Chalamet thanked by Royal Ballet and Opera boss for boosting ticket sales

The head of the Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) has thanked Hollywood star Timothée Chalamet for boosting the London institution's ticket sales following the actor's controversial remarks about the art forms.

Alex Beard told The Times that Chalamet's statement earlier this year pronouncing that "no-one cares" about ballet or opera anymore had produced a "fantastic" public reaction.

"I thought it important that we didn't issue a kind of hoity-toity response to Chalamet," Beard said.

"We simply said 'Take a look at what we're doing, mate' - for instance, the fact that the largest portion of our audience by age is 20 to 30-year-olds.

"And you know what? Our post got two-and-a-half million engagements and half a million shares, just on Instagram. And our ticket sales got an immediate boost. So cheers, Timmy!"

Oscar-nominated Chalamet triggered a backlash from the performing arts world after he appeared to dismiss the two art forms.

Chalamet had been talking to Matthew McConaughey at the University of Texas in February about efforts to preserve cinema.

"I don't want to be working in ballet, or opera, or things where it's like, 'Hey, keep this thing alive, even though like no one cares about this anymore,'" Chalamet said.

"All respect to all the ballet and opera people out there", he quickly added, seemingly realising how his comments may come across.

His remarks drew criticism from stage stars, opera houses and ballet companies - but some saw his words as a promotional opportunity.

The Seattle Opera used the actor's remarks as a marketing opportunity and ran a bespoke promotion for an upcoming performance of Carmen.

Posting on Instagram, the company encouraged ticket buyers to use the promo code "TIMOTHEE" for a discount on certain tickets that weekend.

"Timmy, you're welcome to use it too," the opera house added.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Times as he launched his 14th season in Covent Garden, Beard also defended the RBO's recent dynamic pricing announcement.

"What we do is not full-on dynamic pricing," Beard said.

"We don't change prices at all during the priority-booking period or first couple of weeks of public booking. All the lower price bands are constant. And there's a cap on what top-price tickets can rise to. It's a long way from what you might call the full Oasis experience."

He added that that "tweaking the top price" could "keep the lower prices down".