Review: Lyric’s Carmen Features Strong Performances, But the Plot Can Be Troubling
Georges Bizet produced some of opera’s most memorable music for Carmen, his 1875 composition, set in Spain and sung in…
Review: Lyric Opera’s Hip-Hopera The Factotum Is a Cut Above
Barbershops and beauty salons are important cultural hubs for communities of color. “In my day, a barber was more than…
Review: Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel Is a Feast for the Senses at Lyric Opera
What do you get when you mix Englebert Humperdinck, a visual homage to German expressionism, Weimar decadence, and gorgeous singing?…
Review: King Roger Makes a Spellbinding Premiere at Harris Theater
I was put under a spell on Friday. King Roger by the Chicago Opera Theater (COT) was the spellbinding work…
Review: Le Comte Ory Is a Beautifully Staged and Magnificently Sung Romp by Lyric Opera
Rossini’s Le Comte Ory is my second French-language opera within a week. Verdi’s Don Carlos is also at the Lyric.…
Review: Verdi’s Don Carlos Goes the Distance at Lyric Opera
The Lyric Opera in Chicago is at the forefront of opera productions on the world stage. It’s right up there…
Review: Wonder of Wonders—Fiddler on the Roof at the Lyric Opera
Last year, the Lyric Opera presented a dazzling production of The Magic Flute originally conceived for Berlin’s Komische Oper by…
Review: Lyric Opera Opens a New Season with Lush, Classic Verdi and Strong Quartet of Voices in Ernani
For the uninitiated (and perhaps even for those clued in) thinking of going to the opera, the Lyric’s Ernani is…
Review: Chicago Opera Theater’s Quamino’s Map Pulls the Curtain Back on Black Life in the Georgian Era
Quamino’s Map is the 22nd opera by the Belizean-born composer Errollyn Wallen who trained at the University of London and…
Dialogs: “Talking Race at the Opera” by the Chicago Humanities Festival
I gave high praise to Terence Blanchard’s opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones. The opening night performance at the…
Review: The Peculiar Grace of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones at Lyric Opera
My first opera was at age 10 when our parish priest took us to see La Boheme at the Lyric…
Review: Love Hurts So Good in Lyric’s Tosca
The voices! Soprano Michelle Bradley, making her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in the title role of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca,…
