Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Issue 1 - The Flying Dutchman

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 28 TOMASZ KONIECZNY THE DUTCHMAN Previously at Lyric: Title role /Wozzeck (2015/16). The Polish bass-baritone first studied acting at the Film, Television and Theater Academy in his hometown of Łódú. He made his debut in a film directed by Oscar-winning director Andrzej Wajda and then worked as an actor/director in numerous television, film, and theater productions in Poland. Around the same time, he began his vocal studies at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy in Warsaw, which he continued at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden. Today, Konieczny is a regular guest at the most important international opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, the Vienna and Bavarian State Operas, the Opéra Bastille, the Zurich Opera House, the Teatro Real Madrid, the Semperoper Dresden, and many others, as well as at the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals. His repertoire includes roles such as Wotan/Wanderer in Der Ring des Nibelungen, Amfortas in Parsifal, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, the title roles in Der fliegende Holländer, Berg’s Wozzeck, and in Cardillac by Hindemith, Scarpia in Tosca, Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West, the Four Villains in The Tales of Hoffmann, Mandryka in Arabella, Barak in Die Frau ohne Schatten, Jochanaan in Salome, and Pizarro in Beethoven’s Fidelio. Konieczny has made numerous critically acclaimed CD and DVD recordings, including three separate recordings of the Ring cycle conducted by Marek Janowski, Christian Thielemann, and Sir Simon Rattle. A sought- after concert and lieder singer, Konieczny has worked with renowned conductors such as Adam Fischer, Sir Andrew Davis, Gianandrea Noseda, and Franz Welser-Möst. He has presented recital programs with great success in Dresden, Warsaw, Munich, Vienna, New York, and Tokyo. TAMARA WILSON SENTA Previously at Lyric: Elvira/ Ernani (2022/23) and Leonora/ Il trovatore (2018/19). Winner of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award, the Arizona-born dramatic soprano, who grew up in the Chicago area, has rapidly gained international recognition, particularly as the heroines of Verdi and Strauss. In the 2022/23 season, she appeared in a new production of Lohengrin at the Metropolitan Opera, a new Turandot at Dutch National Opera, and in Tosca at Houston Grand Opera. In the 2021/22 season, she appeared in Fidelio at Teatro la Fenice, Tristan und Isolde at the Santa Fe Opera, and in Lyric’s Verdi Voices . She has previously triumphed in Il trovatore in Barcelona, Houston, Toulouse, and Mallorca. Among the 10 other Verdi operas in her stage repertoire are I due Foscari (Toulouse, Santiago, Amsterdam), La forza del destino (London, Olivier Award nomination), Don Carlos (Houston, Munich, Zurich, Frankfurt), and Un ballo in maschera (Berlin, Washington). In the 2018/19 season, she returned to the Metropolitan Opera ( Aida ) and the Zurich Opera House (Chrysothemis/ Elektra ), and made her mainstage debut at La Scala (the Prima Donna and Ariadne/ Ariadne auf Naxos , after appearing with the company in the Verdi Requiem ). Her versatility extends to Don Giovanni (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra), Norma (Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu), Die Walküre (BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), and Die Fledermaus (in Japan under Ozawa). In demand for concert works, Wilson has made acclaimed appearances with the major orchestras of New York, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago, London, and Amsterdam, among many others. She appears on CD in the Frankfurt production of Die Frau ohne Schatten . ROBERT WATSON ERIK Lyric debut This season, the American tenor will make his role debut as Siegmund/ Die Walküre at Staatsoper Unter den Linden and debut at Santa Fe Opera as the Prince/ Rusalka . He will sing the title role/ Les contes d’Hoffmann and Matteo/ Arabella and make his role debut as Florestan/ Fidelio at Deutsche Oper Berlin, sing B.F. Pinkerton/ Madama Butterfly at Palm Beach Opera, and Ismaele/ Nabucco with Deutsche Oper Berlin. The 2021/22 season began with his Metropolitan Opera debut as Moser/ Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and continued with his return to Deutsche Oper Berlin as Don Carlo, to Opéra National de Montpellier as Bacchus/ Ariadne auf Naxos, and to Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Cavaradossi. Additionally, Watson made his house and role debut at Opernhaus Zürich opera as Turiddu/ Cavalleria rusticana . He has appeared in concert as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s 9thSymphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony and in Verdi’s Requiem with the Florence Masterwork’s Choral Society. He has performed in recital at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the ensemble of Deutsche Oper Berlin where he has performed numerous roles including Ismaele/ Nabucco, Grigori/ Boris Godunov , Bois-Rose/ Les Huguenots, Cavaradossi/ Tosca , Erik/ Der fliegende Holländer , and the messenger in Aida . Artist pro les z