“Marty Supreme” actor Timothée Chalamet found himself as a character in a real-life controversy after he said “no one cares” about ballet or opera.
Last week, his comments went viral on social media — days before the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles — as seen in clips from a Variety and CNN townhall with Matthew McConaughey.
“I don't want to be working in ballet or opera, or things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though, like, no one cares about this anymore,’” Chalamet said. “All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
The Oscar-nominee’s remarks struck a sour note in the arts community nationwide. But classical artists, including those in Hawaiʻi, are defending their art and capitalizing on the controversy.
A viral controversy
Amid the wave of reactions to Chalamet’s comment, Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre and Hawaiʻi Ballet are using "TIMOTHEE" as a discount code for their upcoming performances. Other opera and ballet venues have done the same, such as Seattle Opera, New England Ballet Theatre and Ballet Austin.
“There’s a saying, 'Never let a good crisis go to waste,'" said Andrew Morgan, general director and CEO of Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre. “I wouldn't say this is a crisis, but it is certainly an opportunity to raise awareness about the classical arts."
Morgan, who has been singing since he was 6 years old, was disappointed in Chalamet’s snark, remarks about the two classical art forms, adding that the community has been battling misconceptions about the art being only for the elite audience, expensive, and that it’s a dying art.
“What’s frustrating for people in the industry is that Timothée Chalamet is somebody who makes millions of dollars a year, yet in the classical arts, we’re struggling day to day making minimum wage,” Morgan said. “It’s a catch-as-catch-can as they (the singers) get hired for different companies. It’s a struggle to be in this art form, but we do it because we love it.”
Ballet and opera are two of the oldest Western classical art forms, going back more than 400 years.
In Florence, Italy, a small group of artists called the Florentine Camerata decided to recreate the storytelling of Greek drama through music. Hence, opera was born.
Ballet emerged in the 15th century during the Italian Renaissance. It was first performed as court entertainment before it became an art form that emphasizes emotion, storytelling and ethereal aesthetics.
Even Hawaiʻi has a unique history with the classical performance arts.
Hawaiʻi’s opera dates back to the 1850s. It includes stories of Queen Emma singing in the chorus of Verdi’s "II Trovatore," while her husband, King Kamehameha IV, was the stage manager.
It’s unclear when ballet officially came to Hawaiʻi. But in the mid-1970s, Ballet Hawaiʻi was created as “Friends of the Ballet.”
Morgan said Chalamet’s comments are not only a jab at the classical art forms, but also the amount of work that goes into the production of a show.
Professional opera singers can spend decades training their voice, according to Morgan, adding that they have to sing in multiple languages.
“They have to fill a 2000-seat house with just the power of their voice. No microphone,” Morgan said. “They have to know how to move on stage. They have to wear costumes that are sometimes 30 pounds in very hot lights. It’s a balancing act for singers.”
Chalamet’s comments come as the arts sector is facing significant funding cuts due to President Donald Trump’s administration. Most culture and arts organizations not only lost out on federal funds but even the City and County of Honolulu’s Grants in Aid awards and the state’s Act 310 nonprofit emergency grants.
When Richard Vida watched the CNN and Variety town hall in real time, he had the opposite reaction from most classical artists.
“I felt bad for him immediately,” Vida said about the 30-year-old actor.
Vida, who is the executive director of Ballet Hawaiʻi, said what bothered him about Chalamet's remarks was that they “made Hollywood and the art form of live performances seem separate.”
“We’re not separate at all,” he said. “We all come from artistic roots.”
But Vida will not ignore the intense hours ballet dancers put into perfecting their art form. He said that ballet dancers and opera singers train like it’s the Olympics.
“A ballet dancer and an opera singer are equally as athletic, and have done decades and decades of getting up at five in the morning, training in their discipline for hours and hours, seven days a week, to be able to have to stand up on that stage and then make it look effortless,” Vida said.
A cultural clapback
On Sunday, Chalamet became the focal point of the 98th Academy Awards after Conan O‘Brien poked fun at his controversial remarks about ballet and opera.
“They’re just mad you left out jazz,” said O‘Brien as a playful jab at the uproar of Chalamet’s remarks.
The camera caught Chalamet and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, laughing in the audience.
Another notable clip from the Academy Awards was iconic ballerina Misty Copeland, who retired and underwent hip surgery last year, pirouetting in a fiery, feathery ensemble onto center stage during the performance of “I Lied to You,” an original song from “Sinners.”
Copeland had said during a panel with Aveeno that she was part of the promo for “Marty Supreme.”
“First I have to say that it’s very interesting that he invited me to be part of 'Marty Supreme’ with respect to my art form,” Copeland said in the panel. “I think that it’s important that we acknowledge that, yes, this is an art form that is not ‘popular’ and part of pop culture as movies are, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have enduring relevance in culture.”
Chalamet grew up in an artistic family. His mother and sister studied at the School of American Ballet. Also, he grew up in Manhattan Plaza, an affordable housing complex for performing artists.
So the comments come as a surprise for many artists. But Vida said it put a spotlight on the classical art forms.
“He gave us an amazing PR opportunity because now we get to respond, and we're getting all this press because people are noticing the opera and ballet world now going, ‘Oh, how are they responding?’” Vida said.
Morgan said when Opera Hawaiʻi Theatre launched the "TIMOTHEE25" promo code, they sold about 100 tickets. A third of those are people who have never bought a ticket to the opera before. The code can be used until April 15.
Their upcoming show in May is “Kamalehua: The Sheltering Tree,” which is Hawaiʻi’s first opera performance that will be sung in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.
Hawaiʻi Ballet and the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra also collaborated on a discount code "TIMOTHEE" for the upcoming "Romeo and Juliet" show on March 22.
While Vida said that Chalamet’s comment was not ill-intended, it put a spotlight on the classical arts scene, and he hopes people will come to performances to see if they like it.
“It’s opening this wonderful door to discourse that needed to happen, and I think it’s going to prove beneficial to all of us,” Vida said.
