Every generation seems to produce someone ready to declare opera and ballet irrelevant. And yet, century after century, these art forms continue to endure \u2013 evolving, expanding and moving audiences in ways few artistic traditions ever have.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview, Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet mocked at why we should \u201ckeep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this any more\u201d (Don\u2019t denounce Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet for what he said about opera and ballet \u2013 prove him wrong, 14 March<\/a>). It is the kind of reductive take one hears when popularity is mistaken for cultural value.<\/p>\n Opera and ballet have survived wars, revolutions, censorship and centuries of cultural upheaval \u2013 not because they are relics, but because they are among the most physically and emotionally demanding art forms.<\/p>\n Opera singers train for decades to produce sound powerful enough to carry over a full orchestra in theatres designed centuries before amplification existed. Ballet<\/a> dancers push the limits of human anatomy until music itself seems to take physical form. These are not outdated art forms \u2013 they are living ones, constantly reinterpreted and continually evolving.<\/p>\n Entire communities of artists collaborate to bring them to life: orchestras, conductors, composers, choreographers, designers and technicians. Hundreds of people working together to create something that exists only in a single moment shared with an audience. And when it works, it moves audiences to tears \u2013 without retakes, without CGI and without editing.<\/p>\n Artists, of all people, should understand the devotion it takes to master an art form. When they mock another discipline, they are not exposing its irrelevance \u2013 they are exposing their own ignorance.<\/p>\n Opera and ballet are not obsolete. They remain among the most complex, disciplined and beautiful artistic achievements our kind has ever produced. What is outdated is the idea that art must be trendy to matter. Rebecca Humphries is right that finger-wagging won\u2019t save opera. Fortunately, up north, we\u2019re too busy filling seats to do much wagging. At Opera North, audiences are growing \u2013 and growing younger. In our 2026-27 season we\u2019re expanding from four productions to seven, and we\u2019re forecasting a new high in annual revenue. Not bad for an art form \u201cnobody\u201d cares about.<\/p>\n Recently we opened the doors to more than 1,200 first-time opera goers in a single \u201cpay what you can\u201d performance of La Boh\u00e8me \u2013 many of them young, many of them working-class, almost none of them \u201cposh aliens\u201d. It was a triumph.<\/p>\n Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s comments stung the sector, but perhaps they shouldn\u2019t have surprised it. The answer isn\u2019t pearl-clutching \u2013 it\u2019s exactly what Rebecca describes: audacity, accessibility and a willingness to meet new audiences. Rebecca Humphries and Emma Brockes (Digested week: Geopolitics and package holidays collide, and Chalamet goes too far, 13 March<\/a>) write engagingly in support of opera and ballet. What neither mention is education, and how school music and dance departments are constantly fighting for resources, staffing and funding. At higher education level we see the results of endless neglect in school arts provision. Yes, we need attractive new shows commissioned for major houses, but people need to be exposed to music and dance at school for a lifelong interest \u2013 or profession \u2013 to develop. This means funding for teachers and equipment.<\/p>\n Politicians who dismiss arts degrees probably watch Netflix shows in their spare time, never once asking themselves who made them and how those creatives learned their trade; they certainly don\u2019t understand how they are all connected by networks of arts education. Healthy opera and ballet companies, and wide engagement in them, are symptoms of a culture that values the arts in schools. Have an opinion on anything you\u2019ve read in the Guardian today? Please email<\/a> us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters<\/a> section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every generation seems to produce someone ready to declare opera and ballet irrelevant. 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Se\u00e1n Tester
Opera singer<\/p>\n
Michael Wilkinson
Director of strategy, Opera North<\/p>\n
Dr Alexis Bennett
Goldsmiths, University of London <\/p>\n