Gounod R E AD JIe LYRIC OPERA of CHICAGO Table of Contents CLÄRCHEN BAUS-MATTAR and MATTHIAS BAUS / SALZBURG FESTIVAL
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2015/16 Season Gounod R e ad Jie LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO Table of Contents CLÄRCHEN BAUS-MATTAR AND MATTHIAS BAUS / SALZBURG FESTIVAL IN THIS ISSUE Romeo and Juliet – pp. 24-38 6 From the General Director 44 Patron Salute RUNNING THE 8 From the President 46 Aria Society SHOW pp. 16-22 10 Board of Directors 55 Breaking New Ground/ 12 Women’s Board/Guild Board/ Look to the Future Chapters’ Executive Board/ 57 Major Contributors – Special Ryan Opera Center Board Events and Project Support 14 Administration/Administrative 58 Ryan Opera Center Staff/Production and Technical Staff 59 Ryan Opera Center Contributors 16 Running the Show 60 Lyric Unlimited Contributors 24 Tonight’s Performance 61 Planned Giving: 25 Synopsis The Overture Society 27 Cast 63 Annual Corporate Support 28 Artist Profiles 64 Matching Gifts, Special Thanks 35 Opera Notes and Acknowledgements 40 Musical Staff/Orchestra/Chorus 65 Annual Individual and Foundation Support 42 Artistic Roster 71 Commemorative Gifts 43 Supernumeraries/Lyric Unlimited/ Education Corps 72 Facilities and Services/Theater Staff On the cover: Costume sketches by Catherine Zuber for the title roles of Romeo and Juliet. 2 | February 22 - March 19, 2016 LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO Since 1991 www.performancemedia.us | 847-770-4620 3453 Commercial Avenue, Northbrook, IL 60062 Gail McGrath Publisher & President Sheldon Levin Publisher & Director of Finance A. 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Nothing may be reproduced in any manner without written permission. © 2016 Performance Media & Gail McGrath & Associates, Inc. is a Woman Owned Business TRUST YOUR FACE to the FACE EXPERT Eye bag removal with no visible incision is just one of the Dr. Geroulis performs facial plastic surgery and cosmetic cosmetic procedures performed at the skillful hand of procedures that provide longer lasting, natural looking Dr. Anthony Geroulis. Dr. Geroulis is an artist/sculptor results. His unique methods dramatically shorten patients’ and thus considers each patient’s face an art form. recovery time. Known as ‘the surgeon who teaches surgeons,’ Cosmetic procedures include upper and lower eyelid Dr. Geroulis, a clinical professor of surgery at the University enhancement, forehead/brow lift, face and neck lift, lip of Chicago hospitals, is nationally recognized as a ‘Top and nose enhancement, and laser wrinkle reduction. Doctor’ in U.S. News & World Report. His North Shore Call or email to schedule a consultation today. Let Center for Cosmetic Surgery is a state-of-the-art Dr. Geroulis restore the youth that still lives within you! surgical facility. Dr. Anthony Geroulis Email: [email protected] Phone: 847.441.4441 www.geroulis.com North Shore: Downtown: Northwest: North Shore Center for Cosmetic Surgery Olympia Center (Neiman Marcus Building) St. Alexius Medical Center 330 West Frontage Rd. 737 North Michigan Ave., Suite 1045 1555 Barrington Rd., Suite 3350 Northfield, IL 60093 Chicago, IL 60611 Doctors Building Three Hoffman Estates, IL 60169 4 | February 22 - March 19, 2016 LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO From the General Director Of all subjects that opera composers and librettists have taken on over the centuries, love is the most prevalent and the most cherished by audiences everywhere. Love in all its aspects presents operatic creators with every possibility for drama as well as for lyrical expression, encompassing every shade of emotion. For many, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, written well over 400 years ago, remains the most romantic story ever written. Of all love stories in literary history, it’s surely this one that has awakened more people to the joys – and, of course, the sorrows – of young love. Take the magic of the play, add to it Charles Gounod’s breathtaking LEONARD STEVE music, and you have a rapturously beautiful event in the opera house. I truly believe that if you haven’t seen Gounod’s opera, you haven’t yet experienced the full impact of this unforgettable tale. Like Vincenzo Bellini before him with I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Leonard Bernstein after him with West Side Story, and countless other composers, Gounod was powerless to resist the attraction of the ultimate star-crossed lovers. The musical highlights of his opera are unforgettable, including no fewer than four glorious duets for the youthful hero and heroine. We’re presenting Romeo and Juliet in