THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and More Set for Chicago Opera Theater 2026-27 Season

Chicago Opera Theater has revealed its 2026-2027 Season – a bold slate of programming that pairs two Chicago premieres with expanded investments in new work and arts education—underscoring the company’s role as a driving force for operatic discovery in the city.

Anchoring the season are the Chicago premieres of The Importance of Being Earnest composed by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, drawn from Oscar Wilde’s iconic comedy, December 2-6, 2026; and The Juniper Tree composed by Philip Glass and Robert Moran, with a libretto by Arthur Yorinks, based on a haunting fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, May 19-23, 2027. Each opera will be complemented by an advance Discovery Concert designed to deepen the audience’s experience by exploring the work’s themes, context, and artistic influences. All performances take place at The Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S Michigan Ave.

This season, COT also introduces Chicago Sings, a major new commissioning initiative, and marks a significant expansion of COT’s flagship Opera for All education program, increasing its reach into Chicago Public Schools at a time when arts education opportunities are increasingly limited.

Chicago Premiere: The Importance of Being Earnest

Music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
Libretto by the Composer drawn from the play by Oscar Wilde
Wednesday, December 2, 2026 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, December 5 & Sunday, December 6, 2026 @ 3pm
The Studebaker Theater

Chicago Opera Theater brings a “trivial comedy for serious people” to Chicago audiences with the Chicago premiere of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s The Importance of Being Earnest, a sparkling operatic adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s beloved play and a joyful tribute to the history of classical music itself.

Composed in 1961 by the Italian-born composer—who fled fascist Italy in 1939 and later became one of Hollywood’s most influential film composers—The Importance of Being Earnest transforms Wilde’s famously witty comedy into an elegant and effervescent opera. The work preserves Wilde’s razor-sharp satire of Victorian manners while enriching the story with music that heightens both its romance and its absurdity.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s score is also a playful love letter to opera and the classical repertoire, filled with musical quotations and affectionate nods to beloved composers. Throughout the opera, listeners will hear dozens of sly references to works by Bach, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner and more, woven into the score with wit and theatrical flair. These musical “inside jokes” mirror Wilde’s own sophisticated humor, creating an opera that rewards seasoned opera lovers while also delighting audiences encountering the art form for the first time.

The story follows the tangled identities of Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, whose elaborate deceptions lead to romantic chaos when both men attempt to woo women determined to marry someone named “Ernest.” As mistaken identities multiply and social conventions collapse, Wilde’s timeless satire unfolds in a world of sparkling wit, irresistible melody, and theatrical charm.

Although the opera premiered in 1962 and has long been admired by musicians and scholars, it has remained infrequently produced. COT’s Chicago premiere invites audiences to experience this rarely performed gem—an opera where impeccable manners conceal outrageous secrets, romance blossoms in the most unlikely circumstances, and the greatest revelation of all may be the true importance of being “Earnest.”

This new production will be directed by Brenna Corner, Artistic Director of Pacific Opera Victoria, and conducted by Kamna Gupta, both making their COT debuts. The cast features the return of COT favorites soprano Vanessa Becerra as Gwendolen Fairfax and mezzo-soprano Leah Dexter as Miss Prism, alongside the company debuts of soprano Veronique Filloux as Cecily Cardew, mezzo-soprano Emily Triegle as Lady Augusta Bracknell, and tenors Martin Luther Clark as Algernon Moncrief and Omar Najmi as John “Jack” Worthing.

Chicago Premiere: The Juniper Tree

Music by Philip Glass and Robert Moran
Libretto by Arthur Yorinks
Based on the Grimm Brothers fairy tale
Wednesday, May 19, 2027 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, May 22 & Sunday, May 23, 2027 @ 3pm
The Studebaker Theater

Dark, haunting, and deeply poetic, The Juniper Tree is one of the most striking—and unsettling—stories from The Brothers Grimm. In its Chicago premiere, COT brings this moving fairy tale to life in a mesmerizing operatic adaptation by composers Philip Glass and Robert Moran, with a libretto by playwright Arthur Yorinks.

