Once a year, the doors of the Lyric Opera House swing wide open for a behind-the-scenes experience like no other! On Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., audiences of all ages can step into the world of opera at Explore Your Lyric, an immersive, hands-on event where visitors choose their own adventure by navigating through a host of special opportunities and performances.
Ever wanted to stand on Lyric’s grand stage? Peek into the orchestra pit? Try your hand at stage combat or design? This is your chance! Guests can move through the Opera House at their own pace, diving into the artistry that brings productions to life. From costume displays to makeup artistry, live music to movement workshops, DJ sets to magical illusions, this interactive event puts visitors at the center of the action.
"Explore Your Lyric is all about creativity, curiosity, and fun," said Jill LeCesne Potter, Senior Director of Learning Programs at Lyric Unlimited – Learning & Civic Engagement. "It’s a day to step into the roles of designer, musician, performer, and see what makes opera such a thrilling, collaborative art form."
One highlight of the day is a live performance of Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, Lyric’s 2024 Opera in the Neighborhoods tour production. This family-friendly opera, based on Laurence Anholt’s book, tells the true story of a young girl’s friendship with Frida Kahlo and brings the artist’s vibrant world to the stage.
Other interactive experiences include:
- Amazing magic with acclaimed illusionist Walter King (The Magic of the Spellbinder)
- Stage combat demonstrations that bring dramatic fight scenes to life
- Movement-based workshops led by bilingual storyteller Jasmin Cardenas
- A mobile street art cart with artist William Estrada
- A live DJ set by audience favorite DJ Houston of J Mayberry Events
- An open-ended, play-based structure building with ¡Anímate! Studio
- Visitors can also chat with Lyric’s artists and technicians, explore interactive exhibits, and get hands-on with musical instruments alongside Lyric Opera Orchestra musicians.
Tickets for Explore Your Lyric are available now. Don’t miss this once-a-year chance to go beyond the footlights by stepping into the magic of opera. For more information and to reserve tickets, visit lyricopera.org/explorelyric.
About Lyric
Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.
Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO John Mangum and Music Director Enrique Mazzola, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists — magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.
Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.
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For more information, visit lyricopera.org.