Lyric Opera 2022-2023, Issue 7, Factotum

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 14 Like its title derived from Latin ( fac : to do, to make; and totum : everything), The Factotum is an opera that crosses many traditional boundaries. It also brings together many previously unconnected things. The co-creators who made this “everything” opera are Will Liverman and Rocket Jackson, two artists who grew up knowing each other at the Governor’s School for the Arts in Virginia when they were voice students studying opera and music in high school. While Liverman stayed with opera, Jackson moved into jazz, hip hop, and production to become DJ King Rico. Both got their early music exposure in the Black church, primarily through gospel. Given their musical uency, it is not surprising that The Factotum comprises a wide range of musical styles—almost a little of everything from gospel, By Dr. Naomi André barbershop quartet, R&B, and jazz to funk, hip hop, and trap. The title character in Rossini’s Barber of Seville became a signature role early in Liverman’s career. While performing Figaro in different opera houses across the country, Liverman recounts, “what sparked the idea” for Factotum was “every time, no matter where you go on a gig, you’ve got to nd the Black barbershop in town.” Chicago as the setting made sense; as an alumnus of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center program, it is a place Liverman knows well. Since Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome in February of 1816, a lot has changed in how an opera is composed. Though in the nineteenth century the relationship between composers Paul Wilt. Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj,Will Liverman,and DJ King Rico take a break during a working session last year. The Factotum celebrates Black joy,merges in uences, and widens our view of what opera can be. Expanding the tradition