Overview
- Lyric Opera’s A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness is running through Nov. 30 at the Civic Opera House, with limited ticket availability and several dates already sold out.
- The album’s songs are recast for five vocal soloists, a 57‑piece orchestra and a 40‑voice chorus without traditional rock instruments, using new arrangements by Billy Corgan and conductor James Lowe.
- Corgan appears for select numbers, including Thirty‑Three, 1979 and To Forgive, singing without guitar and drawing the evening’s biggest ovations.
- Designer Greg Emetaz’s Chicago‑infused projections and theatrical staging play a central role, complementing couture costuming and large onstage forces.
- Critics note strong performances and some inventive arrangements but question the work’s operatic classification, likening it to a song cycle or Broadway crossover and citing missing supertitles or printed lyrics as a drawback.