Lyric Opera of Chicago & The Second City to Partner for LONGER! LOUDER! WAGNER! This Fall

Lyric Opera of Chicago and The Second City have announced an all new collaboration with the fall premiere of Longer! Louder! Wagner!, an all new and hilarious comedy inspired by Ring composer Richard Wagner.

Why Wagner, and why now? Because Lyric is launching its brand-new Ring cycle - the mind-blowing four-opera saga created by Richard Wagner over the course of 26+ years. Part One, Das Rheingold, launches Lyric's 2016/17 season October 1, with the next three operas presented one per season until 2020, when the full cycle will be presented three times over the course of three weeks, attracting audiences from around the world.

Lyric Opera, through its Lyric Unlimited division, and The Second City join forces once again to take on everyone's favorite four-day fifteen-hour opera. Longer! Louder! Wagner! brings us to 1848 Germany where Wagner first began work on the Ring, to modern-day Bayreuth, home of Wagner's personally-designed opera house. Longer! Louder! Wagner! hilariously illustrates the lasting effects of his masterpiece and the headaches an opera company might encounter trying to mount this behemoth. Note: Show may contain inaccurate German accents.

Longer! Louder! Wagner! is written by Timothy Sniffen and directed by Anneliese Toft. Sniffen co-wrote The Second City Guide to the Opera, the first collaboration between Lyric and The Second City during Lyric's 2012/13 season, and also wrote Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf: A Parody, currently running to great acclaim at Writers Theatre. Jesse Case returns as music director, following the success of The Second City Guide to the Opera. The cast includes six actors from The Second City and two classically trained singers.

Longer! Louder! Wagner! opens on Thursday, October 27 at 7pm with six performances through October 30. Shows will take place backstage in Lyric's William Mason Rehearsal Hall. The space will be transformed into an intimate, Comedy Club-like venue, giving ticket holders a unique opportunity to enjoy the show within the backstage are rarely seen by the public. Running time is approximately 80 minutes, without intermission. Ticket prices are $35, $45 and $65, and food and beverage service will be available.

The Second City Guide to the Opera, a lively revue-style show, featured cast members from The Second City, singers from The Ryan Opera Center, and appearances by Lyric's creative consultant and legendary soprano Renée Fleming and actor Sir Patrick Stewart. The critically-acclaimed show won two Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best Production: Revue and Best Director: Revue. The single performance sold out the entire opera house and prompted a month-long series of cabaret-style shows with audience and performers onstage together, following the regular opera season.

"I can't wait to see what our two great companies come up with this time around," says Anthony Freud, Lyric's general director. "Wagner's complicated life and astonishing creative output, culminating in the Ring, will doubtless inspire the creative minds of The Second City to improbable new heights - and depths! This show will entertain fans of great music and great comedy alike."

Erica Daniels, president of Second City Theatricals, agrees: "We are thrilled to once again collaborate with our friends at Lyric and the source material could not be richer."

Tickets for Longer! Louder! Wagner! The Second City Wagner Companion are on sale now and can be purchased at lyricopera.org/secondcity or by calling 312-827-5600.

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