Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Issue 4 - Jenufa

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 34 Don Giovanni , and Turco in Italia ), Paris ( Alcina ), Copenhagen ( Alceste ), Vienna (where he assisted on Intermezzo , Der Prinz von Homburg , and La Donna del Lago at the Theater an der Wien, and worked on Alceste at the Staatsoper), Amsterdam (assisting Loy’s Les vêpres siciliennes and Königskinder ), and Los Angeles ( Turco in Italia ). His own directing projects at the Frankfurt Opera include The Excursions of Mr. Brouˇcek to the Moon and to the 15th Century by Janáˇcek, Curlew River by Benjamin Britten (which received a restaging at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw), and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress . A longtime collaborator at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Weidauer’s productions there include Lulu (2009), Rodelinda (2017), Don Carlo (2019), and Rusalka (2020), and he will return for the revival of Loy’s Arabella this season. MICHAEL LEVINE SET DESIGNER Previously at Lyric: Seven operas since 1991/92, most recently Eugene Onegin (2016/17) and Tannhäuser (2014/15). The Canadian designer was awarded Designer of the Year at the 2022 International Opera Awards for Madame Butterfly (Bregenz Festival) and the Olivier Award for Best New Opera in 2020 for Billy Budd (Royal Opera House), as well as the 2019 Dora Award for Outstanding Scenic Design and Costume Design for Eugene Onegin (Canadian Opera Company). Among his numerous opera credits are Madame Butterfly (Bregenz Festival); Peter Grimes (Opéra de Paris, Royal Opera House, Teatro Real Madrid); The Magic Flute (Metropolitan Opera, Aix-en-Provence, English National Opera, Dutch National Opera); Jen ˚ufa , The Flying Dutchman (Royal Opera House); Semele , The Cunning Little Vixen (State Opera Munich); Turandot , Carmen (Dutch National Opera); Iphigenie en Tauride, Sweeney Todd , Madame Butterfly , Wozzeck , The Queen of Spades (Zurich); Billy Budd (Madrid, Rome, ROH); The Rake’s Progress, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Aix-en-Provence); Die Tote Stadt (Komische Oper); Le Petit Prince (National Ballet Canada); Between Worlds , The Magic Flute, Madame Butterfly (ENO); Parsifal (Metropolitan Opera, Lyon); Rape of Lucretia , Poppea (Glyndebourne); A Dog’s Heart (Amsterdam, ENO, La Scala, Lyon); Candide (Châtelet, ENO, La Scala, Japan); Elektra , Rusalka , Nabucco (Paris Opera); Mefistofele (San Francisco); Don Giovanni (La Scala) ; Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Paris Opera, La Scala); Rigoletto (Teatro Real Madrid, Rome); Siegfried, Das Rheingold , The Ring Cycle (Canadian Opera); Tannhäuser (ROH, Chicago); Rigoletto (Canadian Opera Company, ENO); Dialogues of the Carmelites (La Scala, Canadian Opera Company, Nice, Vienna). CLÍONA NÍ MHOCHÁIN ASSISTANT SET DESIGNER Lyric debut The designer has worked as a production manager for numerous operas including Rusalka, Theodora, Jen ˚ufa, Seven Deadly Sins & Mahagonny Songspiel, Don Pasquale, The Return of Ulysses, The Monstrous Child, and ATTHIS, at the Royal Opera House. Her ballet credits include Royal Ballet: A Diamond Celebration and Unknown Soldier at the Royal Opera House; Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (Royal Opera House, Zoonation, Roundhouse); and Kin and Quatrain (Birmingham Royal Ballet). She has worked on theater productions in various roles at the Young Vic, National Theatre of Scotland, Sonia Freedman Productions, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Sheffield Theatres, Longborough Festival Opera, Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman, Perth International Arts Festival, Darwin Fringe Festival, Mayor’s London Festival, Galway International Arts Festival, Wexford Festival Opera, Cúirt Festival, and Druid Theatre Company. GESINE VÖLLM COSTUME DESIGNER Lyric debut Since 1998, Völlm has designed the costumes for many German and international productions for opera, theater, and dance theater. She has worked with stage directors such as Stefan Herheim in Bayreuth, at the Salzburg Festival, and in many European opera houses. Starting in 2020, she has collaborated frequently with director Claus Guth, starting with Jen ˚ufa at the Royal Opera House, followed by Il Viaggio, Dante , composed by Pascal Dusapin, and Handel’s Semele at the Munich National Opera. Earlier highlights include Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, Die Meistersinger at the Salzburg Festival, Sicilian Vespers at the Royal Opera House, and Rosenkavalier at the National Opera Stuttgart, all with director Stefan Herheim, for which she was named Costume Designer of the Year in Germany three times. Gesine Völlm is supported by the Richard P. and Susan Kiphart Endowed Chair. JAMES FARNCOMBE LIGHTING DESIGNER Lyric debut The designer’s numerous opera credits include Lessons in Love and Violence (Gran Teatre del Liceu, Dutch National Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Hamburg State Opera); Theodora (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden); Lucia di Lammermoor (Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera); Le Vin Herbé (Berliner Staatsoper); Innocence (Helsinki, Covent Garden); Pelléas et Mélisande and Alcina (Bolshoi), Tristan und Isolde (Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg), Ariadne auf Naxos and Trauernacht (Aix-en-Provence); La traviata (Opéra de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper); Street Scene (Teatro Real, Madrid); Der Zwerg (Dutch National Opera); Francesca da Rimini (Opéra national du Rhin); Miranda (Opéra Comique); The Barber of Seville (Glyndebourne); Marriage of Figaro (Opera North); Carmen, Der Fliegende Holländer, and Ariodante (Scottish Opera); Pelléas et Mélisande (Den Norske Opera); Benjamin, dernière nuit (Opèra de Lyon); and Blue and Die tote Stadt (English National Opera). Lighting designers are supported by the Mary-Louise and James S.Aagaard endowment in honor of Duane Schuler.