Opera and Ballet: Are they still culturally relevant?
Recently, I watched a production of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera on YouTube of the opera Turandot composed by Puccini.
I thought it was a splendid experience showcasing the dramatic vigour necessary for singers of opera to portray on stage especially with the story focusing on the force of love.
This is also especially true for ballet, which involves dancing and making elegant moves to portray the narrative in an elaborate manner. Together, these two art forms attract regular audiences around the world with a myriad of interpretations and tones.
And I got to wonder: with the recent controversy surrounding these two art forms, are they still culturally relevant?
The Controversy
In a CNN/Variety Town Hall on February of 2026, the famous actor Timothée Chalamet discussed with Matthew McConaughey on the decline in audience numbers of cinemas but one of his remarks created a firestorm in the art community when he claimed that ‘no one cares’ about ballet and opera.
“I don't want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.”— Chalamet, as quoted in Bitesize (2026).
There was a serious amount of backlash against his remarks, even from many opera companies such as the Met Opera, and many attributed his loss of the Best Actor at the Oscars to Micheal B Jordan, Sinners to them.
However, if we take a step back, was he correct when he said that ‘no one cares’?
The State of Opera and Ballet
According to an official arts attendance survey in the US carried out every five years, audience numbers for opera fell to a low of just 0.7% of the population in 2022 from 2.2% in 2017. Likewise, ballet audience numbers also declined from 8.2% to 4.7% in the same period. This shows a sharp decline in viewership for both opera and ballet amongst the American population.
To a greater extent, it is true that opera and ballet are widely seen as very niche interests.
Many of the operas performed today are either in Italian, French or German, which are languages that many people do not understand and thus it can be argued that Timothée’s remarks are more or less reflective of their declining state.
However, that is not to say that they are still relevant as we shall see looking back at the history of both art forms.
History of Opera and Ballet
Opera as an art form began in Europe around the 16th and 17th century (the Renaissance) originally as court entertainment for royalty with its center in Italy. As such,many operas were sung in Italian. Most of the operas at that time dealt with Greek mythology such as Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo which is the earliest opera that is still regularly performed.
In the 18th century, opera flourished in Europe with the rise of the Baroque period. While many operas of the time were still based on mythology, some ventured into other subjects like history such as Vivaldi’s Motezuma and Catone in Utica. During this period, while most of the composers of opera were Italian, some non-Italian composers started writing operas such as those of Handel that went on to have great success.
In fact, Italian was the primary language of operas from this period onwards, although some operas were also composed in other languages. German was introduced to operas around the 18th century primarily through the operas of Mozart, The Abduction from the Seraglio and the Magic Flute. French was also introduced in opera around the 18th century as well though operas in that language would only come to expand in the next period.
In the 19th century, opera really began to flourish in Europe as the Romantic period was in full swing. Operas began to focus on themes such as the power of love and heroism such as the operas of Wagner and several others like Bizet and Weber. Also in this time, the art of ballet was staying to take shape having been developed in 15th century Italian Renaissance courts as an opulent spectacle for aristocrats blending music, dance, and poetry before flourishing in France under King Louis XIV, who established the first ballet school in 1661.
Opera and ballet actually crossed during this period as well in some places such as France where ballet acts were inserted in the middle of acts of Italian operas brought into the country to act as divertissements (small entertainment).
However, ballet really took off around the same time as opera did with the pioneers being Russia when Peter The Great adopted the art as part of his modernisation efforts and made St. Petersburg as the world centre of ballet in the 18th century.
From then, they both gradually evolved to fit with the times as seen by the experimental takes of contemporary works alongside more traditional works while also continuing their expansion around the world with a plethora of opera and ballet companies in some of which have become renown such as the Royal Ballet and Opera and The Metropolitan Opera.
Relevance
Upon the analysis of the history of the two art forms we can see that both opera and ballet have been instrumental in providing for the world's cultural transformation even if nowadays people don’t realize it. Many famous pieces from both opera and ballet have become commonplace in pop culture such as Nessuun Dorma from Turnadot and the music from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. From my own perspective, this shows that it is in the beauty of these forms that help make people who watch connect to more. When I watched Turandot, I did not see just the brilliance of the singers but the profound elegance that I believe makes opera successful, something that is not easily done in a short timespan.
I believe the views of Samuel J Abrams puts it best :”Opera refuses to flatten the human experience. It doesn’t compress emotion into a TikTok clip or wrap up drama in 22 minutes. It demands our attention, and in return, gives us something transcendent.” (Abrams, 2025)
In regards to ballet, all of the ballet extracts that I have seen have showcased the same feeling, with the careful and elegant moves of the dancers that make it stand out.
And that is why I hope that these forms continue to provide an experience so worth it they will probably sing their heart out.
📷: Judi
References and Further Reading
Abrams,Samuel J. (2025,July 28) Why Opera Still Matters-Society and Culture. AEI
Bitesize, B. (2026, March 17). The history of ballet and opera and what Timothée Chalamet said about them - BBC Bitesize. BBC Bitesize.
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