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Broadway did away with its required mask policy in July but it’s taken a few months for some of the city’s performing arts organizations to relax their own.
The Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic and New York City Ballet will no longer require masks. They’ll be optional.
RECOMMENDED: You’re no longer required to wear a mask on the subway
The Met, Carnegie Hall, the Philharmonic, Film at Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School will end their mandates on October 24 while the Ballet at David H. Koch Theater will end its mask requirement on November 1, the New York Times says. The Mitzi E. Newhouse and Claire Tow theaters at Lincoln Center will still require masks.
As cases drop and other institutions nix their mask requirements, it was only a matter of time before these organizations lose theirs, too.
“People’s attitudes are changing,” Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, told the Times. He said that younger patrons especially don’t want to wear a mask.
In a survey last month, the Met found that only a quarter of ticket buyers said they’d feel uncomfortable attending a performance if masks were optional. The Times says that over the summer, that number had been close to 70 percent.
And now because there will be no mask mandate, the Met’s bars will be reopened.
Playbill reported that the New York Philharmonic’s president, Deborah Borda, says it’s important to do their part to “help the city return to a much more normal state of affairs.”
New Yorkers have a lot to say about the change. Many took to Twitter to voice their opinons:
Well, guess I won't be going to these venues either. Why are people doing this right before everyone is predicting a bad Covid wave?? https://t.co/kb9Kp30yrD
— Sho-ltergeist 👻 (@Vmarshmellow) October 18, 2022
Attended the opera the other day. Was shocked masks still required at The Met. Almost left. Will def impact future ticket purchases for me.
— Melanie (@nycpix) October 17, 2022
Very alarming. NYT reported today Carnegie Hall, NYC ballet, Met Opera Juilliard, other Lincoln Center properties are getting rid of masks very soon. (Amtrak & MTA no masks either). Madness.
— Patty Tobin (@PRPAREXCEL) October 17, 2022
I know. I lived in NYC most of my adult life. Terrible obfuscation. And did you see today's NYT? All the top cultural institutions from NYC ballet to the Met to Carnegie Hall all dropping masks having consulted with the "authorities" whose guidance as we know is impeccable…
— Patty Tobin (@PRPAREXCEL) October 18, 2022
I know. I lived in NYC most of my adult life. Terrible obfuscation. And did you see today's NYT? All the top cultural institutions from NYC ballet to the Met to Carnegie Hall all dropping masks having consulted with the "authorities" whose guidance as we know is impeccable…
— Patty Tobin (@PRPAREXCEL) October 18, 2022
The Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet and Carnegie Hall announced that they will make face masks optional beginning Oct. 24 as Covid-19 cases continue to decline across the area. Why the hurry? Where the hell have you been?
— 🇺🇸Lionel🇺🇸 (@LionelMedia) October 17, 2022
https://t.co/cZzRiRM0C9