Andrew Davis News

Canadian-American soprano Erin Wall has withdrawn from Faust at Lyric Opera of Chicago to undergo chemotherapy, Anthony Freud, Lyric's general director, president & CEO, announced today. Freud added that her doctors expect a full recovery within a few months, according to her manager. Everyone at Lyric wishes Erin all the best and looks forward to welcoming her back in future seasons. An alumna of Lyric's Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center program (2001-04) with a major international career, Wall has portrayed Marguerite/Faust, Donna Anna/Don Giovanni, Pamina/The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi/Cos fan tutte, Helena/A Midsummer Night's Dream, Konstanze/Die Entf hrung auf dem Serail, and Antonia/Les Contes d'Hoffmann at Lyric.

February Films at Pride Arts Center - PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL 2/13

From the lyricism of R. Strauss, the passion of Prokofiev, and the vitality of Beethoven to the fanciful atmosphere of The Wizard of Oz with Live Orchestra just in time for Family Day weekend February at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is full of fantasy and zest.

Brooklyn Music School presents the 16th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute concert hosted by renowned baritone and BMS advisory board member Lester Lynch. Inspired by Dr. King's legacy and message, the program will feature selections from Mr. Lynch's recent recording On My Journey Now: Spirituals & Hymns as well as performances by BMS faculty and students.

Music Director Designate Jaap van Zweden will conduct the New York Philharmonic in a program pairing the New York Premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner John Luther Adams's Dark Waves with Act I of Wagner's Die Walk re (in concert), with soprano Heidi Melton as Sieglinde, tenor Simon O'Neill as Siegmund (in his New York Philharmonic debut), and bass John Relyea as Hunding.

Brooklyn Music School (BMS) presents Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute: Spirit of Hope on January 13, 2018 at 5pm. BMS is located at 126 Saint Felix Street, Brooklyn.

Antonio Pappano will return to the Philharmonic to conduct Britten's Piano Concerto (1945 version), with The Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence Leif Ove Andsnes as soloist; Saint-Sa ns's Symphony No. 3, Organ, with Philharmonic organist Kent Tritle; and Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, Thursday, February 8, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m.; and Saturday, February 10 at 8:00 p.m.

St phane Den ve will conduct the New York Philharmonic in an all-Prokofiev program featuring the Violin Concerto No. 1, with James Ehnes as soloist; selections from Romeo and Juliet; and The Love for Three Oranges Suite, Thursday, January 25, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, January 26 at 2:00 p.m.; and Saturday, January 27 at 8:00 p.m.

Baritone Tyler Duncan will replace Andrew Foster-Williams, who has withdrawn due to illness, in the remaining performances of Handel's Messiah.

In the first rock 'n' roll performances of its production history, Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar the North American debut of Timothy Sheader's explosive, high-energy, Olivier Award-winning production from London's Regent's Park Open-Air Theatre, presented April 27-May 20, 2018 at the Lyric Opera House.

Nationally known fundraising professional Elizabeth Hurley will join Lyric Opera of Chicago as its new chief development officer the company announced today. Hurley will be stepping into the role on March 1, 2018.

In September, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Chicago Urban League announced EmpowerYouth! Igniting Creativity through the Arts, a groundbreaking, multi-year partnership that immerses African American youth in the creation of an original opera based on their own life experiences. Collaboratively planned and administered by Lyric Unlimited, Lyric's community engagement and education arm, and the Chicago Urban League's Youth Development Center, EmpowerYouth! is a multidisciplinary afterschool program that will culminate in the presentation of a fully staged, youth-centric opera on May 31 at the Lyric Opera House.

Just as Music Director Ward Stare prepares to make his Metropolitan Opera conducting debut, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) announces that Maestro Stare has renewed his contract for three more years, through the end of the 2020/21 season.

The Grammy nominations are here! It's such a fun awards show, chock-full of accolades for mediocre pop songs sung by artists with nodules bigger than my fist-a true example of folks living the American Dream. Each year I hope for the best, thinking that, maybe, the nominating committee, or the performers, will surprise me-flipping the script on my shockingly low expectations. This year, to see if they'd accomplished that feat, I headed over to the Grammy's website to peruse the list of nominees.

Edo de Waart will replace Christoph von Dohn nyi in concerts featuring the World Premiere-New York Philharmonic commission of Bent S rensen's Evening Land; Emanuel Ax as soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 (replacing the previously announced Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27); and Brahms's Symphony No. 2.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra's recording of Handel's MESSIAH received two 2018 GRAMMY Awards Nominations - Best Choral Performance & Producer of the Year, Classical.

From the composer of Carmen, Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Bizet's The Pearl Fishers. Characterized by tropically hued costumes and colorful sets, this new-to-Chicago production promises high drama and gorgeous music conducted by Sir Andrew Davis and directed by Andrew Sinclair.

DIE WALK RE runs through November 30 at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the critics are weighing in!

Wine Auction 2018, the highly regarded triennial event organized by The Women's Board of Lyric Opera of Chicago, has announced dazzling auction lots as its milestone 30th anniversary nears.

An icy princess is terrified of love. A mysterious prince solves three riddles and melts her heart while breaking another's. Love triumphs, but it's complicated. Starring Amber Wagner, Stefano La Colla, Maria Agresta/Janai Brugger