Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Issue 4 - Jenufa

33 | Lyric Opera of Chicago MARTIN ORTIZ TAPIA DANCER Previously at Lyric: West Side Story (2018/19 and 2022/23). Ortiz Tapia spent nearly a decade touring with Giordano Dance Chicago as a company member. He has appeared in productions of Saturday Night Fever, Newsies, Cabaret, Mary Poppins, and most recently A Chorus Line. He earned a BFA fromUniversity of Wisconsin Stevens Point, and has trained also at Luna Negra Dance Theater and Thodos Dance Chicago. ASHLEY RIVETTE DANCER Lyric debut The Chicago-based freelance dancer began her training in Stuttgart, Germany, where her family was stationed for eight years. In 2021, she received a BFA in Dance from Shenandoah Conservatory. She apprenticed with Christopher K. Morgan & Artists during their 2019 and 2020 seasons, then danced for two seasons with DanceWorks Chicago (DWC) under the direction of Julie Nakagawa. Her DWC repertoire included works by Robert Battle, Charissa-Lee Barton, Joshua Manculich, Mark Caserta, Demis Volpi, Hanna Brictson, Drew Lewis, and Brian Enos. She was a member of the 2022 NewDances company, performing works by Chicago artists Trey Johnson and Marco Pizano. Rivette currently dances with Boykin Dance Project, founded by Brian Martinez. BRANDON TALBOTT DANCER Lyric debut A veteran of numerous competitive TV dance shows, Talbott studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he appeared in work by choreographers Doug Varone, Ashley Lindsey, Juel D. Lane, and Stephanie Martinez, and in the school’s annual production of The Nutcracker. Brandon joined Visceral Dance Chicago in 2021, and has performed with AJA Talent, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, the Candlelight Series, Zikr Dance Ensemble, Freckled Sky, and Symbiosis Arts. JAKUB HR Ů ŠA CONDUCTOR Lyric debut Born in the Czech Republic, Hr ˚uša is Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Formerly Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, in the 2025/26 season he will become the new Music Director of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London. He has led productions for the Salzburg Festival ( Kát’a Kabanová with the Vienna Philharmonic), Vienna State Opera and Zurich Opera ( The Makropulos Affair ), Royal Opera House, Covent Garden ( Carmen and Lohengrin ), and Opéra national de Paris ( Rusalka ). He has also been a regular guest with Glyndebourne Festival, conducting Vanessa, The Cunning Little Vixen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Carmen, The Turn of the Screw, Don Giovanni, and La bohème, and served as Music Director of Glyndebourne on Tour for three years. He is a frequent guest with many of the world’s greatest orchestras, performing regularly with the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, NHK Symphony, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and in the U.S. with The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, he received the Opus Klassik Conductor of the Year award and the ICMA prize for Symphonic Music for his recording of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, and the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for his recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, both with Bamberg Symphony. His recording of the Dvorˇák Violin Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony and Augustin Hadelich was nominated for a Grammy Award. CLAUS GUTH ORIGINAL DIRECTOR Lyric debut Born in Frankfurt, the renowned artist began his career directing productions in Munich, Mannheim, and Hamburg to international acclaim. He worked at Theater an der Wien, contributing to the Monteverdi trilogy and staging versions of Handel’s Messiah and Schubert’s Lazarus, as well as Handel’s Orlando . He has collaborated also with Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House in London, Dutch National Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Glyndebourne Festival, Staatsoper Berlin, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Metropolitan Opera, and Deutsche Oper, among others. Guth’s experience with Wagner’s operas include remarkable productions including Lohengrin at La Scala, Tannhäuser at the Wiener Staatsoper, Tristan und Isolde at Opernhaus Zürich, and the complete Ring Cycle for the Hamburg Staatsoper. He opened the 2022/23 season at Teatro San Carlo in Naples with the new production of Don Carlo , followed by Elektra at Oper Frankfurt, and Semele at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. At the Park Avenue Armory he reimagined Franz Schubert’s Schwanengesang as Doppelgänger , a production that is part performance and part installation performed by the tenor Jonas Kaufmann. AXEL WEIDAUER REVIVAL DIRECTOR Previously at Lyric: Revival Director/ Don Carlos (2022/23). The freelance director and assistant director has extensive international opera experience, at Berlin (Dale Duesing’s production of L’Etoile and Christof Loy’s Falstaff ), Barcelona (a revival of Loy’s Abduction from the Seraglio , Arabella ,