Lyric Opera 2022-2023 Issue 6 - Hansel and Gretel

17 | Lyric Opera of Chicago Kyle Flubacker great deal, but the final selections are made based on performances by one voice, singing with one piano, on one of the grandest stages anywhere in the world. Even for a place that is routinely home to extraordinary exhibitions of human talent, the Ryan Opera Center Final Auditions make for a special day. The volume of time and energy invested leading up to it, not just from the talented emerging artists but also from the pianists who play the auditions and many other staff at Lyric, can hardly be calculated. Each singer performs their arias, then waits until everyone has had their turn. The judges confer throughout the day, then finish with an intense final session. Once decisions are made, the singers learn the results, and those selected sign their contracts, right on the spot. This season’s auditions resulted in the selection of two mezzo-sopranos, one tenor, and one bass-baritone, who will join the 2023/24 Ensemble’s returning eight singers. Those who aren’t selected leave with an indelible experience under their belts, and it’s not uncommon for them to return at a future date. “Watching the talent on the stage, the possibilities are endless. And it’s always tremendous fun. It makes our blood pressure go up, but it also opens our hearts,” says Terry. “Because that’s what this career is, what the job is— what is, for all of us, the reason that we’re here doing what we do. We want to find artists who can deliver when the pressure is on—who have the ability to connect. Singers who can stand in front of the audience and light it up.” The first portrait of the 2023/24 Patrick G.and Shirley W.Ryan Opera Center Ensemble, with Lyric Opera leadership,taken at the conclusion of the Final Auditions .