Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 3 Luisa Miller

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 14 and his huge knowledge of the repertoire has instilled an exciting sense of adventure in all the singers. Once the season begins, voice lessons and coachings continue, but the schedule of mainstage rehearsals and performances for the operas in which Ryan Opera Center artists are cast takes precedence. On Day 1 of rehearsals for any production, the singers must arrive thoroughly prepared, meaning: “You’ve fully memorized the role – every note is correct, every word is accurate, and you have a fully developed character,” explains Ferring. “You need to come with ideas and then meld them with the director’s vision, and that’s the most fun of the whole process.” During the season, every Ryan Opera Center artist has understudy or “cover” assignments. Every time the artists they’re covering are called to a rehearsal, they’re there as well. Covering teaches them a great deal, especially when it comes to “being able to watch some of my idols up close,” says Decker, “in roles I’d love to sing in the future. You’re not just seeing the final product, you’re seeing the process – how they develop characters, handle challenges, and put everything together.” Of course, all the singers’ preparation culminates in performing onstage, “the very best experience, in terms of learning,” Rivera declares. “We study vocal technique and languages here, and the instructors are phenomenal, but when you go onstage, that’s where you really test everything you know.” At Lyric, the day-to-day contact with important conductors and directors is something Kenney relishes. In Cendrillon last season, it was enlightening for him “to watch Sir Andrew Davis giving specific interpretation of musical impetus and line, to see how an operatic conductor goes about the entire process saying, ‘This is what the orchestra is doing and this is why.’” Besides rehearsals for a particular production, Davis, Lyric’s world-renowned music director, also takes time to work one-on-one with Ryan Opera Center artists during the season. Throughout the year, the Ensemble artists embraced every chance to work with major singers individually. When Pogorelc coached with legendary Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, both the inspirational value and the nuts-and-bolts advice were inestimable. “She had such a range of tools in her toolbox and showed me that I had tools, too.” It was invaluable for the soprano’s future to hear from a great artist that “you can create a world of colors and sounds that varies from piece to piece.” The program’s challenges are formidable, but tackling them provides the singers with the skills and expertise necessary to make a real artistic contribution. Decker is grateful for that: “This art form contributes something so fulfilling and important for our society today. It engages me personally with emotions and experiences across the spectrum of what it means to be human. Performing opera is how I want to live my life, how I want to express myself, and what I want to offer to the world.” The Ryan Opera Center shows that opera is, above all, about the necessity of collaboration, “which is a testament to all people’s fundamental wish to connect with each other.” (Left) Ryan Opera Center members bowing at last season’s Renee Fleming 25th Anniversary Concert; (right) Christopher Kenney and David Weigel in their 2019 Rising Stars in Concert performance of a scene from Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias . Todd Rosenberg Todd Rosenberg