an exceptionally exciting production. It’s directed by Bartlett Sher, long celebrated for his achievements in theater and musicals, who has in recent years achieved great distinction in opera. I saw his production a few years ago at the Salzburg Festival and fell in love with it. Since then, it’s been triumphantly received at La Scala. Michael Yeargan’s imposing sets and Catherine Zuber’s lavish costumes contribute to the production’s achievement in capturing the essence of Shakespeare’s original story. If ever an opera required a special chemistry between its two leading artists, it’s this one. That chemistry will be evident onstage at Lyric in our marvelous cast. Returning to the company is a great favorite of our audiences, Ryan Opera Center alumna Susanna Phillips. Her tenure in the program actually included a highly successful last-minute substitution as Juliet on the Lyric stage. Since then she has gone on to star at the Metropolitan Opera and many other major companies. Sharing the role of Romeo are two of today’s most eminent tenors, Joseph Calleja and Eric Cutler. Joseph is returning to us for his first French role at Lyric, after great successes as tenor heroes of Verdi and Puccini. Eric has already exhibited his prowess in French opera at Lyric with his marvelous portrayal of Nadir in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers. I’m delighted that this quintessentially French opera will be led by one of today’s most remarkable French conductors, Emmanuel Villaume, music director of The Dallas Opera, who has led many Lyric performances. The innate stylistic flair of his music-making, combined with his sense of elegance and romance, is always a joy and will add immeasurably to this opera in its eagerly awaited return to our stage. Anthony Freud 6 | February 22 - March 19, 2016 LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO From the President I’m thrilled to begin my tenure as President of Lyric Opera for many reasons, but above all, because opera has become a vital element of my life, both personally and professionally. In the early 1990s, when my company was about five years old, I realized that in the marketing world you took clients to a Bulls Game, or to Wrigley Field – there was a customary set of entertainment venues. But rather than a sports outing, what if we treated them to the opera? We began bringing clients, for whom it was unique and unforgettable, introducing them to an art form they’d heard about but never experienced. For me, it checked the boxes on the business side, but it also nurtured in me an enduring love for opera. I’d grown up in New Jersey listening to WQXR, hearing the Met on the radio, but becoming a subscriber and enjoying opera in the theater was ROSENBERG TODD brand new to me. It’s been my great pleasure to be a Lyric subscriber since 1992. l feel a special excitement every opening night, and when I return to a production a second or third time, I always see things I hadn’t seen before. My wife and I continue to introduce people to Lyric, many of whom have become subscribers themselves. When I was growing up in the 1960s and ’70s, people frequently responded to opera as something classic, almost old world, best seen and heard in traditional performances. Today, however, I relish the broad range of theatrical interpretation. I’m struck every season by performances that communicate a particular resonance with what’s happening culturally or socially in our world at the time. Certain truths captured so memorably in opera are timeless, still challenging us as they challenged these works’ original audiences. I think of recent productions, such as Rusalka or The Passenger – each was a truly visceral experience that stayed with me for weeks. This year I’m looking forward with great anticipation to Lyric’s new production of The Marriage of Figaro, and especially to the world premiere of Bel Canto. Under my watch, the next chapter in Lyric’s history will implement the strategic plan the management and board developed four years ago. The principles of excellence, relevance, and fiscal responsibility are our key priorities of focus. I’m excited to witness Lyric becoming a broader provider of cultural service to Chicago and the Chicagoland region. To stay excellent, relevant, and fiscally responsible in this rapidly changing world, we need to be prepared to innovate. That means looking beyond the customary constraints of our art form and asking, “What can we learn, borrow, beg, or steal from other forms of entertainment and cultural enrichment?” One idea behind the board’s innovation committee has been to empower a small group of board members to do just that.