Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 3 The Magic Flute

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 27 ESTHER BIALAS | DESIGNER Lyric debut Esther Bialas studied costume design in her native Hamburg. Together with director Christiane Pohle, she founded the women’s theater company LaborLavache, with productions presented at the Schauspielhaus Zürich. In addition to The Magic Flute , Bialas’s collaborations with director Barrie Kosky include Strindberg’s A Dream Play (Deutsche Theater Berlin); Strauss’s Die schweigsame Frau (Bavarian State Opera); and Ball in Savoy , Seven Songs / The Seven Deadly Sins , and West Side Story (Komische Oper Berlin). She also has a longstanding collaborative relationship with director Nicolas Stemann, with productions including Hamlet at the Schauspiel Hannover, Jelinek’s The Work at Vienna’s Burgtheater, and Schiller’s The Robbers at Hamburg’s Thalia Theater. Among her other major opera credits are Eötvös’s Three Sisters (Vienna State Opera), Stefan Herheim’s productions of The Tales of Hoffmann (Bregenz Festival) and La Cenerentola (Norwegian National Opera), and Daniel Kramer’s production of La traviata (Theater Basel). She has taught costume design in Hamburg at Lerchenfeld University since 2004. Esther Bialas is supported by the Richard P. and Susan Kiphart Costume Designer Endowed Chair. PAUL BARRITT | ANIMATION DESIGNER Lyric debut Paul Barritt is co-founder and co-artistic director (with Suzanne Andrade) of London- based theater company 1927. For 1927, he co-created, animated, and designed three highly acclaimed and innovative animated shows: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea , The Animals and Children Took to the the Streets , Golem , and Roots. He debuted in opera with The Magic Flute (Komische Oper Berlin), which he co- conceived and animated. In 2017, Barritt co-created and animated Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges for the Komische Oper. For his work with 1927, he has won the Critic’s Circle Award for best design ( Golem ) and the coveted Knight of the Illumination Award for Best Projection ( Golem ). He has collaborated with Ensemble Musikfabrik on an animated new music concert called Krazy Kat Projekt, and his short film White Morning (2013) played in many major film festivals, including Sundance, the Melbourne International Film Festival, and London’s Short Film Festival. In 2016, he was featured in the Stage 100’s list of the most influential people in United Kingdom theater. MICHAEL BLACK | CHORUS MASTER The Australian chorus master held this position at Opera Australia in Sydney from 2001 to 2013. Black has served in this capacity for such distinguished organizations as the Edinburgh International Festival, Opera Holland Park (London), and, in Australia, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Choir, Motet Choir, the Cantillation chamber choir, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Other activities include preparing The Damnation of Faust chorus at the Grant Park Music Festival, where he has worked for two seasons. As one of Australia’s most prominent vocal accompanists, Black has regularly performed for broadcasts and recordings. He has served as chorus master on four continents, and his work has been recorded and/or aired on ABC, BBC, PBS, for many HD productions in movie theaters, and on television. Michael Black is supported by the Howard A. Stotler Chorus Master Endowed Chair. SARAH HATTEN | WIGMASTER & MAKEUP DESIGNER Lyric’s wigmaster and makeup designer has worked in a wide repertoire at Des Moines Metro Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Columbus Opera, Toledo Opera, the Cabrillo Music Festival, and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She has also worked at the Glimmerglass Festival and the major opera companies of Los Angeles, Omaha, Cleveland, Sarasota, and Central City, as well as Wisconsin’s American Players Theatre and, in Los Angeles, the Pantages Theatre and the Geffen Playhouse. Sarah Hatten is supported by the Marlys Beider Wigmaster and Makeup Designer Endowed Chair.