Lyric Opera of Chicago Announces 60th Anniversary Season, Featuring Lang Lang and Renee Fleming

Lyric Opera of Chicago announced its 2014-2015 season today, which is set to include eight operas, a world premiere new opera, a one night only piano concert with internationally acclaimed pianist Lang Lang, and special family performances. Lyric's 2014-15 subscription season will offer 68 performances of eight different operas Saturday, September 27, 2014 through Sunday, March 15 , 2015. Lyric will also present 17 performances of a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel in April 2015, continuing the company's American Musical Theater Initiative.

Lyric's 2014-2015 season will include Don Giovanni, Capriccio, Il Trovatore, Porgy and Bess, Anna Bolena, Tosca, Tannhäuser, and The Passenger. The season's offerings also include a star studded 60th Anniversary Concert and Diamond Ball on Saturday, November 1, 2014; an original kid-friendly intro to opera for families, The Magic Victrola, on Saturday, January 17, 2015; the world premiere of a new mariachi opera, El Pasado Nunca Se Termina (The Past is Never Finished) Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29, 2015; and a piano recital by Lang Lang - his only Chicago appearance of 2015 - on Saturday, May 9, 2015. Lyric's famous triennial Wine Auction will take place Friday, February 7, 2015. (Details will be announced at a later date.)

Lyric's Diamond Anniversary Season reflects the company's motto, Long Live Passion. "Our company has a great 60-year tradition of excellence, passion, and commitment - on both sides of the curtain," said Anthony Freud, general director of Lyric Opera of Chicago.

"It's our responsibility to give our audiences a vibrant, dynamic, world-class season - encompassing opera, American musical theater, and an array of special events and performances - that will excite experienced opera goers and newcomers alike. The finest artists in the world, our exceptional orchestra and chorus, breadth of repertoire, and a variety of musical and production styles are all part of the mix."

"Lyric Opera's 'calling-card' opera, Don Giovanni, is one of the most elusive and multilayered pieces in the repertoire - adramma giocoso, combining comedy and drama," said Freud of the season opener.

"It will be superbly realized by our brilliant cast, led by Mariusz Kwiecien, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, and illuminatingly directed by Robert Falls, one of the leading figures in the Chicago theater scene."

Richard Strauss's final opera, Capriccio, "reunites Renée Fleming in a signature role with Sir Andrew Davis, in a lovely production previously seen here in 1994," Freud said.

Featured performers include Adina Aaron, Jamie Barton, Stephanie Blythe, Johan Botha, Jorge de Leon, Mark Delavan, Misha Didyk, Gerald Finley, Renée Fleming, Denyce Graves, Eric Greene, Hui He, Bryan Hymel, Brandon Jovanovich, Daveda Karanas, Quinn Kelsey, Kyle Ketelsen, Mariusz Kwiecien, Lang Lang, YongHoon Lee, Amanda Majeski, Ana María Martínez, Evgeny Nikitin, Eric Owens, Antonio Poli, Sondra Radvanovsky, Marina Rebeka, John Relyea, Peter Rose, Michaela Schuster, Tatiana Serjan, Bo Skovhus, Jermaine Smith, Anne Sofie von Otter, and Amber Wagner.

Subscribers save up to 40% over individual ticket prices; 4-, 5-, 6-, and 8-opera series available. For more information, call 312-332-2244 or visit lyricopera.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

To post a comment, you must register and login.