The \"other\" opera company in town, Chicago Opera Theater doesn't get all the big names, but it does make opera accessible to a wider audience with an emphasis on American composers and performers who sing in English. It also helps that tickets are less expensive and more plentiful than the Lyric Opera's. The company performs three operas a year (Mar-May), which usually run the gamut from classical tragedies by Handel to 20th-century satirical works. No matter what the bill, the talent and production values are top-notch (a recent production of two 20th-century Czech operas featured English text by playwright Tony Kushner and sets by illustrator Maurice Sendak). Chicago Opera Theater also runs a family opera program.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Chicago 2008, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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