Joffery’s Big Move

Autumn 2020 brings a new and exciting partnership for Chicago audiences to enjoy when the Joffrey Ballet officially joins forces with the Lyric Opera to share the iconic Lyric Opera House on North Wacker Drive. 

The partnership of these two pillars of the Chicago cultural scene has developed over time. First, as an artistic collaboration with 2017’s Orphée et Eurydice, a thrilling piece that blended the musical talents of the Lyric with ballet sequences performed by the Joffrey. During this laudable production, these cherished arts institutions discovered a kind of symbiosis that held the potential for extension beyond a single event.

Said Lyric Opera’s general director, president, and CEO, Anthony Freud, “Very organically, the idea arose in conversations between us that it might be a wonderful win-win for the Joffrey and the Lyric.” 

Leadership at the Joffrey Ballet’s agreed, and shortly thereafter the pair announced plans to come together under one roof. “It’s a very exciting time for Chicago, especially for the Joffrey and for the Lyric,” concurs Joffrey’s acclaimed artistic director, Ashley Wheater.

The Lyric Opera, founded in 1954, continues to create powerful opera and musical theater. Like so many opera companies, however, the Lyric has experienced a decline in attendance in the past decade or so. Freud explained, “As our situation changed, and it became clear that, to match supply to demand, we were reducing the number of performances of each production, and there were gaps of availability in our opera house.”

Those gaps, as it happens, are perfectly suited for the ambitions of Chicago’s premiere ballet company. The Joffrey Ballet, founded in 1956, has made Chicago its home for the past 25 years. For most of that time, the beloved company has performed primarily at the Auditorium Theatre. While that relationship has in many ways been a positive one, Wheater is thrilled about the creative opportunities that will come along with performing ballet at The Lyric Opera House.

“There were productions that I had wanted to do, that the sheer technical space needed was really a challenge (at the Auditorium),” he confesses. “Now that challenge has been mitigated because the backstage area at the Lyric is phenomenal.”

The new seven-year rental agreement means patrons will be treated to a wider variety of programming with the two companies collaborating to bring innovative productions to their shared stage. Both companies are confident that audiences will be as delighted by the new relationship as the organizations have been during the planning phases. 

“It’s been a very happy and a very collegial process so far,” confirmed Freud. “To me, It’s a great win for the city. Most of the great (opera houses) offer their audiences a regular diet of opera and ballet. We, too, can join those great opera houses of the world.”

Indeed, audiences have a lot to look forward to during the 2020-21 seasons of both companies. The schedule includes an ambitious lineup for the Joffrey—including the Chicago premiere of John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid—and an equally impressive season of opera from the Lyric starting with Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci by Pietro Mascagni & Ruggero Leoncavallo.

Though each company in this new paring maintains exacting standards for their productions, their respective leaders are confident that production values won’t diminish, but in fact, thanks to the partnership. 

Wheater noted that, beyond the additional backstage space available for scenery and costumes, the lighting available at the Lyric will be a big boost to what the Joffrey can accomplish. “Every time we go to the Auditorium Theatre, we have to load in every single light we use and the lighting board. Load it in, put it up, take it away. Being able to share a rep plot is going to benefit the Joffrey for sure,” he explained.

Wheater is also confident that audiences will benefit from the venue change as much as the companies themselves will. “I think there’s a big crossover between the opera audience and the ballet audience,” he says. “The feedback we have received has been incredibly positive.” 

While audiences are indeed excited by the new partnerships, some have expressed a concern or two about the new move. One of the main worries shared by patrons of both organizations is the issue of challenging sightlines at the Lyric Opera House. Since the Lyric is completely reseating the entire house, that issue will no longer affect patrons of opera or ballet. Seats will not only be newer and more comfortable, they’ll be staggered so that audience members will no longer sit directly behind the person in front of them, resulting in a better view for everyone. 

With that challenge resolved, Freud and Wheater are expecting a vibrant future for both companies.

“I think if you look around the world, sometimes sharing an opera house can have its trials and tribulations,” mused Wheater. “But everybody at the Joffrey and the Lyric sees this as a partnership, I’m amazed that in this day and age, two organizations can come together.”

Freud concured. “You’re never going to anticipate every complication in advance of a partnership like this beginning. There’s so much good will between both of our organizations and so much excitement…I’m confident we’ll work through every issue as it arises.”

Beyond seating, the two companies have already managed to sort out a full calendar of performances, including devoting the month of December to the Joffrey’s beloved Nutcracker.

Says Wheater, “They were really accommodating, and I value that.”

It’s clear the two companies are thrilled about what the future holds. How the relationship will evolve will play , but both organizations a Autumn 2020 brings a new and exciting partnership for Chicago audiences to enjoy when the Joffrey Ballet officially joins forces with the Lyric Opera to share the iconic opera house on North Wacker Drive.

