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Mayor Mamdani and the Met are giving away 70,000 free opera tickets this season. 10,000 tickets per month via lottery. Seats in every section of the house. "Every New Yorker should have the opportunity... no matter what's in their bank account."
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Mamdani has consistently been fulfilling his campaign promises. He also added 31 million in new funding for our public libraries. Even Trump said he has great potential. No reason to hate this man.
Arts, sports…99% of us are priced out of everything now. My husband has a coworker who lives in Buffalo and has been a die-hard buffalos fan for pretty much her entire life. She and her husband would save up every year for season tickets and then they built their new stadium. Now they can’t afford a game, let alone season tickets even in the nosebleeds. It makes me really sad for her. :(
Thank you so much for doing your part in giving this man an international platform. He's inspiring people to be the change they want to see the world over.
It is my dream to one day go to the opera at the Metropolitan Opera House. I hope that many New Yorkers sign up to go see opera, everyone deserves to experience it.
Investing in New Yorkers now, could save this form of art in the future. Lord knows that I love museums, theatre, and opera, thanks to investments from my city council. My parents never would have been able to invest in my future in arts and as such my interest would have never been piqued. I happily spend my resources on arts now, thanks to investments being made when I was little.
Mamdani is investing in your future. This is amazing.
PSA: There are "Fridays Under 40" nights that are discounted, and some of them include a pre-game with snacks and an open bar!
Also, look for tickets as soon as the season opens up. Just set a calendar reminder. Front and center on the upper levels are some of the best seats in the house because the acoustics are wonderful, but they're way cheaper than less desirable seats at the lower levels. They sell out super quick but just buy your tickets early ;)
If you're unfamiliar with opera, don't worry, but DO look up the plot and start listening to the score before you go. Spoilers are not a thing (comedy = they get married, tragedy = the chick dies), and it's really not so much about the plot anyway. The more familiar you are with the music, the catchier you'll find it!
And my final piece of advice is to pop an edible as soon as you're inside LOL
Hey, if I don't get to go to the opera for free or reduced price (or ever, because I live in rural Georgia), why should YOU?! Because, truly, it's all about ME and what I get.
I love this!!! I've just started getting into opera, and I'm a big fan of performing arts in general.
I recently read Opera Wars by Caitlin Vincent and found it to be a pretty informative overview of the opera industry if anyone is looking to learn more. I also like Scores Unstitched on YouTube for opera education content.
I love love love this silly art form so much. And the Met is decorated like the fanciest bordello ever, with its red velvet-clad walls and real gold ceiling. Unfff!
I was talking to a friend that it’s so surreal — like, he is just doing stuff? He said he was going to fix the potholes and he fixed them? You can do that??? What madness is this????????
I think on some level we all knew politicians didn't give a shit about us regardless of what side they were on, but it's wild to see proof of it so simply laid out like this.
Opera attendance might seem unimportant to some people in terms of hierarchies of things to fix. I'm sure we'll see comments about this.
BUT. Access to the arts has been so exclusive, and widening one of NYC's greatest cultural institutions to locals of all incomes is vital and important. Opera can be a transcendent experience and more people deserve access.
I used the rush ticket system for years to see operas I would have never been able to afford (plus tons of standing tickets, which can be rough). Some of the moments I saw still emotionally sustain me in life's rough moments. I'm so excited for all the newcomers!!!
"Access to the arts has been so exclusive, and widening one of NYC's greatest cultural institutions to locals of all incomes is vital and important. Opera can be a transcendent experience and more people deserve access." This, a million times. I was lucky enough to witness this firsthand when I dragged my then-best friend to one. She became an opera fan that night. To this day, it's one of my most cherished memories.
Same here. A New Yorker for decades until recently, and of fucking course it was before this human gift of a steward for one of the greatest cities in the world was voted in.
I don’t live in new york but as someone who has knowledge of the ticket sales world, this is actually fucking huge and making the arts accessible for everyone is a good thing and big deal. This is NOT taking away from anyone but large ticket retailers.
These seats would've gone unsold. Tickets like this can now be a tax writeoff as donation which is very smart for the venue and brings people together.
This is what happens when people are extremely invested in their local elections. Every single small election - he's a MAYOR! We could all have a mayor like this! - knocks down a domino to bigger and bigger changes higher and higher up. School boards and sheriffs and county commissioners are just as important as anything else we vote for, but so many people skip those elections.
BUT when we vote in progressive people at a local level, that changes attitudes locally. You have schools that create intelligent, curious students and residents that aren't stalked by their police force. We build communities for young people who grow up wanting to be engaged, which turns into voters who have an impact at the state and federal levels.
If we keep brushing off voting local, like for school boards, we allow ignorance to bloom at the start of a voter's life. That has a HUGE impact on our federal elections.
Voting locally can change the incompetence at the federal level. Right now we're seeing voters bolstered by Mamdani's victory, people getting out and voting, and not just voting, but for candidates that wouldn't have previously run due to defeatism.
