Gualtieri announces scheme for Teatro dell’Opera from next year, following Mamdani’s free Metropolitan Opera initiative.Rome will make 10,000 free tickets available for performances at the Teatro dell’Opera from next year, mayor Roberto Gualtieri announced on Monday, after appearing in a social media video with his New York counterpart Zohran Mamdani.The video, posted on Mamdani’s accounts, promotes a New York City scheme providing 70,000 free tickets to the Metropolitan Opera. Known as “Metropolitan For All”, it is aimed at city residents and, according to local reports, favours those who have not bought tickets since 2019. Tickets are reportedly allocated by lottery among people who have downloaded the Met Opera app.In the clip, Mamdani begins singing Bella Ciao before Gualtieri interrupts, suggesting he leave singing to the professionals. Gualtieri also shows how to write 70,000 in Roman numerals and describes opera as one of Italy’s greatest excellences. He ends by telling Romans that “important news about opera” is coming soon, and jokes that “all roads lead to the opera”. We heard you liked the opera. You’re in luck. Go to https://t.co/LpKzEcL0V5 to enter the lottery for free tickets to the Metropolitan Opera. https://t.co/X2zX9g7b8Z — Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) November 1, 2026 The announcement followed in a statement. Gualtieri congratulated Mamdani on the New York initiative and said Rome shared his conviction that culture must be accessible to everyone. "From 1 January next year Rome will make 10,000 free opera tickets available to Romans", he said, adding that details would be announced in the coming days. The mayor pointed to existing cultural programmes that have reached hundreds of thousands of Romans, not only during the Estate Romana summer festival but throughout the year, in squares and neighbourhoods across the city. These range from art and open-air cinemas to theatre, music, literature and opera, including OperaCamion, which he said Mamdani also enjoyed.The two mayors met in New York in mid-September. Italian media reports note the latest initiative follows an exchange of ideas on housing and Mamdani’s decision to adopt Rome’s "Il grande freddo" scheme, which uses cultural venues such as libraries and cinemas as air-conditioned refuges during heatwaves.How the Rome opera tickets will be distributed, and for which performances, has not yet been confirmed. Photo credit: Stefano Tammaro / Shutterstock.com

Rome will make 10,000 free tickets available for performances at the Teatro dell’Opera from next year, mayor Roberto Gualtieri announced on Monday, after appearing in a social media video with his New York counterpart Zohran Mamdani. The video, posted on Mamdani’s accounts, promotes a New York City scheme providing 70,000 free tickets to the Metropolitan Opera. Known as “Metropolitan For All”, it is aimed at city residents and, according to local reports, favours those who have not bought tickets since 2019. Tickets are reportedly allocated by lottery among people who have downloaded the Met Opera app.

In the clip, Mamdani begins singing before Gualtieri interrupts, suggesting he leave singing to the professionals. Gualtieri also shows how to write 70,000 in Roman numerals and describes opera as one of Italy’s greatest excellences. He ends by telling Romans that “important news about opera” is coming soon, and jokes that “all roads lead to the opera”. We heard you liked the opera. You’re in luck. Go to https://t.co/LpKzEcL0V5 to enter the lottery for free tickets to the Metropolitan Opera. https://t.co/X2zX9g7b8Z — Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) The announcement followed in a statement. Gualtieri congratulated Mamdani on the New York initiative and said Rome shared his conviction that culture must be accessible to everyone. "From 1 January next year Rome will make 10,000 free opera tickets available to Romans", he said, adding that details would be announced in the coming days. The mayor pointed to existing cultural programmes that have reached hundreds of thousands of Romans, not only during the Estate Romana summer festival but throughout the year, in squares and neighbourhoods across the city. These range from art and open-air cinemas to theatre, music, literature and opera, including , which he said Mamdani also enjoyed.

The two mayors met in New York in mid-September. Italian media reports note the latest initiative follows an exchange of ideas on housing and Mamdani’s decision to adopt Rome’s "Il grande freddo" scheme, which uses cultural venues such as libraries and cinemas as during heatwaves.

How the Rome opera tickets will be distributed, and for which performances, has not yet been confirmed. Photo credit: Stefano Tammaro / Shutterstock.com