Opera National de Lyon Competitors

Lyric Opera of Chicago, founded in 1954, is one of the world's greatest opera companies. It is renowned internationally for its artistic excellence and financial strength. Over the past two decades the company has achieved unparalleled success in its ticket sales, averaging 100% attendance from 1988-2002. Lyric Opera is also distinguished for having operated in the black for 20 of the past 21 years.

Ballet and opera capture the deepest human emotions. We want to share these unique art forms and their power to thrill, move and excite, with as many people as possible. Three principles stand the test of time and guide us today: EXCELLENCE: We bring together the arts at their best – music, dance, theatre – to craft thrilling, moving, experiences that transport you to other worlds THEATRICALITY: The spirit of theatre runs deep in our veins, on stage, backstage, online, at workshops, events and performances CURIOSITY: We question, we discover, we-reimagine, we perform; and we empower others to do the same We work as two performing companies, The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera, in two theatres; our glorious 1858 auditorium and, opening in late 2018, our brand new, mid-scale Linbury Theatre. Our home is in the heart of London’s bustling Covent Garden but our work is experienced across the UK and globally, with 1.5m+ attending over 500 performances in a theatre or cinema each year, and many millions more enjoying our work on radio, TV and online. Our Learning and Participation programme opens up opportunities to 25,000 people each year, reaches many more through digital insights and resources, and connects families, schools and communities with affordable performances. We are a National Portfolio Organisation, supported by the British public via Arts Council England, and a registered charity, supported by donations from those who share our ambition and passions. We raise ¾ of our income ourselves, through box office sales, donations and ancillary revenues like distribution, licensing, merchandise and catering.

Founded in 1923, San Francisco Opera is the oldest surviving opera company on the West Coast and a leader in arts education and innovation. It all started, according to legend, over a game of poker. In his travels across the United States, the Neapolitan conductor Gaetano Merola had noticed that San Francisco audiences hungered for opera. Over a card game in the North Beach neighborhood, an idea took hold: Why not give San Francisco its very own resident opera company? Merola rallied local leaders and music lovers, and soon — on September 26, 1923 — the curtain rose on a new beacon in the art world: San Francisco Opera. Starting with that very first performance of “La Bohème,” San Francisco Opera established itself as destination for world-class talent and incomparable artistry. Artists like Leontyne Price and Birgit Nilsson would arrive to make their American stage debuts. New operas like “Dead Man Walking” and “Appomattox” would take shape under its proscenium. And new technology like supertitles and simulcasts would be adopted early on to make opera more accessible for everyone. Matthew Shilvock leads the company as its seventh general director, having assumed the role in August 2016. He succeeds company founder Gaetano Merola (1923-1953), Kurt Herbert Adler (1953-1981), Terence A. McEwen (1982–1988), Lotfi Mansouri (1988–2001), Pamela Rosenberg (2001–2005) and David Gockley (2006–2016). He is joined by the leadership of music director Eun Sun Kim, who follows in the footsteps of previous music directors including Sir John Pritchard (1982-1989), Sir Donald Runnicles (1992-2009) and Nicola Luisotti (2009-2018). Come visit us in our historic 1932 home, the War Memorial Opera House, the first municipally owned opera house in the United States — and one of the last Beaux-Arts buildings to be built in the country. Or find us out and about in our community, where we hold free events like Opera in the Park. To learn more, please visit sfopera.com.