No dress code here! From ball gowns to blue jeans, we encourage all our patrons to wear whatever makes them comfortable and fabulous.

We recommend arriving 90 minutes before the start of the opera. This allows you time for parking or pesky train delays, picking up tickets, or grabbing a drink or snack before the show.

You can also join us 60 minutes prior to curtain for “Behind the Spotlight”, a pre-opera talk that takes place before every performance, led by members of the production creative team and COT leadership.

COT encourages you use SpotHero at each of our venues to get the best deal on parking.

Studebaker Theater

Gannon Hall @ DePaul University

Athenaeum Theater

If you purchased your tickets in advance, your ticket will be emailed to you ahead of the performance, which you can present to the ushers directly on your smart device, or you may print out and bring with you. If you didn't receive an email, please contact us at boxoffice@cot.org or 312-704-8414 and we will resend to you. If you need any more assistance at the theatre, a COT Box Office representative will be available at each venue.

Late seating will be handled at the discretion of house management, and seating may not be guaranteed. This is to ensure that our audiences can enjoy the performances with minimum distraction during the opera. Since downtown Chicago can be unpredictable, we encourage you to allow extra travel time even on clear days.

Exchanges

If you need to make an exchange, you may do so for a $7 fee (free for subscribers). Please contact our Box Office during our standard box office hours at 312-704-8414 or boxoffice@cot.org for assistance. (All exchanges must be submitted at least 48 hours prior to the original performance.)

Ticket Donations

If you are unable to attend your performance, we encourage you to donate your ticket back to COT at least 24 hours prior to the date of your performance. (A tax-donation letter cannot be issued for donations received less than 24 hours from your performance time.)

From September through June, the box office is open Monday-Friday, from 9AM-5PM (Central). During the summer months, the Box Office is open Tuesday-Thursday, from 9AM-5PM (Central).

You can call the COT box office at 312-704-8414. We also check email regularly, including over show weekends, at boxoffice@cot.org

On performance days, walk up service is available at the theater one hour prior to the performance.

All venues where COT performs are ADA compliant. If you or someone in your party needs special seating or attention, email us at boxoffice@cot.org or call us at 312-704-8414 and we’ll make sure you’re well taken care of.

Food and beverage may be consumed in designated areas of the lobby. Beverages will be permitted inside the auditorium of some of our performance venues, but we ask that you please not eat inside the theater as it can disturb other patrons during the performance.

This is a great question. We get asked this a lot and the answer is that it really depends on your preference. The theaters we perform in are fairly intimate (for example, the Studebaker Theater has only 600 seats, whereas most opera houses and concert halls can be up to 6 times that size!)

There really is no bad seat in the house. Generally the two best locations are in the center of the orchestra section (the main floor of the theater) - not too close to the front, as that allows you to see the full stage better and allows the sound to blend a little better by the time it hits your ears; or the front of the balcony, which provides a different perspective of the stage, which many people enjoy.

At this time, we don’t require vaccinations, and masking is optional.

We ask that any person who feels unwell or is experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, or has tested positive or been in contact with someone who has tested positive in the past 5 days, to refrain from attending performances. We will work with you to exchange your tickets for another date, to donate your tickets, or to provide you with a refund, with no fees or penalties.