Lyric Opera 2024-2025 Issue 7 - La bohème

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 30 and Dutch National Opera (Ned Keene/ Peter Grimes ), as well as in concerts at Carnegie Hall, San Francisco Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra (with Antonio Pappano), Oakland Symphony, National Sawdust, New York Festival of Song, StringTheory, the Concertgebouw, and the Oxford International Song Festival. He is co-composer of The Factotum , which premiered at Lyric in the 2022/23 Season. Liverman appears on the Metropolitan Opera recording of Fire Shut Up in My Bones , which won the 2024 Grammy award for Best Opera Recording; his Dreams of a New Day: Songs by Black Composers (Cedille, 2021) debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Traditional Classical chart and was Grammy-nominated for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. Liverman is an alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center and was a Glimmerglass Festival Young Artist. He has received the Marian Anderson Vocal Award, a Richard Tucker Career Grant, the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and the 2022 Beverly Sills award from the Metropolitan Opera. PEIXIN CHEN COLLINE Previously at Lyric: Monk/ Don Carlos (2022/23). Highlights for Chen this season include Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera and Atlanta Opera, Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore in a debut at Florida Grand Opera, and Sparafucile in Rigoletto at Los Angeles Opera. The bass recently made his debut at the Salzburger Festspiele playing the principal role of the General in a new Peter Sellars production of Prokofiev’s The Gambler . In the 2023/24 Season, Chen made his debut at the Teatro Real as Sparafucile in Rigoletto , returned to Los Angeles Opera as Commendatore in Don Giovanni , and debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a fully-staged presentation of Das Rheingold under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. Recent highlights include Turandot both at the Metropolitan Opera and at Washington National Opera, Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera, Das Rheingold at both Seattle Opera and the Dallas Opera, La Bohème with Washington National Opera, and Il barbiere di Siviglia at Cincinnati Opera. A graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Chen has bowed at Houston Grand Opera in productions of Le nozze di Figaro, Turandot, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Norma, Aida, Il trovatore, The Magic Flute , and Die Walküre . IAN RUCKER SCHAUNARD Previously at Lyric: Four roles since 2022/23, most recently Man in Bar/ Champion and Foreman/ Jen ˚ufa (both 2023/24) . The third-year Ryan Opera Center baritone from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, previously appeared at Lyric as Moralès/ Carmen and Raimbaud/ Le Comte Ory (both 2022/23). He holds a master’s degree in vocal performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where his roles included Count Almaviva/ The Marriage of Figaro and the title role/ The Barber of Seville . He has also appeared as Papageno/ The Magic Flute at Bloomington Chamber Opera and most recently 4th Servant/ Capriccio at the Salzburg Festival. Rucker earned his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he was heard in the title roles of Don Giovanni and Sweeney Todd , as well as Officer Lockstock/ Urinetown and Ernst Ludwig/ Cabaret . Concert engagements include Carmina Burana with the Northwest Indiana Symphony. Rucker is a former Palm Beach Opera Apprentice Artist and a former Aspen Music Festival Renée Fleming Artist. He recently received an Encouragement Award in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Wisconsin District) and first place in the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition. Ian Rucker is sponsored by Karen Petitte, Heidi Heutel Bohn, Julian Oettinger, and Jennifer L. Stone. LEVI HERNANDEZ BENOIT & ALCINDORO Previously at Lyric: Eleven roles since 2003/04, most recently Alvaro/ Florencia en el Amazonas (2021/22) and Schaunard/ La Bohème (2007/08). This season, Hernandez returns to Madison Opera for Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia , Lescaut in Manon Lescaut with the Washington Concert Opera, Handel‘s Messiah with the Tucson Symphony, a reprise of the role of Alvaro in Florencia en el Amazonas with North Carolina Opera, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Utah Symphony. Recent highlights for the El Paso-born baritone include the Father in Hansel and Gretel at Opera San Antonio, Dandini in La Cenerentola with Boston Lyric Opera, Tonio in Pagliacci with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Diego Rivera in El último sueño de Frida y Diego in a return to Opera Omaha, and appearances with the Virginia, Oregon, and Kansas City Symphonies in Handel’s Messiah . Hernandez joined Opera Idaho for its Celebrando a México concert, sang Lescaut in Manon Lescaut with North Carolina Opera, appeared with the El Paso Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem , and sang in Opera Idaho’s Opera in the Park concert. He reprised the title role in Gianni Schicchi with Tulsa Opera, debuted with Hawaii Opera Theatre as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly , and performed Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra. He appeared as Rappaccini in La hija de Rappaccini with Chicago Opera Theater. Additionally, he sang Tonio in Pagliacci with Opera Colorado and El Paso Opera, and Aba in El milagro del recuerdo with Houston Grand Opera. A 2002 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions finalist, he is also an alumnus of Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center. TRAVON D.WALKER PARPIGNOL Previously at Lyric: 3 roles this season, most recently Son/ Blue and First Prisoner/ Fidelio (both 2024/25) . The second-year Ryan Opera Center tenor recently received his master’s degree from Rice University, where he sang Sam Kaplan/ Street Scene . This season, he appeared at Lyric as Borsa/ Rigoletto and in his company debut with Opera Philadelphia as Valcour/ Joseph Bologne’s The Anonymous Lover. A native of Hinesville,