Lyric Opera of Chicago Employee Reviews about "opera"

Pros

For opera performance the musical standards are tops.

Cons

Large organization, some antiquation in processes.

Pros

The staff is friendly and the donor-base is very involved. You learn a lot very quickly during the opera season, and will find many mentors in each department who will help your career grow.

Cons

There is still much passive-aggressive behavior from colleagues, and a communication barrier between departments. There are always many areas that are still a bit behind and not thinking with an open-mind. Senior-level staff is not open to hearing lower-level ideas.

Pros

Genuinely nice people and an amazing art form. Fascinating to learn about opera, explore back stage, learn about technical stage work, costumes, wigs, etc. Management on a roll trying to find opportunities to improve processes and communication. New open houses are a welcome opportunity to get to know people across the organization. Work load can be heavy at times, but 7-hour workday is wonderful when it works.

Cons

Pay not at top of market, but there seems to be flexibility to attract stronger talent. Hours can be very long, especially for Development staff.

Pros

Great opera, non traditional work environment

Cons

The environment at Lyric is quite toxic. You are in constant fear of your job and very little positive feedback, or feedback at all. Male dominated at the top while most lower admin jobs are held by women. If you are a white male, you have a good chance of advancement. If you are not, best to move along and work elsewhere.

Pros

Free opera tickets, beautiful place.

Cons

There really weren't many cons.

Pros

Opportunities to learn about the opera business model Opportunities to meet big names from many entertainment industry sectors Great colleagues at the mid-senior level and below

Cons

Overall culture of complacency with its blatantly problematic and longtime employees. Not enough buy-in from senior leadership (including those who identify as BIPOC) regarding the organization's IDEA initiative. Mid-senior and lower level positions are not set up for preparation for higher level work. They generally exist to take on those tasks that are either of a lower pay-grade or undesirable for higher level personnel.

Pros

Many of the people are wonderful to work with, if you like opera you get so much casual access to performances, rehearsals, and the process of creating opera. They are also flexible in scheduling.

Cons

Audience Services is probably the most well-educated minimum wage paying office in Chicago. Don't plan on making a lot or getting any benefits.

Pros

Free opera tickets! And Lyric tickets are ridiculously over-priced so you can save a lot of money if you see a lot of opera.

Cons

Many employees have a very narrow point of view and have a difficult time taking a step back to look at the bigger picture.