The Met: Can They Institute a Dress Code?

I was at the Met last night (Tuesday, December 18) to see the powerful, grimly effective production of War and Peace. I can't add to what the reviews have recorded. But I do want to channel my inner curmudgeon and say something about the dress of some people in the house. At my earlier two visits to the Met this season, I saw a lot of well dressed people--capped off last week not only by Netrebko, but by a beautiful woman with a seat in the orchestra level who was wearing a stunning black strapless gown. She looked absolutely radiant.

Now I do not expect that people wear black- or white tie (though they might want to think about it), but I do think it is important to dress for the opera, at least for the Met. An evening at the Met is a festive occasion, a special event, and should be celebrated as such.

Last night I saw several people in jeans and sneakers. A young woman in what I am sure was a very expensive hoodie. And one fellow who was wearing some kind of Klingon-style vest.

Can the Met institute a dress code? Not let people in who are wearing jeans or sneakers? Can't we have one place where the relentless casualness of dress is prohibited?