Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 7 Fire Shut Up My Bones

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 45 WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AT LYRIC,AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU HELD THIS POSITION? I am the Director of Group Sales in the Marketing Department, and this May will mark my five-year anniversary with the company. WHAT LED YOU TO WORK AT LYRIC? Prior to working at Lyric, I was the Senior Manager for Tourism Marketing at Macy’s. When the company went through a restructure in 2017, my only option was to move to New York City, and since I had recently bought my first home and had my first baby, a move wasn’t ideal. I took a risk, left the company, and started my search. When I heard about an opening to manage group sales for Lyric, I honestly thought that sounded like a long shot. Unlike so many of my Lyric colleagues, I did not have a background in the arts or non-profits and definitely was not a singer or musician. I was a retail marketing professional in corporate spaces and never thought Lyric would even look at my resume. But they did! Oftentimes as professionals we get boxed into a category based on our previous jobs and to have this opportunity to learn a completely new industry has been amazing. WHAT’S A TYPICAL DAY LIKE FOR YOU? Every day is different, especially since the pandemic. I service groups of 10 or more, which includes seniors, schools, alumni organizations, friends & family. My priority is to provide the best customer service whether I am answering an inquiry or finalizing order details. I also create marketing and outreach plans, and I am always strategizing ways to bring in new audiences through grassroots outreach. In addition to the day to day, I often attend educational networking events and trade shows with colleagues. I also travel to sales trade shows where I meet with prospective tour planners coming to Chicago and encourage them to bring their groups to Lyric. Once my day job ends, I then start my most challenging job, as a mom. Homework, dinner, activities, and the list goes on! WHAT’S THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF YOUR ROLE? The pandemic has brought such a range of challenges. The key demographics I work with are seniors and students, both of whom have been impacted tremendously. My goal when working with these groups is to keep them up to date with Lyric’s current policies to keep them safe when attending a performance. TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCES AND HOW YOU CULTIVATE THOSE RELATIONSHIPS. I had the honor of working with many international tour operators when we were planning Lyric’s new Ring Cycle for the spring of 2020. I researched presentations of Wagner’s Ring all over the world and in 2017 worked with my partners at Choose Chicago to prospect potential groups. International groups plan travel for large events like this at least 18 months before a performance, so when we went on sale with tickets in 2018 about a dozen operators ranging from Canada, New Zealand, the U.K., and Australia all reserved large group orders that totaled almost half a million dollars. The level of detail and customer service was absolutely key and to say it was a heartbreak to cancel this highly anticipated event is an understatement. WHAT’S SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR WORK THAT PEOPLE MIGHT NOT KNOW? West Side Story was a tremendous success for our company, and people may not realize that between myself and my coordinator at the time we sold and serviced 600 group leaders and almost 19,000 tickets over the course of the four-week run. A FAVORITE LYRIC MOMENT? Jesus Christ Superstar in 2018 was phenomenal. I loved seeing a diverse cast of young singers and dancers. BEYOND OPERA,WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER PASSIONS? Yoga, food, travel, and, most importantly, my family, especially my three kids who always keep me busy. People of Lyric Brittany Gonzalez Camuy, Director of Group Sales