Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma . Fox re-organized the company in 1956 under its present name. Lyric is housed in a theater and related spaces in the Civic Opera Building. These spaces are now owned by Lyric.
The first opera to be performed in Chicago was Bellini's La sonnambula , presented by a traveling opera company on 29 July 1850. [1] Chicago's first opera house opened in 1865 but was destroyed in the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871. The second opera house, the Chicago Auditorium, opened in 1889. [2]
In 1929, the current Civic Opera House on 20 North Wacker Drive was opened, though the Chicago Civic Opera Company itself collapsed in the Great Depression. The old Auditorium continued to produce stage shows and musicals until it closed in 1941. [3]
Resident opera companies began in Chicago in 1910 with the Chicago Grand Opera Company being formed from the remains of the Manhattan Opera Company, which had been founded by Oscar Hammerstein I, and had been squeezed out by the more financially sound Metropolitan Opera. Chicago had this first company for four seasons, then, after no season in 1914/15, it was re-formed as the Chicago Opera Association. This lasted through 1921/22, when it became the Chicago Civic Opera from 1922 until 1932. After no season in 1932/33, the company was re-formed and again named the Chicago Grand Opera Company from 1933 to 1935. From 1936 to 1939, the company was called Chicago City Opera Company, and finally from 1940 to 1946 opera was presented by the Chicago Opera Company. There were no seasons from 1947 until 1953, so opera was presented by other companies on tour. Lyric Opera of Chicago was formed in 1954 and has continued uninterrupted except for 1967.
Carol Fox, America's first female opera impresario at the age of 28, began her first season in 1954 by bringing Maria Callas for her American debut in the title role of Norma , the first of many electrifying Callas performances in Chicago. However, this first eight-opera season in 1954 was not the result of a long apprenticeship in opera production; Carol Fox, fluent in Italian and French, had studied opera singing for many years, culminating in two years of intensive work in Italy. However, when she realized that performance was not to be in her future, she decided that it lay in bringing the performances of the world's finest artists to her home town of Chicago. Her success can be measured in one statistic regarding the filling of Lyric's Civic Opera House: in 1954, the season ran for three weeks; in 2007/08 Lyric had an almost six-month season.
Fox also used her formidable persuasive powers on artists other than singers: she was able to bring Rudolf Nureyev to make his debut on an American opera stage at Lyric; Vera Zorina, Alicia Markova, Erik Bruhn and Maria Tallchief also danced at Lyric, and George Balanchine created choreography for Lyric. The Italian composer Pino Donati was her artistic director. Bruno Bartoletti was principal conductor, but other conductors included Tullio Serafin, Dimitri Mitropoulos and Artur Rodziński. Christoph von Dohnányi and Sir Georg Solti chose Lyric for their American operatic debuts. Franco Zeffirelli staged operas as did Harold Prince. After retiring from dancing, Tallchief moved to Chicago where she served as director of ballet for Lyric from 1973 to 1979. In 1974, she founded Lyric Opera's ballet school, where she taught the Balanchine technique. [4] [5]
Because of Fox's illnesses and her refusal to lower her artistic standards despite Lyric's dire financial state in 1980, her resignation was sought and given. She died a few months later, survived by a daughter, Victoria.
It was of Lyric's founder that Saul Bellow wrote in 1979 "Miss Fox will be remembered, together with Jane Addams of Hull House and Harriet Monroe of Poetry magazine, as one of Chicago's greatest women." [6]
Throughout the many years at Lyric, Carol Fox developed the confidence and authority to bring world-famous artists to Lyric: Luciano Pavarotti (56 performances in 7 roles), Tito Gobbi, Eleanor Steber, Jussi Björling, Birgit Nilsson, Renata Tebaldi, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Giulietta Simionato, Richard Tucker, Boris Christoff, Eileen Farrell, Dorothy Kirsten, Leonie Rysanek, Leontyne Price, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Geraint Evans, Mirella Freni, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Alfredo Kraus, Renata Scotto, Robert Merrill, Joan Sutherland, Christa Ludwig, Jon Vickers, Marilyn Horne, Grace Bumbry, Montserrat Caballé, Tatiana Troyanos, Sherrill Milnes, Plácido Domingo, Felicia Weathers, Vyacheslav Polozov and José Carreras. Anna Moffo also chose Lyric for her American debut.
