A Bargain at the Opera: Philadelphia Offers All Seats for as Low as $11

In Philadelphia, a night at the opera may now be cheaper than going to the movies.

Opera Philadelphia, a company with a reputation for innovation and ambition, announced on Tuesday that it was putting in place a pay-what-you-can model for the 2024-25 season, with all tickets for all performances starting at $11. The initiative, which the company calls Pick Your Price, is aimed at attracting new audiences.

“People want to go to the opera, but it’s expensive,” said Anthony Roth Costanzo, the celebrated American countertenor who became the company’s general director and president in June. “Our goal is to bring opera to more people and bring more people to the opera.”

It immediately proved popular. On Tuesday, the day the initiative was announced, Opera Philadelphia said it sold more than 2,200 tickets for the coming season, compared with about 20 the day before. The tickets were originally priced at $26 to $300.

High ticket prices have long been a barrier to audiences, and especially to newcomers. In recent years a number of performing arts groups, including Lincoln Center, the Chicago Sinfonietta and Ars Nova, the Off Broadway incubator, have experimented with pay-what-you-can approaches. Other opera companies have experimented with discounts, including rush tickets and deals offered to young people. But Opera Philadelphia’s approach was one of the boldest yet.

Its website explains that all tickets start at $11 but that people will be given the option of choosing to pay much more, including the standard price.

Like many nonprofit performing arts organizations, Opera Philadelphia gets much more of its revenue from philanthropy than through ticket sales. Radically lowering the prices could encourage more donations, which will no longer risk being seen as subsidizing an expensive art form that is out of reach for many people. And Costanzo said that the new model would allow the company to concentrate more on staging interesting works, and less on worrying about ticket sales.

“Ticket sales no longer represent a large portion of revenue, and yet they determine how we program,” Costanzo said. “What I hear all the time is we have to program, say, ‘Carmen’ because that’s what sells tickets. And we’re programming for people who can afford a $150 ticket. All these things limit the reach of opera.”

The company’s pay-what-you-can program drew praise from prominent figures in the opera world.

“This is a landmark moment for opera and a new intrepid model for how we connect with audiences,” the soprano Renée Fleming said in a statement.

Opera Philadelphia, like many companies, has struggled to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.

The company, founded in 1975, has slashed its budget, eliminated staff positions and reduced the number of performances. This season, the budget is expected to be about $10 million, down from $15.6 million for the 2018-19 season; there will be nine performances, compared with 30 before.

Opera Philadelphia, which has never had a substantial endowment and is highly dependent on donations, said on Tuesday that it had raised $7 million since the start of Costanzo’s tenure. The money will be used to cover a budget shortfall, pay off debt and support the Pick Your Price program, the company said.

This season, Opera Philadelphia will stage three operas: Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s “The Listeners,” which opens next month; Joseph Bologne’s “The Anonymous Lover”; and Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.”

Costanzo said the company would refine the pay-what-you-can program in coming seasons.

“I’m gambling,” he said. “So far it’s working, and at some point I’m sure it won’t. Then we will have to figure out how we adapt the strategy and move forward.”