Lyric Opera of Chicago Presents CARMEN

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents the thrilling story of a deadly love triangle set to Georges Bizet's most vivid, exciting, and popular music. A new Lyric coproduction of Carmen opens on Saturday, February 11, with eleven performances through March 25 at Lyric's Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Tickets start at $34 and are available now at lyricopera.org/Carmen or at (312) 827-5600.

Don José (Joseph Calleja, Feb. 11- Mar. 6, Brandon Jovanovich, Mar. 16-25), a soldier sent to break up a fight at a cigarette factory, is seduced by the alluring gypsy Carmen (Ekaterina Gubanova, Feb. 11-Mar. 6,Anita Rachvelishvili/Lyric debut, Mar. 16 -25) after he arrests her. José abandons his childhood sweetheart Micaëla (Eleonora Buratto/Lyric debut) and deserts his post to follow Carmen, but loses her love to the toreador Escamillo (Christian Van Horn). Desperate times lead to desperate acts and a heart-wrenching climax.

Harry Bicket (Feb. 11 - Mar. 6) and Ain?rs Rubikis (Lyric debut, Mar. 16 -25) conduct the new Lyric coproduction, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Rob Ashford, with set design by David Rockwell and lighting design by Donald Holder (both Lyric debuts). Michael Black is chorus master. Members of the Chicago Children's Choir will be prepared by Josephine Lee.

Performance dates for Carmen are Feb. 11, 22, 28, Mar. 3, 6, 22, 25 at 7:30pm; Feb. 15, 19, Mar. 16, 19 at 2:00pm. For tickets and information, call (312) 827-5600 or go to lyricopera.org/Carmen.

Running time is approximately 3 hours and 5 minutes, including 1 intermission.

Carmen will be performed in French with projectEd English translations.

The opening-night performance of Carmen can be heard live locally on 98.7WFMT and globally on wfmt.com, beginning at 7:15pm. Listeners will have access to line-by-line translations in real time online at lyricoperalive.org.

About Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago's mission is to express and promote the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great opera. Lyric exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to Chicago and the nation, and to advance the development of the art form.

Founded in 1954, Lyric is dedicated to producing and performing consistently thrilling, entertaining, and thought-provoking opera with a balanced repertoire of core classics, lesser-known masterpieces, and new works; to creating an innovative and wide-ranging program of community engagement and educational activities; and to developing exceptional emerging operatic talent.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud, Music Director Sir Andrew Davis, and Creative Consultant Renée Fleming, Lyric strives to become The Great North American Opera Company for the 21st century: a globally significant arts organization embodying the core values of excellence, relevance, and fiscal responsibility.

To learn more about Lyric's current season, go to lyricopera.org. You can also join the conversation with @LyricOpera on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. #Lyric1617 #LongLivePassion

Lyric Opera's new coproduction of Bizet's Carmen generously made possible by the Harris Family Foundation, James N. and Laurie V. Bay, Karen Z. Gray-Krehbiel and John H. Krehbiel, Jr., the Mazza Foundation, the Seymour H. Persky Charitable Trust, Exelon, and ITW. Coproduction with Houston Grand Opera.

The Lyric Opera of Chicago Broadcasts are generously sponsored by the Caerus Foundation, Inc., with matching funding provided byThe Matthew and Kay Bucksbaum Family, The John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Foundation, and The Richard P. and Susan Kiphart Family.