Rising Stars in Concert

CHICAGO (1/24/2022) – The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago will present its annual Rising Stars in Concert on Saturday, February 5th, 2022 at 7:30 pm at the Lyric Opera House. We are excited to welcome audiences back to the theater for this seasonal highlight.

Rising Stars in Concert will feature all thirteen artists of the 2021/22 Ryan Opera Center Ensemble performing with members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra under the direction of Lyric’s music director, Enrique Mazzola. Curated by Mazzola, the program will center on the music of Jacques Offenbach and other French Romantic-era repertoire. The concert is a celebration of the Ensemble’s many accomplishments throughout their Ryan Opera Center tenures and a unique showcase performance for these soon-to-be world-renowned artists.

“From my first visit to Lyric in 2016, I knew that I wanted to work in close collaboration with the Ensemble, not only to share my knowledge and experience but also to receive knowledge and inspiration in return,” says Mazzola. “The Ryan Opera Center is an extraordinary asset that is close to my heart, and I am thrilled to share the stage with these artists.”

Rising Stars in Concert audience members will enjoy performances by sopranos Mathilda Edge, Maria Novella Malfatti and Denis Vélez; mezzo-sopranos Katherine Beck, Katherine DeYoung and Kathleen Felty; tenors Martin Luther Clark and Lunga Eric Hallam; baritone Leroy Davis; basses Rivers Hawkins and Anthony Reed; pianist Chris Reynolds; and conductor/pianist Donald Lee III. The concert will be directed by Kristine McIntyre, in her Lyric debut.

Ryan Opera Center Ensemble members are making their marks on the Lyric stage in every production this season, whether serving as understudies in major roles or performing supporting roles throughout an opera's run. Lyric audiences have had many opportunities to experience the promising talent of the 2021/22 Ensemble, and will continue to do so in Puccini’s Tosca, and the Chicago premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones an opera by Terence Blanchard, based on the book by Charles M. Blow with libretto by Kasi Lemmons.

Katherine Beck, Leroy Davis, Mathilda Edge, Kathleen Felty, Rivers Hawkins, Maria Novella Malfatti, and Anthony Reed will conclude their tenure with the Ryan Opera Center at the end of the Lyric season to pursue full-time careers nationally and internationally.

The Ensemble members who will return to the program for 2022/23 include: Martin Luther Clark, Katherine DeYoung, Lunga Eric Hallam, Denis Vélez, pianist Chris Reynolds and conductor/pianist Donald Lee III.

Rising Stars in Concert is generously sponsored by Lead Sponsor Donna Van Eekeren Foundation with additional support from Sponsors Dr. Scholl Foundation, Sue & Melvin Gray, Chauncey & Marion D. McCormick Family Foundation, Patricia A. Kenney & Gregory J. O'Leary, Philip G. Lumpkin, the Thierer Family Foundation, and Sylvia Neil & Daniel Fischel.

Rising Stars in Concert is being recorded for broadcast on 98.7WFMT and streaming on wfmt.com on Sunday, February 13, 2022 at 7pm. The radio broadcast is sponsored by the Donna Van Eekeren Foundation.

RSVP for press tickets 

Lyric donors of $50 and above are invited to reserve two complimentary tickets in premium access seating for Rising Stars in Concert. To make a donation, visit lyricopera.org/supportroc and to secure tickets, visit Rising Stars in Concert 2022.