Masks are no longer required in New York City schools, gymnasiums, taxis and most theaters. However, on opera and ballet nights, proper face coverings must be worn.
That will change soon. Several of the city’s major performing arts groups, including the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York City Ballet, said Monday they were wearing masks, citing requests from audiences and the recent drop in coronavirus cases. announced that it is optional to wear
“It’s time to move on,” Metropolitan Airlines general manager Peter Gelb said in an interview.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, and the Philharmonic Orchestra will end their mask requirements on Oct. 24 with film screenings at Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School. The David H. Koch Theater, home of City Ballet, continues on November 1st. His two theaters on the Lincoln Center campus, the Mitzi E. Newhouse and the Creatow Theater, will retain their mandate.
The decision marks a milestone for classical, dance and opera institutions that have been most resistant to relaxing mask rules, wary of alienating older patrons who make up the majority of ticket buyers. As coronavirus infections dwindle and masks have disappeared from many other settings, arts groups are feeling pressure from audiences to make changes.
At the Met, for example, in a survey last month, only about a quarter of ticket buyers said they would be uncomfortable attending a performance if masks were an option. Over the summer, that number was close to 70% for him.
“People’s attitudes are changing,” says Gelb. He hoped that relaxing the rules would make the MET more accessible to “young viewers who don’t want to wear masks.” Many of them remained closed during the pandemic.
Proof of vaccination and masks have been required to enter many venues since last year when arts groups returned to the stage after a lengthy shutdown. Broadway theaters (with a few exceptions) withdrew vaccine requirements on May 1 and mask mandates on July 1.
Most classical, opera and dance groups lifted vaccination mandates this fall, but many maintained strict mask mandates on the advice of medical advisers. It became an issue. They risked alienating some ticket buyers no matter how they proceeded.
At the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the stage manager made an announcement from the stage before each performance, encouraging audiences to wear masks during the opera. At Carnegie Hall, ushers checked each row and greeted those not wearing masks.
Carnegie executive and artistic director Clive Gillinson said Hall will be sticking to the mask rule this fall due to lingering concerns about the virus among some medical advisers and audience members. However, after complaints from the audience increased after medical advisors said they could safely operate without masks, they decided to make the change.
Gillinson said in an interview, “Many people are so upset that they have to wear masks, even though they have stopped wearing them for most of their lives, so the ushers are I actually found it very difficult.
By doing away with the mask rule, art leaders hope it will help restore a sense of normalcy at a time when many groups are struggling to recover from the turmoil of the pandemic. Live performances are making a comeback in New York and across the United States, but audiences have been slow to return.
Deborah Borda, president and chief executive of the Philharmonic Orchestra, said in an interview that mask rules could change if the virus resurfaces as a deadly threat.
“This is a constantly evolving situation,” she said. “Whatever current medical protocols dictate, we will always stay up to date.”
But now, she said, it’s time to shift focus.
“We feel it is important to do our part to help the city return to a more normal state and encourage people to come back to the city and revitalize the economy. .”