Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 3 The Magic Flute

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 39 Lyric Unlimited’s 2016 production of Jason and the Argonauts streamed to more than 11,000 students in March/April 2021. a fifth-grader, moves into a family shelter with her mother and finds refuge in the world of video games alongside her avatar, Edwin. It was Lyric Unlimited’s hope that children watching the November 2020 stream of Earth to Kenzie would find sanctuary in its music and message just as Kenzie found with her video game journeys. In January and February 2021, Lyric Unlimited provided free streams of José ‘Pepe’ Martínez and Leonard Foglia’s El Pasado Nunca Se Termina ( The Past is Never Finished ), a Lyric Opera commission that received its world premiere in Chicago in 2015. The second of Lyric’s mariachi operas, the stream was recommended for middle- and high-school-aged students and consisted of footage from the first performance at the Lyric Opera House. ​At the end of the opera, the cast gathers to share the show’s ultimate message: “To all the children . . . know that you never travel alone on the road of life.” This timely truth reminded students that even though their lives had been upended during the pandemic, they were not alone. Jason and the Argonauts , written by Gregory Spears and Kathryn Walat, streamed in March and April 2021, and was well-suited to third- through sixth-grade students. The 2016 performance at Evanston Township High School, which was one of Opera in the Neighborhoods’s touring production stops, tells the story of Jason, who works with his friends to win back his stolen throne. Jason and his friends, the Argonauts, search for the Golden Fleece and face danger at every turn. In the end, the ancient myth illuminates what it means to be a real hero. 60% of students who streamed Earth to Kenzie in November 2020 represent Chicago Public Schools.Lyric Unlimited has partnered with CPS for several seasons. Todd Rosenberg In order to remain relevant and expand its audience, opera must adapt to any and all circumstances. Lyric Unlimited certainly met the moment with its 2020/21 programming and provided Chicagoland educational communities with two vital offerings: the continuation of arts education, and an escape from everyday life through the magic of music. Kyle Flubacker