Review: The Lyric Opera Sharpens the Cutting Edge with The Listeners
The Lyric Opera of Chicago is refreshing classical music by bringing in newer works. The Listeners is written by Missy Mazzoli with a libretto by Royce Vavrek based on the […]
Review: Lyric Opera’s New Version of La Boheme Is Set in a Realistic Paris and Sounds Wonderful
This may be the fourth time I have seen La Boheme at the Lyric. It is my all-time favorite and gets me misty every time. The 2025 version is advertised […]
Review: New Opera Blue Illuminates “Parenting While Black” at Lyric Opera
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Review: Mozart’s Figaro Is a Perfect Marriage at Lyric Opera
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Review: Beethoven’s Fidelio Is an Abstraction of Love, Freedom, and the Cost of Tyranny at Lyric Opera
The Lyric Opera of Chicago continues its 50th season with Beethoven’s Fidelio, an opera not often staged in the repertoire of great opera houses. Perhaps it is the political tone […]
Review: Verdi’s Rigoletto Triumphs as the Season Opener for the Lyric Opera of Chicago
There has been a lot of discourse on the survival of opera companies in America. Even the revered Met has met criticisms for everything from the artistic direction and performance […]
Review: Aida at Lyric Opera Is an Entertaining and Opulent Extravaganza of Verdi’s Finest Work
Guiseppe Verdi’s Aida is perhaps one of his best-known operas and of all Italian operas. It has the treachery, aching love, and tragedy that befalls the great heroines of this […]
Review: Champion at the Lyric Defines Opera in Jazz With Story of Boxer Emile Griffith
Champion is the story of welterweight boxer Emile Griffith’s career in boxing with a life-defining fatal bout in 1962 against Benny “Kid” Paret. I believe that an opera in jazz […]
Review: Lyric Presents Rossini’s Cinderella/La Cenerentola With a Twist
I have four copies of Grimm’s Fairy Tales in my library and while I have a weird fondness for dark morality tales, I also enjoy the story of the stepchild […]
Review: Chicago Opera Theater Triumphs With Shostakovich’s The Nose, From Gogol’s Story
The Chicago Opera Theater COT) has a mission to produce new and rarely produced work. Dmitri Shostakovich was 22 years old when he wrote The Nose adapted from the short […]
Review: Joffrey Ballet’s The Nutcracker Blends Holiday Cheer and Wonder With Its 1893 Chicago Backdrop
The basic plot of the famous The Nutcracker ballet is a familiar story. A young girl, Clara, receives the gift of a Nutcracker on Christmas Eve. That night, she has […]
Review: Chicago Opera Theater Opens Season With a Compelling Timeline of War and Its Aftermath with Soldier Songs
Soldier Songs is a solo operatic performance that blends the genres of classical and heavy metal. I thought that I had never heard anything like it, however, the parallels between […]