It was the first intermission at the Metropolitan Opera’s buzzy new “Tristan und Isolde,” and Ricardo Perez was feeling good.
Mr. Perez, a senior at Boston College, had splurged on a $200 ticket to last Monday’s premiere after writing a term paper about the Wagner opera in his sophomore year.
In the half-hour break before Act II, he had lightly caffeinated with a small white teacup of Irish coffee, but his secret weapon — a pack of Zyn, the six-milligram pillows of nicotine that can be found wedged in many a Gen Z cheek — remained untouched.
Mr. Perez was pleased not to have dipped into his supply in Act I, which he said was “the hardest to get through.” “In all Wagner operas,” he added, “the first act is just endless exposition.”
The Met’s new production of “Tristan” opened last week to rave reviews, with critics praising the “miraculous” singing and innovative yet audience-friendly staging. (Saturday’s performance will be screened live in theaters nationwide.)
But for many New Yorkers, there is no soprano so celestial, no aria so transporting, that a nearly four-hour opera — five, with intermissions — can be faced without some bucking up.
For her first visit to the Met, Allegra Myers of the Bronx had pre-gamed with a yerba maté energy drink. But like Mr. Perez, she also had a little something extra up her sleeve. Standing at the head of the opera house’s grand staircase, she produced a plastic canister of chocolate candies filled with coffee crème.
“Would you like one?” she asked, offering a gold-wrapped bonbon to a reporter. (He accepted.)
Broadly speaking, caffeine seemed to be the drug of choice at the first two performances of the opera. Roxanne Zhou, 27, a construction project manager, said on Friday that she had an espresso shot at 4 p.m. — an hour later than her usual last call for caffeine.
“Not too crazy,” she said, “but yes, I did prep myself.” Standing near the bar on the opera house’s Grand Tier, just beneath one of the Met’s two 36-foot Chagall murals, Ms. Zhou wondered whether the bartenders might be able to whip up an espresso martini.
“It might be needed at one of the intermissions,” she said.
Friday’s performance was one of several “Under 40” nights scattered throughout the season, offering discounted tickets to operagoers ages 40 and under. The Met’s efforts to make inroads with younger audiences come at a time of great financial precariousness for the performing arts organization, the largest in the United States. (To wit: The Met is considering selling the Chagalls to help make ends meet.)
Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, described the new production as “an epic event” that more than justified its five-hour running time, adding that “it’s still a lot shorter than an all-night rave.”
“Audiences of all ages are attracted to larger-than-life experiences, and that’s what we’re offering,” Mr. Gelb said in a statement. “We love that our audience arrives ready to be transformed. Whether caffeinated or not, ‘Tristan’ should prove to be a stimulating and mind-altering experience.”
On Friday, at an Amorino gelato shop just across Columbus Avenue from the opera house, two young operagoers fueled up with affogatos — espresso-drizzled Italian ice cream — before the curtain. Julia Kraffczyk and Geva Avnet, classmates at Hunter College High School, estimated that they each saw about half a dozen operas a year.
“This is definitely the longest opera that I’m going to see,” Ms. Kraffczyk said.
(That’s certainly true this season: At four hours and 50 minutes, the three-act “Tristan und Isolde” has a full hour on the next longest opera on the Met’s 2025-26 slate, Strauss’s “Arabella.”)
But such is the surety of youth that Mr. Avnet was unfazed by the prospect of final bows coming sometime after 11 p.m., despite having gotten up for school at 6:40 that morning.
“I’m hoping I’ll be able to just, like, power through,” he said.
Many in attendance on Friday were grateful for the opportunity to sleep in on Saturday. (One audience member said she purposely didn’t make any plans for the next morning.) Chen Shen Wang, 37, went a step further, and planned to show herself some grace if the coziness of the darkened theater should get the best of her.
“I’m also prepared to forgive myself if I do, like, doze off,” she said.
A sainted few had packed fruits and vegetables for the occasion. One man spoke of the benefits of the humble apple, which he said released its energy slowly, suggesting it could offer a more sustained boost than other snacks. And though Joel Campana, who works at Hugo Boss, might have been thinking more about hunger than drowsiness, he still deserved credit for modeling healthful habits at the opera.
“I have baby carrots in my bag,” Mr. Campana, 34, said, indicating a Marc Jacobs tote printed with a repeated black-and-white photo of Maria Callas as Medea.
With all due respect to fruits and veggies, the Met’s caffeinated offerings carried the day at the first performances of “Tristan.”
And while Ms. Zhou might have been pleased to find that the Met did have espresso martinis on offer, she would have needed to act fast: The Grand Tier bar had sold out of the drinks by the first intermission.
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