Opera Philadelphia is putting in place a pay-what-you-can model for the 2024-25 season as it looks to grow its audiences, writes Javier C. Hernandez for The New York Times.

The new, first-of-its-kind initiative will offer tickets for all performances for as low as $11.

“People want to go to the opera, but it’s expensive,” said Anthony Roth Costanzo, Opera Philadelphia’s general director and president. “Our goal is to bring opera to more people and bring more people to the opera.”

The initiative has proven popular already, as Opera Philadelphia sold more than 2,200 tickets for the upcoming season during the day it was announced, compared with about 20 the day before.

The tickets originally cost between $26 and $300.

High ticket prices have been a big barrier to audiences for a long time, especially for newcomers.

Opera Philadelphia, like several nonprofit performing arts organizations, gets much of its revenue from philanthropy rather than ticket sales.

Costanzo noted that the new model would allow the company to concentrate more on staging interesting works and less on ticket sale worries.

“Ticket sales no longer represent a large portion of revenue, and yet they determine how we program,” Costanzo said. “… we’re programming for people who can afford a $150 ticket. All these things limit the reach of opera.”

Read more about Opera Philadelphia’s new initiative in The New York Times.

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