We realize situations arise that can delay your arrival and will try to accommodate latecomers in an available section of the house or at a predetermined break, but latecomers might not be seated until intermission. Lyric Opera performances begin promptly at the published times. “Our goal is, and always has been, to find a balance between protecting the individuals and protecting our company,” Freud said in a statement, adding in the interview, “We’re in a vacuum of uncertainty.”īesides "Tosca," the Lyric's cancellations involve Verdi's "Attila," the double-bill "Cavalleria rusticana" and "Pagliacci," and "Lessons in Love and Violence.The Lyric Opera House doors open two hours before the start of every performance, allowing plenty of time for you to sit down for a meal in one of our on-site restaurants, learn more about your performance at a pre-opera talk, or sip a glass of wine from one our many lobby bars. Stagehands and backstage crews are covered separately. The Lyric's chorus, stage management and solo singers are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists and its orchestra by the Chicago Federation of Musicians. In 2018, after a five-day strike, musicians agreed to a contract that reduced the size of the orchestra and guaranteed workweeks but increased, they said, pay by 5.6 percent over three years.įreud, 62 and in his ninth season at the Lyric, said his contract has been extended until 2021 and discussions are underway about another extension. It listed expenses in each year that offset total support. However, “total support”-encompassing donations-fell to $76.5 million from $81.5 million.
It once staged 85 to 90 performances per season, compared with 56 two years ago.ĭuring the fiscal year ended in June 2019, revenue that included ticket sales rose to $46 million from $42 million, according to the Lyric’s latest posted financial statement. The opera company faced financial strains even before the pandemic. In February, it will consider whether to stage “Singin' in the Rain” in June.
Patrons will get refunds and may cash, donate or apply them to future performances.įreud said the Lyric will decide in October whether to finish the opera season that runs through March. The other seven performances still planned for next year include Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and “Singin' in the Rain.” If the Lyric resumes in January, its first performance will be timely: the Chicago premiere of "Blue," a new work exploring the relationship between an African American teenager and his police officer father. “It’s still an eye-watering, devastating amount of money.”
LYRIC OPERA HOUSE NUTCRACKER SERIES
“It was a complicated series of compromises that included, yes, concessions,” Freud said.
The Lyric is projecting lost revenue of as much as $24 million from cancelling four productions, including Pucini’s “Tosca,” this fall-a third of the season schedule by title.įreud said the $27 million-plus it expected to forgo by suspending the current season in March has been whittled down to $13.6 million through furloughs, salary and hour reductions, increased donations and union concessions. Still scheduled in 2021 are "Of Mice and Men," Balanchine's "Serenade," and "The Little Mermaid." The Joffrey said it lost more than $1 million from the premature end of the 2019-20 season.Īfter 25 years in Chicago, the Joffrey expected to mount its forthcoming season at the Lyric Opera House for the first time. Please know that our goal is to do everything possible to preserve the Joffrey in its fullest form. In a statement, the Joffrey said: “Recovering will not be easy. Still, he added, “the new normal will be profoundly different than the old normal.” “At the end of the day, we’re facing existential challenges,” said Lyric CEO Anthony Freud in an interview. At the same time, in almost operatic terms, they acknowledged longer-lasting travails.
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