Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Deputy for Economic Justice Julie Su and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diya Vij announced “Opera for All,” on Sept. 24.
The program is a long-term partnership between the city and The Metropolitan Opera, which will provide 70,000 free tickets to New Yorkers who have never before attended a Met performance, according to a press release from the Office of the Mayor.
The Met will release 10,000 each month throughout the 2026-27 season. The free tickets represent 10 percent of total season tickets.
“Opera is one of the greatest art forms we have, and there is no better place to experience it than the Metropolitan Opera House,” Mamdani said. “But it should not be reserved for those who can afford it. Every New Yorker should have the opportunity to sit in these seats, hear these voices and experience this stage, no matter what’s in their bank account.”
Similarly, Su said on the importance of access in the city.
“Economic justice means access to the things that make a city worth living,” Su said. “Too many New Yorkers have walked past Lincoln Center their whole lives and never gone inside.”
Additionally, The Met has committed to continuing the program in future seasons, with tickets available in every section of the house.
The city is helping distribute tickets through the Department of Social Services, NYCHA, New York City Public Schools, the New York Public Library, The City University of New York, the Department for the Aging and Situation Project.
New Yorkers who have not purchased a Met Opera ticket since 2019 are eligible to enter the lottery.
As they are made available, additional pathways for ticket distribution will be announced in the upcoming months.
