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Lyric Opera Commentaries

2009/10 Lyric Opera Commentaries

Commentators Everyone will enjoy learning about this season's operas with the convenient and fun Lyric Opera Commentaries! New to the website this season, all eight Commentaries will be available to stream free of charge.  As the season progresses, the corresponding Commentaries will be added, so please, check back often!

Our Commentators simplify abstract plots, share some of their favorite musical excerpts, and narrate anecdotal stories of composers and cast members. The Commentaries make each opera a more rewarding experience!

Commentators:

Back row, l-r
Roger Pines
Dramaturg
The Merry Widow 

Jesse Gram
Audience Education Manager
Katya Kabanova 

William Mason
General Director
Ernani

Front row, l-r
Nick Martin
Director of Operations
The Elixir of Love
The Marriage of Figaro

Gianna Rolandi
The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center Director

Sir Andrew Davis
Music Director
Tosca
Faust
The Damnation of Faust


CD versions of Ernani and The Damnation of Faust, two titles that are appearing in the Commentaries twenty year repertoire for the first time this season, are available and may be ordered today by calling 312-827-5682.

Lyric Opera Commentaries are generously sponsored by:
Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation
In honor of their
 parents. 
Proceeds from the project benefit Lyric's Education and Community-Outreach programming for all ages!

A project of the Women's Board.

 

Audio

Tosca Commentary

Part 1

Tosca
By Giacomo Puccini

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Tosca Commentary

Part 2

Tosca
By Giacomo Puccini

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Tosca Commentary

Part 3

Tosca
By Giacomo Puccini

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Tosca Commentary

Part 4

Tosca
By Giacomo Puccini

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Audio

Faust Commentary

Part 1

Faust
By Charles Gounod

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Faust Commentary

Part 2

Faust
By Charles Gounod

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Faust Commentary

Part 3

Faust
By Charles Gounod

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Faust Commentary

Part 4

Faust
By Charles Gounod

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Faust Commentary

Part 5

Faust
By Charles Gounod

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Audio

Ernani Commentary

Part 1

Ernani
By Giuseppe Verdi

Commentary by William Mason, General Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Ernani Commentary

Part 2

Ernani
By Giuseppe Verdi

Commentary by William Mason, General Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Ernani Commentary

Part 3

Ernani
By Giuseppe Verdi

Commentary by William Mason, General Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Ernani Commentary

Part 4

Ernani
By Giuseppe Verdi

Commentary by William Mason, General Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Ernani Commentary

Part 5

Ernani
By Giuseppe Verdi

Commentary by William Mason, General Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Audio

Katya Kabanova Commentary

Part 1

Katya Kabanova
By Leoš Janáček

Commentary by Jesse Gram, Audience Education Manager

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts Licensed from Decca Music Group Limited, a division of Universal Music Group. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Katya Kabanova Commentary

Part 2

Katya Kabanova
By Leoš Janáček

Commentary by Jesse Gram, Audience Education Manager

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts Licensed from Decca Music Group Limited, a division of Universal Music Group. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Katya Kabanova Commentary

Part 3

Katya Kabanova
By Leoš Janáček

Commentary by Jesse Gram, Audience Education Manager

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts Licensed from Decca Music Group Limited, a division of Universal Music Group. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Katya Kabanova Commentary

Part 4

Katya Kabanova
By Leoš Janáček

Commentary by Jesse Gram, Audience Education Manager

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts Licensed from Decca Music Group Limited, a division of Universal Music Group. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Audio

The Merry Widow Commentary

Part 1

The Merry Widow
By Franz Lehár

Commentary by Roger Pines, Dramaturg

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Merry Widow Commentary

Part 2

The Merry Widow
By Franz Lehár

Commentary by Roger Pines, Dramaturg

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Merry Widow Commentary

Part 3

The Merry Widow
By Franz Lehár

Commentary by Roger Pines, Dramaturg

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Merry Widow Commentary

Part 4

The Merry Widow
By Franz Lehár

Commentary by Roger Pines, Dramaturg

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Audio

The Elixir of Love Commentary

Part 1

The Elixir of Love
By Gaetano Donizetti

Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Elixir of Love Commentary

Part 2

The Elixir of Love
By Gaetano Donizetti

Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Elixir of Love Commentary

Part 3

The Elixir of Love
By Gaetano Donizetti

Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Audio

The Damnation of Faust Commentary

Part 1

The Damnation of Faust
By Hector Berlioz

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Damnation of Faust Commentary

Part 2

The Damnation of Faust
By Hector Berlioz

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Damnation of Faust Commentary

Part 3

The Damnation of Faust
By Hector Berlioz

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Damnation of Faust Commentary

Part 4

The Damnation of Faust
By Hector Berlioz

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Damnation of Faust Commentary

Part 5

The Damnation of Faust
By Hector Berlioz

Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

Audio

The Marriage of Figaro Commentary

Part 1

The Marriage of Figaro
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Marriage of Figaro Commentary

Part 2

The Marriage of Figaro
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Marriage of Figaro Commentary

Part 3

The Marriage of Figaro
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Marriage of Figaro Commentary

Part 4

The Marriage of Figaro
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.

The Marriage of Figaro Commentary

Part 5

The Marriage of Figaro
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Commentary by Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations

Lyric Opera
Commentaries on CD
2009-2010

2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.