Civic Opera House

As soon as you lay eyes on the elegant architecture and opulent lobby at this hall, built by Samuel Insull in 1929, you’ll realize that subtlety isn’t the order of the day at the Civic Opera House. The prestigious Lyric Opera of Chicago has made its home here since 1954, and now presents eight productions each season. It’s regularly ranked as one of the top opera companies in the country, boasting a talented stable of singers alongside an excellent orchestra under the musical direction of Sir Andrew Davis (formerly of the BBC Symphony Orchestra), and is also seen as one of the most traditional in terms of both repertoire and style of production. However, the last few years have seen the company stage a handful of more unexpected operas—John Adams’s brand-new Doctor Atomic, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess—with astounding success.