First published in the Grimm collection of 1812, The Juniper Tree tells a story that is both chilling and strangely beautiful. After a child’s mother dies beneath the branches of a juniper tree, his father remarries, and the new wife becomes consumed with jealousy toward her stepson. What follows is a grim tale of betrayal and violence, but also one of transformation and rebirth. In true Grimm fashion, the story moves through darkness toward a form of poetic justice, where memory, nature, and innocence ultimately restore the world’s balance.

The opera emerged from a remarkable collaboration among three distinctive artistic voices. Yorinks, known for his work in theater and visual storytelling, shaped a libretto drawn directly from the stark imagery and symbolic power of the Grimm tale, preserving its eerie simplicity and mythic clarity while crafting a work of haunting theatrical beauty.

For the music, Glass and Moran devised an unusual collaborative approach. The two composers alternated scenes, each writing successive portions of the opera while incorporating musical ideas introduced by the other. The result is a dynamic musical dialogue: Glass’s signature language—hypnotic rhythmic patterns, luminous harmonies, and a sense of suspended time—interacts with Moran’s soaring lyricism, each composer weaving and transforming shared material to create a unified dramatic arc.

Premiered in 1985 at the American Repertory Theater, The Juniper Tree stands as a rare example of two major composers collaborating as equal partners on a full-length opera, achieving a score of striking cohesion and expressive depth.

The Chicago premiere at COT arrives at a particularly fitting moment, as opera companies around the world celebrate Glass’s 90th birthday in 2027, recognizing the profound impact his work has had on contemporary opera. This new production will be directed by COT General Director Lawrence Edelson and conducted by Brian DeMaris, General Director of Arizona Opera, in his company debut. The cast features Grammy Award-winning soprano Janai Brugger as Wife, soprano Veronique Filloux  as Daughter, mezzo soprano Emily Triegle as Step-Mother and Ryan Center alum Laureano Quant as Husband, who returns to the company after his critically acclaimed company debut in Salieri’s Falstaff this past season. The cast also includes bass Chris Filipowicz as Goldsmith, baritone Lifan Deng as Cobbler, and tenor Jerek Fernandez as Miller.

Discovery Concerts

The 2026–27 season also includes two Discovery Concerts—intimate recitals that broaden and deepen the season’s artistic conversation. Each concert explores the richness of the repertoire by juxtaposing well-known works with rarely performed pieces, illuminating how each program’s central theme finds expression across a wide range of works by different composers and librettists.

The first program, On the Wilde Side, will take place on Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 3:00 PM at The Studebaker Theater. Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s enduring influence on composers, the concert will explore the wide range of operatic adaptations and art song drawn from his plays, stories and poetry—highlighting both the wit and darker lyricism that define his work and offering a rich contextual companion to COT’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Michael Banwarth makes his debut with COT as pianist and music director for this program.

The second concert, Once Upon a Time, will be presented on Sunday, February 7, 2027 at 3:00 PM, also at The Studebaker Theater. Complementing The Juniper Tree, this concert will explore the enduring role of fairy tales in opera, tracing how different artists have drawn on folklore and myth—from familiar childhood stories to more haunting and psychologically complex narratives—to create some of the repertoire’s most evocative works. Yasuko Oura returns to COT as pianist and music director for this program.

Complete programs and singers for both Discovery Concerts will be announced in the summer.

Launch of Chicago Sings: A New Commissioning Initiative

The 2026-27 season also marks the launch of Chicago Sings, a bold new commissioning initiative supporting Chicago-based composers in the creation of full-length operas for mainstage production. Building on COT’s Vanguard Initiative, COT will commission new works by Vanguard alumni who live and work in Chicago—artists whose voices reflect the city’s imagination, grit, and boundless creative spirit—further deepening the company’s investment in local artists and stories.

“While COT has invested deeply in mentoring emerging composers through our Vanguard Initiative,” explained Edelson, “that support has historically concluded after their initial two-year residency. For opera writers to fully realize their potential, they must have the opportunity to create multiple works and see them brought to life in fully staged productions, not only in concert settings. Through Chicago Sings, we are deepening our commitment to emerging opera writers by commissioning new operas rooted in the stories of our city and creating an exciting pipeline of original work for audiences to discover.”

