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Lyric Opera of Chicago
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This year's matinee is Mozart's
"The Magic Flute."
There is a Video to watch here.
Here is the "Opera House" diagram. |
The Class of 2013
took the Backstage Tour at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
We thank the tour docents for providing this opportunity to experience the backstage world of the Lyric.
It takes many technicians, stagehands and other skilled craftsmen and women to bring an opera to life.
Enjoy this interactive slide show
of the Backstage Tour
taken by the Class of 2013!
(7th graders) |
This is the actual gown worn by the Queen of the Night.
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Click the fire curtain to enlarge it; you'll see the details of the scene from Aida. |
7th graders attended a matinee of Mozart's The Magic Flute on January 26, 2012. |
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Our wonderful down-in-front seats helped us see every facial expression and all the stage business. We thought Papagena ws terrific! Intermission was a time to relax, get some snacks and prepare for the wonderful second act! |
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Opera Prop and Stage Set Project
Look at the amazing projects this year's 7th graders constructed! Our final assignment was to make a set design, construct a set or construct a prop. Some of our props would rival those at Lyric Opera! The sets represent a scene from Carmen, and the props should be suitable for use in an opera.
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Click the Act III Stage Set for a movie of our creations.
The movie was is a "slide show" project in Adobe Photoshop Elements. |
The pictures below of the interior or Lyric,and scenes from the Tour,
are from previous years. |
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The inside of the building is decorated in Art Deco style.
Our groups visited almost every part of Lyric Opera. |
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We looked into the Orchestra Pit, and found out that the conductor is always on camera. The picture is broadcast to monitors (see below) so that the performers can always see the beat. |
The monitor shows the girls looking into the orchestra pit, as the camera is always on the conductor.
Then it was time for a walk down
"Peacock Alley."
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We could look onto the stage, but no one can go onto the set. We could see the stage manager's station and other equipment. |
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| This is the infamous catwalk, which turned out to be very safe, even though it is 6 stories above the stage. The ropes on the left control the flies: backdrops and other scenery. The fly space is 12 stories tall altogether. |
This is a look at the fly space where backdrops hang out of sight. Far below is the stage floor! |
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The interior of the theater is lavishly decorated in gold.
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This is the older of two 'wind machines' that make the sounds of storms when needed in an opera.
The weapons room holds guns, knives and pikes for operas of any era. Every weapon must be authentic to the time period. |
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A suit of armor, helmets and crowns were displayed in a dressing room. |
Every wig is hand made, taking over 40 hours to complete. Once the hairs are tied to the netting, the hair is styled to suit the opera. These are sideburns for men, made of Yak hair. |
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Some dresses in the costume area, and in the wardrobe closet. |
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We visited two costume areas. One was an enormous closet, with dozens of costumes hung from floor to ceiling. The other room held costumes that were currently in use.
This dress was from Mozart's The Magic Flute. |
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This is a private dressing room for one of the stars of the opera. There is a private bathroom, huge closets for the elaborate costumes, a piano, the make-up area and a cozy chair. Outside there is a lounge for the "dressers," who assist with getting into the costumes. |
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Below the stage is the lounge
for orchestra members. |
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