Lyric's lure
Lyric Opera of Chicago's "season of stars" is set to open Saturday and Monday with a double blast of two of the most popular operas ever written.
Saturday night's gala opening night will feature Giuseppe Verdi's "La traviata," followed by Giacomo Puccini's "La Boheme."
For "La traviata," soprano Elizabeth Futral will portray Violetta for this fall's performances, while the legendary Reneé Fleming will take the role when the opera returns for the second segment of its run in January, with tenors Joseph Calleja and Matthew Polenzani (Alfredo) and baritones Mark Delavan and Thomas Hampson (Germont) splitting the opera's two other leading roles.
Lyric Opera artistic director emeritus Bruno Bartoletti will conduct the fall performances, with music director Sir Andrew Davis taking the podium in January.
For "La Boheme," directed by legendary Italian soprano Renata Scotto, the stars are Angela Gheorghiu as Mimi and tenor Roberto Aronica as Rodolfo for the October performances, with Serena Farnocchia and Gwyn Hughes Jones taking over in November. Soprano Nicole Cabell, winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in Wales just weeks after graduating from the Lyric's Ryan Opera Center in 2005, will portray Musetta for all 11 performances.
"These are two of the most beloved operas in the world, and we are extremely proud of the casts we have assembled," said general director William Mason. "I can't recall the last time we opened the season with two operas on the same weekend, but these are repertoire productions that our staff is familiar with, so it makes things a little easier until we get into the little more complicated part of the season, such as 'Giulio Cesare' and 'Die Frau ohne Schatten.'"
"Giulio Cesare" ("Julius Caesar") by G.F. Handel (a Lyric Opera premiere), and "Die Frau ohne Schatten" ("The Woman without a Shadow") by Richard Strauss, form the second pair of operas this season. "Giulio Cesare" continues the company's ongoing Handel series that includes "Xerxes," "Alcina" and "Partenope," the latter starring renowned countertenor David Daniels, who returns for the title role of Julius Caesar. This production is from England's Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
"Die Frau ohne Schatten" returns to the Civic Opera House for the first time in more than two decades, in a new production designed by Kevin Knight and directed by Paul Curran, both making their Lyric Opera premieres.
What makes "Frau" particularly exciting is the return of dramatic soprano Deborah Voigt (portraying the Empress), following her triumphant role debut here last season in Strauss' "Salome." Soprano Christine Brewer and baritone Robert Dean Smith will make their Lyric Opera debuts as the Dyer's Wife and Emperor, respectively.
The third pair of operas consists of the Lyric Opera premiere of American composer John Adams' "Doctor Atomic," which tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development and testing of the first nuclear weapon, in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1945.
A co-production of the Lyric, San Francisco Opera and Netherlands Opera, "Doctor Atomic" is to be conducted by Robert Spano and directed by Peter Sellars, who in the 1980s staged such acclaimed high-concept Lyric Opera productions as "The Mikado" and "Tannhäuser."
"Peter Sellars' commitment to new operas and all the works he's involved with is just remarkable," Mason said. "He's a mature artist; he's a remarkable individual, one of the most brilliant and charismatic figures I've ever come across. I can't say enough wonderful things about him."
The other midseason opera is Verdi's triumphant Shakespearean swan song, "Falstaff," with baritone Ambroglio Maestri making his Lyric Opera debut in the title role and Davis conducting.
The season's final two operas in February and March are Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" and Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin," the former starring American superstar baritone Nathan Gunn as Figaro, and the "Onegin" cast headed by baritone Dmitry Hvorostovsky in the title role, soprano Dina Kuznetsova as Tatyana and tenor Frank Lopardo as Lensky, all three enduring favorites of Lyric Opera audiences.
"Going back to the time of Handel to the present, we cover 250 years of opera with some wonderful stops along the way," Mason said. "We have two of Verdi's great masterpieces, perhaps Puccini's most beloved opera, popular works by Rossini, Tchaikovsky and Strauss, along with a contemporary American opera of great social relevance. I think it's a sensational season."
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Where:
Ardis Krainik Theatre, Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive
When:
Season opens Saturday and runs through March 30; evening performances at 6:30 or 7:30 p.m. with matinees at 2 p.m.
Tickets:
Prices range from $31 to $176 Monday-Thursday and $42 to $187 Friday-Sunday
Information or to buy tickets: www.lyricopera.org, or call Civic Opera House box office at (312) 332-2244, ext. 5600. Major credit cards accepted