Met Opera in New York sold 72% of tickets this season, up from 66% and highest since pandemic
The Metropolitan Opera sold 72% of available tickets this season, up from 66% in 2022-23
NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera sold 72% of its available tickets this season, up from 66% in 2022-23 and up 61% from its first season following the pandemic.
Box office remained down from 75% in 2018-19 and a projected 76% for 2019-20 before the mid-March shutdown caused by the COVID pandemic, the company said Thursday.
“We’re on a good path in terms of our ticket sales and most impressive is the fact that the audience is remarkably younger,” Met general manager Peter Gelb said.
Factoring in discounted tickets, the Met took in 64% of its potential box-office revenue, an increase from 57% in 2022-23. Gelb said single-ticket buyers, who amount to 85% of the audience, averaged 44 years old and the subscription audience averaged 70.
The Met withdrew $40 million this season from its endowment and it currently has about $255 million, Gelb said, down from $309 million last July. The Met hired Boston Consulting Group to examine cost reduction, ticketing and fundraising enhancement.
“They and we estimate that over the next four seasons as a result of their findings and recommendations we will have a positive swing of between $30 and $40 million,” Gelb said. “There is no question that we are still climbing out of the hole of the pandemic, as are other opera companies.”
A revival of Julie Taymor’s 2004 production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,” presented in an abridged English version during the holiday season, led the 18 productions with 87% of available tickets sold. The Met will offer 17 performances of “Flute” next season, an increase from 13.
“We have built a very large audience base for that, particularly of parents and
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