Lyric Opera of Chicago — Attraction in Chicago

Little grace and no exceptions. My wife had bought tickets to the last showing of Turandot. It was a Christmas gift and I had been looking forward to attending a Lyric Opera performance for years. Having planned the evening out, we were to arrive 30 minutes early at the opera house. But through a series of unfortunate circumstances, our cab was 20 minutes late and then canceled, forcing us to reserve another. We did end up finding another and arrived at the doors at 7:32 pm only to be told that the show had already started and the next seating would be at intermission, 1 hour and 20 minutes later.

We asked if we could stand in the back to at least hear the production, and were told that was impossible. There was a television for latecomers to see the show in the lobby. Unfortunately for the approximately 50 people who arrived within that 5-minute window, there were not enough seats, the supertitles were not legible, and there was only one screen on which to view, making it impossible to follow the storyline without hindering someone else's view.

As a professional classical musician myself, I understand the appeal of starting on time, but I have never performed a concert where this has actually happened. The usual protocol is to start 5-minutes past the scheduled time to accommodate for those that arrive late. This is done to accommodate audience members having unforeseen circumstances and is usually filled with introductory material such as recognition of significant donors, informing audiences of future shows, etc..

I have heard that the show was fantastic, it is truly sad to me that great art comes at the cost of human decency and a basic lack of grace.

P.S. On further discussion with my wife, after the beginning of the production this evening, ushers were seen removing even more chairs for the latecomers, making it even more difficult for people to stay, observe the story, and enjoy the...

As sad as I am to give this review, as the performers were very talented, I cannot say that I enjoyed my experience. Now, maybe it could've been better if I was an individual visiting, but I was part of a high school field trip. From my experience, I can say that this is not a good place for students to go.

First, let me say that the people here in general aren't as nice. We come from around Metro Detroit, so you'd think we would have worse service than in Chicago, but I guess not. The staff had a distinct attitude, and seemed to treat us poorly because we were minors.

The first distinct incident was when a song finished and a 9th grader from our group got up to use the bathroom. Once he entered the hall, a staff member said to him, "what the hell are you doing out here?" and sent him back. I thought this was supposed to be a formal place, and swearing at a 14 year old isn't too formal. The second incident was when my friend began to cough and went out to get some water. Instead of giving him a nice "what the hell are you doing," like the previous student, they treated him worse. They denied him from entering back into the theatre, and held him out for what could've been a half hour of the show. He was eventually let back in once a a staff member with an ounce of kindness found him, but he missed out on a lot of the show.

So, overall that trip had left us with a sour taste in our mouths. The staff was downright aggressive, our classmates were treated terribly, and the drinks were overpriced....

My sister and I just saw the Joffrey Ballet perform Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the Lyric Opera House. We reserved valet parking, an intermission snack at the Florian restaurant and our seats were in the first row of the upper balcony. Dropping off the car with the valet was quick and convenient. We stopped at the Florian before the performance to grab a quick bite to eat. They usually only seat people with reservations, however, they were able to accommodate us. The food was very good. Our seats in the balcony were excellent. We brought mini binoculars to view the details of the costumes and set. Our only complaint was disruptive children two seats down from us. During the first intermission, we headed back to the Florian where they had our reserved snacks ready and waiting for us. We couldn't finish everything so the staff told us to come back during the second intermission and our food would be brought back out. Kudos to the staff for such great service!! While in the elevator heading back to our seats, another patron said she couldn't hear the orchestra because she was sitting near disruptive children. It would be beneficial if the Lyric Opera House had headphones available to purchase to hear just the orchestra and block out all other noise. While leaving, the valet was a bit disorganized. People were standing everywhere. They could use a better system for retrieving vehicles. Overall the show was excellent and we both...