Opera for Beginners

Discover the Lyric, and enter to win free tickets!

At a Lyric Opera performance you get to hear the best vocal artists in the world, singing without amplification along with a world-renowned 48-member chorus and a 70-member orchestra. There’s also incredible scenery and sumptuous costumes, and sometimes a full ballet.

And the venue itself is a visual feast, inside and out. The throne-shaped Civic Opera Building at 20 North Wacker Drive was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White (also famous for The Merchandise Mart and other Chicago landmarks) and opened in 1929; the decorative character of the entire building is a hybrid of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. Comedy-tragedy masks and a cornucopia of instruments abound as playful ornaments around entrances, inspired by the Paris Opera House. The famous painted fire curtain (depicting the parade scene from “Aida”) in the Ardis Krainik Theatre and the interior decoration details were created by American artist Jules Guerrin in a palette of salmon pinks, roses, olives, golds and bronzes. Even the ceilings are stunning, all painstakingly stenciled by hand.

But operas are sooooo long!  

“Lawrence of Arabia,” “The Godfather” and “The Lord of the Rings” all clocked in at more than three hours at a movie theater, with no breaks. Lyric’s shows this season are mostly 2¾-3½ hours long, including one or two intermissions, during which you can dash to the powder room and enjoy an adult beverage on all levels of the beautiful art-deco Civic Opera House. You can even pre-order a gourmet snack at the Florian Opera Bistro. Plus, the lights are on when you head back to your seat. Granted, Wagner’s “Lohengrin” runs a generous 4¾ hours, but it starts earlier, and you have the option of ordering a box supper to nosh during the first intermission.

Opera is boring and irrelevant.

Au contraire, mon frère! Opera is an art form that’s been around since the late 16th century. Wonder why? The plots are packed with timeless themes that illuminate the human condition.

Not only that – some stage directors incorporate modern twists to operatic tales to drive home the point that these stories aren’t at all “long ago and far away.” In his new production of “Hercules,” for instance, director Peter Sellars will present the hero as a American general returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Operatic tales of love, betrayal, ambition and vengeance will keep you on the edge of your seat and strike resonant contemporary chords.   

I don’t know enough about classical music to ‘get’ opera.

Opera has always been a popular entertainment, on par with going to a movie or going to a musical. You don’t have to do any homework to enjoy the experience. For those who want to listen up or read up in advance, however, Lyric offers lots of options.

First and foremost is www.lyricopera.org, which is chock full of information, plot summaries, podcasts, video clips, slideshows, articles and more. There are lively pre-opera lectures in the theater before every performance (free for ticketholders), Discovery Series talks featuring directors and stars of the operas (also available on podcast), the Season Companion overview publication and more.

Intrigued? Enter to win free tickets to Lyric Opera this month -- a TCW exclusive. Visit www.lyricopera.org/tcw to enter.