Opera and Ballet Companies Respond to Timothée Chalamet's Criticism of Art Forms

Academy Award nominee Timothée Chalamet set the opera and ballet worlds abuzz recently when, in an interview for Variety and CNN, he insinuated that "no one cares" about the art forms. The actor—whose grandmother, mother, and sister were ballerinas—is currently nominated for his performance in Marty Supreme.

In conversation with Matthew McConaughey, the movie star said “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera, or, you know, things where it’s like ‘hey, keep this thing alive,’ even though it’s like, no one cares about this anymore—all respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”

The ballet and opera worlds have been quick to respond to the slight. The Metropolitan Opera—in between its recent four encore performances of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay which enjoyed a near-sold-out run this past fall, and its upcoming and already extended-due-to-demand production of Tristan und Isolde—took the time to post a video on Instagram. The clip showed backstage artists working at the Met with the caption “All respect to the opera (and ballet) people out there,” tagging Chalamet in the post. Los Angeles Opera apologized that they could not offer Chalamet complimentary tickets to their nearly sold-out run of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten.

New York City Ballet principal dancers Megan Fairchild and Sara Mearns also issued responses on Instagram. Said Fairchild: “It’s not even the idea that he dissed ballet and opera that bothers me; It’s the suggestion that he had the talent and aptitude to pursue these Olympic-level artistic fields in the first place. Timmy, I didn’t realize you were a world-class dancer or opera singer who simply chose not pursue it because acting’s more popular!” 

Mearns, meanwhile, issued a challenge, writing: “I would like to challenge @tchalemet to get in the studio with me & create and be part of something that has stood the test of time. Show your mother the respect she deserves,” alluding to Chalamet’s mother, Nicole Flender, who danced with the New York City Ballet and on Broadway.

The response has gone international as well. The Wiener Staatsoper took to the streets, asking people if they cared about opera, and invited Chalamet to attend a performance. (Although upcoming performances of Don Pasquale and Nabucco are nearly sold out.) The Royal Ballet and Opera juxtaposed Chalamet's comments with clips of artists on stage and backstage, also inviting the actor to pay a visit. (Although the company's upcoming seven-performance run of Giselle is likewise nearly sold out.) 

The Paris Opera shared a clip from their current production of Nixon in China starring five-time Grammy Award-winner Renée Fleming, with the caption "Plot twist : le ping-pong existe aussi à l'opéra" ("Plot twist: Ping-pong also exists in opera") drawing a connection between Chalamet's role as a table tennis champion in Marty Supreme and the depiction of the same game in the opera.

Chalamet has not yet issued a response or stated whether he will accept any of these company's offers to attend. Though previously, he spoke in complimentary tones about the New York City Ballet, saying: "I grew up backstage at the New York City Ballet. My grandmother danced in the New York City Ballet, my mother danced in the New York City Ballet, my sister danced in the New York City Ballet. I grew up dreaming big at the backstage at the Koch Theater [at Lincoln Center] in New York ... I’m like a Venn Diagram of the best cultural influences of the 21st century and 20th century.”

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