Proximity makes its world premiere Friday, March 24

View Proximity images here

CHICAGO (3/23/2023) – Searing in its intimacy, revolutionary in its structure, and groundbreaking in its technical wizardry, Proximity comes to life at Lyric Opera of Chicago, March 24 – April 8, 2023. Proximity is the second Chicago-set world premiere in Lyric's season, following the sold-out success of The Factotum.

Curated since its inception in 2019 by Lyric Special Projects Advisor Renée Fleming along with Lyric’s General Director Anthony Freud and director Yuval Sharon, Proximity brings together some of the leading creative thinkers in American culture, all in their Lyric debuts:

Daniel Bernard Roumain, the acclaimed Haitian-American composer, and Anna Deavere Smith, the legendary playwright and actress, have written The Walkers, an opera that gives voice to families grappling with gun violence in Chicago.
Caroline Shaw, a Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer, has teamed with writer Jocelyn Clarke for Four Portraits, an opera about the impact of technology on society.
Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer John Luther Adams has written Night, a short opera on the fragility of the natural world, set to a text by the late poet John Haines.

Proximity offers a compelling snapshot of 21st-century life and continues to push boundaries for what is possible in and for opera. It brings a new kind of musical and theatrical experience to Lyric, to the city of Chicago, and to the world. Experience the world premiere of Proximity — only at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

View Proximity images here

A high-resolution video trailer will be available soon on Lyric's YouTube channel.

Read the Proximity digital program book.

Performance dates for Proximity are March 24, 26 (matinee), 29, April 5 (matinee), and 8. All performances take place at the Lyric Opera House, 20 North Wacker Drive, Chicago.

Proximity is sung in English, with projected English titles.

Running time is 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.

For tickets and information, call 312.827.5600 or go to lyricopera.org/proximity.

Lyric’s world premiere of Proximity is generously made possible by an Anonymous Donor, OPERA America, and support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Additional support is provided by Lyric Opera of Chicago's Production Circle.

Lyric Opera's Season is presented by

About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO John Mangum and Music Director Enrique Mazzola, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.

Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.

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For more information on Lyric's upcoming 2024/25 Season, visit lyricopera.org/newseason.