Grand Opening Night
Marin Alsop, conductor / Yunchan Lim, piano
With a very special guest performance by global superstar and flutist LIZZO
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DateJuly 11, 2026
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VenueHunter Pavilion
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Event Starts6:00 PM
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Donor Gates3:30 PM
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Public Gates4:00 PM
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Ticket Prices$35–$144
All tickets show the “all-in” price, fees included. Availability and prices are subject to change.
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Seating ChartView Seating Chart
Reserved Seat Ticket: $144
Reserved Block Ticket: $101
Price per person; must reserve full block of 2, 4, or 6
General Admission Ticket: $35–$40
Price increases by $5 one week before the event; ticket selection screen shows current price
Lawn Admission Ticket: More Info
Special pricing for guests ages 15 and under; all guests need a ticket for park admission, regardless of age
The Park View and Lawn Bar are open for dinner and drinks, and the Freehling Room is open to eligible Ravinia donors. Reservations are recommended for dinner.
The Tree Top Lounge is open with craft cocktails and more curated beverages, plus savory small bites.
Ravinia Market / Café and Concession Stands are open with hot food stations plus chilled grab-and-go, drinks, ice cream, and snacks.
Cashless: Cash will not be accepted at Dining Pavilion restaurants, bars, or concessions. Please bring a credit/debit card or other cashless forms of payment.
Know Before You Go
Getting to Ravinia: Parking, Rideshare & Train
$15 Parking • Park and Ride Open • Free Metra UP-N Train
Park in the West Parking Lot at 201 Ravinia Park Rd. The lot opens 1 hour before the listed “Public Gates” time.
Shuttles from the free Park and Ride lot in downtown Highland Park begin running 30 minutes before the listed “Public Gates” time.
Alert your driver: Uber, Lyft, and other car services must use one of the following parking lots to drop off and pick up guests.
- West Parking Lot (201 Ravinia Park Rd) — inbound access allowed up to 30 minutes before the end of the performance
- Braeside Train Station (10 N. St. Johns Ave) — ¼ mile walk from Ravinia
- Ravinia Train Station (680 St. Johns Ave) — ½ mile walk from Ravinia
- No drop-offs or pick-ups are allowed on public streets. If Highland Park Police or Ravinia staff redirect traffic, please follow those instructions.
Ride the Metra Union Pacific North Line train to and from our main entrance for free with your Ravinia ticket.
More Train Info
Inside the Hunter Pavilion
Please note the following food, drink, and personal item policies before entering the Hunter Pavilion:
- Drinks are allowed inside the Pavilion at all performances, but must be in an approved container. Drinks must be in plastic cups or plastic bottles sized for 24oz or smaller. No metal or glass containers are permitted, including metal water bottles.
- No food is permitted at reserved seats.
- No bags larger than 18″×12″×12″, coolers, wagons, strollers, large umbrellas, or any other large items Large items may be returned to your vehicle or stored (unsupervised) along the outer perimeter inside the Pavilion.
- Items brought into the Pavilion are subject to search at the entrance.
- All guests must have a ticket for entry, regardless of age.
Prohibited Items
Any item deemed harmful or unsafe by Ravinia staff is prohibited.
While comfort and enjoyment of a night out at Ravinia are our top priorities, guests are prohibited from bringing the following items into the park:
- Firearms or explosives (including those possessed by off-duty officers or concealed carry license holders)
- Professional photographic and video or audio recording equipment
- Grills, firepits, or large open flames
- Chafing fuel or other canned heating products (e.g., Sterno)
- Beer kegs
- Athletic equipment (e.g., balls and flying discs)
- Bicycles, scooters, or skates (bike racks can be found outside the west and south entrances)
- Animals, except for service animals trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities
- Tents or canopies
- Umbrellas over six feet in diameter
- Anything that needs to be staked into the ground
- Drones or other flying apparatus
- Items intended for protest, solicitation, or promotion not related to the event
Contact the box office (847-266-5100) with any questions.
Performance Content
At Ravinia, we believe that music has the power to bring people together. While we do not control what artists share, we ask all participants—artists and audiences alike—to uphold the spirit of respect, community, and connection that Ravinia offers.
Should any circumstance threaten physical safety, we will take appropriate action to ensure the well-being of our guests, artists, and staff.
Park Map
View or download our park map for the locations of Ravinia’s venues, parking lots, restrooms, first aid station, chair/table rental pickup, Festival Shop, and in-park dining options.
About the Performance
Featuring Chief Conductor Marin Alsop and award-winning pianist Yunchan Lim
With a very special guest performance by global superstar and flutist
Lizzo
Ravinia is grateful for the support of
The Dancing Skies Foundation
Concert Sponsor
Jazz Scholars Performance Sponsor
Ravinia is grateful for media support from


An international star as the youngest-ever Van Cliburn Competition winner, Yunchan Lim returns to Ravinia for the highly anticipated Grand Opening of the Hunter Pavilion, adding gleams of Art Deco style as he performs Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major. Joined by the CSO and Marin Alsop, the “one-in-a-million talent” (Dallas Morning News) performs Ravel’s classic, a work brimming with Parisian jazz, Basque soulfulness, and American spirit.
Marking Ravinia’s 60th Gala Evening and the 90th CSO Opening Night, the event illuminates the festival’s legacy of artistic excellence, celebrating decades of unforgettable performances while opening a bold new chapter on the Hunter Pavilion stage.
Global superstar Lizzo plays flute arrangements with the CSO, sharing her spark for transforming lives with music. Alsop brings her own fanfare to the grand opening, proclaiming this stage “the best of all possible worlds” with Bernstein’s Candide Overture and giving the pavilion its flowers with the concert suite of Strauss’s Rosenkavalier.
Woven around this concert are spotlights on our Reach Teach Play programs and the access to music they create, and our Women’s Board hosts the Gala before and after the performance to raise funds for Ravinia and these initiatives.
Gala Benefit Tickets
4:30 p.m. Cocktails
7:30 p.m. Dinner Party
Surrounding this special concert is the annual Gala hosted by the Women’s Board to support Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play education programs, which provide transformative musical experiences for young minds. Premium reserved seating locations are available with Gala tickets, but many reserved seats, as well as Lawn tickets, are available for simply enjoying the concert!
Performers
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
Yunchan Lim, piano
Lizzo, flute
Janai Brugger, soprano #
Kaylee Johnson, flute ##
# Steans Institute alum
## Reach Teach Play alum
Program
6:00 PM – Hunter Pavilion
John Stafford Smith / Francis Scott Key: “The Star-Spangled Banner” (arr. Frederick Stock)
Janai Brugger
Leonard Bernstein: Overture to Candide
Giulio Briccialdi: Carnival of Venice (arr. Sir James Galway)
Lizzo
Léo Delibes: “Sous le dôme épais” (Flower Duet) from Lakmé
Lizzo, Kaylee Johnson
Lizzo: “If You Love Me” (arr. Tim Davies)
Lizzo
Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Yunchan Lim
Richard Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, TrV 227d (arr. Artur Rodziński)
–No Intermission–