Opera fans sing praises of Met rush ticket

Wayne Quiles knows the ins and outs of the Metropolitan Opera's rush-ticket line.

"I got here at 2:45 in the afternoon and counted 55 people in line. If all 55 get two tickets, that's 110 tickets gone. I knew that, this being a popular opera, I should get in line," said Quiles, 63.

For the retired teacher from Riverdale, Bronx, competing for one of 150 discounted rush-line tickets available for almost every Met performance is both a math problem and a test of patience. He has used the rush-ticket option about 50 times, once lining up almost nine hours before curtain for "Carmen." His reward? A prime orchestra-section seat for $20.

"It can mean a difference of $200 if you buy two rush tickets," the per-person limit, said Quiles, who saw "Le Comte Ory" on Monday. "You meet really nice people here too."

This is the Met's fourth season offering weekday rush tickets, which are subsidized by Met managing director Agnes Varis and her husband, Karl Leichtman. Fifty rush tickets are made available on the day of the performance to senior citizens, who reserve them online or by phone. Another 150 tickets are released at the Lincoln Center box office in Manhattan two hours before curtain, though the line forms long before then.

For "Le Comte Ory," the first patron in line arrived at 9:30 a.m. for the 8:30 p.m. show, armed with a lawn chair and plenty of reading material. Last week for a less-popular production of "Tosca," Mary Yang was first in line at 2 p.m.

"I don't mind," said Yang, 43, of the East Village. "You shouldn't mind unless you want to pay more."

Not that some in line couldn't afford full-priced tickets. "I've paid $1,000 for an opera ticket before, but this way, I get to see 50 performances for $1,000," said Andrew Kay, 38, of Staten Island, who also was at "Tosca." "This is such a New York thing to do. A lot of people get to know each other, not as well as the subscription people, but we become a small community."

Indeed, those camped out in the Met's underground waiting area form what operagoer Peter Johnson, 63, of Woodbury, Conn., calls a "temporary, virtual community." Many spread their jackets on the ground and sprawl out reading magazines, newspapers and books. Others recline in lawn chairs, watching movies on their iPhones and laptops. The rushers hold each others' places in line when they need to run to the bathroom, grab lunch or feed a meter. And they chat, exchanging stories of their lives.

"You meet people from all over the world in this line," said Johnson, who waited with his wife, Laura Bradshaw, 62.

The rush program is meant to encourage young people to come to the opera, and it has done just that, said Quiles, nodding at college students in line who sat doing schoolwork.

Lily Tufts, 11, of Catonsville, Md., waited five hours with her mother to see "Le Comte Ory." Rushing was their last-ditch effort to get tickets; full-price ones had been sold out for weeks. "If you like art, you should pack paper and a pencil or you can bring a Nerf football or you can bring a laptop," sixth-grader Lily advised those who planned to rush.

"Really, the rush tickets sell out every night. The new productions are always popular," said Met Opera Press Director Peter Clark, adding that the program will continue for opera seasons to come.

That's good news for regular rushers, one of whom was offered a spare ticket to "Tosca" last week by a fellow operagoer, who wanted full price for it. "Sir," he replied politely, "we're in line for $20 tickets, not $300 ones."