Michael Black News

This happens to be my first review for BroadwayWorld in over a year. The last one I did was for North Carolina Theatre's production of Kinky Boots back in February of 2020, which took place one month before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Thanks to the streaming option from Raleigh Little Theatre, I am now back in business.

Lyric Opera of Chicago continues to expand its 2020/21 Season with new offerings and virtual performances. Anthony Freud, Lyric’s general director, president & CEO, announced additional new programming today that will feature the Lyric Opera Orchestra, the Lyric Opera Chorus, Lyric’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center Ensemble & more.

HEARTBEAT OPERA—the radical indie opera company 'leading the charge in online opera' (Parterre) with 'groundbreaking' virtual content (Operawire) that is 'hacking the corporate contours of Zoom into a postmodern proscenium” (Washington Post)—announces BREATHING FREE, an ambitious six-part virtual series from December 4-12, dedicated to the celebration of Black artistic voices.

HEARTBEAT OPERA—the radical indie opera company 'leading the charge in online opera' (Parterre) with 'groundbreaking' virtual content (Operawire) that is 'hacking the corporate contours of Zoom into a postmodern proscenium” (Washington Post)—announces BREATHING FREE, an ambitious six-part virtual series from December 4-12, dedicated to the celebration of Black artistic voices.

In light of ongoing 2020 health considerations and regulations that have forced Lyric to cancel live mainstage performances through December 31, 2020, Anthony Freud, Lyric Opera of Chicago's general director, president and CEO, has announced the company's reimagined slate of exciting artistic activities.

The tragedy of warrior-maiden Brünnhilde and her beloved hero Siegfried unfolds amidst the utter greed and evil machinations of revenge-driven Alberich and his malevolent son Hagen. Love triumphs as one world ends and a new one begins bringing Wagner's magnificent Ring cycle full circle.

 A four-opera saga that unfolds over the course of a single week. Three weeklong cycles to be presented at Lyric in a thrilling new production that has earned rave reviews and attracted audience members from every corner of the planet. One magical lump of gold that leads to the end of one world and the beginning of another. In opera's most monumental undertaking, characters inspired by Norse mythology battle over power and love, violate sacred oaths, and make unimaginable sacrifices a?" all set to Richard Wagner's brilliant, glorious music. The word 'epic' is often overused, but it truly applies to the Olympian achievement that is The Ring of the Nibelung.

A season filled with thrilling music, captivating stories, world-class singers, and exciting productions goes on sale by subscription Thursday, February 13. Eight new-to-Chicago productions, including three Lyric premieres plus two original Lyric productions, will entertain and thrill audiences from September 2020 through June 2021.

In Nagasaki, a captivating geisha marries an American naval lieutenant. Her love for him is tested repeatedly a?' as her family disowns her, as he leaves Japan while promising to return eventually, and when his true intentions are finally revealed, with tragic consequences.

The impetuous, unstable Gherman is a man obsessed a?" with gambling, with Lisa (who's engaged to someone else), and with the secret of winning at cards, which is closely held by Lisa's grandmother, an elderly countess. His all-consuming passion eclipses his sense of reason and reality at a terrible price.

Cio-Cio-San, a captivating geisha in Nagasaki, marries B. F. Pinkerton, an American naval lieutenant. For him, it's a lark, a diversion before he marries a 'real' American wife. For her, it's a life-altering commitment that's briefly blissful, then disastrous: her family renounces her and Pinkerton leaves Japan. When he returns a few years later, her joy evaporates and catastrophe ensues when his true intentions are revealed.

Mozart's musically brilliant and masterful tale of lust and revenge, Don Giovanni, returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago on Thursday, November 14 at 7pm. There will be nine performances through December 8 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago. Tickets start at $39 and are available now at lyricopera.org/Giovanni or by calling 312-827-5600.

Mozart's musically brilliant and masterful tale of lust and revenge, Don Giovanni, returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago on Thursday, November 14 at 7pm. There will be nine performances through December 8 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago. Tickets start at $39 and are available now at lyricopera.org/Giovanni or by calling 312-827-5600.

Dead Man Walking, the powerful opera by composer Jake Heggie and librettist-playwright Terrence McNally, will have its long-awaited Lyric premiere this month. There will be six performances Nov. 2-22 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago. Tickets start at $39 and are available at lyricopera.org/dmw or by calling 312-827-5600.

Verdi's heart-wrenching romantic drama Luisa Miller returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago for the first time in more than three decades on Saturday, October 12 at 7:30pm. Enrique Mazzola, Lyric's music director designate, will be on the podium.

Don Giovanni is bad to the bone and utterly unrepentant. He takes what he wants and lives only for his own pleasure in his encounters with fiery Donna Elvira, tormented Donna Anna, and impressionable Zerlina, among countless others. He manipulates and abuses his frustrated servant Leporello, Anna's fiancé Don Ottavio, and Zerlina's brand-new husband Masetto, and murders Anna's father. Mozart's tale of lust and revenge is set to some of the composer's most thrilling and dramatic music.

Don Giovanni is bad to the bone and utterly unrepentant. He takes what he wants and lives only for his own pleasure in his encounters with fiery Donna Elvira, tormented Donna Anna, and impressionable Zerlina, among countless others. He manipulates and abuses his frustrated servant Leporello, Anna's fiancé Don Ottavio, and Zerlina's brand-new husband Masetto, and murders Anna's father. Mozart's tale of lust and revenge is set to some of the composer's most thrilling and dramatic music.

The Barber of Seville recently opened at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and critics were in attendance! Find out what they had to say.

Lyric Opera of Chicago opens its 65th season with Gioachino's Rossini's romantic comedy, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. Tara Faircloth directs this exuberant revival of Lyric's 2013/14 production, originally directed by Rob Ashford, while Sir Andrew Davis conducts the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Michael Black serves as chorus master. Beautifully designed and masterfully sung, this production leans into the farcical comedy that ensues when Figaro, the eponymous barber, plays matchmaker for a wealthy count and a witty young woman.

Rossini's popular comedic masterpiece, The Barber of Seville, will open Lyric Opera of Chicago's 65th season on Saturday, September 28 at 6pm. There will be eight performances through October 27 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago. Tickets start at $49 for adults and just $20 for children, and are available now at lyricopera.org/Barber or by calling 312-827-5600.