No, Timothée Chalamet, opera isn’t ‘dead’ – it’s been alive for centuries | Letters

Readers respond to Rebecca Humphries’s article about the actor’s much criticised comments on opera and ballet Every generation seems to produce someone ready to declare opera and ballet irrelevant. And yet, century after century, these art forms continue to endure – evolving, expanding and moving audiences in ways few artistic traditions ever have. In a recent interview, Timothée Chalamet mocked at why we should “keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this any more” (Don’t denounce Timothée Chalamet for what he said about opera and ballet – prove him wrong, 14 March). It is the kind of reductive take one hears when popularity is mistaken for cultural value. Opera and ballet have survived wars, revolutions, censorship and centuries of cultural upheaval – not because they are relics, but because they are among the most physically and emotionally demanding art forms. Opera singers train for decades to produce sound powerful enough to carry over a full orchestra in theatres designed centuries before amplification existed. Ballet dancers push the limits of human anatomy until music itself seems to take physical form. These are not outdated art forms