Fox was succeeded at Lyric by her longtime assistant manager, Ardis Krainik (1981–1996), after whom the opera house was later named, and then by William Mason (1997–2011).
From 1964 to 1974, Bruno Bartoletti, served as co-artistic director and principal conductor, and became sole director and principal from 1974 to 2000. [7] Sir Andrew Davis was Lyric's music director and principal conductor, a post he occupied beginning in September 2000. Davis retired in June 2021 and passed the baton to Enrique Mazzola, Lyric Opera's current music director and principal conductor. [7]
Danny Newman was the company's long-time press agent from 1954 until his retirement in the 2001-2002 season. Newman is largely credited as the founder of subscription-based arts marketing, the standard economic model for not-for-profit arts organizations in the US. [8] Philip David Morehead was head of music staff until his retirement in 2015. [9]
Anthony Freud became general director of the company in October 2011. In September 2020, Lyric announced the election of Sylvia Neil as chair of Lyric’s board of directors, the first woman board chair in Lyric’s history. [10] In December 2021, Freud's contract was extended through 2026. [11] However, Freud concluded his tenure with the company at the close of the 2023-2024 season, two seasons earlier than the previously announced extension of his most recent contract. In July 2024, the company announced the appointment of John Mangum as its next general director, effective with the autumn of 2024. [12] [13]
In addition to the standard operatic repertoire, Lyric also presents contemporary works. Recent productions have included Harbison's The Great Gatsby (2000–2001), Weill's Street Scene (2001–2002), Floyd's Susannah , Sondheim's Sweeney Todd (2002–2003), and John Adams' Doctor Atomic directed by Peter Sellars.
Composer William Bolcom wrote his most recent opera for Lyric, A Wedding , based on the 1978 film of the same name directed by Robert Altman. It premiered during Lyric's 50th-anniversary season. During the 2015/16 season, the company premiered its latest commission, Bel Canto by Peruvian composer Jimmy López with a libretto by Nilo Cruz based on the novel by Ann Patchett.
Lyric's productions were broadcast and nationally syndicated by WFMT Radio Network, from 1971 until 2001. The broadcasts ceased then because of a loss of sponsorship. [14] The issue was resolved at the 11th hour for the October 21, 2006 premiere of Richard Strauss's opera Salome starring Deborah Voigt. Syndicated broadcast of Lyric resumed in May 2007 on the WFMT network, which was included on XM Satellite Radio before it merged and became SiriusXM Radio.
The company's permanent home is the Civic Opera House, sections of the building which it rented from 1954 until after the 1993 renovations, when it bought those facilities. It is a 1929 structure with an Art Deco interior. Its 3,563-seat capacity makes it the second-largest opera auditorium in North America after the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The interior was named The Ardis Krainik Theatre in 1996 in honor of Ardis Krainik, the former General Director, who was responsible for its renovation from 1993 onwards.
In 2017, Lyric Opera of Chicago as house manager of the theater announced that the Joffrey Ballet planned to move from its longtime performance venue at the Auditorium Theatre to the opera house in 2020. [15] The announcement coincided with Lyric's presentation of a new production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice by choreographer John Neumeier; the production fused the musical and ballet elements of the opera and featured the Joffrey Ballet. [16]
The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center (formerly Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, 1981–2006), established in 1974 as the Lyric Opera School by Carol Fox, is the professional artist-development program for Lyric Opera of Chicago.
