Lyric Opera history

Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the world's great opera companies, renowned internationally for its artistic excellence. Founded in 1954, Lyric has from its earliest days distinguished itself by presenting the finest singers, conductors, directors, and designers in classic and less-familiar operatic repertoire and in world-premiere productions.

Additionally, Lyric is leading the advancement of opera in America — increasing relevance and reach for both traditional and new audiences, engaging diverse communities through signature learning and exploration initiatives, and expanding the company’s role as a cultural cornerstone in Chicago.

Leadership

General Director, President & CEO John Mangum is the fifth person in the history of the company to hold the position. An arts leader with more than two decades of experience, he joined Lyric in Fall 2024 after a successful tenure as Executive Director/CEO of the Houston Symphony. 

Music Director Enrique Mazzola, just the third in the company’s history, is renowned as an expert interpreter and champion of bel canto opera and a specialist in French repertoire and early Verdi. Lyric audiences first experienced the Italian conductor’s artistry in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in 2016/17, and his first opera as Lyric’s music director, Sir David McVicar’s new production of Verdi’s Macbeth, opened the 2021/22 Season. Mazzola has held numerous prominent positions, and currently serves as Principal Guest Conductor at Deutsche Oper Berlin. 

Details on the company’s current senior leadership team are available here.

Leadership

General Director, President & CEO John Mangum is the fifth person in the history of the company to hold the position. An arts leader with more than two decades of experience, he joined Lyric in Fall 2024 after a successful tenure as Executive Director/CEO of the Houston Symphony. 

Music Director Enrique Mazzola, just the third in the company’s history, is renowned as an expert interpreter and champion of bel canto opera and a specialist in French repertoire and early Verdi. Lyric audiences first experienced the Italian conductor’s artistry in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor in 2016/17, and his first opera as Lyric’s music director, Sir David McVicar’s new production of Verdi’s Macbeth, opened the 2021/22 Season. Mazzola has held numerous prominent positions, and currently serves as Principal Guest Conductor at Deutsche Oper Berlin. 

Details on the company’s current senior leadership team are available here.

Founders & other leaders

Originally known as The Lyric Theatre of Chicago, the company was formed in 1954 by Carol Fox, Lawrence V. Kelly, and Nicola Rescigno. The latter two founders withdrew after the 1955 season, and the company was renamed Lyric Opera of Chicago prior to the 1956 season. Carol Fox served as founding general manager (1954-80); she died in 1981. Fox was succeeded by Ardis Krainik, who had been with the company since its founding as an administrator and supporting-role singer; Krainik served as general director from 1981 until her death in 1997. William Mason served as general director from 1997 until his retirement in 2011, when he became Lyric's first general director emeritus.

Following William Mason’s retirement, Anthony Freud was named General Director, President & CEO, a position he held until his retirement in 2024. Freud led the organization through an expanded output of artistic excellence and risk-taking, with nine world premieres and numerous co-commissions and coproductions with the world’s leading opera companies.

The late Sir Andrew Davis began his career at Lyric with his debut in the 1987/88 season; over the course of the ensuing decades, he led nearly 700 opera performances by more than 20 composers, plus special projects and concerts. Serving as Lyric’s Music Director and Principal Conductor from 2000 through the 2020/21 Season — and later as Music Director Emeritus — Maestro Davis brought unparalleled artistry and dedication to his work, creating an enduring legacy both at Lyric and on the world stage. 

Soprano Renée Fleming was named Lyric's first creative consultant in 2010. Fleming is currently the Advisor at Large for the Ryan Opera Center. 

The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center

The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, one of the world’s preeminent professional training programs, marks its 50th anniversary in the 2024/25 Season.

The program’s Ensemble members are selected by audition each season from among more than 500 artists worldwide. The Ryan Opera Center has nurtured the talents of some of the most promising operatic artists of each generation, and its alumni are among the dominant names in opera today. Donor generosity ensures continued unparalleled training, performance experience, and professional readiness of Ensemble members. The program continues to enjoy the support of acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming as Advisor at Large, along with full time staff Director Dan Novak, Music Director Craig Terry, and Director of Vocal Studies Julia Faulkner.

Learning and civic engagement

Beyond the stage, and beyond the boundaries that often define opera companies, Lyric ignites creativity across Chicago. Through learning opportunities, creative exploration, and collaboration, Lyric encourages Chicagoans from neighborhoods across the city to share their voices and embrace the power and relevance of opera as a catalyst for growth and change.

Founded in 2012, Lyric Unlimited: Learning and Civic Engagement continues to increase its impact in schools. Opera residency programs across the city have seen major success, with the High School Choir Residency alone reaching five schools and 360 students in the 2023/24 Season. The annual Opera in the Neighborhoods tour has also expanded its reach, with added performance locations across the city earning nearly 2,000 students in attendance during the 2023/24 academic year.

Lyric Unlimited regularly provides a host of thought-provoking events centered around audience experience and community engagement, with recurring opportunities like Opera Insights, pre-opera talks, themed panel discussions, and art exhibitions in the foyer of the opera house. Mutually beneficial, long-term partnerships with organizations such as Chicago Urban League, Chicago Humanities Festival, Center on Halsted, the DuSable Black History Museum, the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, Illinois Prison Project, and many more ensure that opera reaches a wide and diverse audience both inside and outside the opera house.

