Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 6 Tosca 2

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 23 MICHELLE BRADLEY | FLORIA TOSCA Lyric debut This season, the American soprano sang Liù/ Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera, the soprano solo/Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Francisco Symphony, and solo recitals for the San Diego Opera. In 2019, she debuted with the Vienna State Opera as Leonora/ Il trovatore (role debut), with San Diego Opera in the title role/ Aida , while also returning to the Metropolitan Opera for their New Year’s Eve Gala as Liù/ Turandot (Act Two). She also appeared in solo recitals at the Kennedy Center and in Philadelphia and performed Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the New World Symphony. Future projects include a debut at the San Francisco Opera as Madame Lidoine/ Dialogues des carmélites and returns to the Met, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the San Diego Opera. Other notable debuts have included Oper Frankfurt (Leonora/ La forza del destin o, new production), the Opéra National de Lorraine and Theater Erfurt (both in Aida ), and the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Verdi Requiem , staged performance). Michelle Bradley is sponsored by Robin Angly & Miles Smith. RUSSELL THOMAS | MARIO CAVARADOSSI Previously at Lyric: Four roles since 2016/17, including Verdi Voices (2021/22); Manrico/ Il trovatore (2018/19). The American tenor starred earlier this season as Florestan in Fidelio for the San Francisco Opera, and he returns to the title role/ Otello (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, after successes at the Washington National Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Atlanta Symphony). Thomas’s 2020/21 season included his return to Don Alvaro/ La forza del destino (Deutsche Oper Berlin), a concert of the title role in Oedipus Rex with the LA Opera, and Cavaradossi in Tosca with the Cincinnati Opera. He recently starred in Aida (Houston Grand Opera), Il trovatore (Bayerische Staatsoper), Idomeneo (Salzburg Festival, new Peter Sellars production), Roberto Devereux (San Francisco Opera), and La clemenza di Tito (LA Opera). Thomas has previously enjoyed successes as Beethoven’s Florestan (Cincinnati); Bellini’s Pollione (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Toronto, Chicago, Valencia); Verdi’s Stiffelio (Frankfurt), Don Carlo (Washington, Berlin), and Gabriele Adorno (London); and Puccini’s Rodolfo (Met). He has been featured with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, and Dallas Symphony. FABIÁN VELOZ | BARON SCARPIA Lyric debut The Argentine baritone’s recent performances include the title role/ Rigoletto to open the season at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, as well as appearances there in La bohème , La traviata , and Andrea Chénier ; La traviata in Beijing, Naples, and Atlanta; Tosca at Opera’s Teatro dell’Opera and the Baths of Caracalla; and Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci in Bologna. He is scheduled to sing The Pearl Fishers at the Colón, Rigoletto in Beijing, and La traviata in Hong Kong. Veloz made his European debut in the title role/ Nabucco in Split, Croatia, which was followed by Macbeth and Nabucco in Trieste. He has also been heard with the major companies of Madrid, Mexico City, and Parma, among many other companies in Latin America and Europe. His portrayal of Rossini’s Figaro at Buenos Aires’s Teatro Avenida (2009) earned him the ESTIMULO Award from the Music Critics Association of Argentina. RODELL ROSEL | SPOLETTA Previously at Lyric: 22 roles since 2005/06, most recently Goro/ Madama Butterfly (2019/20); Pang/ Turandot (2017/18). The Filipino-American tenor, a Ryan Opera Center alumnus, has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera as The Valzacchi/ Der Rosenkavalier and as both Nathanael and Frantz/ Les contes d’Hoffmann , the latter in a new production. He has also appeared as Monostatos/ The Magic Flute at the Met and at London’s Royal Opera House. Elsewhere, his performances have been heard with the Los Angeles, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Tulsa Opera companies (Goro/ Madama Butterfly ); Houston Grand Opera (Goro, Mime/ Das Rheingold and Siegfried , Squeak/ Billy Budd , Dancing Master/ Ariadne auf Naxos ); The Santa Fe Opera (Ong Chi Seng/Paul Moravec’s The Letter , world premiere); the Ravinia Festival (Curzio/ The Marriage of Figaro , Spoletta/ Tosca , Arbace/ Idomeneo ); Numi Opera in Los Angeles (title role/ Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg ); and the Cleveland Orchestra (First Jew/ Salome ). Rosel created the role of Anthony Candolino/Jake Heggie’s Great Scott at The Dallas Opera (released on CD). The tenor is a former Grand Finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Artist profiles