Lyric Opera 2024-2025 Issue 8 - The Listeners

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 8 From the General Director and the Chair New work is critical to the sustenance and furthering of this art form we all love. So I am overjoyed to welcome you to the first Lyric performances of The Listeners , a gripping new collaboration from the lauded composer-librettist team of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek. This production was co-commissioned by Lyric, Opera Philadelphia, and Norwegian Opera and Ballet, where it premiered in 2022. Missy is well-known to Chicago audiences from her two-year term as Mead Composer-in-Residence at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Royce’s opera Angel’s Bone , a collaboration with composer Du Yun, won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Two extraordinary singers lead our exceptional cast. Nicole Heaston stars as Claire, a role she also sang in Oslo and Philadelphia. Nicole is a Chicago native, and her recent triumphs include the title role in Barber’s Vanessa with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, Armida in Detroit Opera’s production of Handel’s Rinaldo , and the title role in Massenet’s Thaïs with Utah Opera. Kyle Ketelsen returns to Lyric as the charismatic and dangerous Howard. This will be his ninth role with us; he most recently appeared as Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love (2021/22). He is in demand around the world in a wide range of repertoire, most recently appearing as Adahm in Rudi Stephan’s Die ersten Menschen at the Dutch National Opera. This gathering of extraordinary talent — compositional, vocal, and literary –— is only possible because of your ongoing support. Thank you very much for being with us, and I hope you enjoy what promises to be a riveting performance. JOHN MANGUM President, General Director & CEO, The Women’s Board Endowed Chair Kyle Flubacker I am pleased to extend a warm welcome to you for this exciting new work, receiving its Lyric premiere. It is an occasion made even more special by the presence of Music Director Enrique Mazzola on the podium. Though internationally known as a Verdian of the highest order, Maestro Mazzola is also an experienced champion of contemporary work. In 2022 with the London Philharmonic, he led performances of Mazzoli’s lush orchestral work These Worlds in Us . At Lyric, he conducted last season’s Champion — an “opera in jazz,” as composer Terrence Blanchard describes it — and during his distinguished tenure at the Orchestre National d’Île de France, he commissioned and premiered numerous new compositions. Enrique’s great skill with contemporary sounds makes each of these performances a special occasion — and we are enormously grateful that you, our treasured audience, are joining us for this performance. I would like to take a moment to extend an invitation for you and your family to join us on April 26th for Explore Your Lyric . This newly re-conceived, multifaceted event is a rich blend of activities for families of all sizes, ages, and numbers. Guests will have the opportunity to visit the orchestra pit and speak with instrumentalists. There will be demonstrations of stage combat, a photo booth, face painting, and numerous other activities. Perhaps most exciting will be performances of Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World , the touring production of our Opera in the Neighborhoods program. Thank you to Bank of America for its sponsorship of this most special event. Lyric has been enjoying a transformative moment of success and excitement, forging new directions while building on the best of the past. Please enjoy this riveting show and please come back soon. SYLVIA NEIL Chair of the Board Todd Rosenberg