Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 10A Renee Fleming Gala

P R O F I L E S | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O March 23, 2019 | 17 in recital in numerous prestigious venues, among them Ontario’s Koerner Hall, LA Opera, Mexico City’s pera de Bellas Artes, and the Festival Castell de Peralada. CHRISTIAN VAN HORN Previously at Lyric: 16 roles since 2004, most recently Méphistophélès/ Faust (2017/18); Escamillo/ Carmen, Narbal/ Les Troyens (both 2016/17). e American bass-baritone, a Ryan Opera Center alum- nus and winner of the 2018 Richard Tucker Award, was acclaimed at the Metropolitan Opera earlier this season in the title role/ Mefistofele and Colline/ La bohème . He also reprised Narbal/ Les Troyens at the Opéra National de Paris and returned to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich – where he had begun his European career – to sing Escamillo/ Carmen . In July, Zoroastro/ Orlando will be Van Horn’s 15th role at San Francisco Opera. His diverse repertoire encom- passes Mozart’s Figaro (Chicago Opera eater, Stuttgart Opera, CD with Teodor Currentzis con- ducting), Gessler/ Guillaume Tell (Netherlands Opera), Zaccaria/ Nabucco (Seattle Opera), Banco/ Macbeth (Geneva’s Grand éâtre), and Zuniga/ Carmen (Salzburg). Among Van Horn’s many suc- cesses in contemporary opera are omas Adès’s e Exterminating Angel (Met), Marco Tutino’s La Ciociara (San Francisco), Tan Dun’s Tea (Santa Fe), David Carlson’s Anna Karenina (Miami world pre- miere, St. Louis revival, CD), and Joseph Summer’s e Tempest (Boston’s Shakespeare Concerts, CD). Prestigious concert engagements include appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic ( Das Rheingold, Sir Simon Rattle conducting, CD), the Cleveland Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony. Mr. Van Horn appears this evening by courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera, where he is rehearsing La clemenza di Tito. KAYLEIGH DECKER Previously at Lyric: Dorothée/ Cendrillon, Second Cretan Woman/ Idomeneo (both 2018/19). A first-year Ryan Opera Center member, the mezzo- soprano is an alumna of the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. At CCM Opera she sang Idamante/ Idomeneo , Prince Charming/ Cendrillon, and the Fox/ e Cunning Little Vixen . Decker has also performed at the Glimmerglass Festival, San Diego’s Opera Neo, Cincinnati Chamber Opera, Queen City Opera, and Oberlin Opera eatre. A former Gerdine Young Artist at Opera eatre of Saint Louis and former participant in the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Vocal Academy, she was awarded first place in the ree Arts Scholarship Fund Competition and the Corbett Award in CCM’s Corbett Competition. Sponsored by e C. G. Pinnell Family . LAUREN DECKER Previously at Lyric: Seven roles since 2016/17, most recently Annina/ La traviata, First Maid/ Elektra, Inez/ Il trovatore (all 2018/19). e contralto, a third-year member of the Ryan Opera Center, has been featured at the Grant Park Music Festival (Menotti’s e Old Maid and the ief ) and in the Harris eater’s “Beyond the Aria” series. She was a national semifinalist in the 2018 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. An alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she has participated in Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, the American Wagner Project, and the Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto. Decker has performed in concert with the Apollo Chorus/ Elmhurst Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and Harare International Festival of the Arts. Sponsored by an Anonymous Donor, Susan M. Miller, and the ierer Family Foundation. ERIC FERRING Previously at Lyric: Lurcanio/ Ariodante, Gastone de Letorières and Giuseppe/ La traviata, Young Servant/ Elektra (all 2018/19). e Iowa-born tenor, a first- year Ryan Opera Center member, is an alumnus of Drake University and Boston Conservatory. As a Resident Artist at Pittsburgh Opera (2016/17, 2017/18), he appeared as Spoletta/ Tosca , Basilio and Curzio/ e Marriage of Figaro , Ricky/ e Long Walk , Flask/ Moby Dick , Nemorino/ L’elisir d’amore , and the Protagonist/ Douglas J. Cuomo’s one-man opera Ashes and Snow (world premiere, based on Wilhelm Müller’s Winterreise poetry). Ferring was a 2017 apprentice singer at e Santa Fe Opera, where he received the Richard Tucker Memorial Award. He has also been seen at Opera eatre of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, and Seagle Music Colony. Sponsored by Richard O. Ryan , Stepan Company, and Cynthia Vahlkamp and Robert Kenyon. ALAN HIGGS Previously at Lyric: Four roles since 2017/18, most recently e King/ Cendrillon, Second Trojan Man/ Idomeneo (both 2018/19); Gualtiero / I puritani (2017/18). e bass-baritone, a Florida native and second-year Ryan Opera Center member, recently appeared in the Harris eater’s “Beyond the Aria” series. He graduated from Florida State University before becoming a studio artist at Atlanta Opera, where he appeared in Madama Butterfly, e Marriage of Figaro , La bohème , Silent Night , Turandot , and Don Pasquale . Higgs has also spent a summer at e Santa Fe Opera and has participated in Italy’s Solti Academy. He has earned recognition from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, (Georgia District, Southeast Region, national semifi- nals) and has also won the American Opera Society Scholarship and a Sullivan Foundation Award. Sponsored by Heidi Heutel Bohn, Lawrence O. Corry, and Robert C. Marks . CHRISTOPHER KENNEY Previously at Lyric: Marquis d’Obigny / La traviata, Master of Ceremonies/ Cendrillon (both 2018/19). A Minnesota native and a first-year Ryan Opera Center member, the baritone debuted at the 2018 Grant Park Music Festival in Menotti’s e Old Maid and the ief . Kenney was most recently a member of Washington National Opera’s Domingo- Cafritz Young Artist Program, where Rossini’s Figaro was one of his many roles. He has also been a featured soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra (Bernstein’s Songfest ). A former Santa Fe Opera apprentice artist, Kenney is a three-time winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions and an alumnus of Concordia College, the University of Kentucky, and Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts. Sponsored by an Anonymous Donor. JOSH LOVELL Previously at Lyric: Five roles since 2017/18, most recently Dean of the Faculty/ Cendrillon , First Trojan Man/ Idomeneo (both 2018/19); Jazz Trio Member/ Trouble in Tahiti (for “Bernstein at 100” concert, 2017/18). e Canadian tenor, a second-year Ryan Opera Center member, was recently named Grand Prize and Opera Prize winner at the 52nd Annual International Vocal Competition in s’Hertogenbosch. In summer 2018 he performed Count Almaviva/ e Barber of Seville (Aspen Music Festival) and Don Ottavio/ Don Giovanni (Italy’s New Generation Festival). Past performances include Lysander/ A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rinuccio/ Gianni Schicchi (University of Michigan), Normanno/ Lucia di Lammermoor and Bardolfo/ Falstaff (Pacific Opera Victoria). Lovell has participated in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme and San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program. Later this year he will join the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera. Sponsored by Maurice J. and Patricia Frank .