to stay solvent.

Chalamet's grandmother danced with the New York City Ballet. His mother danced with NYCB and on Broadway. His sister trained at the School of American Ballet for nine years until a biking accident ended her career.

He grew up backstage at the Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.

A kid who grew up inside this art form described what the numbers already show.

Ballet attendance has dropped 52% since 1982 (a decline that predates the internet). Half of America's 150 ballet companies ran deficits in 2023. Only 1% of American adults attended an opera.

Even Gia Kourlas, the New York Times' dance critic, defended his point.

Millions of people who have never bought a ticket decided he was attacking their values.

Because ballet and opera work like Patagonia jackets or Moleskine notebooks; you don't have to use them for them to be load-bearing in your identity. Saying "nobody cares about opera" doesn't threaten opera. It threatens the self-image of someone who believes they're the kind of person who cares about opera.

The clip sat online for two weeks without incident. Then it resurfaced right as Oscar voting closed. Marty Supreme had nine nominations. It won zero.

Doja Cat was one of the loudest voices. Then she posted a follow-up admitting she'd never seen a ballet or an opera in her life. She called it what it was: "a modern way to garner clicks, likes, approval."

Then she said: "I think I just wanted a hug."

The ballet companies, meanwhile, still need to sell tickets.

Видео Opera's Chalamet Clapback Missed The Point канала Sam's POV