Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 1 Macbeth

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 13 Enrique Mazzola became Music Director of Lyric Opera of Chicago as of July 1, 2021. The Spanish-born, Italian- trained conductor is only the third person in Lyric’s 67-year history to serve in this capacity, following the tenures of Sir Andrew Davis and the late Bruno Bartoletti. Mazzola rst came to the attention of Lyric audiences when he led performances of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor during the 2016/17 season and Bellini’s I puritani in 2017/18. The bel canto specialist also launched the company’s Early Verdi Series in 2019/20 with Luisa Miller. Mazzola’s rst opera as Lyric Music Director is Verdi’s Macbeth, brought to the stage in a new production by Director Sir David McVicar. This season, Mazzola also conducts Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love and the company and Chicago premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up. Mazzola was born into a musical family and studied violin and piano from an early age. Following his family’s move from his native Barcelona to Milan, he sang in the children’s chorus of La Scala, where his father worked as a répétiteur . Mazzola credits his early immersion in the daily life of Italy’s foremost opera house for instilling in him a deep love of opera, and for making him un uomo di teatro : “a man of the theater.” He holds diplomas in composition and orchestral conducting from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, and credits legendary La Scala maestros Claudio Abbado and Carlos Kleiber for inspiring him to pursue a career on the podium. Mazzola is now one of the most sought-after operatic and symphonic conductors of his generation, and has held major posts in France, Germany, Italy, and now, Chicago. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE AN OFFICIAL MEMBER OF THE LYRIC OPERA FAMILY? There are a very big number of different emotions. I am so proud to be at Lyric Opera. I am happy to be engaged with Chicago and this great opera house. Actually, I felt I was already actively engaged with Lyric and the city last season when, because the ongoing pandemic prevented us from giving live performances, I created four different lmed streaming programs. Each was dedicated to a different artistic force: our Orchestra, our Chorus, The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, and, so as not to lose an important part of our cycle of early Verdi operas, a web series focused on the dozen musical numbers of Attila . YOUR PREDECESSOR, SIR ANDREW DAVIS, LEFT YOU WITH AN OPERA ORCHESTRA THAT IS, BY GENERAL CONSENT, PLAYING AT THE TOP OF ITS GAME. TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP YOU’VE ALREADY BUILT WITH THE ORCHESTRA, AND ALSO, FOR THAT MATTER, THE INCOMPARABLE LYRIC OPERA CHORUS. I have a fantastic group of great colleagues, both in the Orchestra and Chorus, which makes me very happy! In a way, the difference between me and other conductors is that I have a very speci c way of searching for the musical truth that lies within the score. The Orchestra’s Kyle Flubacker Enrique Mazzola during the lming of“ Attila: Highlights in Concert ” in Lyric’s 2020/21 Season.