LUCIO SILLA and More Set for Chicago Opera Theater's 42nd Season

Chicago Opera Theater's General Director Andreas Mitisek today announced plans for the company's 42nd season. Chicago Opera Theater(COT) is shifting from a calendar year season to the more common fall-through-spring theater season. Kicking off the new 2015/16 season will be the Chicagopremiere of Mozart's Lucio Silla. Written in 1772, it displays the mature talents of the 16-year old prodigy in a gripping story about love, conspiracies, and revenge. With its scintillating score and awe-inspiring arias, Silla will be performed September 26, 30 and October 2, 4, 2015.

The company's winter double bill will feature Metropolitan Opera star Patricia Racette in her COT and role debuts as Elle in Francis Poulenc's heart-wrenching monologue La Voix Humaine, where a woman clings to her final conversation with a past love. The second half of the evening is dedicated to Giacomo Puccini's comedic gem Gianni Schicchi. Considered among the funniest operas ever written, Schicchi is a tale of greedy family members scheming their way into a big inheritance. Performances will be on February 6 and 14, 2016.

The 2015/16 Season will close with Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, presented by the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in association with ChicagoOpera Theater. This baroque masterpiece will be performed by the internationally renowned Mark Morris Dance Group and Music Ensemble. Mark Morris, who choreographed and originated the work's dual roles of Dido and the Sorceress, will conduct the performance on April 6, 2016, making it Morris's Chicagoconducting debut.

"In addition to the Chicago premiere of a Mozart opera, we are thrilled to bring our audiences one of opera's greatest stars in Patricia Racette. Racette recently triumphed in the Met's new production of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, and our Chicago audiences will remember her as Butterfly at the Lyric in 2014," said Mitisek. "We are proud to be associated with the Harris Theater in the presentation of a Mark Morris production. We have amazing stars in some of the greatest operas this COT season,"

"There has long been a tradition of having the greatest Dance and Ballet companies collaborate in Opera productions," said Michael Tiknis, President and Managing Director of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. "The Mark Morris Dance Group production of Henry Purcell's Opera, Dido and Aeneas, is one of the finest works that Mark has ever created. Revived recently for the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, this will be the production's return presentation to Chicago, and a fantastic opportunity to experience the full genius of this very important artist," Tiknis added. "Mark has assembled a superb cast, chorus and orchestra. Additionally, this collaboration will enable Chicago Opera Theater to find financial efficiencies in new ways as they explore exciting artistic opportunities for the company. The Harris Theater is pleased to be able to support COT in every way possible," Tiknis concluded.