OPERA America recently conducted a survey of its Professional Company Members to understand how tickets sales in fall 2023 (September‒December) compared to the same period in fall 2019. Seventy companies responded, evenly distributed across all five budget groups.

One good-news finding is that companies sold nearly the same percentage of their available seats in 2023 as in 2019. Most companies were within 1‒7% of their prior capacities, with Budget 5 companies often exceeding 2019 rates.

That said, the average number of performances was down for many companies, especially larger ones. Budget 1 and 2 companies averaged 18‒24% fewer performances, which meant they sold 20% fewer tickets. Budget 3‒5 companies appeared to be closer to their 2019 productivity and ticket sales levels.

Continuing a trend of the past three years, the percentage of new-to-file ticket buyers continues to increase for many companies. 

This article was published in the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of Across the Board, a publication of OPERA America for opera company trustees.