ELEKTRA, LA BOHEME et al. Set for Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2012-13 Season

Anthony Freud, general director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, announced yesterday the repertoire, principal singers, conductors, directors, and designers for Lyric's 2012-13 season. This was Freud's first news conference since becoming Lyric's general director on Oct. 1, 2011. Joining Freud for yesterday's announcement was Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric's music director, and Renée Fleming, Lyric's creative consultant (via Skype).

Lyric's 58th season features 68 performances of nine different operas: Elektra, Simon Boccanegra, Werther, Don Pasquale, Hansel and Gretel, La bohème, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Rigoletto, and A Streetcar Named Desire. The season runs from October 6, 2012 through April 6, 2013 at the Civic Opera House, an art deco landmark in Chicago. Lyric is staging new productions of Elektra, Werther, and Die Meistersinger, as well as a special presentation of Streetcar. Oklahoma!, the American musical-theater classic by Rodgers and Hammerstein, is scheduled for the spring of 2013, following Lyric's regular season. Subscribers will get first choice of seats and special pricing for this production. The on-sale date and production details of Oklahoma! will be announced later.

Major artists making their Lyric debuts in the 2012-13 season include Christine Goerke (Elektra), Krassimira Stoyanova (Simon Boccanegra), Sophie Koch (Werther), Anna Netrebko and Dimitri Pittas (La bohème), Andrzej Dobber, Željko Lu?i?, and Albina Shagimuratova (Rigoletto), and Teddy Tahu Rhodes (A Streetcar Named Desire). Two young conductors make their Lyric debuts on the podium: Ward Stare (Hansel and Gretel) and Evan Rogister (Rigoletto, Streetcar); and chorus Master Martin Wright is new to the company this season.

Returning artists include Jill Grove (Elektra, Hansel and Gretel), Emily Magee and Alan Held (Elektra), Thomas Hampson, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Frank Lopardo (Simon Boccanegra), Matthew Polenzani (Werther), Ildebrando D'Arcangelo and Marlis Petersen (Don Pasquale), James Morris and Johan Botha (Die Meistersinger), Ana María Martínez, Elizabeth Futral and Joseph Calleja (La bohème), and Renée Fleming and Susanna Phillips (Streetcar).

Many artists are making notable role debuts in the 2012-13 season: Jill Grove as Clytemnestra and Roger Honeywell as Aegisthus (Elektra), Frank Lopardo as Adorno and Quinn Kelsey as Paolo (Simon Boccanegra), Matthew Polenzani in the title role of Werther, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Pasquale, René Barbera as Ernesto, and Corey Crider as Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Jill Grove as the Witch (Hansel and Gretel), Elizabeth Futral as Musetta and Lucas Meachem as Marcello (La bohème), Amanda Majeski as Eva (Die Meistersinger), and Susanna Phillips as Stella (Streetcar). Sir Thomas Allen makes his Lyric directorial debut (Don Pasquale).

Lyric's 58th season fully embodies the company's motto, Long Live Passion. "Passion is the essence of opera," said Freud. Passion and the communication of emotion is what all great art has in common. Lyric's 58th season encompasses a range of repertory, a range of musical and theatrical styles, and a range of great artists who sing, conduct, direct and design – all with great passion."

Sir Andrew Davis noted that he will be on the podium for the first three operas of the season – Elektra, Simon Boccanegra, and Werther – and will return for Die Meistersinger in February. "It will be my first time conducting three of the four – Boccanegra, Werther, and Die Meistersinger – and I am eager to delve into all of them, as well as to return to the glorious score of Elektra," Davis said.

Renée Fleming pointed out that the season's ninth opera, André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, will receive "special treatment" in that the singers – in full costume and with scenic elements, lighting and props – will share the stage with the Lyric Opera Orchestra.

Photo by DECCA/ANDREW ECCLES