Chalamet's Comments Spark Unexpected Boost for Royal Ballet and Opera
The head of the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO), Alex Beard, has publicly expressed gratitude to Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet for increasing ticket sales at the London institution following the actor's contentious remarks about ballet and opera earlier this year.
Speaking to The Times, Beard described the public response to Chalamet's statement, in which he claimed that "no-one cares" about ballet or opera anymore, as "fantastic."
"I thought it important that we didn't issue a kind of hoity-toity response to Chalamet," Beard said.
"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's Controversial Remarks and Industry Reaction
Oscar-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet provoked a backlash within the performing arts community after seemingly dismissing ballet and opera during a conversation with Matthew McConaughey at the University of Texas in February. The discussion focused on efforts to preserve cinema.
"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,'" Chalamet stated.
He quickly added, seemingly aware of the potential impact of his words,
"All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there."
His comments drew criticism from stage performers, opera houses, and ballet companies. However, some organizations viewed the remarks as an opportunity for promotion.
The Seattle Opera, for example, leveraged Chalamet's statement as a marketing tool by launching a special promotion for an upcoming performance of Carmen. On Instagram, the company encouraged ticket buyers to use the promo code "TIMOTHEE" to receive a discount on select tickets during the weekend.
"Timmy, you're welcome to use it too," the opera house added.
Royal Ballet and Opera's Dynamic Pricing Strategy
In a comprehensive interview with The Times coinciding with the launch of his 14th season at Covent Garden, Alex Beard also addressed the RBO's recent announcement regarding dynamic pricing.
"What we do is not full-on dynamic pricing," Beard explained.
"We don't change prices at all during the priority-booking period or 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."
He further noted that adjusting the top ticket prices could help maintain lower prices for other seats.
"Tweaking the top price" could "keep the lower prices down," he added.
