How do you plan an opera season?

You asked, we answered! Lyric Opera General Director Anthony Freud and Music Director Sir Andrew Davis discuss how they plan an opera season at Lyric.

Each opera season Lyric Opera presents eight unique opera productions. So how do you choose the line-up from the whole history of opera, plus new operas that are being written each year? How do you prioritize what to produce? 

In this video, Lyric's General Director Anthony Freud and Music Director Sir Andrew Davis lead a lighthearted romp through their planning process. It's somewhat like putting together an elaborate puzzle, but one that they both enjoy very much!

How do you plan an opera season? The main factors they consider are:

Variety

Making sure that the opera season represents the wealth of musical styles (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, or Modern) plus a breadth of dramatic possibilities (comedy, tragedy, fantasy, etc.) and languages (French, Italian, German, Russian, etc.)

Passion

Freud and Davis also seek to program operas and productions that they both are truly excited about presenting to the public.

Longevity

Lyric celebrated its 60th anniversary in the 2014/15 season, so it's imperative to take a look at what has been programmed within the last 10 years and what will be programmed in the years to come!