Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 6 The Three Queens

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 22 DAVID WEIGEL | LORD CECIL | MARIA STUARDA Previously at Lyric: Four roles since 2018|19, most recently First Prison Guard /Dead Man Walking (2019|20); Dr. Grenvil/ La traviata (2018|19). The bass-baritone, a North Carolina native and a second-year Ryan Opera Center member, is an alumnus of Furman University (bachelor of music), the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (master of music), the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (professional artist certificate), and the University of Michigan (doctor of music). A winner of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Michigan District), Weigel performed with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program in 2017 and 2013. Other recent engagements have included the title role/ The Marriage of Figaro at the 2019 Aspen Festival. Weigel has also performed with North Carolina Opera, Greensboro Opera, Piedmont Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Opera North, and the Brevard Music Center. David Weigel is sponsored by Lois B. Siegel, Michael and Salme Harju Steinberg , and Mrs. J. W. Van Gorkom . ANTHONY REED | LORD ROCHFORD | ANNA BOLENA Previously at Lyric: Second Prison Guard/ Dead Man Walking (2019|20). A first-year member of the Ryan Opera Center, the bass is also singing the Imperial Commissioner/ Madama Butterfly and Narumov/ The Queen of Spades at Lyric this season. Reed was recently seen at Wolf Trap Opera as Friar Laurence/ Romeo and Juliet. A former Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera, his highlights onstage there include King of Egypt/ Aida , Speaker/ The Magic Flute , and Dr. Grenvil/ La traviata , among other roles. Additionally, his repertory encompasses such major roles as Sarastro/ The Magic Flute , Don Magnifico/ La Cenerentola , and Don Basilio/ The Barber of Seville . He has performed with Grammy-winning symphony orchestras and some of the world’s most esteemed conductors, among them Nicola Luisotti and Donald Runnicles. Reed is an alumnus of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Merola Opera Program. Anthony Reed is sponsored by J. Thomas Hurvis . RICCARDO FRIZZA | CONDUCTOR Previously at Lyric: Norma (2016|17). Music director of Bergamo’s Donizetti Festival, the Italian conductor is a celebrated interpreter of bel canto repertoire. This season he returns to Il pirata (Paris) and The Barber of Seville , having begun 2019|20 with I puritani (Paris), Lucia di Lammermoor (Bilbao), and Lucrezia Borgia (Bergamo). Among major highlights of previous bel canto performances have been Rossini’s Armida (Metropolitan Opera, company premiere); Donizetti’s Anna Bolena (Dresden), Lucrezia Borgia (San Francisco), Maria Stuarda (Metropolitan Opera), and L’elisir d’amore (Dresden); and Belilni’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (San Francisco) and Norma (Venice). Frizza’s recent successes in Verdi include Falstaff (Dallas), Luisa Miller (Zurich), La traviata (Tokyo), and Rigoletto (Barcelona). He has appeared at La Scala, Pesaro’s Rossini Opera Festival, Parma’s Verdi Festival, and the major houses of Bologna, Turin, Genoa, Brussels, Florence, Lyon, and Lisbon, as well as those of Washington, Seattle, and Houston; the Aix-en-Provence and Osaka festivals; and the major orchestras of Rome, Florence, Dresden, Milan, St. Petersburg, London, Munich, and Paris, among many other ensembles. MATTHEW OZAWA | DIRECTOR Previously at Lyric: Four operas since 2015|16, most recently An American Dream (2018|19); Don Quichotte (2016|17). The American director has an international career spanning all artistic disciplines, having worked for the major companies of Houston, Toronto, Santa Fe, and San Francisco, as well as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Macau International Festival, and Opera Siam. Ozawa is founder and artistic director of Mozawa, a Chicago-based incubator advancing collaborative art and artists. Additionally, Ozawa serves as assistant professor and opera director at The University of Michigan. Acclaimed productions include Madama Butterfly (The Santa Fe Opera), An American Soldier (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Hand Eye (Eighth Blackbird, world premiere, / Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center), Romeo and Juliet (Minnesota Opera, Cincinnati Opera), L’opera seria and Les mamelles de Tirésias / Le Pauvre Matelot (Wolf Trap Opera), A Little Night Music and David Hanlon’s After The Storm (world premiere, Houston Grand Opera), Madama Butterfly and Arizona Lady (American premiere, Arizona Opera), Matthew Aucoin’s Second Nature (world premiere, Lyric Unlimited), and Sweeney Todd and Snow Dragon (world premiere, Skylight Music Theater, Opera Siam). MICHAEL BLACK | CHORUS MASTER The Australian chorus master held this position in Sydney at Opera Australia from 2001 to 2013. Black has served in this capacity for such distinguished organizations as the Edinburgh International Festival, Opera Holland Park (London), and, in Australia, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Choir, Motet Choir, the Cantillation chamber choir, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Other activities include preparing the Damnation of Faust chorus at the Grant Park Music Festival, where he has worked for two seasons. As one of Australia’s most prominent vocal accompanists, Black has regularly performed for broadcasts and recordings. He has served as chorus master on four continents, and his work has been recorded and/or aired on ABC, BBC, PBS, for many HD productions in movie theaters, and on television. Michael Black is the Howard A. Stotler Chorus Master Endowed Chair .