Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 2 The Barber of Seville

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 36 Some years ago, in a landscape where many performing arts organizations were scaling back their educational and community engagement programs, Lyric took a bold step and increased its commitment to innovative learning, civic engagement, and to of-our-time creative programming. We are all Lyric Launched under a new Lyric Unlimited brand, these initiatives for audiences, students, teachers, community groups across the city, and families proved wildly successful and made real positive difference in people’s lives, and evolved Lyric into an organization that is deeply connected with the city it is here to serve. Now, as Lyric continues to invest in signature learning opportunities, develop new partnerships, and to increase its civic footprint and value to all Chicagoans, the Lyric Unlimited brand is being retired. Why? Because all of its initiatives are now so integral to Lyric—so central to its vision to redefine what a 21st century opera company can be to an ever more diverse range of constituents—that programs that were once branded Lyric Unlimited will now be Lyric. And to further add clarity, the staff at Lyric who made, and will make, innovative programs relevant and successful are now part of a newly named department: Learning & Creative Engagement. This brand re-alignment will bring forward and integrate the full range of Lyric activities, expanding what the Lyric brand means in our city and across the country—from grand opera to community created performances; from chamber operas that explore contemporary issues to boundary-breaking school and youth programs. Lyric is truly leading the advancement of opera in America. Teacher Professional Development Workshops | Each fall, Lyric welcomes teachers from across Chicago to free Teacher Professional Development Workshops. Through these events, high school and elementary teachers work side by side with Lyric staff and professional teaching artists to plan lessons making curricular connections and exploring strategies for bringing opera into their classrooms. In the 2018/19 season, 40,049 students participated in Lyric programs, including 15,227 Chicago public school students from a total of 102 Chicago public school districts .