Cost:
$33,000,000

Size:
varies

Completion:
1981 to present

The Lyric Opera House, originally constructed in 1895, is home for the Baltimore Opera and the city’s best venue for traveling Broadway shows. RCG began with a comprehensive master plan, which has resulted in four subsequent phases of renovations and expansions. Phase One included renovation and modernization of the 2600 seat auditorium, listed on the Maryland Historic Trust, and a major lobby addition. All new MEP systems were carefully integrated into the historic fabric of the building. Phase Two consisted of a new loading dock, freight elevator and mechanical rooms. RCG’s design for Phase Three, a 20,000 sf addition, houses back-of-house support spaces, administrative offices, additional wing space for sets and rehearsal rooms.

The Phase Three Addition was the recipient of two AIA design awards.

The most sweeping change in the theatres' long and distinguished history will occur when the existing stage house and Maryland Avenue facade are replaced by a new 95-foot tall stage house designed to accommodate full scale grand opera and today's Broadway touring productions. The current size of the Lyric stage has limited both the Lyric management and the Opera's ability to present new productions, which require significant stage and wing space as well as sophisticated technical support. The theatre's technical capabilities will be updated to utilize newer and safer methods of moving and storing scenery. Expansion of the wing and fly space will allow to theatre to house and stage two productions at once. The stage will be expanded to 55 feet deep, from the current depth of 33 feet, requiring the deeper stage to be hung over Maryland Avenue from the superstructure above.

The stagehouse expansion was recipient of a 2002 AIA Baltimore Design Award.

The new stage house superstructure that will eventually contain the fly system will be built while the existing stage house remains in place and in operation. Once the outer structure is completed, the existing walls and roof will be removed from the inside and the expanded stage floor and new counterweight system will be installed. Building the outer shell first reduces the amount of time that the theatre will be closed.

RCG is also currently working with the Lyric Opera House on a five-year modernization plan, including additional women’s toilet rooms, lobby improvements, patron enhancements, exterior marquee, and reconfigured balcony seating.

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