Lyric Opera 2022-2023 Issue 9 - Proximity

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 72 WHAT IS YOUR ROLE HERE AT LYRIC,AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THE POSITION? I am the Manager, Orchestra and Assistant Conductors, a member of the Music Administration team here at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and I took this role in July 2021. WHAT KEEPS YOU COMMITTED TO THE WORKYOU DO? Regular opportunities to help produce historic moments for this art form keep me committed to my work. This season includes two world premiere productions that prominently depict the Black experience in America, The Factotum and Proximity , true testaments to the progress that opera as an art form has made. My position is one of many at Lyric that has made it possible for these productions to be workshopped, rehearsed, and ultimately performed. That has helped me push through the more challenging aspects of my role. WHAT LED YOU TO WORK AT LYRIC? When I was at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, one of my bosses oversaw Artistic Planning for the ASO and Cincinnati Opera. His career inspired me to achieve the same versatility in my career. This opening at Lyric has given me the chance to apply my orchestra management experience to a major American opera house. WHAT IS SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR JOB THAT PEOPLE MIGHT NOT KNOW? My title may seem self-explanatory, but it does not explain the many aspects of my role. I mainly assist with the contracting and compensation of our Orchestra and Assistant Conductors. I plan internal and national auditions for vacancies that may arise in either of these groups. I assist with the negotiation and interpretation of collective bargaining agreements between Lyric Opera and the Chicago Federation of Musicians. I also administer Lyric’s instrument insurance policy and facilitate the procurement of instruments we need for our productions, when they are not in our inventory. And there’s more where that came from! A FAVORITE LYRIC MOMENT? Meeting Terence Blanchard! Lyric produced Fire Shut Up in My Bones last season. Terence composed the score, and Kasi Lemmons wrote the libretto. I’m a huge lm music nerd, and Terence Blanchard has been one of my favorite lm composers since I was a child. He composed the score for Kasi Lemmons’s Eve’s Bayou , an iconic movie from the 90s that I consider a must- see! I only shook Terence’s hand and spoke to him for a second, but it was such an exciting moment for me. WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF YOUR JOB? Much like many of my colleagues who work in nonpro t performing arts, I have a hard time maintaining a rm line between work and life. When your livelihood is centered on your passion, it is very easy to forget that you are, in fact, working. Couple that with the “show must go on” culture that is so prominent in this industry, and the challenge becomes clearer. Even when you do a decent job of maintaining healthy boundaries, doing so takes a considerable amount of energy. BEYOND OPERA,WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER PASSIONS? I am a book, music, and movie nerd! Sci- /fantasy is my favorite genre of books and movies. I can listen to almost any genre of music, but my favorites are alt-rock (grunge, garage, indie, folk), hip-hop, and R&B. And I create all of these in my spare time. People of Lyric Kourtnea Stevenson Manager, Orchestra and Assistant Conductors