There are MORE FREE Chicago performances of American composer Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus & Euridice . The series of three additional free performances, given in partnership with the Chicago Park District, will take place Dec 19-22 in the Welles Park Pool in Chicago’s Lincoln Square. (click at bottom for more info). Yes, it is true…… 
Due to overwhelming demand, Ricky Ian Gordon’s poolside Orpheus and Eurydice is returning for three encore performances on December 19, 20 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. Please note that these performances will take place at the Welles Park Pool in Chicago’s Lincoln Square, 2333 W. Sunnyside Ave, not at the Eckhart Park Pool. Admission is free. Walk-up tickets are available at 5:00 p.m. prior to each performance. For more information about this Chicago Opera Theater production, visit chicagooperatheater.org.
You’ll enjoy seeing 140,000 gallons of Chicago water transformed into the River Styx for this FREE imaginative retelling performance of the ancient myth about eternal love. Navigate the watery underworld with Orpheus as his clarinet soars, searching for his lost love, his only happiness. Since the 2001 premiere of “Orpheus,” the piece has traveled to various cities in various versions, including a choreographed production given in New York in 2005 as part of Lincoln Center’s “New Visions” series.
COT’s production will deploy eight performers inside and outside Welles Park’s indoor pool, including extras who will assume different roles in the story. “Some people will jump into the water, others will slide in, and others will float. Valerie will slip in and out of her dual role as Euridice and the Storyteller. Todd will get to go in the water with his clarinet. Water is a wonderful thing to play with.
“For our first rehearsal we had everybody bring their swimsuits. They were in the pool for four hours, swimming, running, jumping, pushing and pulling things. At the end of the day, someone asked me, ‘Are we getting paid for this?’ ”
