Should you dress up for the opera? For traditionalists, it’s an occasion that demands formal evening wear. Others insist audience members should simply wear the clothes in which they feel most comfortable.
Today, few opera houses enforce a dress code. Visit the Royal Opera House or the English National Opera, and you’ll see dinner jackets and evening gowns rub shoulders with leather jackets and open-necked shirts.
Daniel Kramer, artistic director of the ENO, says: “Central to everything we do is the belief that high-quality, amazing opera should be accessible to absolutely everyone. We are passionate about breaking down any perceived barriers to opera that people may have, from price to dress code.
“Although the debate about what to wear to the opera has moved on, with almost all of our audience happily turning up wearing whatever they feel most comfortable in, the way opera is presented in a lot of popular culture can be at odds with this.
“Opera is the most moving art form on Earth. It has the power to challenge, to entertain, to devastate and to inspire, whether its audience is wearing a tiara and ball gown or a T-shirt and jeans.”
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