Frequently Asked Questions
The health and safety of our patrons, staff, artists, and community is our top priority.
Mask wearing is no longer required for most performances and events, but strongly encouraged at all times while attending performances and events.
BLO is committed to flexibility for any ticket holders who need to change or return their tickets for COVID-related reasons.
BLO performs in a variety of venues. This season we will be performing at the Emerson Colonial Theatre for Macbeth and Daughter of the Regiment, Symphony Hall for Vanessa and Mahler Symphony No. 3, BLO’s Opera + Community Studios for Song of the Earth and Raehann in Recital, SoWa Power Station for Ride of the Valkyries!, and The West End Museum & Museum of African American History for She Was There. For more information including details about the venue, directions, parking, and dining & entertainment options, please visit individual show pages on our website.
Running time and intermission varies for each opera. To learn more about what to expect and for the most up-to-date information, please visit the show page for the performance or performances you are attending.
BLO offers several ways to learn more about the opera you’re about to see! You can read the show summary on the individual show pages, check out the Study Guide, read our blog, or check out our social media channels for photos, videos, and more.
At the performance, you can read a synopsis, dramaturgical information, and more in your playbill. You can also join us for our pre-performance talks and talkbacks:
- Pre-Performance Lectures
Arrive one hour early to explore the production’s history and how music and design interact to create dynamic performances, while hearing about performance highlights and unique BLO touches to watch for.
- Post-Show Talkbacks
Select performances are followed by informal, half-hour panels that include cast, creative team members, and/or community members in an informal discussion. Listen to candid conversations about topics like the performance process, what happened onstage, how BLO is collaborating with the broader Boston community, and more.
Welcome! There are no set rules of behavior for opera-going, but check out some helpful tips below to give you the best opera experience possible.
- Arrive on time! Latecomers will be seated only at suitable breaks in the performance and often not until intermission.
- Dress in what you are comfortable in so you can enjoy the performance. For some, that may mean dressing up in a suit or gown; for others, jeans and a t-shirt is fine. Generally, “dressy-casual” is what people wear.
- When translating songs, and poetry in particular, much can be lost due to a change in rhythm, inflection, and rhyme of words. For this reason, opera is usually performed in its original language. In order to help audiences enjoy the music and follow every twist and turn of the plot, English supertitles are projected. Even when the opera is in English, there are still supertitles.
- Lit screens are very distracting to the singers, so please keep your phone off and our of sight until the house lights come up.
- Due to how distracting electronics can be for performers, taking photos or making audio or video recordings is strictly forbidden.
If you order your tickets before the performance, you have the option to receive digital tickets, print your tickets at home (PAH), receive physical tickets in the mail, or have tickets held for you at Will Call.
- Digital tickets: Once purchased, digital tickets become available through the BLO ticket wallet (tickets.blo.org) 2 weeks before a show. You must bring a smart device to the performance so your digital tickets can be scanned.
- Print-at-home tickets: PAH tickets will be delivered immediately via email as a PDF file. They can be printed or shown on a smart device to be scanned.
- Physical tickets will be mailed 2 weeks prior to the performance.
- Will Call tickets will be available at the theater 2 hours prior to the performance.
- Digital ticket transfers to other patrons can be initiated by the ticket holder during the 2-week window that the tickets are in the BLO ticket wallet.
- Print-at-home ticket transfers to other patrons must be coordinated via the box office.
- Physical ticket transfers to other patrons must be coordinated via the box office.
- Will Call ticket transfers to other patrons must be coordinated via the box office.
Yes! If you must make an exchange contact our Audience Services team at 617-542-6772 or email boxoffice@blo.org to make arrangements. If you are a Duo, Trio, or Quartet Subscriber exchanges are free. If you are not a Subscriber there is a $10 fee. Did you know Quartet Subscribers also can exchange tickets for performances they miss? Contact Audience Services within 24 hours of the performance start time and for $10 your missed performance can be exchanged for a future show date.
Not to fear! Our Audience Services team is here to help. Give us a call at 617-542-6772 or email boxoffice@blo.org and a member of our team can send new print-at-home tickets or make sure that your physical tickets are reprinted and available for you at Will Call on the day of the performance.
Digital tickets are only accessible through the ticket wallet and cannot be lost. However, they only become available 2 weeks before the show. If it is less than 2 weeks until the show and your tickets are not visible in the ticket wallet, please contact the box office at 617-542-6772 or email boxoffice@blo.org.
We offer assistive listening device at all of our operas. Contact our Audience Services team at 617-542-6772 or email boxoffice@blo.org or find an usher on the day of the show.
If you need any special accommodations, please email boxoffice@blo.org.
Regardless of which venue we are in, our Audience Services team is ready to work with you to meet your access needs. Be sure to contact Audience Services at 617-542-6772 or boxoffice@blo.org before the show to help us find a seat that works for you.
The BLO Volunteer program is currently on pause. Please check back soon for future opportunities.