From classroom to curtain call

“I never tire of watching students walk into the opera house for the first time. Their eyes widen, they pause for photos, they laugh, and they smile,” says Elise LaBarge, Learning Programs Manager for Lyric Unlimited, the company’s learning and creative engagement division. One way Lyric Unlimited shares the magic of opera with young audiences is through the Student Dress Rehearsals program.

The program offers free tickets for Lyric dress rehearsals to all students grades 6-12, inviting young people to experience the magic of opera as they watch Lyric’s extraordinary artists prepare for an exciting run during a fully orchestrated and staged performance.

These field trips are also an immersive way for students to learn about the art form and see firsthand how opera comes together. From watching the tech table set up during a show, to learning that singers may choose not to use full voice, or the possibility of a start and stop, students have the opportunity to experience all the intricacies of a working professional dress rehearsal.

During the 2025/26 Season, middle and high school students (grades 6-12) are invited to experience Così fan tutte, Madama Butterfly, and El último sueño de Frida y Diego. This season’s dress rehearsals for Medea, Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci, and Salome are recommended for high schoolers (grades 9-12), due to their mature content and themes.

Organizers at Lyric also ensure the program aligns with curricular goals. Student Dress Rehearsals includes Behind the Curtain, a complimentary in-school experience for classes who plan on attending a dress rehearsal. Prior to visiting the opera, the classrooms receive a visit from a professional Lyric teaching artist who leads an engaging 45-minute session, where students are introduced to the storyline, key themes, musical highlights, and other elements of the production. By offering students an introduction to opera before they arrive, the program minimizes any intimidating aspects of attending opera for the first time, and helps students feel comfortable and welcome as they step into the splendor of the Lyric Opera House, ready to enjoy, understand, process, and discuss opera on a deeper level.

The learning does not stop when students leave the opera house. Beyond introducing students to a new art form, attending dress rehearsals allows students to see a part of themselves in the art onstage. Lyric Unlimited provides educators with reflection questions to facilitate post-show discussion with students, which can spark important conversations, from exploring love and jealousy in Cavalleria rusticana & Pagliacci, to examining gender roles in Così fan tutte, to reckoning with cultural stereotypes in Madama Butterfly, and much more.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to experience live performance and discover the magic of opera. Lyric believes this is especially important for young people, and is dedicated to equitable access to the Student Dress Rehearsals program by providing bus scholarships to CPS and Big Shoulders schools across the city.

“This program matters — not only to the students, but to the future of opera itself,” notes John Mangum, Lyric’s General Director, President & CEO. “When we open our doors to young audiences, we are not just filling seats. We are planting seeds. Seeds of creativity, of cultural awareness, of deep listening and feeling. Seeds that will grow into tomorrow’s performers, patrons, and passionate advocates for the opera.”

In the 2024/25 Season, Lyric welcomed more than 1,733 students from 23 schools and also provided 35 bus scholarships to offset transportation costs. Lyric plans to expand the program in the 2025/26 Season, with a goal of doubling the number of students who participate in the Student Dress Rehearsals program.

As students take their seats at dress rehearsals this season, the future of the art form — and of Lyric — fills the opera house. As the curtain raises and the performance begins, students experience a moment of wonder that opens them up to a world of possibilities they may have never experienced otherwise.

LaBarge has seen the program’s impact on students firsthand, noticing not just first-timers in the opera house this past season, but more returning students. “These students are just as excited, but they walk through the lobby with a sense of familiarity. During intermisison, they compare last year’s opera to this year’s opera,” she shares. “My hope is that they are growing in their sense of belonging in Chicago’s broader cultural community, and that they know that this is, indeed, their opera house.”