Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 4 Dead Man Walking

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 22 LAUREN DECKER | JADE BOUCHER Previously at Lyric: Seven roles since 2016/17, most recently Annina/ La traviata , First Maid/ Elektra (both 2018/19). The Wisconsin-born contralto, a fourth-year member of the Ryan Opera Center, has been featured at the Grant Park Music Festival and in the Harris Theater’s “Beyond the Aria” series. She debuted at the San Francisco Symphony this summer singing Elgar’s Sea Pictures . Decker was a finalist in the 2019 Operalia competition and a national semifinalist in the 2018 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The UW-Milwaukee alumna has participated in the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, the American Wagner Project, and the Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto. Decker has appeared with the Apollo Chorus/Elmhurst Symphony, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and Harare International Festival of the Arts (Zimbabwe). She was awarded the American Opera Society of Chicago’s 2018 Lola Fletcher Scholarship. Lauren Decker is sponsored by an Anonymous Donor , Susan M. Miller , and the Thierer Family Foundation . ALLAN GLASSMAN | HOWARD BOUCHER Lyric debut The tenor appears regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, where he has been featured in 13 works. One of his acclaimed Met roles, Herod/ Salome , has also been a great success at Ravinia and the major companies of San Diego, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Cape Town. Among his other leading roles have been the title roles/ Les contes d’Hoffmann and Idomeneo (LA Opera), the title role/ Otello (Philadelphia, Phoenix, Palm Beach, Dallas, des Moines, Chautauqua), Samson/ Samson et Dalila (Costa Mesa), and Don José/ Carmen , Pinkerton/ Madama Butterfly , and Cavaradossi/ Tosca (all at New York City Opera). Appearances internationally include Manrico/ Il trovatore (Deutsche Oper Berlin), Samson (New Israeli Opera), the Prince/ Rusalka (Frankfurt), and the title role/ Ernani , Don José, and Arrigo/ I vespri siciliani (L’Opéra de Nice). Glassman has appeared in concert with the Munich Philharmonic, Fort Worth Symphony, and Boston Concert Opera, among many other ensembles. ERIC FERRING | JOSEPH’S 19-YEAR-OLD BROTHER Previously at Lyric: Five roles since 2018/19, most recently Sergeant/ The Barber of Seville (2019/20); Lurcanio/ Ariodante (2018/19). The Iowa-born tenor, a second-year Ryan Opera Center member, is an alumnus of Drake University and Boston Conservatory, Ferring is a former Pittsburgh Opera resident artist and Santa Fe Opera apprentice artist. He made his role debut as Tamino/ The Magic Flute at the 2019 Verbier Festival and will reprise that role later this season at North Carolina Opera, New Orleans Opera, and The Santa Fe Opera. He has also been heard at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, and Seagle Music Colony. This summer he participated in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Snape-Maltings (England) and the Vocal Residency of the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Among Ferring’s honors have been a Sara Tucker Study Grant from The Richard Tucker Foundation and a Career Grant from The Sullivan Foundation. Eric Ferring is sponsored by Richard O. Ryan, Richard W. Shepro and Lindsay E. Roberts, and Cynthia Vahlkamp and Robert Kenyon. ETHAN WARREN | JOSEPH’S 14-YEAR-OLD BROTHER Lyric debut The actor has been seen in a wide variety of roles. Among them are The Brother/ All That He Was (Pride Films & Plays), Shermy/ A Charlie Brown Christmas (Broadway Playhouse), Jack/ Into the Woods (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre), Pinocchio/ Shrek (Marriott Theatre), Prince Herbert/ Monty Python’s Spamalot (Barn Theatre), Kane/ Love & Human Remains (Cor Theatre), Skiddoo/ The Tail of the Little Mermaid (Theatre at the Center), and Victor/ Cabaret (Entr’acte Theatre). Warren earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in musical theater from The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. CHRISTOPHER KENNEY | MOTORCYCLE COP Previously at Lyric: Three roles since 2018/19, most recently Fiorello/ The Barber of Seville (2019/20); Marquis d’Obigny/ La traviata (2018/19). A Minnesota native and a second-year Ryan Opera Center member, the baritone made his Grant Park Music Festival debut in 2018 portraying Bob/ The Old Maid and the Thief. Kenney is a former member of Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program ( The Barber of Seville , The Little Prince , Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up – world premiere). He was also a featured soloist in Bernstein’s Songfest with the National Symphony Orchestra. A former Santa Fe Opera apprentice artist, Kenney is a three-time winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions. The baritone is an alumnus of Concordia College, the University of Kentucky, and Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts. Christopher Kenney is sponsored by an Anonymous Donor, Sasha Gerritson and Eugene Jarvis, and Blythe J. McGarvie. DAVID WEIGEL | FIRST PRISON GUARD Previously at Lyric: Dr. Grenvil/ La traviata , First Minister/ Cendrillon, Voice of Neptune/ Idomeneo (all 2018/19). Born in California and raised in North Carolina, the bass-baritone is a second-year Ryan Opera Center member and will also sing the Bonze/ Madama Butterfly and Sourin/ The Queen of Spades at Lyric this season. Weigel is an alumnus of Furman University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute, and the University of Michigan. A Michigan District winner of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he performed with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program in 2017 (Death/ Savitri ) and 2013 (Collatinus/ The Rape of Lucretia ). Weigel, who sang the title role/ The Marriage of Figaro at the Aspen Festival this summer, has also been heard with North Carolina Opera, Greensboro Opera, Piedmont