Lyric Opera 2019-2020 Issue 8 Madama Butterfly

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 42 ANTHONY CLARK EVANS At Lyric this season: Sharpless/ Madama Butterfly . Previously: Eleven roles since 2013|14, most recently Riccardo/ I puritani (2017|18, pictured at right). Also this season: Manon Lescaut , San Francisco Opera; The Damnation of Faust , St. Louis Symphony. The role of Sharpless in Madama Butterfly has a special place in the early days of my tenure with the Ryan Opera Center. It was the first role I EVER understudied in my career up to that point – and in the very same production in which I’m singing the role at Lyric this season. That was a big project for a singer with little stage experience, and it was definitely a challenge. However, the Ryan Opera Center faculty was up to the task of helping me take it on and succeed. Since then, I have performed the role in many opera houses across the country, and it’s been more successful with each repetition! The Ryan Opera Center has taught me and countless others how to learn, rehearse, and perform roles like this at the highest level through expert instruction and attention to detail. I am so grateful to be a part of this family and be able to come back and perform at my opera home! Ryan Opera Center alumni around the world Cecelia Hall Der Rosenkavalier Oper Frankfurt Stephen Gould Götterdämmerung Vienna State Opera Emily Fons Ariodante Internationale Händel Festspiele Göttingen 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 Alessandro Corbelli Sir Andrew Davis Matthew A. Epstein Renée Fleming James Gaffigan Susan Graham Enrique Mazzola Gerald Martin Moore Louisa Muller Patricia Racette Christian Van Horn 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 Klára Moldová 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 Todd Rosenberg