CHICAGO (4/9/25) — Tickets go on sale Friday, April 11 at 10 a.m. Central time for the world-premiere performances of A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness — a historic event produced by Lyric Opera of Chicago in partnership with Billy Corgan that celebrates the 30th anniversary of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the era-defining album from The Smashing Pumpkins — on stage at Lyric for seven performances only, November 21–30, 2025.
Tickets, starting at $59, will be available at lyricopera.org/melloncollie beginning Friday, April 11 at 10 a.m. Central time. Performance dates for A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness are November 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, and 30. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. at Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago.
Please note: Ticket buyers will need to have a current Lyric account to secure tickets. Creating an account in advance is highly encouraged and can be easily done at lyricopera.org/account, prior to the April 11 on-sale. In anticipation of great demand, a limit of nine tickets per order will be in effect. Lyric’s Audience Services team is available to help with questions via a dedicated Mellon Collie hotline at 312.500.6380.
Please note: Lyric Opera of Chicago is the only authorized seller of official tickets to A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness. All sales are final. There will be no ticket refunds or exchanges for these performances. Digital tickets will be sent at least 48 hours prior to performances. Groups of 10 or more can secure their tickets by contacting Group Sales at [email protected]. The Lyric Box Office at 20 N. Wacker Drive is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is now cashless, taking credit-card purchases only.
These one-of-a-kind performances will harness all of Lyric’s technical and artistic forces — including the epic sound of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Lyric Opera Chorus, with special guest vocal artists — for an immersive sonic and visual experience that blurs the boundaries of opera, rock, and performance art. The newly commissioned arrangements and orchestrations are by Corgan and James Lowe, who also conducts, and costumes are designed for the House of Gilles by Gilles and Chloé Mendel Corgan.
"It is thrilling to collaborate with Lyric head John Mangum, my musical partner James Lowe, and all of the artists at Lyric in reimagining this very special and historic album, and to discover how Lyric’s full operatic treatment is helping me experience my own compositions in powerful new ways," says Billy Corgan. "Opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way."
"I’m excited that unique performances like A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness can open the aperture and expand the definition of opera and what an American opera company can be," says John Mangum, General Director, President & CEO of Lyric Opera of Chicago. "Lyric's next season clearly illustrates how this company continues to push the art form forward and create new work — like the Mellon Collie project — that can only happen in Chicago."
As commissioned and produced by Lyric Opera of Chicago, Corgan’s hometown company, this unique collaboration was announced by Lyric as a highlight of the company’s 2025/26 Season, its first complete season under the leadership of Mangum. In addition to A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, Lyric’s 2025/26 Season features a rich mix of traditional operas and other live performances, from Medea and Madama Butterfly to Carmina Burana and the world premiere of safronia, an Afro-surrealist opera featuring music and text by Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young.
More information on A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness is at lyricopera.org/melloncollie.
