Lyric Opera's Top Performers to Play Millennium Park

Lyric Opera of Chicago launches its new season with the 15th annual Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7:30 p.m. The free outdoor performance, presented in cooperation with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, annually attracts capacity crowds of 16,000 to the pavilion, great lawn, and surrounding areas of the park.

Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric's music director, will lead the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus, and an array of outstanding soloists: sopranos Christiane Karg and Amanda Majeski; mezzo-sopranos Elizabeth DeShong, Rachel Frenkel, and Katharine Goeldner; tenors Lawrence Brownlee and Keith Jameson; bass-baritones Luca Pisaroni and Adam Plachetka; and bass Brindley Sherratt. Also performing will be current Ryan Opera Center ensemble members Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi, soprano, Jonathan Johnson, tenor, and Bradley Smoak, bass.

The Lyric Opera Chorus will be prepared by chorus master Michael Black.

"I'm delighted that our exceptional soloists, orchestra, and chorus-conducted by Sir Andrew-will be heard by an enormous and appreciative audience, both in the beautiful Pritzker Pavilion and Millennium Park grounds and on the radio broadcast," said Anthony Freud, Lyric's general director. "What a wonderful way to start Lyric's 61st season, and also to celebrate the 15th Stars of Lyric Opera concert."

During Lyric's Sept. 11 performance at Millennium Park, audience members in the Seating Bowl will enjoy projected English translations. Those seated on the lawn or listening to the broadcast on wfmt.com around the world will have access to line-by-line translations in real time on mobile devices, at lyricoperalive.org.

Members of the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America will perform a pre-concert set between 6:45 and 7:10 pm.

The Stars of Lyric Opera concert program is as follows:

Part 1:
Excerpts from Cinderella (La Cenerentola), Rossini
Elizabeth DeShong and Lawrence Brownlee with the Lyric Opera Chorus

Excerpts from Idomeneo, Mozart; Romeo and Juliet, Gounod; and La traviata, Verdi
Lyric Opera Chorus
with Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi and Jonathan Johnson

Part 2:
Act II (complete), The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart
Christiane Karg, Amanda Majeski, Rachel Frenkel, Katharine Goeldner,
Adam Plachetka, Luca Pisaroni, Keith Jameson, Brindley Sherratt,
and Bradley Smoak

The Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park free concert will be aired live on 98.7WFMT and wfmt.com. 98.7WFMT host Suzanne Nance and Roger Pines, Lyric's dramaturg, will co-anchor the Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park concert broadcast beginning at 7:15 p.m. on Fri., Sept. 11.

Lyric will post live updates via social media throughout the evening. Join in the conversation by tagging your posts with #StarsOfLyric on Facebook at facebook.com/lyricopera and on Twitter and Instagram at @LyricOpera.

Invite your friends to this free event and let others know you are attending with our Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park Facebook event at bit.ly/starsoflyric

Like Lyric Opera on Facebook to stay in the loop about upcoming events, music-related content, behind the scenes information, deals, contests and more.

?Lyric Opera of Chicago opens its 61st season on Saturday, September 26. The opera season continues through March 19, 2016, with 67 performances of eight operas: Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (Sept. 26-Oct. 24), Rossini's Cinderella (Oct. 4-30), Berg's Wozzeck (Nov. 1-21), Lehár's The Merry Widow (Nov. 14-Dec. 13), López's Bel Canto (world premiere Dec. 7-Jan. 17), Verdi's Nabucco (Jan. 23-Feb. 12), R. Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier (Feb. 8-Mar. 13), and Gounod's Romeo and Juliet (Feb. 22-Mar.19). Lyric's 2015/16 season will also include 25 performances of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The King and I (April 29-May 22).

All of Lyric's regular-season performances take place at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive at Madison Street, in Chicago. There are projected English texts for every opera. Subscriptions are still available, as are tickets for individual performances. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For information on specific performance dates and ticket availability, please call (312) 827-5600 or go to lyricopera.org.

Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park is a Lyric Unlimited event. For more information, visit lyricopera.org/lyricunlimited.

Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park is supported by Lead Sponsor closerlook, inc. and cosponsors An Anonymous Donor, Marlys A. Beider, Rhoda L. and Henry S. Frank, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, Christine and Paul Branstad Family Foundation, Crain-Maling Foundation, Ernst & Young LLP, Greg and Annie Jones/The Edgewater Funds, Sipi Metals Corp., and the Music Performance Trust Fund and Film Fund. Presented in cooperation with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and Millennium Park.

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