Lyric Opera To Present Sondra Radvanovsky THE PUCCINI HEROINES In February

Lyric Opera of Chicago will present Sondra Radvanovsky, the Lyric Opera Orchestra led by Music Director Enrique Mazzola, and the music of the beloved composer Giacomo Puccini — in Sondra Radvanovsky in Concert: The Puccini Heroines, for three performances only, February 8–16, 2025.

At these groundbreaking concerts, Radvanovsky will sing Puccini's most iconic soprano arias — from Tosca's "Vissi d'arte" and Madama Butterfly's "Un bel di vedremo" to famous selections from La Bohème, Turandot, Manon Lescaut, and more — together in one monumental program.

While the concerts feature some of the most familiar and beloved arias in all of opera, these selections are also some of the most fiendishly difficult to perform. Only a singer of Radvanovsky's strength, stamina, and virtuosity can deliver this program's intense vocal and dramatic demands. And luckily for Chicago audiences, Radvanovsky has Mazzola and the Lyric Opera Orchestra as her esteemed musical partners. While both Radvanovsky and Maestro Mazzola have impressive experience performing Puccini at the leading opera houses of the world, these concerts mark the first time that both artists will be showcasing their interpretations of Puccini for Lyric audiences.

Radvanovsky, who was born just outside of Chicago in Berwyn and now calls suburban Evanston home, is one of the world's most renowned and in-demand vocal artists. Since beginning her Lyric career in the title role of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah in the 2002/03 Season, she has performed the heroines of Verdi, Bellini, Tchaikovsky, and more alongside the Lyric Opera Orchestra. Her innovative Lyric concert performances of The Three Queens, in which she explored the music of each of Donizetti's three Tudor operas in a single evening, was recorded by Pentatone and released to great critical acclaim. Most recently, she ushered Lyric back into live performances with her role debut as Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth at the start of the 2021/22 Season, conducted by Maestro Mazzola in his first performances as Music Director.

At the Metropolitan Opera, she has regularly appeared in leading roles since her debut in 1996. A highlight of her extensive career at the Met was her 2015/16 Season portrayal of each of Donizetti's Three Queens — the title roles of Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda and Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux — a feat not accomplished at an American opera house since the legendary Beverly Sills sang the roles at New York City Opera in the 1970s. Radvanovsky opened the Met's 2022/23 Season in the title role of Cherubini's Medea in a Lyric co-production directed by Sir David McVicar. This season, she returns to the Met for the title role in Puccini's Tosca, reprising it later in the season for both Deutsche Oper Berlin and Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. She also sings the title role in Puccini's Turandot for London's Royal Ballet & Opera.

Away from the opera stage, Radvanovsky is a co-creator and co-host of the podcast and video series Screaming Divas, now in its fourth season, in which she and fellow soprano Keri Alkema talk with great humor and frankness about their lives and operatic careers.

At Lyric's presentation of Sondra Radvanovsky in Concert: The Puccini Heroines, audiences familiar with Puccini's artistry will thrill at hearing one of his greatest interpreters perform his most famous arias in a single evening, and those new to opera will discover why the magic of Puccini has endured as an audience favorite for more than 100 years. This world-premiere concert event promises to be a true highlight of the Chicago cultural season.

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