March 06, 2019
Piotr Beczała, Prince of Tenors
Lyric audiences have lavished extraordinary acclaim on Piotr Beczała. The ovations he’s received here have been richly deserved, for Beczała’s starring roles on our stage – the title role of Faust (debut, 2009) and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor(2016) – showed what every other major house worldwide has discovered as well: this is one of the truly great tenors of our time. With a shining voice, princely looks, extraordinary versatility, and dazzling charisma, Beczała is now at the peak of a spectacular career. He’s a great favorite at the Met (where he returns this season in Luisa Miller) and he’s beloved at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and countless other prestigious venues.
The opportunity to sing a solo recital on the stage of the Lyric Opera House is an honor that the company has awarded to few singers in its entire history, and each of these recitals has been a thrilling event for our audiences. You can count on that this season, when Beczała returns to Chicago. Collaborating with the eminent American pianist Martin Katz, the tenor will offer a stunning program of ravishingly beautiful Italian and Polish art songs. Beczała is a frequent and hugely successful recitalist, with appearances this season at the Zurich Opera House, the Opéra National de Paris, Carnegie Hall, and the Munich Festival.
Recitals offer Beczała the chance to regale audiences not only with his glorious vocalism and aristocratic style, but also his irresistible personal charm, which has endeared him to audiences all over the world. His Chicago recital will certainly be one of the premier musical events of the season, and all lovers of great tenor-singing (aren’t we all?) owe it to themselves to be there!