New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has joined forces with the Metropolitan Opera to offer 70,000 free tickets – 10,000 each month – to the Opera for the 2026-27 season.
The tickets will be distributed via an online lottery.
During his video announcement, Mayor Mamdani said, “Opera is one of the greatest art forms that we have. And there’s no better place to see it than here. Every New Yorker should have the opportunity to see this, no matter how much money’s in their pocket.”
He added, “this will be a permanent, ongoing relationship with the Met every year … This art form was meant to be seen by everyone.”
Mayor Mamdani announced a similar program for Broadway in August.
An average of 75% of the seats at the 3,800 seat Met; the free tickets will come from the unsold seats.
In order to qualify for the online lottery…
you must be a resident of New York City
have a valid ID
have not previously purchased a Met ticket
there is no income requirement
Lotteries open the day before a performance via the Met Opera app and will run until 7:45am on the day of show.
Lottery winners will be notified via email after the 8am lottery drawing. Winners can receive up to two (2) tickets per performance with a total of six tickets.
Met Opera’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager Peter Gelb spoke on the program via statement saying, “throughout its storied history, the Met has culturally enriched New York. With these new initiatives, we hope to further demonstrate that the Met is a vital part of life in the city.”
The non-profit Met has launched a $1.5 billion fundraising campaign – one-third of which will go to the Met’s endowment; which has been depleted in recent years. So far, $407 million has been raised.
“The Metropolitan Opera is the largest performing arts company in the United States, with an annual operating budget of $340 million, and 3,000 employees. Earned revenue accounts for only one-third of the operating budget.”
The 2026-27 season has just opened with a new production of “The Scottish Play” – “Macbeth”.
Running now until June 12, 2027, The Met has planned a 17 opera season including:
the world premiere of “Missy Mazzoli”
Royce Vavrek’s “Lincoln in the Bardo”
Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’ss “Silent Night”
the new production of Janáček’s “Jenufa”
Puccini’s “La Fanciulla del West”
With revivals of:
“La Boheme”
“The Magic Flute”
“The Met continues to offer $25 rush and lottery tickets, as well as student tickets, and a discount ticket program for patrons under the age of 40. “
For more information, visit MetOpera.org.