Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 2 The Elixir of Love

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 42 ERIC FERRING Previously at Lyric: 7 roles since 2018/19, most recently Beppe/ Pagliacci lm (2020/2021), Chaplitsky/ The Queen of Spades (2019/20). Also this season: Pong/ Turandot , Tamino/ The Magic Flute , and Arturo/ Lucia di Lammermoor , all at the Metropolitan Opera. My time in the Ryan Opera Center was lled with the greatest challenges and biggest triumphs of my life. From singing small roles, to understudying large roles, or—in the case of Ariodante in 2018/19, taking over a principal role for the entire run—I was given monumental opportunities and inspiration. I also received the gifts of lifelong friends, mentors, and memories. I am unbelievably thankful that the Ryan Opera Center took a chance on this Iowa boy and helped turn him into a man who was not only ready, but excited to enter a scary, yet exhilarating career as an operatic artist. J’Nai Bridges Carmen Palm Beach Opera Jordan Shanahan Tosca Oper Graz (Austria) Laura Wilde Elektra Opéra national de Paris 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 Annika Donnen Associate Librarian Faculty Julia Faulkner W. Stephen Smith Vocal Instruction Robert and Ellen Marks Ryan Opera Center Vocal Studies Program Endowment, in memory of Gianna Rolandi Deborah Birnbaum Sir Andrew Davis Renée Fleming Enrique Mazzola Gerald Martin Moore Stefano Sarzani Guest Master Artists Emanuele Andrizzi William C. Billingham Alan Darling Laurann Gilley Celeste Rue Eric Weimer Coaching Staff Irina Feoktistova Julia Savoie Klein Derek Matson Klára Moldová Sharon Peterson Alessandra Visconti Melissa Wittmeier Foreign Language Instruction Omer Ben Seadia Louisa Muller Todd Rhoades Acting and Movement Instruction Orit Carpenter Beth Clayton Performance Psychology Roger Pines Guest Lecturer and Consultant Artistic/Production Personnel Enrique Mazzola Donald Palumbo Conductors Omer Ben Seadia Kristine McIntyre Directors Kristen Barrett Stage Manager PROGRAM STAFF THIS SEASON Ryan Opera Center alumni around the world