Lincoln Center is trying to rewrite who goes to the opera. Its new season leans heavily on contemporary works, shorter runtimes, and lower-priced tickets, part of a determined push to draw a younger, more diverse audience to the art form.

The gamble reflects an existential challenge facing opera houses everywhere: aging audiences and rising costs. The fictional composer Nadia Okafor's chamber opera, staged in a smaller hall, sold out to a crowd noticeably younger than the grand house usually attracts.

Traditionalists worry that chasing novelty risks diluting the repertoire that defines the form. But the institution argues that survival requires reaching people who never imagined opera was for them — one accessible, contemporary night at a time.