May 21, 2021
Wait, wait...tell me more!
Sir Andrew Davis and Peter Sagal in conversation
Sir Andrew Davis shares memories from his career in an interview with Peter Sagal.
After 21 wonderful years, Sir Andrew Davis steps down as Lyric's music director and principal conductor at the end of the 2020/21 Season. When it came time to select a host for a filmed career retrospective, one name kept coming up: noted humorist, writer, and broadcaster Peter Sagal. It was surprising, in fact, that the two men had never crossed paths previously.
Sagal moved to Chicago to host NPR's Peabody Award-winning weekly radio show and podcast Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! in 1998, just two years before Sir Andrew would make the city his home base. In the two decades since, Sagal has brought the show to some of the nation's most prestigious venues — from Carnegie Hall to Red Rocks — and interviewed two presidents, multiple Nobel Prize winners, cellist Yo Yo Ma, actor Tom Hanks, and countless others. We were thrilled when he agreed to sit down with Music Director Sir Andrew Davis to discuss his life and career.
Peter Sagal interviews Sir Andrew Davis on stage at the Lyric Opera House following the concert recording sessions in March.
Sir Andrew has held the title of music director and principal conductor at Lyric since 2000, but his association with the company stretches back to 1987 when he made his debut conducting Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Since then, he has been an essential part of the Lyric family and has created an impressive legacy. In this wide-ranging discussion, Sir Andrew shares what he's been up to during the pandemic (translating Virgil's Aeneid from Latin to English in iambic pentameter, of course!), how he first began conducting, career highlights, and much more.
Enjoy this lively conversation and see more of Sir Andrew in Celebrating Sir Andrew Davis, from Mozart to Stravinsky, now streaming on Facebook and YouTube.
Now streaming
Celebrating Sir Andrew Davis, from Mozart to Stravinsky
Celebrating Sir Andrew Davis, from Mozart to Stravinsky
Music Director Sir Andrew Davis leads members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra, Lyric Opera Chorus, and star soloists in a rousing concert that celebrates his remarkable career at Lyric. The program includes selections from Mozart's beloved comedy, The Marriage of Figaro — the first opera Sir Andrew conducted at Lyric — and Stravinsky's English-language masterpiece The Rake's Progress — the last opera he would have conducted as music director this spring — with personal tributes from some of your favorite Lyric artists.
Join us to raise a glass to Sir Andrew — and to more than three decades of his glorious music-making at Lyric!