Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 7 Fire Shut Up My Bones

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 21 WILL LIVERMAN | CHARLES Previously at Lyric: Nine roles since 2012/13, most recently Dizzy Gillespie/ Charlie Parker’s Yardbird (2016/17); Lawyer Frazier/ Porgy and Bess (2014/15). The baritone, a Ryan Opera Center alumnus, starred in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Fire Shut Up In My Bones in fall 2021, in addition to reprising Horembab/ Akhnaten and Papageno/ The Magic Flute during the Met’s 2021/22 season. Liverman’s new opera, The Factotum , written together with DJ/recording artist King Rico, will premiere in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2022/23 season. In addition to Malcolm Fleet/Nico Muhly’s Marnie at the Met, other recent engagements include productions with the major companies of Philadelphia, Santa Fe, Dallas, Denver, and Tulsa. Liverman created Dizzy Gillespie/ Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with Opera Philadelphia, reprised with English National Opera, Lyric, Madison Opera, and at New York’s Apollo Theater. He has earned great acclaim, including a Grammy nomination, for the release of his first CD, Dreams of a New Day–Songs by Black Composers . Liverman has received the Marian Anderson Vocal Award, a Richard Tucker Career Grant, and the Sphinx Medal of Excellence. BENJAMIN PREACELY | CHAR’ES-BABY Lyric debut Preacely is a fifth grade vocal major at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) in Lexington, Kentucky, where he lives with his parents and two brothers. Recent credits include Matilda (Bruce), Once on This Island (Daniel’s son), and the University of Kentucky Department of Opera productions of Grand Night for Singing (featured soloist), Show Boat (child), Suor Angelica (child), and Bounce: The Basketball Opera (child). In 2022, Benjamin received the Distinguished Award for Elementary Solo Voice in the Kentucky Music Educators Association (KMEA) performance assessment, and was also selected as a 2022 KMEA All-State Musician & Vocalist. CHAUNCEY PACKER | SPINNER Lyric debut The American tenor, a native of southern Alabama, sang the role of Spinner in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones . His first performances there came during the 2019/20 season, when he appeared in Porgy and Bess as Sportin’ Life, Robbins, and the Crab Man. He has also recently appeared as tenor soloist in the Mozart Requiem with the Colour of Music Festival; sung in concert with the Saint-George International Music Festival and the Harrisburg Symphony; reprised Sportin’ Life with New York Harlem’s Porgy and Bess at the Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy; and appeared at Soo Theatre Project in Michigan (Pinkerton/ Madama Butterfly ) and Chautauqua Opera (Cavaradossi/ Tosca , Jo the Loiterer/ The Mother of Us All ). His portrayal of Sportin’ Life has earned acclaim at La Scala, Paris’s Opéra Comique, and in Tulsa, Atlanta, Birmingham, and San Francisco (released on DVD). Packer has also appeared with the major companies of Nashville, Grand Rapids, Des Moines, and New Orleans, among many others. CHRIS KENNEY | CHESTER Previously at Lyric: Five roles since 2018/19, most recently Official Registrar/ Madama Butterfly and Motorcycle Cop/ Dead Man Walking (both 2019/20). The American baritone, a Ryan Opera Center alumnus, sang the role of Chester in the Metropolitan Opera premiere of Fire Shut Up in My Bones . He debuted with Michigan Opera Theatre in 2019/20 as Silvio/ Pagliacci and made his New York City concert debut singing Bach cantatas with Leonard Slatkin and the American Symphony Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. He has also appeared with the Seattle Symphony as the Guide/Bernstein’s Wonderful Town , and as Bob/Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief with the Grant Park Music Festival. He presented a series of songs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I. Kenney is a former member of the Washington National Opera’s young-artist program. While there, he portrayed Figaro/ The Barber of Seville and also appeared in The Little Prince and Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up (world premiere) for WNO’s mainstage season at the Kennedy Center. He was also a featured soloist in Bernstein’s Songfest with the National Symphony Orchestra.