The 2016/17 Season: A Feast for Opera Lovers

On January 14th, nearly 1000 Lyric subscribers came together at the Civic Opera House to hear General Director Anthony Freud and Music Director Sir Andrew Davis unveil the upcoming 2016/17 Season. With moderator Carl Grapentine of 98.7WFMT, they announced a season that features nine new-to-Chicago productions, the launch of Wagner’s Ring cycle, and the eagerly-anticipated company premiere of Berlioz’s masterpiece Les Troyens.

Lyric is offering over 20 custom series, plus the convenience of Create Your Own Series packages featuring any operas and dates you like. Also exciting: new fee-free exchanges for all subscribers with five days advance notice! With more flexibility than ever, here are some of the highlights of the upcoming lineup:

The season opens with a new production of Das Rheingold, the first opera of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle. Lyric’s new Ring is from director David Pountney with Sir Andrew Davis at the helm of this thrilling musical journey. Famed bass-baritone Eric Owens will make his role debut as Wotan, with bass-baritone Samuel Youn in his Lyric debut as Alberich.

Albina Shagimuratova, the soprano that left audiences breathless as Gilda in Rigoletto, returns in 2016 for the bel canto favorite Lucia di Lammermoor.  Her Edgardo is Piotr Beczała with Quinn Kelsey starring as Enrico in a beautiful, period production.

Calling it “the greatest opera that Lyric has never performed,” Anthony Freud and Sir Andrew Davis are excited about Lyric’s first Les Troyens in a new production from director Tim Albery. Sir Andrew conducts this Berlioz tour de force with a cast that is headlined by Christine Goerke, Sophie Koch, and Brandon Jovanovich.

Storytelling abounds when legendary bass Ferruccio Furlanetto returns to Lyric in the title role of Massenet’s beautiful and poignant Don Quichotte, followed by a new production of Mozart’s wondrous The Magic Flute starring tenors Andrew Staples and Matthew Polenzani sharing the role of Tamino, soprano Christiane Karg as Pamina, soprano and Kathryn Lewek as Queen of the Night.

Dazzling soprano Sondra Radvanovsky returns in the most astonishing title role of the bel canto repertoire when she stars in a new-to-Chicago Norma directed by Kevin Newbury (Bel Canto).The repertoire focus moves from Druid priestess to femme fatale when Carmen takes the stage with an all-star cast to realize its famed and beloved melodies. The final opera of the season is Tchaikovsky’s lush and passionate Eugene Onegin, starring Marius Kwiecień in the title role (following his star turn in the title role of Don Giovanni last season) and Lyric favorite Ana María Martínez in her role debut as Tatiana.

The season also features special events that are only available to subscribers this spring, including: 

• My Fair Lady in a gorgeous production from Théâtre du Châtelet
• Celebrating Plácido, two magnificent evenings with the legendary artist
• Chicago Voices Gala Concert, featuring Renée Fleming and a host of cross-genre artists
• Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, a fully-staged Chicago premiere opera starring Lawrence Brownlee
• A Subscriber Appreciation Recital starring Lawrence Brownlee and Eric Owens
• Itzhak Perlman in Recital

Don’t miss a moment of beautiful music or powerful theater – SUBSCRIBE TODAY!