Civic Opera House (Chicago) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Civic Opera House
Auditorium, named in honor of Ardis Krainik.
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Address	20 North Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois United States
Type	Opera house
Capacity	3,276 seats (formerly 3,563)
Opened	November 4, 1929; 95 years ago (November 4, 1929)

The Civic Opera House, also known as the Lyric Opera House, is a famous opera house in Chicago. You can find it at 20 North Wacker Drive. Its main performance hall is called the Ardis Krainik Auditorium. It has 3,563 seats, making it the second-largest opera hall in North America. Only the Metropolitan Opera House is bigger.

The building was first made for the Chicago Civic Opera. Since 1954, it has been home to the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The Joffrey Ballet also performs there since 2021. The opera house is part of a larger building complex. This complex includes a 45-story office tower and two 22-story wings. It is known as the Civic Opera Building. The whole complex opened on November 4, 1929. It features beautiful Art Deco designs.

History of the Opera House
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History of the Opera House

Samuel Insull had the idea to build this grand opera house. He wanted it to be the home for the Chicago Civic Opera. Some people say the building looks like a giant chair. Because of this, it is sometimes called "Insull's Throne."

Insull chose the architecture firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White. This firm designed many buildings in downtown Chicago Loop. These include the Merchandise Mart. They also designed the former Morton Salt building next door. The architects asked Henry Hering to create sculptures for the building. The outside of the building uses Indiana limestone. This stone came from Bedford, Indiana. Stone carvers at Ingalls Stone Company carved it.

Opening Night and First Opera

The first season at the Civic Opera House was special. It featured a new opera called Camille. A 28-year-old Chicago composer, Hamilton Forrest, wrote it. The opera was first performed on July 15, 1929. Mary Garden, a star and manager of the Civic Opera, asked for this opera to be written. Camille received mixed reviews. Parts of it were even broadcast on the radio in Boston. The Civic Opera House is the only place where this opera has ever been performed.

Modern Updates and Renovations

The opera house had a big renovation in 1993. The Lyric Opera of Chicago bought the building after renting it for many years. During the renovation, the seats were repainted and recovered. New carpets were put in. The gold paint designs were also redone. This huge project was finished in 1996.

Inspired by a Movie

This opera house helped inspire a building in Orson Welles's film, Citizen Kane. In the movie, the character Charles Foster Kane builds an opera house. He does this so his wife, an aspiring opera singer, can perform. However, her singing shows she is not very good. There is a story that Samuel Insull built this opera house for his wife. The story says she was not hired by New York's Metropolitan Opera. However, Samuel Insull's wife was an actress, not an opera singer.