Lyric 2022-2023 Special-The Brightness of Light

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 12 RENÉE FLEMING | SOPRANO Previouly at Lyric: 10 roles since 1993, most recently Hanna Glawari/ The Merry Widow (2015/16), The Countess/ Capriccio (2014/15). World-renowned American soprano Renée Fleming is one of the most highly acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the world’s greatest opera houses and concert halls. Honored with four Grammy awards and the U.S. National Medal of Arts, Fleming has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. In 2014, she brought her voice to a vast new audience as the first classical artist ever to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. She became Lyric Opera’s first-ever creative consultant in December 2010. At that time she was elected to the Board of Directors as a vice president, and three years later she was named adviser to the Ryan Opera Center. Fleming’s recent concert schedule has taken her to Paris, London, Vienna, Berlin, and Los Angeles. In September, Renée Fleming’s Cities That Sing , a series of IMAX films highlighting the music and culture of legendary cities, was launched in IMAX cinemas around the world, with a first episode featuring Paris. In November, she will star in the Metropolitan Opera’s world premiere staging of The Hours , a new opera by Kevin Puts. Known for bringing new audiences to classical music and opera, Fleming has starred in and hosted an array of television and radio broadcasts, including The Met: Live in HD and Live from Lincoln Center . Her voice is featured on the soundtracks of Best Picture Oscar winners The Shape of Water and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King . This 17-time Grammy nominated artist has recorded everything from complete operas and song recitals to jazz and indie rock. Among Fleming’s most significant projects at Lyric have been: serving as curator of Jimmy López’s Bel Canto , Lyric’s tenth new- opera commission, premiered in 2015; initiating the relationship between Lyric and The Second City, a collaboration that resulted in two cabaret productions, The Second City Guide to the Opera and Longer! Louder! Wagner! ; and spearheading Chicago Voices, a groundbreaking Lyric Unlimited initiative during 2016 and 2017 that engaged audiences through participatory arts experiences and dynamic cross-genre programming. Fleming was artistic director, as well as a featured artist, for the Chicago Voices Gala at the Lyric Opera House in 2017. In 2019, Fleming appeared opposite Ben Whishaw in Norma Jean Baker of Troy to open The Shed in New York City. Later that year, she starred in the London premiere of The Light in the Piazza , bringing the acclaimed production to Los Angeles and Chicago in the autumn. Fleming earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the 2018 Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel . ROD GILFRY | TENOR Previouly at Lyric: 3 roles since 1994, most recently Marcello/ La bohème (2001/02), Figaro/ Il barbiere di Siviglia (1994/95.) A two-time Grammy nominee, singer, and actor, Gilfry has performed in all the world’s music capitals and appears on more than 30 recordings. He is acclaimed worldwide in opera, musicals, recitals, and cabaret. His 75-role repertoire includes 13 leading roles he has created in new operas. Recent performances include David Lang’s solo opera the loser, Matthew Aucoin’s Crossing at LA Opera, and Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life at San Francisco Opera. He recently created the role of Claudius in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Glyndebourne and Adelaide Festivals, a role he reprised in the 2021/22 season at the Metropolitan Opera. Other appearances include the Marquis de la Force in Houston Grand Opera’s Dialogues of the Carmelites and Robert McNamara in the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s The Rift at the Washington National Opera. In 2019, he began a tour of Kevin Puts’s The Brightness of Light with Renée Fleming at the Tanglewood Festival, later performing with the National Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming engagements include Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Dallas Opera, Scarpia in Houston Grand Opera’s Tosca , and Claudius in Dean’s Hamlet and Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera. He is a former member of the Frankfurt and Zurich Opera ensembles, and is in his 14th year as a professor of vocal arts at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Artist profiles