Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 5 Il Travatore
L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O 18 | November 17 - December 9, 2018 It is prohibitively expensive to visit the opera. Lyric has created countless ways for patrons to save money on visits to the opera. Subscriptions are the best-known option for discounted performances and provide flexible programming, pricing, and date options. One of the most popular subscription packages allows patrons to see four opera productions for just $100 . While regularly-priced tickets usually begin at $29, several programs exist to offer even steeper discounts, often in the main floor seating level. The NEXT Program gives full-time college and graduate students access to $20 tickets to select performances. The DEAL Program offers Chicago-area educators and administrators reduced ticket prices. Rush Tickets are available online or in person at the box office starting about two hours before select performances, and cut the ticket price in half. “Lyric offers a large range of ticket prices to ensure the widest possible audience can attend our performances,” says Middleton. “We never want price to be a barrier to attendance.” Operas are all old and dated. Opera may have its roots in the 17th century, but it continues to flourish and change as an art form. “In recent decades,” observes Pines, “the whole idea of what opera is has broadened. There are rap operas, mariachi operas, rock operas, and so on. Onstage singers are capable of more astounding feats of technical prowess than ever before, and composers are responding to that by writing music that tests singers to their absolute limits.” Lyric is just one of many world-class opera houses constantly working to bring new work to public audiences. This includes the 2015 world-premiere presentation of Jimmy López’s Bel Canto , which focused on the 1996 hostage crisis in Lima, Peru; and Lyric Unlimited’s production of Jack Perla’s An American Dream later this season, a work that chronicles the challenges two women endure in the midst of World War II. Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier , an opera based on the harassment and eventual suicide of U.S. Army soldier Danny Chen, premiered at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in 2014 just three years after the events that inspired it. This trend also allows directors and designers to create modern, innovative productions of classic operas while maintaining their artistic impact. Thanks to this quick response time from writers, opera is more timely now than ever. The art form of opera, and the perception of who can enjoy it, is constantly evolving. Opera was originally a popular entertainment for the masses, like going to the movies, before becoming a diversion for the elite. The community today strives to be far more welcoming, inclusive, and diverse. And while the biggest myth of them all might be that opera just “simply isn’t for me,” consider that opera is for anyone who wants to experience emotion on a grand scale, to hear some of the most talented artists the world has to offer, and to share a musical tradition that has survived the test of time. Operas with particularly timely subjects include (left) Bel Canto (with Danielle de Niese and John Irvin), which premiered at Lyric during the 2015/16 season; (top right) An American Dream (with Jae Ji Chang), premiered in Seattle and will be presented by Lyric later this season; and (bottom right) Fellow Travelers (with Vanessa Becerra, Jonas Hacker, and Joseph Lattanzi), which premiered in Cincinnati and was seen at Lyric last season. TODD ROSENBERG PHILIP NEWTON TODD ROSENBERG New and relevant!
Made with FlippingBook
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTkwOA==