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

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 22 REGINALD SMITH, JR. | UNCLE PAUL Previously at Lyric: Senator Charles Potter, General Arlie, Bartender/ Fellow Travelers (2017/18). The baritone, a native of Atlanta, Ga., makes debuts this season with the San Diego Opera (Don Alfonso/ Così fan tutte ) and with Charleston’s Holy City Arts and Lyric Opera (Germont/ La traviata ). Recent appearances include the Atlanta Opera (Tonio/ Pagliacci ), Cincinnati Opera (Don Bartolo/ Il barbiere di Siviglia ), the Metropolitan Opera (Jim/ Porgy and Bess ), and Houston Grand Opera (Amonasro/ Aida ). Smith, Jr. has appeared as Jake in Porgy and Bess with Cincinnati Opera, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Opera Memphis, Amonasro in Aida with Opera Idaho, and as Amonasro in Aida with Opera Hong Kong. He made his Lincoln Center debut as the bass soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the National Chorale. MARTIN LUTHER CLARK | CHICKEN PLUCKER / ADULT WILLIAM Previously at Lyric: First Armored Man/ The Magic Flute, Sunday in the Park with Lyric’s Rising Stars (both 2021/22). Second-year Ryan Opera Center tenor Martin Luther Clark recently completed his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, receiving a master’s degree in opera. His performances there included the roles of First Sailor/ Dido and Aeneas , Tobias Ragg/ Sweeney Todd , and Don Ottavio/ Don Giovanni . Also on the East Coast he sang in concert with Russian Opera Workshop both Vaudemont/ Iolanta and King Charles/ The Maid of Orleans during their 2019 summer season. A year earlier, he was heard as an Apprentice Artist at Central City Opera and as tenor soloist at the Library of Congress, where he sang both published and unpublished works of Leonard Bernstein as part of the composer’s centennial celebration. Other appearances include Lyric Opera of Kansas City as a Resident Artist, University of North Texas Opera in numerous roles and galas, The Dallas Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Opera in Concert, Opera North, and Wolf Trap Opera. Martin Luther Clark is sponsored by the Robert and Isabelle Bass Foundation, Inc., David and Janet Fox, and Richard O. Ryan. LUNGA ERIC HALLAM | ADULT NATHAN Previously at Lyric: Sunday in the Park with Lyric’s Rising Stars (2021/22). Second-year Ryan Opera Center tenor Lunga Eric Hallam is from Khayelitsha, South Africa. There, he founded a nonprofit organization called Phenomenal Opera Voices. He received his diploma and postgraduate (with honors) degrees in music training from the University of Cape Town College of Music. Recent engagements as a Young Artist at Cape Town Opera include Tebaldo/ I Capuleti e i Montecchi , Edgardo/ Lucia di Lammermoor , and Roberto/ Maria Stuarda , as well as Ramiro/ La Cenerentola at Cape Town Conservatory. He was featured as part of the 2017 Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe. Hallam competed as a semifinalist in the 2019 Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition and the 2019 Voice of South Africa International Singing Competition. Chicago appearances include the Harris Theater’s Beyond the Aria series alongside Joyce DiDonato. Lunga Eric Hallam is sponsored by The Ford,Mages, and Boykins Families; Richard W. Shepro and Lindsay E. Roberts; and Ms.Gay K. Stanek. NORMAN GARRETT | FOREMAN / ADULT JAMES Previously at Lyric: Jake/ Porgy and Bess (2014/15). In the 2021/22 season, the baritone makes his debut at Seattle Opera as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro . At the Metropolitan Opera, he appeared as the Foreman/Adult James in Fire Shut Up in My Bones , and as Jim in Porgy and Bess . He sang Jake in Porgy and Bess with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, on tour at both the Lucerne Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, with conductor Alan Gilbert. In the 2020/21 season, Garrett made his house debut at Theater an der Wien as Crown in Porgy and Bess , made his role debut as the title role in Don Giovanni at Dayton Opera, and sang Escamillo in Carmen at Opera Orlando. He has appeared at Houston Grand Opera (Ríolobo/ Florencia en el Amazonas ), Washington National Opera (Lieutenant Gordon/ Silent Night ) and the Bayerische Staatsoper (Larkens/ La fanciulla del West ).