March 16, 2020
Week of February 15: Lyric Commentaries for opera streaming and more
Warm up this week with streaming opportunities near and far! We’ll begin our lineup with a production from The Metropolitan Opera, and with Washington National Opera’s celebration of the legendary contralto Marian Anderson, featuring mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and tenor Lawrence Brownlee.
We’ll see baritone and Ryan Opera Center alumnus Quinn Kelsey in a digital recital with Hawai’i Opera Theatre, an ongoing series from our friends at the National Museum of Mexican Art, a new work inspired by real events and the poems of Margaret Atwood from composer Jake Heggie (Dead Man Walking), and San Francisco Opera’s stream of La rondine.
We also have two Lyric performances making their virtual premieres this week! On Friday PBS Great Peformances will begin streaming our 2017/18 production of Orphée et Eurydice, a production by John Neumeier with The Joffrey Ballet. On Sunday, we’re excited to premiere our latest virtual offering, Sole e Amore (Sun and Love), an informal performance of lesser-known musical gems by beloved Italian opera composers, curated and hosted by Lyric’s Music Director Designate Enrique Mazzola and presented by The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center.
Our latest virtual offering "Creating The Factotum," is now live. Go behind-the-scenes with this documentary about the creative process of Ryan Opera Center alumnus baritone Will Liverman and DJ/recording artist K-Rico’s new opera. The Factotum is inspired by The Barber of Seville, and placed in a present-day Black barbershop in Chicago.
As you enjoy this week's set of streaming opportunities, you can explore Lyric Opera Commentaries, which discuss the synopses, music, and some historical insights of the world's most beloved operas, and musical masterpieces you might never have experienced.
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
Monday, February 15
The Metropolitan Opera
Puccini: La bohème
This production from The Metropolitan Opera stars Angela Gheorghiu, Ramón Vargas, Ainhoa Arteta, Ludovic Tézier, and Oren Gradus, and was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. La bohème was conducted by Nicola Luisotti on April 8, 2008. This opera stream is available until 6:30pm on Tuesday, February 16.
Lyric Commentary from the 2018/19 Season is by Wynne Delacoma.
La bohème
by Giacomo Puccini
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
© 2018/19 Lyric Opera Commentaries. All rights reserved. Recording & Production services provided by Mark Travis. The music featured in Lyric Commentaries is generously furnished by Warner Classics.
A project of the Women’s Board
Commentary by Wynne Delacoma
Tuesday, February 16
Washington National Opera
Denyce Graves and Lawrence Brownlee: Marian Anderson Award Retrospective
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts teams up with Washington National Opera to honor the legacy of Black contralto Marian Anderson in a recital featuring Denyce Graves and Lawrence Brownlee. This stream is available indefinitely.
Wednesday, February 17
Hawai'i Opera Theatre
Opera Kanikapila
This digital recital from Hawai’i Opera Theatre features Ryan Opera Center alumnus baritone Quinn Kamakanalani Kelsey and award-winning 'ukulele virtuoso Taimane in a kanikapila jam session accompanied by Eric Schank on piano and Rachel Look on guitar.
Thursday, February 18
National Museum of Mexican Art
Mini Concierto: Sarah La Morena
This virtual concert from our friends at the National Museum of Mexican Art features singer-songwriter Sarah La Morena. La Morena was raised in Zacatecas, Mexico, where she grew up listening to regional music, which in turn inspires her music making today. This stream is available indefinitely.
Friday, February 19
Lyric Opera of Chicago
PBS Great Performances
Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice
This production from Lyric Opera of Chicago stars Dmitry Korchak, Andriana Chuchman, and Lauren Snouffer, and was directed, designed and choreographed by John Neumeier. Orphée et Eurydice was conducted by Harry Bicket, and features the Joffrey Ballet. This opera stream is available through PBS Great Performances until March 19.
Lyric Commentary from the 2017/18 Season is by Anthony Freud and Nicholas Ivor Martin.
Orphée et Eurydice
by Christoph Willibald Gluck
Lyric Opera Commentaries are sponsored by the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Foundation in memory of their parents.
© 2017/18 Lyric Opera Commentaries Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of Warner Music Group. All rights reserved. Recording & Production services provided by Mark Travis.
A project of the Women’s Board
Commentary by Anthony Freud and Nicholas Ivor Martin
Houston Grand Opera
Jake Heggie, Margaret Atwood, and Joshua Hopkins:Songs for Murdered Sisters
Five years ago, Joshua Hopkins’s life changed forever when his sister Nathalie, along with two other women, were murdered by her ex-boyfriend in what is now considered one of the worst cases of domestic violence in Canadian history. In his grief, Hopkins conceived of this song cycle. Co-commissioned by HGO and Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, with music by Jake Heggie set to poems by Margaret Atwood, this powerful new work, directed by James Niebuhr, is Hopkins’s way of honoring his sister’s memory and speaking out against domestic violence. Songs for Murdered Sisters premieres on Friday, February 19 at 7:30pm CT, and is available for streaming through March 18.
Saturday, February 20
San Francisco Opera
Puccini: La rondine
This production from San Francisco Opera stars Angela Gheorghiu, Gerard Powers, Anna Christy, and Misha Didyk, and was directed by Stephen Barlow. La rondine was conducted by Ion Marin in 2007. This opera stream premieres on Saturday, February 20 at 12pm CT, and will be available through Sunday, February 21.
Sunday, February 21
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Sole e Amore (Sun and Love)
Revel in the sounds of Italy with a virtual performance awash with beautiful lesser-known musical gems by beloved Italian opera composers, curated and hosted by Lyric’s Music Director Designate Enrique Mazzola and presented by The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. With Maestro Mazzola at the piano, as well as ensemble pianist Chris Reynolds, members of the Ryan Opera Center 2020/21 Ensemble will perform songs by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, and Mascagni, selected with love by Mazzola. Familiar melodies from later operas can be heard in many of the songs.
Sole e Amore premieres on Sunday, February 21 at 6pm CT.
Learn more
Creating The Factotum
Creating The Factotum
Follow the development of a new opera by Ryan Opera Center alumnus Will Liverman and DJ/recording artist K-Rico that transcends the limits of traditional repertoire. The Factotum, inspired by Rossini's The Barber of Seville, takes place in a present-day Black barbershop in Chicago and combines operatic singing with hip-hop, barbershop, gospel, funk, neo soul, and R&B music.
Chicago filmmaker Raphael Nash has captured the behind-the-scenes process of creating this new work and brings us backstage to meet the artists, hear from the creators, and feel the energy of a new opera being born.
Pasión Latina
Pasión Latina
Celebrate music of the Spanish-speaking world with a free virtual concert starring and hosted by renowned soprano and Lyric favorite Ana María Martínez, and featuring prominent Ryan Opera Center artists and alumni.
These engaging artists perform a dynamic selection of some of their favorite music from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Argentina, and Spain, with piano accompaniment by Ryan Opera Center Music Director Craig Terry and current Ensemble pianist Chris Reynolds.
Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter
Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter
Lyric's Ryan Opera Center presents a free virtual concert celebrating the depth and breadth of Black artistry, hosted by world-renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee, who also serves as artistic advisor for the event. The concert also features prominent Ryan Opera Center alumni — soprano Whitney Morrison, mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges, and baritone Will Liverman — and three current 2020/21 Ryan Opera Center Ensemble members — tenors Martin Luther Clark and Lunga Eric Hallam, and baritone Leroy Davis.