Well, fuck a Timothée Chalamet — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on Thursday that the city, in partnership with the Metropolitan Opera, will be organizing a lottery that will give out 70,000 tickets to the opera to New York City residents every year, allowing people who might not otherwise have had the opportunity to go and experience a night at one of the best opera houses in the world.
The only caveats are that you must be a resident of New York City and have never been to the Metropolitan Opera House before.
“Opera is one of the greatest art forms we have, and there’s no better place to see it than here: at the iconic Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center,” Mamdani said in a video introducing the program. “Every New Yorker should have the opportunity to see this, no matter how much money is in their pocket. That’s why we’re giving away for New Yorkers who’ve never experienced it before. From now until early June, we’re releasing via a lottery, to see shows like Macbeth, La Bohème, and many more, all absolutely free. And the best part? This will be a permanent ongoing partnership with the Met, every year. So if you miss a show this year, don’t worry about it. You’ll have a chance next year, and the year after that, and, well, you get the idea.”
As an opera superfan, I love this. I want opera to be accessible to people. I want everyone (who wants to) to have the experience of dressing up* and going to a beautiful building like the Met to see a world class opera, to see people who are the best in the world at what they do. I really believe that there are a lot of people who would love opera but just don’t know it yet because they’ve never been. And while I challenge anyone to listen to Maria Callas’s rendition of “Un bel di vedremo” without really wanting to ugly cry, seeing a live production just allows for a different level of appreciation. Wagner was obviously a grotesque antisemite, but he did popularize the idea that opera ought to be a “gesamtkunstwerk,” or a “total work of art,” in which every form of art is represented. So if you go to the opera you’re not just seeing people with beautiful voices sing, you’re watching a story, you’re seeing incredibly talented musicians and the work of costume designers and set designers, so there’s something for anyone to appreciate.
It’s a genius idea for both the city and the opera itself. Because yes, 70,000 is a lot of tickets, but how many people who go because of this lottery are going to fall in love with opera and want to go again? That’s a huge investment in the future of opera.
Mamdani gets something that not a lot of other politicians really do — that his job is to make people’s lives better. Programs like this are the “roses” part of the “bread and roses,” and connecting to the great art that people do is a way of communing with humanity, of seeing the best parts of humanity rather than the worst. He wants everyone who lives in New York City to be able to experience the best parts of it, rather than gatekeeping for the rich. That’s awesome.
He’s focused on building community, which is just as important as anything else. Indeed, The New York Times published an article today all about how the DSA and younger Democrats in general are looking not just at electoral politics, but about creating communities, about hosting social functions and activities that get people more involved.
Via New York Times
Like Milwaukee’s sewer socialists, Mr. Mamdani’s organization spent years building a movement through community events. The New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (of which I’m a member) offers daily opportunities for face-to-face socializing: a “Sing in Solidarity” choir, soccer and softball leagues, picnics and potlucks, “Coffee with Comrades,” a running club, dance parties, singles mixers, game nights and birding outings.
Mr. Mamdani carried this participatory spirit into his campaign and then into office. On Jan. 1, 2026, he paired his City Hall swearing-in with an Inaugural Block Party attended by tens of thousands of New Yorkers. Despite below-freezing temperatures, it felt at times like a carnival, with participants dancing in between speakers, singing together, sharing hand warmers, occasionally crying. “Not only will we make it possible for every New Yorker to afford a life they love once again,” the 34-year-old mayor told the crowd. “we will overcome the isolation that too many feel, and connect the people of this city to one another.”
Awesome!
People have a harder time socializing in person these days. We’re still dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic, plus everything seems too expensive (68 percent of Gen Zers say going out isn’t worth the cost), and it’s only possible to get a certain amount of socialization through our screens. Something like this program gives people a reason to go out. These other programs give them opportunities to socialize. That is something that is really needed now. We hear so much about how people (young people especially) are lonely, about how sick they are of dating apps, how they don’t feel like they’ve developed close friendships, etc. etc. and maybe “going out” needs to be something that is more organized. Maybe establishing more organized social groups that “do things” — the way they used to have social clubs and lodges and whathaveyou — whether political or not is the answer to that. It’s a lot easier to be an asshole through a screen than it is to do it in person.
