03-18-2026EXPERIENCE ECONOMY

How Yuval Sharon and Es Devlin are using cutting-edge tech to push opera forward—just when it needs it most

Want a glimpse at opera’s next act? Look no further than a buzzy production of Richard Wagner’s ‘Tristan und Isolde’ at New York’s Met Opera.

Lisa Davidsen as Isolde and Michael Spyres as Tristan in Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde.” [Photo: Karen Almond/Met Opera]

Despite what Timothée Chalamet may think, the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Richard Wagner’s epic Tristan und Isolde is generating a lot of buzz this season.

That’s thanks in no small part to director Yuval Sharon’s bold choices, which include cutting-edge video projections and an immersive set design by Es Devlin.

Sharon believes it is necessary to be forward-thinking, especially since the arts are facing a hard economic reality. He also believes it’s what helped drive the production’s impressive ticket sales.

“People all saw that there is something new is being attempted here that you’ve just got to see,” he tells Fast Company. “I think that is its own reward.”

In an era where New York’s storied Met Opera has faced layoffs, pay cuts, postponed productions, and a controversial financial agreement with Saudi Arabia, Chalamet’s comments, while dismissive and disrespectful, may have a kernel of hard truth in them.

According to reporting by the New York Times, declining ticket sales are part of the problem, down $20 million in 10 years. And live performances are not the only ticket revenue dwindling—live broadcasts of opera in movie theaters are down as well.

Because of high production costs, opera cannot survive on ticket revenue alone. Companies such as the Met also rely on investment endowments. Unfortunately, the Met has also depleted its endowment by one third, dropping from $340 million in 2022 to $212 million today, the Times reports.

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