Lyric Opera 2022-2023 Issue 1-Ernani

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 6 On the cover Painted by the Venetian master Titian in 1533, this work—not of the titular Ernani, but of Charles V, King of Spain—may have had outsized importance in the artist’s life. While thought to be a copy of another painter’s full- length portrait (a practice more common and accepted in the 16th century), Titian’s numerous, subtle alterations make it both more visually arresting and flattering to its subject than the original. The silver half-cloak (a courtly element) and the military-style trousers, identical in the two works, combine to create an image of both sophistication and power. Titian received generous payment, was made a Knight of the Golden Spur, and was granted exclusivity to make the Emperor’s portraits. The connection proved long-lasting: 15 years after this painting was made, Titian was introduced to Charles’ son, Philip II. He painted the young prince’s portrait and, eventually, “the pair’s artistic relationship [became] one of the most fecund of the Renaissance,” according to curators at the Museo del Prado. Three centuries later, the lives of these powerful nobles would yield plenty of riveting material for Giuseppe Verdi as well, in both Ernani (1844) and Don Carlos (1866), which centers around Charles V’s grandson. Titian, Vecellio di Gregorio. Emperor Charles V with a dog , 1533. Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado. ©Photographic Archive Museo Nacional del Prado Tickets from $39 lyricopera.org Join us again this season for more thrilling performances . PHOTO: CORY WEAVER/SAN FRANCISCO OPERA 2022 | 23 SEASON Fiddler on the Roof | Don Carlos Le Comte Ory | Hansel and Gretel The Factotum | Carmen | Proximity West Side Story | The Brightness of Light J’Nai Bridges stars as Carmen