Of course, speaking of people being assholes through a screen, it will surely not shock you to know that the jerkwads over on the site formerly known as Twitter are very, very angry about this. Especially all of the stuff they’ve made up about it!
“No thank you. I will not enter the lottery under your Trojan Horse guise. I’d rather pay $200 a ticket than join your socialist crusade to eventually control the MET. Not gonna happen. You are a ‘statist on steroids and must be thwarted on every level until you are no longer in a position of political influence. And I will be one of many ‘voices in the wilderness’ to oppose you regularly!” replied one very irate commenter, who apparently thinks that Mamdani is going to be mounting a production of The Legend of the Red Lantern (one of the eight model plays created during China’s cultural revolution).
Or maybe just Bertolt Brecht’s socialist opus The Threepenny Opera? (Yes, the song below is, in fact, the original “Mack the Knife,” sung by Lotte Lenya, and no, it’s not an actual opera.)
A lot of very stupid people complained that this would be done “with taxpayer money,” which is not the case.
The city is not, in fact, using taxpayer money to buy the tickets and then giving them out to people, or requiring the performers to work for free: The Opera is donating them. Also, the opera already receives grants from the city and the state — small grants that make up less than one percent of their budget, but which do total around $1 or $2 million. I think it’s great for cities to fund the arts, and I also think that the point of doing so is to ensure that taxpayers do have access to these things, and the ability to enjoy them. Seems like a fair trade to me. This is also, as I mentioned, a huge boon for the Metropolitan Opera, as creating thousands of opera fans is in its best interest.
There were also the predictable “I thought requiring an ID was racist!” crap from the voter ID hysterics, as well as a fuckton of snobbery from these “populists.” And a lot of racism, for good measure.
Truly, these are some awful people who should stay the fuck out of the opera house. Honestly, this just shows how miserable these folks are that they can’t just enjoy a nice thing, they have to turn it into something scary and bad.
However! Most people seem pretty excited, and many are reporting that the site is even being overloaded by people signing up.
Now, a lot of people also whined that there are already cheap tickets to the opera, that people who can afford that will also sign up for the drawing — and you know what? Who cares? Maybe they can afford to go but it wouldn’t occur to them, save for this. Maybe they’ll then decide that they will buy those cheaper tickets. Maybe people don’t understand that operas are traditionally non-profits, and frequently have a budget for outreach and education. This kind of thing is part of the mission, it’s part of why people donate to the opera. It doesn’t just go to fund the productions, it also goes to fund programs like this.
It’s sad to me that so many people are so empty that they can’t even conceive of people just loving an art form and wanting to share it with others.
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If you do have an interest in opera and feel like you can’t afford it, but are not in New York City, I highly recommend looking into your own city’s offerings, because it may be a lot more accessible than you think. I’ve mentioned before that I am in Lyric Young Professionals in Chicago (and on the membership committee this year!), which, if you are between the ages of 21 and 45, you can join for $100 and then see any opera for $40. The Lyric also has the NEXT program, which allows college students to get tickets for $25. There might be a similar program in your own city. There are also lots of smaller companies everywhere that do great productions on a budget, and if you don’t live anywhere near a city with an opera house, you can watch the Metropolitan opera live at movie theaters throughout the country.
*Not everyone dresses up, mind you. There are a lot of people who go to the opera in very casual clothes. I’ve even seen people in torn up jeans and dirty sneakers. I admit that I don’t love it, but hey, as long as people are coming and enjoying themselves, that’s great and I’m in favor of it. I should also mention, since people don’t always know, that there are always subtitles — even when it’s in English. You’re not just gonna watch three hours of people singing in a language you don’t know without knowing what’s going on.
PREVIOUSLY ON WONKETTE!
The Pope is playing a big gig at Le Stade de France this evening. It’s no opera, but he might bust out into song.
Speaking of arts for people.
One of my favorite things about my dad—a photographer—was one time at an art show in Chicago a guy came in to our booth just to say that he bought a picture the previous year from us and he was so happy about it because it was priced so even “a guy like me “ could have a piece of art that mattered to him.
First time I saw Dad cry. Gave him a free picture.
Art matters.