Intensity of Classical Musical Participation.
Distinction through Attendance of Classical Concerts, Operas
and Ballets amongst Opera House Visitors
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Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile.
Submission date: 2025-04-16
Final revision date: 2025-07-27
Acceptance date: 2026-01-07
Publication date: 2026-03-17
Polish Sociological Review 2026;233(1):147-166
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ABSTRACT
The topic of classical music taste has been widely discussed in the sociology of cultural inequalities.
Most analyses have considered the classical genre a single unit and have often focused on the socioeconomic and
sociodemographic characteristics of audiences, without seriously addressing motives for attending. In this paper,
we present a statistical analysis of data collected by an institution that offers a full program of classical music in
Santiago (Chile). Classical concerts, operas and ballets are examined separately. Using linear regression models
of intensity of attendance, we explore socioeconomic and sociodemographic variables, along with a diversity of
motivations for attendance as explanatory factors. Results demonstrate that classical concerts, operas and ballets
are different phenomena. Acknowledging the significant effects of age and sex, motives for attendance are also
found to play a prominent role in all the statistical explanations, but they all differ in their impact across the three
classical subgenres.