More tri-campus students ought to give visiting the Lyric Opera of Chicago a try. In the era of the dreaded “Double Track” construction project on the South Shore Line, it used to take three hours by train and bus combined — and technically four hours if you were heading east because of the changing time zones — to get there, but now it’s just a simple trip of two hours.
And the institutions of classical music are so desperate to find young audiences as their aging patrons literally wither away that they tend to offer insane student discounts. If you sign up for NEXT, the Lyric’s student discount program, you can pretty easily pay $20 for what would otherwise be a $200 or even $300 seat. It makes for a convenient day trip, one a lot more opulent than it actually costs, and the music isn’t half bad either.
Four productions at the Lyric’s home in Chicago’s Civic Opera House remain before the company breaks for the summer, although the works they’ll be performing next season have recently been announced. Here’s a quick look at what's left this semester:
Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème” (March 15–April 12)
This production of Puccini’s iconic romantic (with a lowercase “r”) and Romantic (with a capital “r”) opera has been getting great reviews. If you’ve never seen an opera before, one of the six remaining performances of “La Bohème” at the Lyric could be a great starting point.
Missy Mazzoli’s “The Listeners” (March 30–April 11)
If you’re planning a date to the Lyric with your girlfriend, stick to “La Bohéme.” Composed by Missy Mazzoli — a contemporary composer whose opera “Proving Up” was performed at Notre Dame in 2022 and who has recently completed an operatic adaptation of the novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” — this show’s content advisory speaks for itself: “‘The Listeners’ includes explicit language and sexual content along with brief mentions of self-harm and suicide that may be triggering to some audience members.”
“Lyric in Concert: A Wondrous Sound” (April 16–April 19)
While not an opera, this concert will showcase the Lyric’s stellar orchestra and chorus in a program of “masterworks by Puccini, Rossini, Bizet and more.” While I’m sure it’ll be great, it’s only set to last 65 minutes. I don’t think that’s worth the trip into the city. If you’re in town for Easter, though, it might be a nice detour.
“Rising Stars in Concert” (April 25)
While primarily a concert meant to highlight the young artists at the Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center, a prestigious training program, this show will feature selections from the comic opera “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Jacques Offenbach — famous for originating the tune of the “can-can song.” Like many composers of funny music, Offenbach’s genius was never taken as seriously as it deserved to be. Go for him, if not for the “rising stars.”
