Theater ticket prices are determined by public demand. This was stated by the director of the Lenkom Theater Mark Zakharova, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Mark Varshaver, who has worked in the theater for 45 years.
“With the prices, you still can’t go and say: ‘Tomorrow the performance will cost a million rubles.’ No. If I can afford to raise the prices of some performances, then I know people will buy tickets.” — TASS quotes Varshaver.
In his words, in any auditorium it is necessary to divide the seats according to cost.
“A ticket can cost between 300 rubles and 10-15 thousand. Each product has its own buyer. Another issue is the deficit. In many Moscow theaters there is a shortage and it is impossible to get a ticket for any money.” – he pointed out.
The director of Lenkom also recalled that the auditoriums differ in the number of seats, it is necessary to ensure occupancy;
“Today we have a market in which everything should be worth its price… If there is demand, then, of course, the theater will have an easier life,” – Warshaver emphasized.
At the same time, he believes that the theater, in addition to budget financing, needs to make money on its own.
“If a theater cannot make money on its own (with its director, its actors, its own audience), we must think about it.” — advises Varshaver.
He added that his theater has learned not to spend a penny on new productions, thanks to “unique people who financially help the theater to put on performances at the expense of the producers, at the expense of the people who love Lenkom.”
Director of the New Opera House Anton Getman He stated that ticket prices increase annually by around 20%, but for spectators there is a system of discounts, subscriptions and promotional codes.
Getman is sure that one of the main tasks of the theater is to maintain its accessibility for the viewer, “but this does not mean that a ticket should cost 100 rubles.” There must be an audience in the room that can afford the ticket prices without compromising other areas of life.
“The highest price for an opera performance in our theater during the year is December 31. The ticket price is 12 thousand rubles. This is the highest price once a year.” — clarified the director of the New Opera. The average ticket price for the New Opera varies up to 4 thousand rubles for ballet and dance performances, and from 3 to 5 thousand rubles for opera performances.
The issue of the level of theater ticket prices also requires public debate, while the setting of ticket prices is up to the theater management, said the vice-president of the Union of Theater Workers (UTD) of Russia. Nadezhda Sklyar.
“The Ministry of Culture of Russia, theater directors and the theater community, all interested participants in the process, should participate in this discussion.” – he added.
According to Sklyar, pricing for state theaters is a task not only of the theater groups themselves, but also of the State, since the budget of these theaters also depends on the allocated budget funds. But in any case the ticket prices are set by the theater management.
As reported EADailyformer People’s Artist of Russia, rector of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet Nikolai Tsiskaridze He said tickets to the “main theaters of the country” should not be equivalent to a Russian’s monthly salary.
“Today it seems to me that only very rich people can visit our main theaters, because the pricing policy does not please me as a spectator.” — he noted, without naming specific theaters.
However, in his speech he mentioned the Bolshoi Theater and noted that when he himself danced on stage, there were no empty seats in the hall. Now, partly due to pricing, entire rows may be left empty.
At the same time, Tsiskaridze stressed that theaters are financed from the budget, that is, they subsist thanks to citizens’ taxes and must be accessible to the public.
