I should explain, here’s how I ended up on this page:

• Doing a crossword, answer was “La Scala”
• So I looked that up, read about the theater on Wikipedia
• Then I found it on the map
• Then i checked out pictures of it
• Then I clicked through to the web site
• Curious what people pay for tickets there, I found that page

The only opera I’ve been to so far was in Vienna. They have a tourist option where you can stand in the back, under the seats good people sit in, for like 5 euros. My friend and I did that with the other filthy travellers until we couldn’t stand any longer, about 30 minutes.

Your points are totally spot on, but I thought some context might be important here.