Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Issue 7 - Aida

31 | Lyric Opera of Chicago ÖNAY KÖSE RAMFIS Lyric debut The Turkish bass is a former member of Berlin’s Komische Oper, where he performed a variety of roles including Prince Gremin/ Eugene Onegin and Sarastro/ Die Zauberflöte . Current projects include Oroveso/ Norma with Strasbourg and the Boston Youth Symphony. Recent highlights include his return to the Canadian Opera Company as Banquo/ Macbeth , and debuts in Dijon and Strasbourg as Jorg/ Stiffelio , andwith Opéra national de Lorraine and the Grand-Théâtre de Luxembourg as Sparafucile/ Rigoletto . He also appearedwith the Teatre Principal in Palma deMallorca as Sarastro. Köse sang Timur/ Turandot , Lodovico/ Otello , and Colline/ La bohème with the Canadian Opera Company, and debutedwith Oper Köln as Timur and at the TeatroMunicipal in Santiago, Chile as Oroveso. In concert, Köse sang Lodovico and the Herald/ Otello with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel at the Hollywood Bowl, and performed in recital at Bard’s Summerscape festival in various Russian pieces. He also sang the bass solo in Verdi’s Requiem with the Cäcilienchor in Frankfurt. Prior to that, Köse made his debut with Oper Frankfurt as Sparafucile in a newproduction of Rigoletto . WM. CLAY THOMPSON KING Previously at Lyric: Zuniga/ Carmen and Second Courtier/ Le Comte Ory (both 2022/23). The American bass is a second-year Ryan Opera Center member and a two-time District winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. He debuted at Arizona Opera (Zuniga/ Carmen ) and the Metropolitan Opera (Octet Singer/Brett Dean’s Hamlet ). Thompson is a former participant in the Santa Fe Opera and Wolf Trap Opera young-artist programs. From 2017 to 2019, he was a Resident Artist at Minnesota Opera, performing in operas of Mozart, Verdi, Massenet, Puccini, Jake Heggie, Kevin Puts, and Joel Puckett ( The Fix , a world premiere). Among other companies, Thompson has been featured at the Château de Versailles Spectacles (Suleyman Pasha/ The Ghosts of Versailles ), The Glimmerglass Festival ( The Cunning Little Vixen , Silent Night , West Side Story , Noye’s Fludde , The Ghosts of Versailles , and La traviata ), and Fort Worth Opera (Zuniga/ Carmen and Raymond Buck/ David T. Little’s JFK , in a world premiere). Wm. Clay Thompson is sponsored by the J.Thomas Hurvis Endowment. KATHRYN HENRY PRIESTESS Previously at Lyric: Title role/ Jen ˚ufa (2023/24) and Passenger 1/ Proximity (2022/23). The soprano is a second-year Ryan Opera Center member. In the summer of 2021, she portrayed Lucy Harker/John Corigliano’s The Lord of Cries (world premiere) at the Santa Fe Opera, a role she has since recorded that received a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording. A former Baumgartner Studio Artist at Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera, she appeared there as Barbarina/ The Marriage of Figaro , Micaëla/ La tragédie de Carmen , and the title role/Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon . As a Toulmin Foundation Scholar at the Juilliard School of Music, Henry portrayed Arminda/ La finta giardiniera . A native of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the soprano has appeared at the Harris Theater’s Beyond the Aria series as well as with the National Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She was invited to participate in Carnegie Hall’s 2022 SongStudio with Renée Fleming and Ravinia’s 2020 Steans Music Institute. Henry was a finalist in the 2015 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and the 2018 Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition, among others. Kathryn Henry is sponsored by Lead Sponsor The C.G. Pinnell Family and cosponsors Patricia A. Kenney and Gregory J. O’Leary . ALEJANDRO LUÉVANOS MESSENGER Previously at Lyric: Four roles, most recently Passenger 6/ Proximity and Lillas Pastia/ Carmen (both 2022/23). Born in Durango, Mexico, the second-year member of the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble made his debut last season as Riccardo/ Ernani . His appearances in Mexico include Don José/ Carmen (Toluca Philharmonic Orchestra); Borsa/ Rigoletto , Count Almaviva/ The Barber of Seville, and scenes from Il trovatore (Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México); and Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Petite Messe Solennelle , as well as an opera gala with Ramón Vargas (all at Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes). Luévanos was previously a two-year member of the Opera Studio at the Bellas Artes, where he is scheduled to return to appear in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk . A former participant in the International Summer Program in Sankt Goar, Germany, he is also a 2021 and 2022 winner of the Mexico District in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Alejandro Luévanos is sponsored by an Anonymous Lead Donor. CHASE BUNTROCK DANCER Previously at Lyric: Jen ˚ufa (2023/24) and Carmen (2022/23). After attending Chicago Academy for the Arts, Buntrock received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from The Juilliard School. He then joined Ballet BC under the direction of Emily Molnar in Vancouver, BC. He has performed works on international stages by Crystal Pite, Sharon Eyal, Merce Cunningham, Roy Assaf, and more. He has collaborated with the PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, Ballare Carmel located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and the Bay Area’s Post:Ballet. Buntrock recently assisted movement direction for the Wiederhoeft fashion show at NYFW, and debuted a work commissioned by Montréal based circus performer Madi Ward for her digital art gallery Amphibious Duality.