When the plebs go marching in...
I have rarely been disappointed whenever I have attended a concert by the Boston Symphony Orchestra or the Boston Pops. I’ve seen the Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker and checked out free opera on the Common. This is not to say that I am a patron of the Fine Arts, but I’ve kind of done enough to consider myself literate.
After reading this article in today’s International Herald-Tribune I’m even more thankful that I live in Boston and not New York. If it was the other way around, I may not have been able to afford even my casual, occasional forays into the arts world.
Apparently, its big news that the Metropolitan Opera’s new program to offer some choice tickets to their performances, which usually sell for $350, for as little as $20. The goal? To get new blood into the seats and interested in Opera.
The story portrays an air of excitement in the arts world and some surprise that the sales are doing so well.
It figures that some snooty artsy-fartsy folks would be surprised when they actually make art accessible to the peasants and said little people come in droves. The original $350 price tag alone shows how out of touch these guys are with the real world.
You can see a show at Symphony Hall for $30 all of the time. Sure, you might be in the 3rd balcony, but some of those seats are right on top of the stage and there are very few bad seats in the house. And the best seats? Well, even those are attainable. At $75-$111 you can get down o the floor close to the stage for about the same amount that you might spend going out to a bar for the night.
The bottom line is that art should be more accessible to all, and the fuddy-duddies who run the foundations and large companies need to open up their doors further. Their mission is to enrich society, after all.
After reading this article in today’s International Herald-Tribune I’m even more thankful that I live in Boston and not New York. If it was the other way around, I may not have been able to afford even my casual, occasional forays into the arts world.
Apparently, its big news that the Metropolitan Opera’s new program to offer some choice tickets to their performances, which usually sell for $350, for as little as $20. The goal? To get new blood into the seats and interested in Opera.
The story portrays an air of excitement in the arts world and some surprise that the sales are doing so well.
"At all of these institutions, box office response has been overwhelming. The Signature's $15 tickets - which normally sell for $55 - sold out within the first 48 hours for August Wilson's "Two Trains Running," which begins performances Nov. 7. City Center's six- day dance festival sold out in three days last year, so the program was extended to 10 days this year"
It figures that some snooty artsy-fartsy folks would be surprised when they actually make art accessible to the peasants and said little people come in droves. The original $350 price tag alone shows how out of touch these guys are with the real world.
You can see a show at Symphony Hall for $30 all of the time. Sure, you might be in the 3rd balcony, but some of those seats are right on top of the stage and there are very few bad seats in the house. And the best seats? Well, even those are attainable. At $75-$111 you can get down o the floor close to the stage for about the same amount that you might spend going out to a bar for the night.
The bottom line is that art should be more accessible to all, and the fuddy-duddies who run the foundations and large companies need to open up their doors further. Their mission is to enrich society, after all.
posted by Unknown at 7:27 AM
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