Chicago Opera Theater

08/13/2025

Calling all Chicago-based tenors, baritones, bass-baritones, and basses! 🎶

Comprimario and chorus auditions for COT’s upcoming season, including Salieri’s ‘Falstaff’ and Weill’s ‘Der Silbersee’, take place September 10, 2025, at 410 South Michigan Avenue.

Local Chicago-area artists are encouraged to apply! COT is committed to inclusive casting and encourages artists of color, LGBTQIA+ artists, and artists with disabilities to apply. Limited slots available.

Submit your materials by August 24 to be considered. Learn more info here → cot.org/auditions

08/08/2025

For over 50 years, COT has brought bold new works, rarely-seen operas, and intimately performed concerts to stages across Chicago!

Now through August 31st, all new and increased gifts will be matched through the Morse Challenge Grant, doubling your impact on the future of musical storytelling in Chicago.

Your generous support fuels world premieres like 'She Who Dared', groundbreaking programs for CPS students, and a vibrant new season of Chicago premieres like Salieri's 'Falstaff'.

Join in the joy of giving and contribute today → cot.org/donate

08/07/2025

Subscribing to COT’s 25/26 Season means more than just great seats — it’s your invitation to discover new works and rarely produced operas.

As a subscriber, you'll access significant savings to shows like the Chicago premiere of Kurt Weill’s ‘Der Silbersee: The Silver Lake’, priority seating in the historic Studebaker Theater, and invitations to exclusive events throughout the season you won’t want to miss!

To learn more about how you can become a subscriber, visit → cot.org/subscribe

📷 by Michael Brosilow

07/21/2025

Are you ready to discover COT’s 25/26 Season? 🎉

Here’s what you can expect from this thrilling new season:

‘Falstaff’: A brilliant, comedic spin on one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters, written by Salieri almost 100 years before Verdi’s opera.

‘Der Silbersee: The Silver Lake’: A groundbreaking work by Kurt Weill that stands as both a testament to artistic defiance and a timeless reflection of humanity's struggles and hopes.

‘Trusted’: A gripping new opera developed through COT’s Vanguard Initiative about a high-powered financial advisor exposed for decades of fraud — and the emotional fallout that follows for his family.

And don't miss seeing this season's Discovery Concerts:

‘Shakespeare Sings’ and ‘In America’s Embrace’ — two stirring musical journeys that have been curated to deepen your connection to the stories we tell on stage.

To learn more the new season, visit → https://www.chicagooperatheater.org/2025-26-season

Season Art by Christian Gridelli

07/04/2025

Happy 4th of July from all of us at Chicago Opera Theater! 🇺🇸

Today, as we celebrate the spirit of independence and the founding of our nation, we also reflect on the courageous women who stood up for freedom and justice—trailblazers whose stories inspired this season’s world premiere of SHE WHO DARED.

Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, Mary Louise Smith, Jo Ann Robinson, Jeanetta Reese, and Rosa Parks—let us always remember the names of these remarkable women who dared to challenge injustice and helped ignite a movement.

Their legacy reminds us that the fight for liberty has always included the voices of those who refused to be silenced.

📸 by Michael Brosilow

07/01/2025

Over 300 CPS students took the stage at the Studebaker Theater in May to present excerpts of their original operas as part of this year's OFA Student Showcase — Tales of Courage.

From magical wizards to dodgeball games, these young artists worked with COT Teaching Artists and Director of Education & Community Engagement Veronica Chamberlain to explore scriptwriting, composing, design, painting, and opera performance 🎭

Learn more about how COT invests in comprehensive arts education here → www.chicagooperatheater.org/opera-for-all

06/08/2025

A FEW TICKETS HAVE JUST BEEN MADE AVAILABLE! Our final performance of SHE WHO DARED this afternoon is almost completely sold out, but we've just released a few seats for the 3pm matinee today, Sunday June 8th. Don't miss your final chance to see this extraordinary new opera at COT! https://tickets.fineartsbuilding.com/fineartsbuilding/website/ChooseSeats.aspx?EventInstanceId=43201

06/08/2025

“The seven impeccably cast singers are strong, each fitting superbly into the ensemble and making the most of their solo moments.”

🎟️ Final performance TODAY at The Studebaker Theater
Secure your seat now → www.cot.org/she-who-dared

Read the Chicago Sun-Times review on ‘She Who Dared’ below:

The seven impeccably cast singers are strong, each fitting superbly into the ensemble and making the most of their solo moments.

06/08/2025

“The score, which includes an ode to the Fourteenth Amendment and a Broadway-ready rouser of an opening number, is a hearty stew with a base of traditional opera liberally seasoned with soul, gospel, midcentury pop influences, and more.”

🎟️ Final performance on June 8 at The Studebaker Theater
Secure your seat now → www.cot.org/she-who-dared

Read Chicago Reader’s review of ‘She Who Dared’ below:

She Who Dared centers the women behind the Montgomery bus boycott and the landmark case of Browder v. Gayle.

06/07/2025

Thank you Victor Blackwell and CNN for featuring SHE WHO DARED this morning on First of All with Victor Blackwell. If you missed the show, you can watch the video at this link - the feature begins at 33'56".
https://www.cnn.com/videos/title-2447119

06/06/2025

Don’t miss it! 🎥 Tomorrow morning, tune in to 'First of All with Victor Blackwell' on CNN for a special feature on 'She Who Dared'!

Composer Jasmine Arielle Barnes, librettist Deborah DEEP Mouton, and COT General Director Lawrence Edelson will join Victor to discuss the opera’s world premiere, the powerful true stories that inspired it — and how this historic production is amplifying Black voices at the intersection of news and the arts.

Tune in, share widely, and help shine a national spotlight on this incredible new production!

📺 She Who Dared will be featured on Saturday, June 7
on CNN's 'First of All with Victor Blackwell' at 7AM CT / 8AM ET

06/05/2025

“The music is a rousing blend of gospel and classical. The overture and opening number had that vast Americana feel. I could see Pearl Bailey or Ethel Waters suddenly appearing.”

“There are melodic arias with Habersham's soprano ascending and sustaining high notes that turn to a gentle whisper or a call to burn it all down.”

“D.E.E.P.'s libretto is politically on point, with the metaphor of quilting broken pieces of dissent.”

Read Third Coast Review’s full take on ‘She Who Dared’ now:
https://thirdcoastreview.com/stages/2025/06/05/stages-review-she-who-dared-chicago-opera-theater

🎟 Final performances: June 6 & 8 at The Studebaker Theater

Secure your seat now! https://www.chicagooperatheater.org/she-who-dared

I asked one of my Gen Z friends if they knew about the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Their quizzical expression hit me like a lead weight. The history of the Civil […]