Actor Timothée Chalamet was credited by RBO’s chief exec with inadvertently boosting ticket sales through his high-profile critique of the art forms
The head of the UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera has thanked Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet for inadvertently boosting ticket sales and engagement through his high-profile critique of the art forms last month.
While promoting his Oscar-tipped film Marty Supreme in March, the star expressed his relief that he was working in cinema, rather than opera or ballet, “where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this any more.’”
Chalamet, whose mother and grandmother worked in ballet, swiftly added: “All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there.” Backlash to his appraisal of the art forms was swift and pronounced, with stars including Jamie Lee Curtis and Whoopi Goldberg criticising him, while many opera and ballet institutions chastised his comments.
Speaking to the Times, the RBO’s Alex Beard called the public reaction “just fantastic” and said he was pleased his organisation had not followed similar institutions in rebuking Chalamet.
