Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 6 Tosca 2

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 8 Dear Lyric Family, Greetings! And for those of you visiting our beautiful opera house for the first time, welcome to Lyric. We are excited to be live on our stage and thrilled you are here. You are all in for a treat! Puccini’s Tosca is an audience favorite with very good reason—it fully embodies the drama and passion of grand opera, with its exquisite melodies and captivating, indomitable heroine. There is nothing quite like experiencing the sweeping beauty of this masterpiece—we hope you enjoy every moment. We have many firsts in store for you with this new-to-Chicago production, led by two very exciting artists. Conductor Eun Sun Kim, recently appointed as music director of San Francisco Opera, makes her long- awaited and much-anticipated Lyric debut, and director Louisa Muller returns in her fourth production at Lyric. We are also delighted to welcome soprano Michelle Bradley in both her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut and her title role debut, alongside Russell Thomas, who has become a favorite Lyric starring artist, and Fabián Veloz in his Lyric debut as the villainous Scarpia. The return to live performances this season has been more successful than we ever could have imagined, thanks to you—Chicago’s ardent opera-loving audiences. From thunderous applause on the opening night of our new Macbeth , to sold-out performances of The Magic Flute , we want to thank you for being with us, and for working together to make the performance experience safe and welcoming for everyone who visits Lyric. In February, we announced the 2022/23 Season, which will once again be sponsored by our wonderful partners at Invesco QQQ, as they support innovation in so many important ways in our community and beyond. Next season features world premieres, Lyric premieres, and great artists—both new and returning— who are sure to move and inspire you with their performances. We hope that you’ll be with us not only for this performance, but for our premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones , and all of the extraordinary moments that 2022/23 promises. Your love for music and theater is the reason for everything we do! Sincerely, From the Chair and the General Director SYLVIA NEIL Chair ANTHONY FREUD OBE President, General Director & CEO The Women’s Board Endowed Chair Photo: Todd Rosenberg Photo: Todd Rosenberg