The partnership of these two pillars of the Chicago cultural scene developed over time. First, as an artistic collaboration with 2017’s Orphée et Eurydice, a thrilling piece that blended the musical talents of the Lyric with ballet sequences performed by the Joffrey Ballet. During this successful production, these cherished arts organizations discovered a symbiosis that could extend beyond a single event.

Says Lyric Opera General Director, President, and CEO Anthony Freud, “Very organically, the idea arose in conversations between us that it might be a wonderful win-win for the Joffrey and the Lyric.”

The Joffrey Ballet’s leadership agreed, and shortly thereafter the pair announced their plans to come together under one roof. “It’s a very exciting time for Chicago, especially for the Joffrey and for the Lyric,” concurs Joffrey Artistic Director Ashley Wheater.

The Lyric Opera, founded in 1954, continues to create powerful opera and musical theatre. Like so many opera companies, however, the Lyric has experienced a decline in attendance in the past decade or so. Explains Freud, “As our situation changed and it became clear that, to match supply to demand, we were reducing the number of performances of each production, and there were gaps of availability in our opera house.”

Those gaps of availability are perfectly suited for the ambitions of Chicago’s premiere ballet company. The Joffrey Ballet, founded in 1956, has made Chicago its home for the past 25 years. For most of that time, the beloved company has performed at the Auditorium Theatre. While that relationship has in many ways been a positive one, Wheater is thrilled about the creative opportunities that will come along with performing ballet at The Lyric Opera House.

“There were productions that I had wanted to do, that the sheer technical space needed was really a challenge [at the Auditorium],” he confesses. “Now that challenge has been mitigated because the backstage area at the Lyric is phenomenal.”

The seven-year rental agreement means patrons will be treated to a wider variety of programming with the two companies working together to bring innovative productions to their shared stage. Both companies are confident that audiences will be as delighted by the new collaboration as the organizations have been during the planning stages.

“It’s been a very happy and a very collegial process so far,” confirmed Freud. “To me, It’s a great win for the city. Most of the great [opera houses] offer their audiences a regular diet of opera and ballet. We, too, can join those great opera houses of the world.”

Indeed, audiences have a lot to look forward to during the 2020/21 seasons of both companies. The season includes an ambitious lineup for the Joffrey–including the Chicago premiere of John Neumeier’s The Little Mermaid–and an equally impressive season of opera from the Lyric starting with Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci by Pietro Mascagni & Ruggero Leoncavallo.

Though the Joffrey and the Lyric each have exacting standards for their productions, their leaders are confident that production values won’t suffer and will, in fact, improve thanks to the partnership.

Wheater notes that, beyond the additional backstage space available for scenery and costumes, the lighting available at the Lyric will be a big boost to what the Joffrey can accomplish. “Every time we go to the Auditorium Theatre, we have to load in every single light we use and the lighting board. Load it in, put it up, take it away. Being able to share a rep plot is going to benefit the Joffrey for sure,” he says.

Wheater is also confident that audiences will benefit from the venue change as much as the companies themselves will. “I think there’s a big crossover between the opera audience and the ballet audience,” he says. “The feedback we have received has been incredibly positive.”

While audiences are excited by the new partnerships, they have expressed a concern or two. One of the main worries shared by patrons of both organizations is the issue of challenging sightlines at the Lyric Opera House. Since the Lyric is completely reseating the entire house, that issue will no longer affect patrons of opera or ballet. Seats will not only be newer and more comfortable, they’ll be staggered so that audience members will no longer sit directly behind the person in front of them, resulting in a better view for everyone.

With that challenge solved, Freud and Wheater are expecting a vibrant future for both the Lyric and the Joffrey.

“I think if you look around the world, sometimes sharing an opera house can have it’s trials and tribulations,” muses Wheater. “But everybody at the Joffrey and the Lyric sees this as a partnership, I’m amazed that in this day and age, two organizations can come together.”

Freud concurs. “You’re never going to anticipate every complication in advance of a partnership like this beginning. There’s so much good will between both of our organizations and so much excitement…I’m confident we’ll work through every issue as it arises.”

Beyond the seating issue, the two companies have already managed to sort out a full calendar of performances, including devoting the month of December to the Joffrey’s beloved Nutcracker.

Says Wheater, “They were really accommodating and I value that.”

It’s clear the two companies and their collective audiences are thrilled about what the future holds. How their new relationship will play out onstage before audiences will likely evolve over time. But both organizations are excited about the prospect. Says Wheater, “I think that both of us would love to do some other collaborations together.” However it manifests, the Lyric Opera and the Joffrey Ballet have fostered an arrangement that meets both their artistic and organizational needs, proving that these companies’ creative talents extend well beyond what audiences enjoy when the curtain goes up.