The Ryan Opera Center is considered one of the most prestigious vocal programs in America, [17] and has produced notable singers, including:
Approximately a dozen young singers are selected from the near 400 who audition annually, [18] and they are in residence for twelve months. Over the course of the year they receive advanced instruction in numerous aspects of operatic performance, including voice lessons and coachings, language and acting training, and master classes with some of opera's most renowned artists. The singers gain valuable performing experience by participating in recitals and concerts at many Chicago-area venues. During Lyric's mainstage season, they perform and understudy roles at all levels. The singers work with the world's greatest opera singers, conductors, and directors, thus advancing the young artists’ professionalism. In 2005, author William Murray wrote a book about a year in the life of an entering class at the Ryan Opera Center. [19]
The first director of the Ryan Opera Center during its beginning years from 1974-1981, when it was renamed the Lyric Opera Center Center, and continuing until 1991, when he retired, was Lee Schaenen. [20] Andrew Földi succeeded him as director of the Ryan Opera Center from 1991 to 1995. He was succeeded by Richard Pearlman, who was director of the program from 1995 until his death in 2006. Renowned soprano Gianna Rolandi, who had been the Ryan Opera Center's director of vocal studies and principal instructor since 2002, was appointed director of the program in 2006. [21] The program is now administered by Dan Novak, director; Craig Terry, music director; Julia Faulkner, director of vocal studies, and Renée Fleming, advisor.
Maria Tallchief (born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief was a Native American ballerina. She was America's first major prima ballerina and the first Osage Tribe member to hold the rank. Together with choreographer George Balanchine, she is widely considered to have revolutionized American ballet.
The Joffrey Ballet is an American dance company and training institution in Chicago, Illinois. The Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at the Civic Opera House, including its annual presentation of The Nutcracker.
Robert Joffrey was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Seattle, Washington to a Pashtun father from Afghanistan and a mother from Italy.
The Auditorium Theatre is a music and performance venue located in the Auditorium Building at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Inspired by the Richardsonian Romanesque Style of architect Henry Hobson Richardson, the building was designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan and completed in 1889. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed in the theatre until 1904 as well as the Chicago Grand Opera Company and its successors the Chicago Opera Association and Chicago Civic Opera until its relocation to the Civic Opera House in 1929. The theater was home to the Joffrey Ballet from 1998 until 2020. It currently hosts a variety of concerts, musicals, performances, and events. Since the 1940s, it has been owned by Roosevelt University and since the 1960s it has been refurbished and managed by an independent non-profit arts organization.
The Civic Opera House, also called Lyric Opera House is an opera house located at 20 North Wacker Drive in Chicago. The Civic's main performance space, named for Ardis Krainik, seats 3,563, making it the second-largest opera auditorium in North America, after the Metropolitan Opera House. Built for the Chicago Civic Opera, it has been home to the Lyric Opera of Chicago since 1954 and the Joffrey Ballet since 2021. It is part of a complex with a 45-story office tower and two 22-story wings, known as the Civic Opera Building that opened November 4, 1929 and features Art Deco details.
The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil, and its artistic director was René Blum. They fell out in 1936 and the company split. The part which de Basil retained went through two name changes before becoming the Original Ballet Russe. Blum founded Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, which changed its name to Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo when Léonide Massine became artistic director in 1938. It operated under this name until it disbanded some 20 years later.
Ardis Joan Krainik was an American mezzo-soprano opera singer who was the general director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for 15 years.
Kenneth von Heidecke was an American dancer, choreographer, and the founder and artistic director of Von Heidecke's Chicago Festival Ballet and Von Heidecke School of Ballet.
John Taras was an American ballet master, repetiteur, and choreographer.
Andrew Foldi was a Hungarian-American bass baritone and educator whose singing career spanned four decades.
Marjorie Tallchief was an American ballerina and member of the Osage Nation. She was the younger sister of prima ballerina Maria Tallchief and was the first Native American to be named "première danseuse étoile" in the Paris Opera Ballet.