The American Musical Theater Initiative

Starting in 2013, Lyric expanded its programming with a series of grand-scale productions of American musical theater. Most years included a classic musical at the conclusion of the company’s mainstage season. Extended runs of Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, Carousel, The King and I, My Fair Lady, Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story and others welcomed thousands of first-time audience members to the Lyric Opera House and broke box-office records.

The American Musical Theater Initiative

Starting in 2013, Lyric expanded its programming with a series of grand-scale productions of American musical theater. Most years included a classic musical at the conclusion of the company’s mainstage season. Extended runs of Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, Carousel, The King and I, My Fair Lady, Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story and others welcomed thousands of first-time audience members to the Lyric Opera House and broke box-office records.

The Lyric Opera House

Formerly known as the Civic Opera Building, the permanent home of Lyric Opera of Chicago sits at 20 North Wacker Drive on the east bank of the Chicago River between Washington and Madison streets. The elegant, spacious theater, the largest stage in the city of Chicago, is second only to the Metropolitan Opera as the largest opera auditorium in North America. More details on the architecture and origins of the 1929 building are here.

Lyric purchased the theater and adjacent backstage spaces from the building's owner in 1993, marking the first time since the opera house’s construction that the resident opera company has actually owned its own performance and working spaces. Lyric simultaneously launched a $100-million capital campaign: "Building on Greatness… An Opera House for the 21st Century," to finance the purchase and renovation of the art-deco house. The renovation was completed in time for the 1996/97 Season. In 1996 the auditorium was named the Ardis Krainik Theatre in honor of Lyric's second general director.

In late 2020, new seating was installed to bolster accessibility. These renovations provided improved sightlines and ergonomics; wider aisles for ease of access; and more wheelchair-accessible seating options. 

Artistic directors

Bruno Bartoletti and Pino Donati were co-artistic directors from 1964 to 1974. Bartoletti served as sole artistic director from 1975 until retiring in 1999. He was artistic director emeritus until his death in 2013. Bartoletti made his American debut at Lyric in 1956 and conducted more than 600 performances of 55 operas at Lyric (1956-2007). Matthew A. Epstein, who had been Lyric’s artistic adviser beginning in 1980, served as artistic director from 1999 to 2005. After directing five productions at Lyric, Matthew Ozawa became Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Chief Artistic Administration Officer in 2022.

 

Artistic directors

Bruno Bartoletti and Pino Donati were co-artistic directors from 1964 to 1974. Bartoletti served as sole artistic director from 1975 until retiring in 1999. He was artistic director emeritus until his death in 2013. Bartoletti made his American debut at Lyric in 1956 and conducted more than 600 performances of 55 operas at Lyric (1956-2007). Matthew A. Epstein, who had been Lyric’s artistic adviser beginning in 1980, served as artistic director from 1999 to 2005. After directing five productions at Lyric, Matthew Ozawa became Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Chief Artistic Administration Officer in 2022.

 

Highlights

Among other major artistic achievements was Lyric's first presentation of Wagner's Ring cycle in a single season within the span of a week, at the conclusion of the 1995/96 Season. Sold out months in advance, the three cycles had a total economic impact of $34.7 million on the Chicago metropolitan area. The Ring again sold out when remounted for three cycles during the 2004/05 Season.

Lyric introduced the first three operas of a new Ring cycle production in 2016-19, and was poised to present the final opera followed by three full cycles in April 2020. Because of the global pandemic, Lyric was forced to cancel final rehearsals for those performances in mid-March.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Lyric produced significant, reimagined artistic output, such as Twilight: Gods, a reimagined final installment of Wagner’s Ring cycle in collaboration with Detroit Opera (then Michigan Opera Theatre) and director Yuval Sharon; and the Midwest Emmy-winning film of Pagliacci. Innovative programming like Hansel and Gretel in the Park and Verdi Voices ensured audience enjoyment while complying with pandemic safety protocols. Live performances returned in grand fashion with a production of Macbeth conducted by Maestro Mazzola in the 2020/21 Season.

In recent seasons, the company has commissioned and produced a variety of new work. The 2022/23 Season was especially fruitful, with prominent world premieres of The Factotum and Proximity.

Performance Archive

Lyric’s website hosts an ongoing performance archive, dedicated to Anthony Freud on the occasion of his retirement. 

Accessible here, the archive may be searched by opera, character or role, composer, and artist.

Lyric Opera of Chicago annually employs more than 1000 part-time and full-time staff annually including orchestra musicians, chorus members, stagehands, production and technical staff, stage management, administration, ushers, and more.

Artists

Over the course of the company's 66-year history, Lyric Opera of Chicago has consistently offered its patrons a world-class roster of singers, conductors, directors, designers, choreographers, and dancers in a wide-ranging repertoire. Browse below for a list of notable artists.

Major Events at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Major American Debuts and American Operatic Debuts* at Lyric Opera of Chicago

American and World Premieres at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Programs

Photos: Kyle Flubacker, Todd Rosenberg, Lyric Opera of Chicago