Editing Lyric Opera of Chicago (section)

==Opera in Chicago, 1850–1954==
The first opera to be performed in Chicago was Bellini's ''[[La sonnambula]]'', presented by a traveling opera company on 29 July 1850.<ref>{{harvnb|Preston|1993|p={{page needed|date=August 2019}}}}: "One measure of ''La sonnambula''{{'}}s popularity is the fact that it was the first opera to be performed in Chicago."</ref> Chicago's first opera house opened in 1865 but was destroyed in the [[Great Fire of Chicago]] in 1871. The second opera house, the [[Chicago Auditorium]], opened in 1889.<ref>"Chicago Opera" in ''The Encyclopedia Americana'' (1973), Volume 1: "Chicago's first opera house opened in 1865 but was destroyed in the Great Fire five years later. A new house, the Auditorium, opened in 1889"</ref>

In 1929, the current [[Civic Opera House]] on 20 North Wacker Drive was opened, though the [[Chicago Civic Opera]] Company itself collapsed in the [[Great Depression]]. The old Auditorium continued to produce stage shows and musicals until it closed in 1941.<ref>{{harvnb|Zeitz|1996|p=93}}: "In 1929 it relinquished its role as Chicago's premier opera house to the new Civic Opera Building (see p. 95). But six years earlier,... ''Hellzapoppin'' was the last show to grace the stage before the Auditorium closed in 1941."</ref>

Resident opera companies began in Chicago in 1910 with the [[Chicago Grand Opera Company]] being formed from the remains of the Manhattan Opera Company, which had been founded by Oscar Hammerstein I, and had been squeezed out by the more financially sound Metropolitan Opera. Chicago had this first company for four seasons, then, after no season in 1914/15, it was re-formed as the [[Chicago Opera Association]]. This lasted through 1921/22, when it became the [[Chicago Civic Opera]] from 1922 until 1932. After no season in 1932/33, the company was re-formed and again named the Chicago Grand Opera Company from 1933 to 1935. From 1936 to 1939, the company was called [[Chicago City Opera Company]], and finally from 1940 to 1946 opera was presented by the [[Chicago Opera Company]]. There were no seasons from 1947 until 1953, so opera was presented by other companies on tour. Lyric Opera of Chicago was formed in 1954 and has continued uninterrupted except for 1967.