Baltimore Opera Company

Study Guide

The Lyric Opera House

The Lyric Theatre (then known as the Music Hall) opened in 1894 to an immediate success. Originally designed after the Neues Gewandhaus in Leipzig (although 65% wider), it has the shape of a Baroque rectangular hall with side balconies. A wide oval-topped proscenium characterizes the architecture and full-length side balconies supported by columns, beneath which are located a number of private boxes.

In a gala opening on October 31, 1894 , the Boston Symphony inaugurated the theatre. Nellie Melba, the great Australian diva, was the featured soloist and crowned the evening with a rendition of Handel's “Sweet Bird.” It was a memorable night, and there have been great moments at the Lyric ever since. Not long after, Enrico Caruso appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Company in a performance of Flotow's Martha.

Initially the theatre was used for a wide variety of events – many of them unrelated to music. In 1905 they included a boxing match between Mike Sullivan and Joe Gans, and the first demonstration of electric cooking before a Baltimore audience. Over the years Lyric audiences have heard from a fascinating variety of orators, including William Jennings Bryant, Rich ard Byrd, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Clarence Darrow, and Will Rogers. Even the fabled evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson preached from the stage, no doubt reaching a number of converts!

The true glory of the hall, however, has always been music. The world's great conductors and orchestras, opera companies, soloists, and ballets have appeared at the Lyric, and the parade of illustrious performers continues today. From its formation in 1916 to its move to the Meyerhoff in 1982, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra made its home in the Lyric. In the early part of the 20 th Century the Philadelphia Orchestra presented a series of mid-winter concerts, and the Metropolitan Opera brought its major luminaries to the Lyric stage for decades. Since 1950, The Baltimore Opera Company has staged its productions in the theatre.

Five conductors who used the Lyric extensively, Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch, Fritz Reiner, Eugene Ormandy, and Leopold Stokowski, ranked the Lyric among the three best auditoria in the country. One of them commented, “Of all the halls in the United States , the Lyric sounds best from the stage. To the conductor, the orchestra sounds as it should.”

The acoustics of the Lyric are renowned. Conductors and performers share an enthusiasm for the “glorious Lyric sound.” It is because of the unique acoustical qualities and the splendor of its interior that many public officials were anxious to renovate this cultural and architectural landmark. To those who cherish fine music played in elegant surroundings, the preservation of the Lyric was essential.

In the summer of 1979 the renovation of the Lyric started at a cost of 14 million dollars. After the unveiling of the new Lyric on September 27, 1981 , the theatre has played host to many traveling Broadway musicals and productions. In each succeeding year many improvements, both in front and backstage, have been effected. During the summer of 1998, construction was completed on an expanded backstage and administrative area. The expansion added a rehearsal hall, new dressing rooms, a “green room” for receptions, enlarged backstage scenery space and new administrative office and Box Office for the Baltimore Opera Company. This is the first phase in a construction plan that is intended to expand and maintain the historic Lyric's rank among the premiere artistic venues in the City of Baltimore.
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