Lyric Opera of Chicago Announces New Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center Fellowships

Applications for new 2022/23 Ensemble positions of Director and Stage Manager are now open

CHICAGO (2/11/2022) – The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s preeminent artist-development program, is pleased to announce that applications are now open for two new positions in the Ryan Opera Center’s 2022/23 Ensemble: Director and Stage Manager.

These new positions follow the appointment last spring of Donald Lee III as the Ryan Opera Center’s inaugural Conductor/Pianist, a new position created for the 2021/22 Ensemble.

For nearly five decades, the Ryan Opera Center has nurtured the talents of a diverse range of emerging singers and pianists. Building on that legacy, the program is well-suited to expand its Ensemble to include the finest emerging conductor/pianists, directors, and stage managers. Each of the new positions will be offered a comprehensive array of training activities and performance experiences that will be tailored to the individual artists and provide them with the skills, expertise, and professional network needed to launch successful careers. Like their Ensemble colleagues, the new positions will receive a full-time salary and benefits in addition to all professional development offerings.

Lyric is an equal opportunity employer. Lyric encourages qualified artists from historically underrepresented groups, including but not limited to those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color, to apply for these fellowships. Through this important pipeline initiative, as well as others in support of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA), Lyric aims to permanently reshape the operatic art form and industry to better reflect the vibrant diversity of our city and our country. The Ryan Opera Center and its Ensemble members will also benefit from the insights, perspectives, and creativity contributed by the artists in these new positions.

The new Ryan Opera Center positions of Director and Stage Manager will be part of the 2022/23 Ensemble. The contract dates are May 9, 2022 through May 6, 2023, with an option for renewal as the positions are expected to have a two-year residency.

Application information as well as further position details can be found at lyricopera.org/ryan-opera-center/auditions. The application deadline is March 18, 2022.

About the Ryan Opera Center

The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center is Lyric's preeminent artist-development program that nurtures the talents of some of the most promising operatic artists of each generation. The program's Ensemble members earn their coveted spot by successfully auditioning among more than 500 artists worldwide. Its alumni are among the dominant names in opera today. Donor generosity ensures continued unparalleled training, performance experience, and professional readiness of Ensemble members. This highly competitive program, established in 1974, is honored to enjoy the support of acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming as Advisor at Large, along with full-time staff Director Dan Novak, Music Director Craig Terry, and Director of Vocal Studies Julia Faulkner.

Learn More about the Ryan Opera Center

About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud, Music Director Enrique Mazzola, and Special Project Advisor Renée Fleming, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.

Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.

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