Lyric Opera 2018-2019 Issue 8 Elektra

40 | February 2 - 22, 2019 P A T R O N S A L U T E | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O Hands together, seated in the same seats that held over 60 years of memories, Kip Kelley shared a performance of e Sound of Music with his grand- daughter, Ferrill. As the story unfolded onstage, Kip also shared the story of his family with her, a story intertwined and weaved into the life of Lyric. Timeless as the operas presented onstage, the Kelley family’s rela- tionship with Lyric has seen the passing of decades, milestones come and gone, and memories forged in the walls of this great place. In 1955, Kip Kelley began coming to Lyric. Single, young, and intel- lectually driven, he came to the opera to try to expand his horizons. Soon he started to bring a date, Sherry Ferrill, and the couple quickly thereafter fell in love, not only with each other, but also with opera. ey spent their honeymoon in the birthplace of opera, Italy, seeing as many performances as they could at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. As the couple became a family with the birth of Kimberly and then Kip II, they became a part of a bigger family, the Lyric family. “I remember the first opera my dad took me to,” Kimberly recalls, “it was I puritani , and although I slept through Act Two, I was wide awake for Acts One and ree.” Kimberly, who now works on Broadway as a company manager, came to her first opera at the age of seven. “My parents would have Kip and me study up before the opera so that we would appreciate it more. We would sit at the kitchen table and learn about the plot and the music with our parents.” In 1973, Kimberly and Kip II became super- numeraries, playing the parts of pageboys, altar boys, and many other characters as needed. eir father soon joined them and was often put in scenes with his children. Kip II, who now serves on Lyric’s Board of Directors and is Chief Executive Officer of Aon Affinity US, smiles as he talks about sharing the stage with his parents. “We were put into the procession scene as altar boys in the first act of Tosca ,” Kip II recalls. “My dad was all of a sudden in the procession with us, and he told us after rehearsal, ‘I am going to be in this scene with you guys because they need some one to drive you there and back home.’” Sherry also joined the supernumeraries, and often audi- ences would see the entire Kelley family onstage. Kip became best known for his role as the Cardinal in Tosca , which he first played in the mid-’80s and for many years thereafter. In the fall of 1996, Sherry Kelley died of cancer. “When Ardis Krainik died shortly after my mom’s death,” Kimberly remembers, “my dad and I attended Miss Krainik’s celebration concert in the opera house and it seemed that in life or death, Lyric was always there.” Kip passed away 20 years later in the fall of 2017. Over their time at Lyric, Kip and Sherry gave back in many ways, joining the Guild Board in 1959, and subsequently each serving as president, lecturing through Lyric’s Lecture Corps, and joining the Ryan Opera Center Board where they sponsored a singer every year. If the doors were open, chances were good that Kip and Sherry were in the house. Kip was a subscriber for 62 years, and he was Lyric’s greatest cheerleader. e Kelley family’s heart was at Lyric. It still is today. “I came back because of Aon’s relationship with Lyric. It created an opportunity for me to become involved again,” Kip II states. “Aon has been a supporter of Lyric’s Opening Night for 34 years, and my wife, Sarah, and I have attended the last 10 openings to wave the Aon flag. When Greg Case (Aon’s CEO) and I had a chat about the possibility of my joining the Lyric board, I jumped at the opportunity. I for- got how much I love opera. I loved it as a kid through my parents’ pas- sion for opera, but I was away from opera for about 25 years.” Lyric is honored to have Kip Kelley II serve on its Board of Directors and the Nominating and Governance Committee. “I’m proud that my dad was able to see me join the Lyric Board. Every time we got together he’d ask, ‘So, son, what’s the latest Lyric Board news?’ It became another point of connection between my dad and me. I was able to share in his lifelong passion. I started with an appreciation and a good understanding of the art form, and now I have an appreciation for the business side as well. is is where it ties togeth- er for me. I so admire the leadership of Anthony Freud, David Ormesher, and the entire Lyric team.” For Kimberly, she attributes her growing up backstage at Lyric to her becoming a company manager on Broadway. “I learned to love the theater here.” Kimberly says. When they were finished onstage, Kimberly and Kip II would walk through Peacock Alley and join their par- ents in their row AA subscription seats to watch the rest of the show the way Kip and Sherry wanted it, as a family. Kip II says, “Lyric is something that has run through my life in different ways, starting as a kid, moving into my involvement on the Board, and now bringing my daughter to the opera. It’s more than just something that I enjoy, it has become a part of me.” In honor of the Kip Kelley Family’s great generosity and years of support, Lyric is proud to name Peacock Alley the Kip Kelley Family Peacock Alley. Kimberly and Kip II can now walk through the hallway named for their family and sit in the same row AA seats and know that the legacy of their parents lives on. — Zachary Vanderburg Kip Kelley Family: Together Onstage and Off Kip Kelley (far right, in red robe) onstage at Lyric in one of his many performances as the Cardinal in Tosca. ROBERT KUSEL