Other Philadelphia performing companies have adopted pay-what-you-wish pricing models. Azuka Theatre pioneered the concept in 2016 and has stuck with it ever since. Curio Theatre in West Philly experimented with it and Philadelphia Theatre Week did so last year.
Opera Philadelphia is the largest performing arts company to try out the concept.
Costanzo settled on a minimum of $11, as opposed to $0, as Azuka Theatre has maintained, because it is less than the cost of a movie ticket but enough to convey to patrons that opera involves significant production costs.
“We wanted to show that there was some value in what you’re seeing often,” he said. “You’re seeing millions of dollars on stage.”
The first production in which this ticketing model will occur will be in September for the American premiere of “The Listeners,” by Philadelphia-area composer Missy Mazzoli (“Breaking the Waves,” 2016). Costanzo said it will be the most expensive opera the company has ever attempted.
The opera is about a band of people who experience a mysterious and unidentifiable sound. The group then becomes vulnerable to the proclamations of a cult-like leader, which Costanzo says will resonate with the current election cycle.
It’s an ambitious production, particularly for a company still recovering from debt incurred during the pandemic, which forced Opera Philadelphia to postpone productions to future seasons and cancel its season-opening festival.
“When I took office on June 1, I did a lot of unraveling of the budget and I quickly realized that we had not only unpaid bills, but we had a cash shortfall,” Costanzo said. “We had to raise a lot of money quickly.”
