CHICAGO (4/2/2020) - Lyric Opera of Chicago's General Director, President & CEO, Anthony Freud, announced today that all public performances, events, and activities remaining in the 2019/20 Season have been moved into upcoming seasons. This includes the musical 42nd Street, the new chamber opera Blue, Family Day at the Lyric Opera House, and all backstage tours, in order to heed social distancing recommendations and continue to support the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois in controlling the spread of COVID-19. This announcement signals the end of public performances and activity through June 30, 2020 – the end of Lyric's current fiscal year.
Working to postpone rather than cancel planned artistic and engagement events, Lyric is pleased to announce that all of Lyric's May and June performances and events have been successfully moved into upcoming seasons.
Lyric will present the new-to-Chicago production of 42nd Street (originally scheduled to run from May 29 - June 21, 2020) in the spring of the company's 2021/22 season. The large-scale production from Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris will still make its U.S. debut at Lyric, and Stephen Mear, who was set to direct the production this spring, will return to direct.
The Midwest premiere of Blue, by composer Jeanine Tesori and librettist Tazewell Thompson, was scheduled to run June 16-28, 2020, at the Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. It will now be presented in January 2021 at Chicago Shakespeare, conducted by Lyric's music director designate, Enrique Mazzola. The Chicago premiere of Proving Up will be postponed to a later season. Blue is a co-production of The Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Ticket holders for Lyric's annual Family Day event, planned for May 16, 2020, will be moved into Family Day on May 22, 2021. Lyric is also working to share child-friendly online content that explores the joy of opera with family audiences regularly.
Those holding tickets for canceled backstage tours this May and June will be offered backstage tour opportunities this fall as the 2020/21 season begins. More information on these dates will be announced at a later time.
"Following the guidance of our city health and elected officials, we continue to keep the well-being and safety of our artists, employees, and audiences as our top priority," said Freud. "We are very disappointed to have to postpone the rest of the season, especially a beloved and uplifting title like 42nd Street, which offers pure entertainment of the kind we're all craving. We couldn't be more grateful for the outpouring of support that we've received from our patrons. All of these cancellations have a financial impact on the company and the show of support from our audiences and artists is profoundly appreciated."
Patrons holding tickets for any of these performances or events are being notified by Lyric directly about their options.
"This is an extraordinarily difficult time for the arts, but we know that Lyric will be back soon to provide the high-quality, one-of-a-kind entertainment that our patrons have come to expect," said Freud.
Lyric Opera of Chicago continues to offer fresh, engaging and immersive content on its website at lyricopera.org and on all of its social platforms. Please join us.
