Lyric Opera 2022-2023 Issue 5 - Le Comte Ory

25 | Lyric Opera of Chicago LAWRENCE BROWNLEE | ORY Previously at Lyric: Four roles since 2015/16, most recently Count Almaviva/ The Barber of Seville (2019/20) and Arturo/ I puritani (2017/18). This season, the celebrated American tenor will perform a program with fellow Rossini expert Michael Spyres titled Amici e Rivali at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and will premiere a program titled Rising , featuring Brownlee and pianist Kevin J. Miller performing songs with texts drawn from writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Earlier this season he made his role debut as Rodrigo in Rossini’s Otello as part of Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O22; upcoming roles include Elvino in Bellini’s La sonnambula at Teatro Real in Madrid, Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and Tamino in a new production of Die Zauber öte at the Metropolitan Opera. He has recently dazzled audiences in Amsterdam as Don Ramiro/ La Cenerentola and in Houston as Fernand/ La favorite . Upcoming engagements include Count Almaviva (San Francisco, New York), Arturo/ I puritani (Zurich), and Edgardo/ Lucia di Lammermoor (Tokyo). Brownlee has starred in bel canto repertoire at the Metropolitan Opera ( I puritani , La Cenerentola , The Barber of Seville , Rinaldo , La donna del lago ), in Zurich ( Le Comte Ory ), Paris ( Don Pasquale ), and Munich ( Semiramide ), among others. He was featured as Don Ramiro/ La Cenerentola at Lyric in 2015/16. Additionally, he has performed globally on prestigious stages including the Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Wiener Staatsoper. Brownlee has sung with major orchestras including those of Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, New York, Berlin, Rome, and Munich, and has been heard at renowned recital venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and The Kennedy Center. KATHRYN LEWEK | ADÈLE Previously at Lyric: Queen of the Night/ The Magic Flute (2016/17). One of opera’s most thrilling coloratura sopranos, Lewek’s recent role debuts include Ginevra/ Ariodante and Eurydice/ Orphée aux Enfers (Salzburger P ngstfestspiele), Teresa/ Benvenuto Cellini (Gran Teatre del Liceu), Konstanze/ Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Deutsche Oper Berlin and Bayerische Staatsoper Munich), and Violetta/ La traviata (Toledo Opera). Upcoming engagements include the Heroines/ Les contes d’Hoffmann (Deutsche Oper Berlin) and a reprise of the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor (Opéra de Nice). Lewek has surpassed the record for the most performances in the role of Queen of the Night/ The Magic Flute by a single artist at the Metropolitan Opera, this season marking her 50th performance at the house. She has performed the role with over 25 companies in over 300 performances to date, including Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bregenzer Festspiele, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real in Madrid, Festival d’Aix-en- Provence, Festival Castell de Peralada, Opera Leipzig, The Royal Danish Opera, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, amongst others. She will next sing the role in house débuts with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Semperoper Dresden. Lewek’s discography includes the DVDs of Orphée aux Enfers (2020) and Ariodante (2021), and her latest recording, Handel: Apollo e Dafne & Armida abbandonata , released in 2022. KAYLEIGH DECKER | ISOLIER Previously at Lyric: Three roles since 2018/19, most recently Kate Pinkerton/ Madama Butter y (2019/20) and Dorothée/ Cendrillon (2018/19). The mezzo-soprano made her debut at Lyric as Second Cretan Woman/ Idomeneo (2018/19), and spent two years as a Ryan Opera Center Ensemble member. This season, she will sing Ruggiero/ Alcina with Les Violons du Roy. Decker was selected to participate in the 2019 SongStudio at Carnegie Hall and, in the spring of 2018, was a Schwab Vocal Rising Star with Caramoor and the New York Festival of Song. She was chosen to return to Carnegie Hall in January 2020 to give a recital as part of the Citywide series. Decker is a former young artist of The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Utah Festival Opera. She has also been a participant in the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Vocal Academy. She is an alumna of the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she performed the title role/ Ariodante , the Fox/ The Cunning Little Vixen , Prince Charming/ Cendrillon , and Idamante/ Idomeneo . She also sang the title role in La Cenerentola with Queen City Opera, Peggy in Jack Perla’s Shalimar the Clown for Cincinnati Opera, and Fox in Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince for Cincinnati Chamber Opera. ZOIE REAMS | RAGONDE Previously at Lyric: Flora Bervoix/ La traviata (2018/19). This season, the American mezzo-soprano will appear at Lyric as Mezzo Soloist and Chief’s Daughter #2 in Proximity . Other upcoming engagements include Mandane/ Idaspe at Quantum Theatre, Beggar Woman/ Sweeney Todd at Austin Opera, and soloist in Messiah at Washington National Cathedral. Recent highlights include Lily in the Metropolitan Opera’s Porgy and Bess , Jane in Cincinnati Opera’s Castor and Patience , the title role/ Carmen (Opéra Louisiane), Artist pro les