Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 8 Madama Butterfly

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 22 KAYLEIGH DECKER | KATE PINKERTON Previously at Lyric: Dorothée/ Cendrillon , Second Cretan Woman/ Idomeneo (both 2018|19). A second-year Ryan Opera Center member, the mezzo-soprano is an alumna of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory. At CCM Opera she portrayed Idamante/ Idomeneo , Prince Charming/ Cendrillon , and the Fox/ The Cunning Little Vixen . Decker has also performed at The Glimmerglass Festival, San Diego’s Opera Neo, Cincinnati Chamber Opera, Queen City Opera, Oberlin Opera Theatre, and in world premieres of Ben Moore’s Robin Hood and Paul Davies’s Carlota . A former Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, she has participated in the prestigious SongStudio program directed by Renée Fleming in New York. Among Decker’s many honors are first place in the Musicians Club of Women Scholarship Competition, a 2019 Luminarts Fellowship, and a 2019 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. Kayleigh Decker is sponsored by The C. G. Pinnell Family . CHRISTOPHER KENNEY | OFFICIAL REGISTRAR Previously at Lyric: Four roles since 2018|19, most recently Motorcycle Cop/ Dead Man Walking , Fiorello/ The Barber of Seville (both 2019|20). 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 . ANTHONY REED | IMPERIAL COMMISSIONER Previously at Lyric: Second Prison Guard/ Dead Man Walking (2019|20). A first-year member of the Ryan Opera Center, the bass returns to the Lyric stage later this season in The Queen of Spades . Reed was recently seen at Wolf Trap Opera as Friar Laurence/ Romeo and Juliet . A former Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera, he has appeared there in Aida , The Magic Flute , and La traviata , among other operas. 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 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 . HENRIK NÁNÁSI | CONDUCTOR Previously at Lyric: The Marriage of Figaro (2015|16). General music director of the Komische Oper Berlin from 2012 to 2017, Nánási began the 2019|20 season in San Francisco ( The Marriage of Figaro ), subsequently undertaking Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci (Barcelona). Following Madama Butterfly , he leads La traviata (Madrid) and Eugene Onegin (Munich). Highlights last season included his Metropolitan Opera debut ( Iolanta and Bluebeard’s Castle ), as well as his return to London’s Royal Opera ( Simon Boccanegra ) and the Opéra National de Paris ( The Magic Flute ). He also led Otello (Frankfurt), The Magic Flute (Rome), and Iolanta (Valencia), as well as concerts with the major orchestras of Atlanta, Toulouse, and Essen, among others. Nánási’s artistry has also earned acclaim at the Verona Arena, Zurich Opera House, Hamburg State Opera, Frankfurt Opera, and Dresden Semperoper. He has worked with the Radio- SymphonieorchesterWien, Bruckner Orchester Linz, the Orquestra de la Comunitata Valenciana, and the orchestras of the MaggioMusicale Fiorentino, Teatro La Fenice, TeatroMassimo Palermo, and Naples’s Teatro San Carlo. MICHAEL GRANDAGE | ORIGINAL DIRECTOR Previously at Lyric: Madama Butterfly ( 2013|14). The British director is artistic director of the London-based Michael Grandage Company. Among his many projects there have been plays starring Nicole Kidman ( Photograph 51 ), Jude Law ( Henry V ), Daniel Radcliffe ( The Cripple of Inishmaan ), and Dame Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw ( Peter and Alice ). Grandage is former artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse and Sheffield Theatres. His work for the Donmar includes Richard II , Luise Miller , King Lear , Red (also New York), Hamlet (also Elsinore and New York), Frost/Nixon (also West End, New York, U. S. tour), Caligula , The Wild Duck , Guys and Dolls , Grand Hotel , After Miss Julie , Merrily We Roll Along , and Passion Play , among other productions. He most recently directed Red at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre and Disney’s Frozen on Broadway. Recipient of a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, and multiple Olivier, Evening Standard, and Critics’ Circle Awards, Grandage was appointed CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2011. LOUISA MULLER | REVIVAL DIRECTOR Previously at Lyric: Carmen (associate director, 2016|17) ; Madama Butterfly (2013|14); La bohème (2012|13). Coming off an acclaimed U. K. debut with The Turn of the Screw (new production, Garsington Opera), the American director returns to Lyric for Madama Butterfly and the Ryan Opera Center’s 2020 Rising Stars in Concert . This season she also debuts at Opera Colorado directing Tosca . She is a frequent presence at Wolf Trap Opera, where she has directed new productions of The Rape of Lucretia , Romeo and Juliet , Tosca , and John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles . Last season she debuted at LA Opera ( Don Carlo ) and The Minnesota Opera ( La traviata ). She earned critical praise for her 2017 staging of Das Rheingold with the New York Philharmonic. As a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s directing staff, Muller has staged revivals of Don Giovanni , Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci , and L’elisir d’amore . She has also directed productions at Houston Grand Opera, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opera Queensland (Australia), and The Atlanta Opera.