DO THIS: Chicago Opera Theater's 1st Annual Booze Cruise

By Alexander Hough in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 17, 2012 3:20PM

Opera fans boozing and cruising at a Chicago Opera Theater event in June 2011 (Photo courtesy of Chicago Opera Theater)

With summer drawing to a close, Lake Michigan will soon become a body of water you can’t go into because it’s frozen over, as opposed to right now when it’s a body of water you can’t go into because the bacteria levels are too high.

But do you know where you don’t have to worry about any of that? On a damn boat, that’s where. The Chicago Opera Theater is filling the void left by our crappy, no-boat-having friends by holding its first annual Booze Cruise next Thursday. For $40, you’ll get two hours of wine, beer, hor d'oeuvres, and a live excerpts from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which the COT will perform next month.

The event is being organized by Opera Underground, COT’s young professional group. We’re sure they’ll give you the pitch on the boat, but here’s ours: Joining Opera Underground costs $120 and gets you one of the best seats in the house at each of the three operas being put on in 2013, a diverse, unusual selection including Philip Glass’s The Fall of the House of Usher, Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires, and Giuseppe Verdi’s Joan of Arc. With regular tickets starting at $45 (not including the limited sit-where-they-put-you $25 option), that alone is worth the price, but COT also throws in pre-show drinks and discounts to other events.

Thursday, August 23, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., $40, $50 at the door