I agree, but for the masses close is good enough.
Where are the Patrons in today’s 1% population to support those institutions that only they can afford? The Koch brothers build hospitals. Why don’t the art loving rich give to the opera instead of buying art for private consumption?
The modern art auction market can be a way to store money in other physical assets that sometimes even go up in value.
Paying to subsidize welfare to stage million dollar opera shows is a money losing proposition.
I confess that I have not spent money to see an actual symphonic orchestra in many decades - I was a huge audiophile in the mi-70’s to early 80’s.
I’ve been in a lot of “bar” bands since I started playing bass in ‘98 and find that the better I get, the less I appreciate live music, unless the musicians are truly talented/skilled.
The dirty secret is that the classical genre just isn’t what it was before radio and TV. No type of live performance is.
I put on a play in Chicago some years ago. I had to deal with the unions and everything else. It was blackmail. I learned my lesson, never to underwrite a performance in a union town again, using the best people union and non union.
The way live theater gets around this is by using amateurs mainly students, studded with professionals. Directors are in charge of many companies. In the end you have watered down performances that are more expensive than ever.