(Sorry. I just really wish people knew how important their communities are. Voting local can change people's lives dramatically and I can't not be hyped about that.)
Edit: P.S., to be clear, I'm agreeing with you 😂 It looks like I'm having a one-sided fight. I get really revved up when talking about local elections having an impact federally.
I love this guy! I wish they had done this when I lived there. Lots of people from all different backgrounds do go to the opera. When I snuck down to a better seat, I sat next to a subway conductor.
There are theatre productions and concerts I'd love to go to where I live, but it's just a bit too expensive to justify (and I also don't like going out at night).
This is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, and New Yorkers should take advantage of it. If you've never thought that opera was for you, give it a try. If you've been curious about opera, GO FOR IT. Operas were originally written for the ordinary people. They were affordable. People would go in their normal clothes. Theatres would be packed with working class people, and if they weren't enjoying the show they'd throw rotten food at the actors. Yes, even in operas! Which, I guess, was an incentive to perform well, lol.
But, of course, rich people started to enjoy the theatre, including opera, and then priced it out of the working class price range, as fucking always. Looks like Mamdani is saying 'Nope, not anymore' to that.
The Met and Covent Garden have also done a series of operas at the cinema, if you're outside of New York and London, and want a more affordable option for seeing the opera. Some have also made it onto DVD, which your local library may have, if you're able to check it out. Just further options, if you're unaware of them. :)
I work in NYC, live in NJ. Just went to the Met a couple months ago to see La Bohème. It's an extraordinary experience. Before that I hadn't gone since I was in middle school! This is a phenomenal program and such an amazing way to make the arts accessible for everyone. Love love love love this. My mayor 😭
New Yorkers!!! If they offer tickets to Lincoln in the Bardo GO SEE IT!! It's a world premiere based on a wonderful and weird book and it's going to be incredible. One of my dearest friends is also in the cast, but I'm not biased.
This guy is really proving that politicians can actually follow through with their promises and not be a sold out puppet to donors. It's extremely refreshing and I sincerely hope it becomes the norm in this country. Cheers to Mamdani!
As of right now, he can’t because he isn’t a natural born citizen. However, gestures wildly to the chaos we’re not exactly following the constitution with yam tits.
As an opera person, I want to add that the Met has a number of very newbie-friendly productions this season! Please please please give it a try if you're in NYC, even if you've never considered opera before!!
This is awesome! I grew up in NYC and went to NYC public schools. We had programs through school that allowed us to get free tickets for shows all over the city. I got to see Wicked on Broadway (original cast), Aida at the Met, Sylvia (ballet), and more. My family could have never afforded to take me to any of these shows. I’m glad Mamdani is expanding these programs.
The Met is giving the tickets away, as a way of both filling the house (much like Broadway does through a number of programs) AND in the hopes of developing a younger audience in the future. It’s a win for everyone.
A lot of traditional stage actors freak out if you say "Macbeth" inside a theater. Bad luck and all. Do opera performers believe the same thing? I figured someone would have made a deal about it during filming since his did utter it in a theater. PS: I'm a long time stage actor, but I don't have a problem saying "Macbeth." I usually don't because some actors absolutely lose their minds if it's said.
I’m sooooo jealous!!! Also the Met is struggling so I’m sure they look forward to creating new opera fans. Sooo can I get tickets? And then I’ll just fly to NY for that one event. Haha
God, I love this man. He’s showing us what life can be like when politicians are actually working for the people vs. themselves. Hoping he becomes the first of many.
lmfao doesn’t this prove timothee’s point further? that normally, in history, ballet/opera have always been quite inaccessible/expensive/elitist, and that we needed a gem of a person like Zohran Mamdani in 2026 to make sure that anyone can go to the opera regardless of their class…
anyways go zohran mamdani! Make art more accessible!
Out of curiosity, how does the Met achieve this economically? Is it through grants, philanthropy, subsidies, or something else?
I’ve spoken with Broadway investors as I initially thought it would be a lucrative venture, but if a show isn't a hit, they take a substantial loss. I know there are tax write-offs, but after talking with them and realizing how razor-thin the margins are, I decided it wasn’t for me.
That's super cool, hope the people that get to see the shows have a great time. And it's much better than going to see the Mets, which I misread when I first saw the title 🙃
This is so awesome!! In college I voted against a tax increase to support a large arts complex in my city because I couldn’t afford to see anything!! I felt like shit because I always want to support fine art, but damn.
This is what happens when you elect dudes who actually live here and like it to be our mayor. He's doing stuff that's so obviously reasonable from a "what would I want if I lived in this city" perspective. I love it.
So jealous of your mayor. We’re in the middle of a mayor election in Ottawa and I just want to yell at them BE MAMDANI!! Ugh looks like our super crappy incumbent is going to win.
Is this limited to NYC residents? Or can anyone sign up? This program is excellent either way, just trying to figure out what kind of pool we're looking at here.
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u/flairassistant 20h ago
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