The Five Moons were five Native American ballerinas from the U.S. state of Oklahoma who achieved international recognition during the 20th century. The five women were Myra Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Moscelyne Larkin, and sisters Maria Tallchief and Marjorie Tallchief. With their great success in the dance industry, there are several artistic tributes across the Oklahoma area. The most well-known and significant tribute is the Five Moons (2007), a bronze sculpture installation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that portrays the five ballerinas. Other tributes include the Flight of Spirit mural in the Oklahoma State Capital and dance festivals in their honor. These five women defied racial barriers and opened a door for women of color in the ballet industry.
The Harkness Ballet (1964–1975) was a New ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in Standard Oil holdings, and was a dance lover. Harkness funded Joffrey Ballet, but when they refused to rename the company in her honor, she withdrew funding and hired most of the Joffrey dancers for her new company. Joffrey Ballet later moved to Chicago, and continues to function.
The Civic Opera Building is a 45-story office tower located at 20 North Wacker Drive in Chicago. The building opened November 4, 1929, and has an Art Deco interior. It contains a 3,563-seat opera house, the Civic Opera House, which is the second-largest opera auditorium in North America. The opera house is the permanent home of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the home of the Joffrey Ballet since 2021.
The Oklahoma City Ballet is a professional dance company and school located in Oklahoma City. The company began under the artistic direction of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancers Yvonne Chouteau and Miguel Terekhov in the Science and Arts Foundation building on the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds.
Margot Grimmer rose to prominence as a dancer in several companies, including the Lyric Opera Ballet, the Ruth Page International Ballet, the New York City Ballet, and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She studied ballet as a child in Chicago, and was among 50 from 3,000 applicants selected for the children’s ensemble of the New York City Ballet’s Chicago production of George Balanchine’s Nutcracker at the Opera House. At age 14, she danced professionally in Broadway musicals at the Kansas City Starlight Theatre and continued at the St. Louis Municipal Theatre and Music Theater in Highland Park. After high school, Grimmer’s career flourished. In 1962, she appeared with Ruth Page’s Chicago Opera Ballet in the American debut of Russian defector superstar Rudolf Nureyev at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. In 1965, she danced a principal role in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Carmina Burana at the Opera House. From 1965-1968, she performed in the International Ballet’s Nutcracker, starring Erik Bruhn, Carla Fracci, Henning Kronstam and Kirsten Simone, at McCormick Place and the Opera House. From 1965-1968, she gave lecture-demonstration performances in ballet and modern dance, under a federal grant from the National Endowment for Arts, for the War On Poverty’s Cultural Enrichment program in Chicago’s inner city schools. In 1967, she was featured in the experimental dance movie Statics, which won awards in cinematography and art direction at International Film Festivals. On off-seasons, she attended Northwestern University, majoring in acting and English Literature.
Scotch Symphony is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3, "Scottish". The ballet is inspired by Scotland, and evokes the style of the romantic ballet era, particularly La Sylphide, which is set in Scotland. Scotch Symphony was made for the New York City Ballet, and premiered on November 11, 1952, at the City Center of Music and Drama.
Bel Canto is an opera by Peruvian composer Jimmy López. Based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Ann Patchett, the work uses a libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz. The libretto is sung in Spanish, English, Japanese, Russian, German, French, Latin, Italian, and Quechua. It was commissioned by the Lyric Opera of Chicago as part of the Renée Fleming initiative. Sir Andrew Davis conducted, and director Kevin Newbury staged the work. The cast included Danielle de Niese as Roxane Coss, J’Nai Bridges as Carmen, Jeongcheol Cha as Hosokawa, and Andrew Stenson as Gen.
The Chicago Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois, governed by the Chicago Philharmonic Society. Founded in 1988 by principals of the Lyric Opera Orchestra of Chicago, it is a musician-governed, non-profit organization consisting of nearly 200 classical music performers from the Chicago area. Since 2013, the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor has been Scott Speck.
Heléne Alexopoulos is an American retired ballet dancer. She was a student of Maria Tallchief who was discovered by George Balanchine as a teenager. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1978, she was promoted to principal dancer in 1989, and she retired in 2002.
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