Timothée Chalamet vs the ballet and opera community: Is classical theatre dead?

Illustrations by Grace McKenna

Timothée Chalamet has come under intense fire recently for his less-than-positive comments about the ballet and opera community. “I don't want to be working in ballet or opera or, you know, things where it's like: "Hey, keep this thing alive," even though no one cares about this anymore,” Chalamet told Mathew McConaughey for Variety’s Actors on Actors. Understandably, ballet dancers and opera singers are not too happy. 

Chalamet’s comment embodies a reductive attitude that some people adopt towards traditional forms of theatre and performing arts. Ballet and opera both originated in Italy in the 15^th and 16^th centuries and, despite what Chalamet may think, both are still alive and kicking today. You need only walk a couple of minutes through central Edinburgh before you see a poster for The Red Shoes – Matthew Bourne’s new ballet coming to the Festival Theatre in April. In May and June, the theatre will also be showing the Scottish Opera’s The Marriage of Figaro.

The backlash from the ballet and opera communities in response to Chalamet’s comment has been fierce, with big names like ballerina Misty Copeland speaking out against him: “I think that it’s important that we acknowledge that, yes, this is an art form that’s not ‘popular’ and a part of pop culture as movies are, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enduring relevance in culture.” Too often, ballet and opera are dismissed as art forms of the past that lack the innovation necessary to keep up with a modern world but, as Copeland says, they undoubtedly have an enduring cultural relevance. 

While ballet and opera companies continue to perform the classics (like the timeless Christmas ballet The Nutcracker) they also strive to innovate and excite with something fresh. Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures is a ballet company that does just that – combining traditional ballet, contemporary, ballet theatre, and musical theatre, bringing ballet to a modern stage. Similarly, opera continues to be brought to the modern stage at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – arguably the forefront of new and innovative theatre. 

There is beauty in tradition, and there is beauty in innovation. The classical theatre arts of ballet and opera embody both of these, bridging a gap between present day global audiences and renaissance Italy.  Classical art forms continue to live on, despite what Timothée Chalamet might think.