Vinvant performs on pool deck during rehearsal for Chicago Opera Theater's production of "Orpheus & Euridice"...
Valerie Vinvant performs on a swimming pool deck during a rehearsal for Chicago Opera Theater's production of "Orpheus & Euridice" at the Welles Park swimming pool in Chicago, Illinois, December 18, 2013. The plot summary of U.S. opera in recent years has unfolded like the last act of a Verdi tragedy: New York City Opera, dead; Opera Boston, dead; San Diego Opera, on its final aria. The Chicago opera scene, however, is all up tempo.The nation's third most populous city has not only preserved its devotion to opera, it has expanded it, despite hard times for the art form elsewhere. Opera experts credit creative programming, solid philanthropic help and a loyal, enthusiastic audience. The "Orpheus & Euridice" opera is sung in English and performed in and around a swimming pool. Picture taken December 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT)