Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 8 Madama Butterfly

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 14 case of Strauss and animal in the case Janácek), set to the most ravishing music I’d ever heard. From the performances of 18 th -century castrati to today’s trailblazing transgender opera singers, this art form reminds us that humans of all gender expressions have always existed, and we’re so privileged to hear their songs. Music ennobles and elicits empathy, and opera encourages us to engage with and see the full humanity in people who may seem to be nothing like us. Long before film began to have conversations about representation, opera included characters from all over the globe. From my home in Evanston, I was able to travel to ancient Rome and Egypt, medieval Byzantium and Russia, Gold Rush California, turn- of-the-last century Japan, and even the moon! Early exposure to the different languages of opera helped stretch my ear and my brain, and so much of what I know about history and geography comes from studying opera. Unfortunately, the opera business has not always been inclusive about casting artists who hail from all of these wonderful places. Leontyne Price, my very favorite diva, said, “I am here, and you will know that I am the best and will hear me.” It’s my hope that as opera moves forward, we’ll honor Miss Price’s words and Lyric Opera will continue to be an industry leader in welcoming great singers of all races, as well as all genders, sexualities, religions, and physical abilities. Leontyne Price is one of the many great women who has sung legendary performances in Chicago. Opera celebrates the Divine Feminine – indeed, the much-maligned Italian word “diva” literally means “goddess” – and from Maria Callas and Giulietta Simionato in the very first season 65 years ago to Ana María Martínez and Christine Goerke this season, Lyric has been a beloved home to so many important female voices, both onstage and in leadership roles. This season, Lyric presents an important new opera by a female composer – something I hope to see a lot more often. Inspired by events of right now, Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue tells the stories of families and communities who have suffered loss at the hands of police violence. Tesori’s score includes sounds we would expect at the opera, as well as those more traditionally associated with gospel and jazz idioms. In Verdi’s day, there was no separation between opera and popular music. The songs from his operas were instant hits, sung and played by everyone, and the stories of his operas inspired the people of Italy to find pride and power in their national identity. Thompson and Tesori are firmly in that tradition and our current moment with a work like Blue , and it’s so thrilling and vital that Lyric is presenting it. Blue will be heard in The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a beautiful reflection of Lyric’s commitment to being a part of Chicago’s vibrant arts community. This impulse was also reflected in Lyric’s Chicago Voices initiative, which celebrated all the different sounds and singers which make Chicago so unique. One of the absolute highlights of my life so far was partnering with Renée Fleming and Cayenne Harris to present the Chicago Voices Gala Concert at Lyric in 2017. Duke Ellington famously said, “There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.” Subsequently seen nationwide on PBS, the Chicago Voices concert celebrated an incredibly rich heritage of good music and great voices from opera, jazz, folk, rock, hip-hop, musical theater, blues, and gospel. The opera house that night proved an inclusive space for all of these artists as we celebrated the power of the human voice and the magical, healing alchemy of collaboration. From my lucky spot at the piano, I truly felt the mighty power of what humans can achieve when we honor and acknowledge our diverse backgrounds and strengths and combine them to make something greater. Our final song that evening was Jason Robert Brown’s anthem, “Coming Together.” As the ensemble of world-class soloists blended with the Trinity United Choir to sing “Stand up! Hold on! And swear you won’t let go!”, the atoms inside the Lyric Opera House shifted. Composers manipulate time, and they also manipulate energy. And that’s what happens in opera at its best: sound and sight and feeling fuse into the kind of universal, undivided love and art that Wagner described. As an opera-loving millennial, I’ve had experiences with friends that run the gamut from “Doug, that’s your thing, I have no interest” to “I’ve always wanted to go to the opera, but I don’t know where to start” to “You only have 37 recordings Doug Peck’s favorite diva, Leontyne Price, in the title role of Massenet’s Thaïs at Lyric, 1959. Truly an opera for our time: Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue , to be presented by Lyric later this season. ˇ Karli Cadel/The Glimmerglass Festival Nancy Sorenson ˇ ˇ