Lyric Opera 2024-2025 Issue 8 - The Listeners

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 14 operatic version of the band’s smash double album, about to mark its 30th anniversary. Thus was born A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness , a seven-night run with soloists including Corgan at center stage, the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus, and a groundbreaking musical experience. Fusing rock and operatic grandeur, this one- of-a-kind event reimagines a beloved classic on an epic scale. Mellon Collie promises to push boundaries and leave a lasting impression on all who experience it. Then comes another work of grand scale. For the first time in 20 years, Lyric will present Richard Strauss’s Salome , in Sir David McVicar’s production of this opera adapted from Oscar Wilde’s one-act play of the same name. Set in 1940s fascist Italy, the production features Elena Stikhina as the teenage femme fatale whose greed and infatuation lead to fatal consequences. Brandon Jovanovich as Herod and Tanja Ariane Baumgartner as Herodias share the stage in this moving production, unafraid to shine a light on the timeless themes of the entitlement and avarice of the wealthy and elite. Joined by conductor Tomáš Netopil and director Julia Burbach in their Lyric debuts, this timely production is sure to leave audiences absolutely breathless. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Lyric is excited to present the second work in the Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy, the enduring and amusing Così fan tutte . This production, set in a stylish 1930s seaside resort, is practically a modern- day rom-com. Making their debuts as the (possibly) duped Fiordiligi and Dorabella are noted Mozartians Jacquelyn Stucker and Cecilia Molinari; they are paired with the Ryan Opera Center’s Ian Rucker as Guglielmo and Anthony León, in his Lyric debut, as Ferrando. Grammy winners Ana María Martínez, as Despina, and Rod Gilfry, as Don Alfonso, round out the bravura cast. International superstar Renée Fleming makes her much-anticipated return to the Lyric stage for one night only on Thursday, February 5, 2026, with a program based on her 2023 Grammy-winning album and performed with pianist Inon Barnatan. Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene , created in partnership with the National Geographic Society, which curates the recital’s immersive video elements, blends classic Romantic era works and contemporary selections in a program that captures the evolution of the human experience in nature. Continuing the string of exciting debuts next season are those of Karah Son, as Cio-Cio-San, and Evan LeRoy Johnson, as Pinkerton, in Puccini’s beloved Madama Butterfly . Newcomers to opera will be captivated by Philip Groshong / Cincinnati Opera Tristram Kenton / Royal Oopera House Cory Weaver / San Francisco Opera