Artist-in-Residence

As Lyric Unlimited's Artist-in-Residence for the 2024/25 Season at Lyric, Karen Slack will maintain an active presence in Chicago throughout the year, where she will curate a diverse program that includes forums, educational master classes, and performances. These activities will engage a variety of audiences, from students in grades K-12 through collegiate levels, to Lyric patrons. 

Slack's residency will spotlight her active participation in various performances and events:

• Slack’s tenure as Artist-in-Residence began with a special solo performance at Lyric’s annual Sunday in the Park with Lyric concert in Millennium Park on Sunday, August 25, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. 

• My Part of Town: Slack will host a program titled My Part of Town, which was inspired by her popular opera-focused Facebook Live chat show #KikiKonversations. Plans include a three episode video series and explorations of select operas in Lyric’s upcoming 2024/25 Season. These conversations will feature Chicago natives including Zoie Reams from Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson's Blue, Ailyn Perez from Puccini's La Bohème, and Nicole Heaston from Mazzoli/Vavrek’s The Listeners.

• Message in the Music: A series of public programming currently being planned that leverages partnerships to explore and celebrate the essential messages and human stories in opera music. 

• Master classes: Slack will lead collaborative master classes with artists and students at local universities. These sessions will offer practical insights and training, aimed at enriching the educational experiences of aspiring musicians.

• Artist Talkbacks: Slack will host a number of audience programs, before and after selected Lyric main stage opera performances, designed to offer insights into the works and the creative process, directly from the artists involved.

If you would like to be notified about Karen Slack's activities with Lyric Unlimited, sign up below!

The soprano made her Lyric Opera debut as Serena in Porgy and Bess during the 2014/15 Season. Slack debuted the role of Billie in the 2019 world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones at Opera Theatre of St. Louis and made her film debut portraying the Opera Diva in Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls. Slack is acclaimed not only for her riveting performances but also for her significant contributions to the arts. Her dynamic presence and voice have been described by Opera News as having “ripped the audience’s hearts out,” making her one of the nation’s most distinguished sopranos. 

Highlights of Slack’s 2023/24 Season include her solo debut with the New York Philharmonic, performing Beethoven’s Ah, Perfido! (Op. 65) at David Geffen Hall. Slack has premiered numerous works by living composers, with particular focus on using her platform to elevate works by Black artists. During the 2022/23 season, she premiered Songs in Flight at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and appeared in two separate world premieres by Hannibal Lokumbe, performing as a soloist with the Nashville Symphony (The Jonah People) and Oklahoma City Philharmonic (Trials, Tears, Transcendence: The Journey of Clara Luper). She premiered Jasmine Barnes’ Songs of Paul, a tribute to Paul Robeson, with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and was featured soloist in the premiere of Damien Geter’s Justice Symphony with the Fresno Symphony and The Washington Chorus. 

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, as well as the Adler Fellowship and the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera, Slack is the winner of numerous competitions and awards, most notably the Montserrat Caballé International Competition, Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, George London Foundation Award, Marian Anderson ICON Award, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition, Portland Opera Lieber Award, Liederkranz Foundation Award, and the Jose Iturbi International Competition for Voice. 

A 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, Slack has many roles that extend beyond the stage; she serves on the boards of the American Composers Orchestra and Astral Artists, she serves as an Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera, and is a faculty member at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.