Each opera will be developed over a multi-year period, fostering sustained collaboration among composers, librettists, guest artists and COT’s artistic leadership, and culminating in a fully staged production as part of the company’s regular season—offering Chicago audiences the first opportunity to experience these new works.

COT has revealed the first commission under the Chicago Sings banner: Inventing Oz (Working Title), by composer Stacy Garrop, COT’s first Vanguard composer, and librettist Sam Norman, a distinguished alum of American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program. Inventing Oz is a fantastical exploration of how L. Frank Baum’s imagination was ignited during his years living in Chicago, leading to the creation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It illuminates how America’s most beloved fairyland was shaped by the spectacle of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, how Oz’s good witches were inspired by Baum’s suffragist mother-in-law, and the way Dorothy’s search for home echoes that of her creator. Full of brains, heart and courage, Inventing Oz throws back the curtain to reveal a rapidly changing America, and one man’s struggle to find the right story.

“In essence, Chicago Sings picks up where Vanguard left off,” explained Garrop. “Vanguard got my feet wet in the mechanics of writing opera; Chicago Sings now allows me to fully develop and explore my capabilities in the opera field by providing me with my first opportunity to write a two-act, full-length, fully-staged opera, with as much support as Sam and I need throughout the process of bringing the work to life.”

Inventing Oz is projected to premiere in 2029. Audiences will have the opportunity to experience the work’s development firsthand through a piano-vocal workshop and concert of the work-in-progress Monday, August 9, 2027 at 7:00 PM at The Studebaker Theater, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the creation this exciting new opera while furthering COT’s commitment to expanding access to the artistic process.

Expanded Commitment to Arts Education

In tandem with the company’s performances and new works development activities, COT will expand its flagship arts education initiative, Opera for All, by 25 percent during the 2026–2027 school year, growing the program to serve 30 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) classrooms across the city at no cost to participating schools.

COT’s Opera for All program embodies the company’s commitment to transforming lives through arts education. A free, transformative 30-week residency, OFA brings the dynamic world of opera into Chicago Public Schools every year. Designed to complement the CPS arts curriculum, the program empowers students to explore music, storytelling, and the visual arts while fostering creativity, collaboration, and confidence. Over the course of the school year, students work closely with COT Teaching Artists to create, produce, and perform their own operas.

OFA’s curriculum emphasizes hands-on creativity and teamwork as students write librettos, compose music, and design and create sets and costumes for their original works. OFA is distinguished by its focus on depth of engagement, providing sustained, high-quality, hands-on experiences with classical music and opera through weekly sessions over a 30-week period each year.

“The expansion of Opera for All speaks directly to our values as an organization,” said Edelson, “and comes at a time when arts education opportunities remain unevenly distributed across Chicago schools. By bringing professional teaching artists directly and regularly into classrooms, the program ensures that students—particularly those in schools with limited arts programming—have access to meaningful, high-quality creative learning experiences.”

Tickets for the 2026-27 Season

As part of its ongoing efforts to better serve today’s audiences, Chicago Opera Theater is transitioning from a traditional subscription model to a more flexible membership program—offering greater choice, accessibility, and opportunities for deeper engagement with the company’s work. Recognizing that attending live performance today looks different than it once did, the new model is designed to meet audiences where they are: accommodating shifting schedules, evolving interests, and a desire for flexibility without sacrificing the sense of connection that defines the COT experience.

A range of membership options makes it possible for audiences—from students and young professionals to longtime patrons—to engage in ways that suit their interests and availability, whether planning an entire season in advance or deciding closer to the moment. Members can choose performances when it works best for them, get preferred pricing on all performances, exchange tickets with ease as plans change, and shape a season that reflects their own interests, schedules, and sense of discovery.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best New Musical - Top 3

1. The Lost Boys

39.2% of votes

2. Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

25.7% of votes

3. Schmigadoon!

22.3% of votes

Vote Now! View Live Stats