Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 5 Don Giovanni

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 42 AMANDA MAJESKI At Lyric this season: Donna Elvira| Don Giovanni . Previously: Eight roles since 2009 |10, most recently Marschallin| Der Rosenkavalier (2015|16); Marta| The Passenger (2014|15); Vitellia| La clemenza di Tito (2013|14). Also this season: Katya Kabanova , Teatro dell’Opera (Rome); Marta| The Passenger , Teatro Real (Madrid). It is such a privilege to credit the Ryan Opera Center as one of the most crucial parts of my artistic development. Even before I was accepted, the program gave this young singer a goal, something to strive for, a reason to get into the practice room at university and work hard. Once accepted, I saw myself and my colleagues thrive as we received the most important gifts a singer can be given: opportunity and trust. Every Ryan Opera Center artist has the chance to grow and shine onstage with assignments that put us in the center of the action, with a supportive, knowledgeable, and encouraging staff behind us to assure our success. It’s in this way that ten years ago, I took a phone call that made my career: “Hi, Amanda, you’ll be stepping in to sing the Countess tomorrow.” Through inevitable nerves, I knew I was ready, because my training at the Ryan Opera Center had given me all I needed to make the most of my chance. I will be forever grateful for my formative two years in the program, and for each and every person who has continued to champion its mission. Ryan Opera Center alumni around the world Matthew Polenzani Fidelio Berlin Philharmonic Amber Wagner Die Frau ohne Schatten Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris) Joseph Lim Romeo and Juliet Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf) Administration Dan Novak Director , The Ryan Opera Center Board Endowed Chair Craig Terry Music Director The Jannotta Family Endowed Chair Julia Faulkner Director of Vocal Studies Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation Renée Fleming Advisor Faculty Julia Faulkner W. Stephen Smith Vocal Instruction The Robert and Ellen Marks Vocal Studies Program Endowed Chair in honor of Gianna Rolandi Deborah Birnbaum Lawrence Brownlee Alessandro Corbelli Sir Andrew Davis Matthew A. Epstein Renée Fleming Enrique Mazzola Gerald Martin Moore Louisa Muller Patricia Racette Anne Sofie von Otter Guest Master Artists William C. Billingham Alan Darling Laurann Gilley Noah Lindquist Celeste Rue Eric Weimer Pedro Yanez Coaching Staff Irina Feoktistova Julia Savoie Klein Derek Matson Sharon Peterson Marina Vecci Alessandra Visconti Melissa Wittmeier Foreign Language Instruction Dawn Arnold Katie Klein Andrew Gordon Knox Laurel Krabacher E. Loren Meeker Acting and Movement Instruction Orit Carpenter Performance Psychology Roger Pines Guest Lecturer and Consultant Artistic/Production Personnel Michael Christie Ari Pelto Conductors Louisa Muller Patricia Racette Directors Donald Claxon Bill Walters Stage Managers Theresa Ham Wardrobe PROGRAM STAFF THIS SEASON Cory Weaver