Who Does the Theater Belong To? What the Met’s 70,000 free tickets can teach us about Opera, Civic Partnership, and the Value of Local Arts
When I read that New York City and the Metropolitan Opera were partnering to make 70,000 tickets available free to New Yorkers, one number immediately caught my attention.
Not 70,000.
Ten percent.
Roughly ten percent of the Met’s available tickets for the 2026–27 season will become an investment in people who have not recently purchased a ticket to the Met. Seats throughout the house will become invitations to students, families, residents and people who may have spent their entire lives living in New York without ever believing that the Metropolitan Opera belonged to them.
There are plenty of practical reasons for the Met to do this. An empty seat generates no ticket revenue anyway. The company needs new audiences. Opera needs new audiences.
What I find inspiring about this is that city has looked at one of its cultural institutions and said, in effect: this matters to the civic life of our community, and we want more of our citizens to experience it.
That is the part I cannot stop thinking about.
Mom’s Spaghetti
My kids FAVORITE Meal, healthy delicious and I learned to cook the sauce when I was in Tuscany back in 2011 while staying at the cutest working farm and vineyard in the chianti region! Enjoy
The Wellness Wing: Fitness
“The Greater the difficulty, the more glory in overcoming it”- Epictetus
Building a Bridge Through Time: Die Fledermaus at the Molly Brown House
One of our favorite parts of storytelling is getting to delve into the world of our characters. Creating a fictional world inspired by real life has been a particular joy for our creative team as we build our Die Fledermaus, set in Denver at the turn of the 20th century.
The Case for the Boutique Opera Model: A response to Andrew Potter’s Open Letter on the Sustainability of a Life in Opera
The Case for the Boutique Opera Model: A response to Andrew Potter’s Open letter to the Industry.
Musical Musings: Central City Opera 2026 Festival Season
Mama’s Chicken Soup
More than just nourishment, its called the culinary arts for a reason.
The Road Not Taken
The Road Not Taken
"Two Roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference” Robert Frost
I knew the road I should take- the formula spelled out for singers in the industry-the correct path. But I took the one less traveled.
No neatly labeled degrees, no perfect resumes from top institutions, no big name endorsements saying “Yes this is how it’s supposed to be done”. I stitched my life in the arts together from instinct, willpower, and a love that didn’t make sense on paper.
And yet now,17 years later, I’m here. Still creating. Still standing. Now leading. Now Shaping.