Review: Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte Is Great Fun Set in the 1920s at the Lyric Opera
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a classical music genius from the 16th century. He was also something of a rock star in the 20th century. Mozart was one of the few […]
Review: Carmina Burana at Lyric Opera “Affirms Humanity” With Driving Rhythms Inspired by Medieval Poems
Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana is an excellent intro to choral music: only 65 minutes long and already quite familiar as the dramatic flair of “O Fortuna” can be heard in […]
Review: Lyric Opera Stages a Double Bill of Love, Passion, and Rage With Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci
The Lyric Opera of Chicago gives us a fall doubleheader with two classic Italian operas rooted in the verismo tradition. Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana (1890) and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (1892) […]
Interview: Maestro Enrique Mazzola Shares his Vision for the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Maestro Enrique Mazzola is now entering his 5th year as music director and conductor of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Mazzola is the third music director since Bruno Bartoletti, when […]
Review: Lyric Opera Opens Season 71 with Cherubini’s Sorceress Medea
The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its 2025/26 season with a blockbuster with Italian composer Luigi Cherubini’s Medea. Just hearing the name evokes a dark tale of obsession, misogyny, and […]
Review: Ryan Center Artists Light Up Sunday in the Park With Lyric at Millennium Park
Sunday, September 7, was a memorable evening. The Corn Moon waxed full, hung in the clear over the lake. The temperature was cool with a nip of autumn to come. […]
Review: Champion at the Lyric Defines Opera in Jazz With Story of Boxer Emile Griffith
Champion is the story of welterweight boxer Emile Griffith’s career in boxing with a life-defining fatal bout in 1962 against Benny “Kid” Paret. I believe that an opera in jazz […]
Review: The Flying Dutchman Opens Lyric’s Season with Obsession, a Curse, and Unrequited Love
The Lyric Opera has produced some of the finest interpretations of Richard Wagner in the world of opera and the season opener of The Flying Dutchman may be my favorite. […]
Review: Lyric’s Macbeth Delivers the Sound and Fury in Return to Live Performance
Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its 2021-22 comeback season September 17 with Giuseppe Verdi’s 1847 interpretation of William Shakespeare’s 1606 play Macbeth. There have been few works of literature more […]