Emily Birsan News

?Anthony Barrese, award-winning conductor and composer, arrived in Miami yesterday to begin conducting rehearsals for Florida Grand Opera's (FGO) upcoming production of Georges Bizet's The Pearl Fishers (Les pecheurs de perles). Barrese makes his company debut conducting this French masterpiece not even two weeks after the close of FGO's well-received production of Mozart's comic opera Cosi fan tutte. The Pearl Fishers will open on Saturday, February 28, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

CHICAGO – Lyric Opera of Chicago's spectacular 60th Anniversary season continues with Capriccio, starring Renée Fleming in one of her signature roles as Countess Madeleine and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Richard Strauss's final masterpiece reunites these longtime collaborators in performance and colleagues as Lyric's creative consultant and music director respectively.

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) presents a unique double-bill of one-act German language operas including Carl Orff's 'The Clever One' and Viktor Ullmann's 'The Emperor of Atlantis,' in four performances today, May 31- June 8, 2014 at the Merle Reskin Theatre of DePaul University (60 E. Balbo). 'The Emperor of Atlantis' ('Der Kaiser von Atlantis') by Viktor Ullmann and 'The Clever One' ('Die Kluge') by Carl Orff are two satires about oppression and dictatorship both written in 1943, but reflecting differing world views: 'Emperor' was composed during Ullman's imprisonment at the Theresienstadt concentration camp and 'Clever One' by an artist working under the Nazi regime's guidelines in Frankfurt, Germany. Both biting satires emphasize a sense of absurdity and ridiculousness while embodying the spirit of traditional German fairytales.

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) presents a unique double-bill of one-act German language operas including Carl Orff's "The Clever One" and Viktor Ullmann's "The Emperor of Atlantis," in four performances May 31- June 8, 2014 at the Merle Reskin Theatre of DePaul University (60 E. Balbo). "The Emperor of Atlantis" ("Der Kaiser von Atlantis") by Viktor Ullmann and "The Clever One" ("Die Kluge") by Carl Orff are two satires about oppression and dictatorship both written in 1943, but reflecting differing world views: "Emperor" was composed during Ullman's imprisonment at the Theresienstadt concentration camp and "Clever One" by an artist working under the Nazi regime's guidelines in Frankfurt, Germany. Both biting satires emphasize a sense of absurdity and ridiculousness while embodying the spirit of traditional German fairytales.

On Saturday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m., the talented singers and pianist of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center 2013-14 ensemble will perform with members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra in works of Adams, Bizet, Copland, Donizetti, Gershwin, Gounod, Handel, Lehár, Massenet, Mozart, Ravel, Stravinsky, and Walton. Rising Stars in Concert is offered in celebration of an extraordinarily successful year of study and performance for these up-and-coming artists.

To marry or murder in order to reclaim the throne and family honor? That is the incendiary question propelling Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at Lyric Opera of Chicago. This tale of politics, power, and high passion opens tonight, March 5 with seven performances through Sunday, March 23. Sir Andrew Davis conducts the new-to-Chicago production by famed director Sir David McVicar starring the internationally acclaimed Matthew Polenzani, Joyce DiDonato, and Amanda Majeski.

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis in a new-to-Chicago production by famed director Sir David McVicar. It opens on Wednesday, March 5 with seven performances through Sunday, March 23. Performance dates are tonight, March 5 and March 8, 11, 14, 17, and 20, all at 7:30 pm, with a matinee at 2 pm on Sunday, March 23.

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis in a new-to-Chicago production by famed director Sir David McVicar. It opens on Wednesday, March 5 with seven performances through Sunday, March 23. Performance dates are March 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 20, all at 7:30 pm, with a matinee at 2 pm on Sunday, March 23.

For the second year in a row, members of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago will be featured in a broadcast recital series on radio station98.7WFMT starting Monday, October 7. The one-hour broadcasts will be heard the first Monday of the month at 6 pm, with a repeat broadcast the following Sunday at 11 pm. The recital series will also be streamed on wfmt.com.

Single tickets go on sale to the general public today, Aug. 1, for Lyric Opera of Chicago's 59th season.

Summer in Chicago wraps up in August with the final weeks of the Grant Park Music Festival, led by Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Carlos Kalmar and the Grammy Award-nominated Grant Park Orchestra, along with Chorus Director Christopher Bell and the Grant Park Chorus in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park. In August, the Festival's dynamic programming features the Grant Park Chorus, saxophone virtuoso James Carter, pianist and YouTube sensation Valentina Lisitsa,a collaboration with the Lyric Opera's Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center and two performances honoring the hundredth anniversary of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.

Several alumni and current ensemble members of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago are featured artists at music festivals and opera companies at home and around the globe this summer.

Lyric Opera of Chicago and its general director, Anthony Freud, announced the lineup for Lyric's 2013-14 season today. Joseph Calleja, Joyce DiDonato, Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson, Ana Maria Martinez, Matthew Polenzani, and Patricia Racette are among those headlining the new season's offerings. These comprise 67 performances of eight different operas, beginning October 5, 2013 and concluding March 23, 2014: new productions of Parsifal, La traviata, The Barber of Seville, and Rusalka (Lyric premiere); a revival of Otello; and new-to-Chicago stagings of Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, and La clemenza di Tito. Lyric's music director, Sir Andrew Davis, will lead three operas, and guest conductors Marco Armiliato, Bertrand de Billy and Michele Mariotti will make their house debuts. Additionally, Lyric will present a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in the spring of 2014, continuing the company's American Musical Theater Initiative, and Davis will conduct a special Subscriber Appreciation Concert in March featuring Lyric's creative consultant - the star soprano Renee Fleming - with tenor Jonas Kaufmann.

Lyric Opera of Chicago and its general director, Anthony Freud, announced the lineup for Lyric's 2013-14 season today. Joseph Calleja, Joyce DiDonato, Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson, Ana Maria Martinez, Matthew Polenzani, and Patricia Racette are among those headlining the new season's offerings. These comprise 67 performances of eight different operas, beginning October 5, 2013 and concluding March 23, 2014: new productions of Parsifal, La traviata, The Barber of Seville, and Rusalka (Lyric premiere); a revival of Otello; and new-to-Chicago stagings of Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, and La clemenza di Tito. Lyric's music director, Sir Andrew Davis, will lead three operas, and guest conductors Marco Armiliato, Bertrand de Billy and Michele Mariotti will make their house debuts. Additionally, Lyric will present a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in the spring of 2014, continuing the company's American Musical Theater Initiative, and Davis will conduct a special Subscriber Appreciation Concert in March featuring Lyric's creative consultant - the star soprano Renee Fleming - with tenor Jonas Kaufmann.

The singers of the Ryan Opera Center will conclude a year of study and performance with the end-of-season Rising Stars in Concert for Lyric Opera donors Saturday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ardis Krainik Theatre of the Civic Opera House. Tickets for this concert are a benefit available only to Lyric Opera donors of $75 and above. It is not open to the public.

The singers of the Ryan Opera Center will conclude a year of study and performance with the end-of-season Rising Stars in Concert for Lyric Opera donors Saturday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the Ardis Krainik Theatre of the Civic Opera House. Tickets for this concert are a benefit available only to Lyric Opera donors of $75 and above. It is not open to the public.

Madison Opera opens its 50th anniversary season with Mozart's classic comedy The Marriage of Figaro on Friday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall.

Madison Opera opens its 50th anniversary season with Mozart's classic comedy The Marriage of Figaro on Friday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall.