Alex Beard, the head of the UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera, has credited actor Timothée Chalamet with unexpectedly driving audience engagement and ticket sales after his comments about the relevance of opera and ballet sparked widespread debate, The Guardian reported.
During promotional interviews in March for his film «Marty Supreme,» Chalamet said he was glad to work in cinema rather than opera or ballet — art forms that, in his words, struggle to maintain public interest. He later clarified that he respects those working in opera and ballet, though he was criticized anyway.
However, the controversial comment has had an unexpected twist. According to Beard, the Royal Ballet and Opera chose not to criticize Chalamet directly but instead highlighted its own work and audience reach. A social media post emphasizing that its largest audience segment is aged 20 to 30 generated millions of interactions and coincided with a noticeable rise in ticket sales.
Other institutions also turned the moment into a promotional opportunity. Seattle Opera, for example, offered discounted tickets to its production of «Carmen» using a code referencing the actor.
Meanwhile, director Luca Guadagnino, who has worked with Chalamet and is currently staging an opera in Italy, defended the actor. He suggested the backlash was excessive, describing Chalamet as thoughtful and concerned about the future of cinema, while emphasizing the importance of supporting all artistic disciplines.
In 2001, Saparmurat Niyazov, the first president of independent Turkmenistan, abolished the country’s opera and ballet theater, arguing that the art forms were alien to Turkmen national traditions.
