Attending the opera for the first time can be intimidating, but with the right attitude, it's as accessible as a night at the theatre—and a far cry from the sacrosanct experience it's often portrayed to be.

Just a few subway stops from the marquees of Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera continues its 2022-23 season, featuring seven new productions and seventeen revivals. The season kicked off September 27 with the house premiere of Cherubini’s Medea directed by David McVicar, and will continue through June 10.

Opera offers a grand variation on traditional theatergoing, but if those massive arches seem daunting, here are a few tips and tricks to make your night at the opera one to remember.

What to See

With roughly two-dozen productions per season, the Met’s lineups are an eclectic mix of familiar favorites and adventurous picks, classic stagings and the avante garde. Here are just a few suggestions from this season’s offerings:

Stories you know: Some popular musicals are based on operas, including Rent (based on La Bohéme), Moulin Rouge! (La Traviata), and Aida (Aida). All three operas will be performed in the Met’s 2022-23 season. Many operas are based on classic plays. If you like Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives Of Windsor (or the Public Theater’s 2021 production of Merry Wives) check out Verdi’s Falstaff. If Greek tragedy is more your speed, give Medea a go.

Broadway names: Many Broadway directors and stars have made their mark on the Met stage. This season, Phelim McDermott directs the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ The Hours, starring Tony winner Kelli O’Hara and Tony nominee Renee Fleming. Ivo van Hove will make his Met debut directing Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Simon McBurney will make his directing Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. The season will also include revivals of productions by John Doyle (Peter Grimes), Bartlett Sher (Rigoletto and L’Elisir d’Amore), Michael Mayer (La Traviata), and a holiday presentation of Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic Flute, sung in English. Camille A. Brown will choreograph the Met premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Champion.

Star power: As usual, the Met has lined up all-star casts of some of the most acclaimed opera singers in the world. Medea (starring Sondra Radvanovsky and Matthew Polenzani), Der Rosenkavalier (starring Lise Davidsen and Isabel Leonard fresh off their much-lauded performances in Ariadne auf Naxos last season), Don Giovanni (veteran Peter Mattei leads a cast of rapidly rising stars including Federica Lombardi, Ben Bliss, and Ying Fang), and The Hours (featuring Renée Fleming, Kelli O’Hara, Joyce DiDonato, Kathleen Kim, and Denyce Graves) are just some of the top-quality casts the opera company has assembled for this season.

Something short: Four-and-a-half hour run times like those of Lohengrin and Der Rosenkavalier can be daunting to new operagoers. If you want to be in and out of the opera house in under three hours, the Met has options for you, including Falstaff, Fedora, and Rigoletto. The Met also stages a two-hour abridged version of Mozart's The Magic Flute, sung in English and directed by Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor.

For the daring: This season will see the Met premieres of two 21st-century operas, starting with the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ The Hours in November. In April, the company will stage Champion, the first opera by Terence Blanchard, whose Fire Shut Up In My Bones opened the Met season last year. More adventurous operagoers may also have an eye on Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, a chillingly tragic tale of an order of Carmelite nuns during France’s Reign of Terror; and Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, an aggressively satirical opera that became banned in the Soviet Union.

Getting Tickets

The Metropolitan Opera sells tickets in the back of the family circle for around $30. While you’ll want to bring binoculars, opera buffs claim these seats offer the best sound quality. 

Seats closer to the stage—and ground—will cost more, but just like on Broadway, affordable options exist, including a day-of online rush and student performances.

Doing Your Homework

From the potential language barrier to the grandeur of the staging, opera can risk a sensory overload. If you’re not bothered by spoilers, go ahead and read opera’s summary on either the Met’s site or Wikipedia.

The Met does offer individual translations (located on the seat-back in front of you, more on that later). However, if you're already loosely familiar with the plot, you can follow the captioning casually, and you’ll recognize plot points on stage without relying too heavily on them. This will also free you to take in what’s most important: the music. 

Speaking of which, get hyped for your night at the opera by giving a key aria or two from the show a listen. You may be surprised by how much you already know, and it’ll make the unparalleled experience of hearing that unamplified sound live all the more special.

What to Wear

Dress up as much or as little as you want. For some, the opera is an opportunity to go all out; no matter what you wear, there will be someone more opulent than you. Some still wear gowns and gloves. Others treat it as any other live experience; if you’re comfortable wearing it to a show on Broadway, that’ll do here as well. 

People-watching around the Metropolitan Opera House it just as much a spectacle as the story unfolding onstage. If you’re looking for an occasion to wear that bold statement necklace or don that flashy suit, this is a safe bet. You’ll fit right in while still getting the attention you want.

For some opera attire inspiration—from jeans to floor-length—check out the Met’s style blog: LastNightattheMet.com.

What to Drink

Sparkling is the drink of choice, but not your only option. There’s also coffee, which could be a blessing during even the most exciting of Wagner epics. Keep in mind: unlike a Broadway theatre, drinks are not allowed in the auditorium itself. Drink up in the lobby.

Taking It All In

Unlike most opera houses, the Met’s captioning system is as an individual experience, located behind the seat in front of you. As the performance commences, press the red button once for English captions, or continue pressing it to scroll through additional options.

The screens are tinted, so your neighbors’ screens will not be visible to you. If you’re leaning over to press their button in an attempt to help, chances are you’re doing just the opposite.

As for applause mid-performance, opera scores are generally more fluid than musical theatre, so read the room before clapping. Applause following an overture, a notable aria, or a particularly impressive vocal performance is common (especially at the Met), and in some rare cases, could even lead to an encore. Lucky you.

In general, operagoing etiquette is akin to theatregoing etiquette: Don’t do anything Patti LuPone would disapprove of.

If you're late, don't expect to be seated during a lull in the first act as you would during most Broadway ventures. If you arrive after those auditorium doors closed, you'll instead be sent to a separate viewing room, where you'll be able to watch a live feed of the action (sans subtitles) until intermission.

Intermission(s)

Most productions have at least one intermission, oftentimes more. Unlike a majority of Broadway houses, there’s far more to do than browse through your Playbill and wait in line for the restroom between acts. 

As previously mentioned, people-watching is an opera tradition, so grab a spot overlooking the staircase (or on the staircase!) and catch the varying degrees of fashion. The Met also has displays and exhibits scattered through the entire house; walk around and take a glance at the galleries on the lower level or inspect some costumes up close on the grand tier.

Many intermissions are longer than the standard 15 minutes—sometimes as long as 45; those set changes are no joke. Check ahead of time to plan your breaks accordingly.

Curtain Call

Do some hand stretches now; opera curtain calls run long, with the singers, occasionally the chorus, conductor, and—on premieres of new productions—design team each enjoying their moment center stage. But don’t leave. See the rule above concerning Patti LuPone, and it can be fun to see how dramatic an opera singer can make just one bow (or several).

Occasionally, and particularly at premieres of new productions, operagoers who fancy themselves connoisseurs may “boo” the creative team. Don’t join in—especially if you're new to the scene. The only thing more cringe-worthy than a severely misguided production is someone thinking a “boo” is a legitimate critique.

If you feel compelled to accompany your applause with an exclamation, a quick glossary of what to shout and for whom:

To commend a male performer: Bravo!
To commend a female performer: Brava!
To commend a group: Bravi!

For a full season lineup, visit MetOpera.org.