The Flying Dutchman opens Saturday, September 23

View The Flying Dutchman images here

CHICAGO (9/22/2023) — Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 69th Season sets sail with Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, September 23 to October 7, 2023. More than 160 musical and dramatic artists bring this riveting odyssey to life on Chicago’s biggest stage.

In his third season as Lyric’s Music Director, Enrique Mazzola leads the Lyric Opera Orchestra through a series of momentous "firsts." This season opener, which features a 72-piece orchestra, will mark Mazzola’s first time conducting Wagner at Lyric. [Other milestones in the season include his first contemporary work at Lyric (Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer’s Champion), his first-ever production of Aida, and his first Mozart at Lyric, the Requiem.]

The Flying Dutchman stars returning favorites Tomasz Konieczny as the Dutchman, Tamara Wilson as Senta, and Mika Kares as Daland, as well as Robert Watson as Erik and Melody Wilson as Mary, both in their Lyric debuts. The 85-member Lyric Opera Chorus adds a staggering impact to this haunting story.

The theatrically spellbinding production of director Christopher Alden creates the illusion of a haunted ship battling raging waters and captures all the drama of the high seas suffused into Wagner’s haunting score.

The performance on Sunday, October 1 marks the launch of a new Lyric accessibility initiative — the SoundShirt — a pilot program that allows all audience members, but particularly those who are deaf or hard of hearing, to experience live opera enhanced by real-time vibrations. Lyric is the first opera company in the world to offer this innovation at its live performances.

The Flying Dutchman docks at Lyric for five performances only, through October 7. Audiences are invited to experience this operatic classic on a musical and theatrical scale only Lyric Opera of Chicago can offer.

View The Flying Dutchman images here

A high-resolution video trailer is now available on Lyric's YouTube channel.

Read the The Flying Dutchman digital program book and read the director's note.

Performance dates for The Flying Dutchman are September 23, 27, October 1 (matinee), 4 (matinee), and 7, 2023. All performances take place at the Lyric Opera House, 20 North Wacker Drive, Chicago.

The Flying Dutchman is performed in German, with easy-to-follow English translations projected above the stage.

The running time is 2 hours and 20 minutes and the opera is performed without an intermission.

For tickets and information, call 312.827.5600 or go to lyricopera.org/dutchman.

Lyric’s production of The Flying Dutchman is generously made possible by an Anonymous Donor, Josef & Margot Lakonishok, and Bulley & Andrews.

Maestro Enrique Mazzola is generously sponsored by Alice & John Butler, H. Gael Neeson, Sylvia Neil & Daniel Fischel, and the Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation as members of the Enrique Circle.

Lyric Opera's Season is presented by

About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago is where the world sings — and where Chicago comes alive.

Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO John Mangum and Music Director Enrique Mazzola, Lyric stands at the intersection of artistic excellence and civic purpose, harnessing the full power of opera — voice, orchestra, stagecraft, and story — to illuminate the questions, emotions, and experiences that define us as human beings. Nearly 75 seasons of world-class performances have made Lyric one of the greatest opera companies in the world. What drives us now is what has always driven us: the belief that this art form, at its best, can move people in ways nothing else can.

Lyric is also Chicago’s partner — in its neighborhoods, its schools, and its communities — through education, engagement, and a relentless commitment to making opera accessible, relevant, and irresistible to everyone. At the heart of that commitment is The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, which trains the artists who will carry this art form into its future. Every night when the curtain rises, Lyric reminds this city — and the world — why live performance still matters.

Lyric Opera of Chicago doesn’t just present opera, it redefines what opera can be. It’s where Chicago comes to be moved, inspired, and connected.

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