CHICAGO (8/21/2025) — Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2025/26 Season kicks off with a searing tale of vengeance and betrayal: Cherubini’s
Medea, on stage October 11–26, 2025. Euripides's ancient tragedy comes to blazing life in this riveting opera, a late 18th-century masterpiece with music and themes that continue to resonate across the millennia.
Medea marks the return of three Chicago-born international stars to the Lyric stage: superstar soprano
Sondra Radvanovsky in an Olympic-level performance of the title role; acclaimed tenor
Matthew Polenzani; and the rising star mezzo-soprano
Zoie Reams. With the
Lyric Opera Orchestra conducted by Lyric Music Director
Enrique Mazzola, Cherubini’s score delivers operatic fire and fury as never before. Lyric presents Medea for the first time in its seven-decade history in a production directed by
Sir David McVicar, who returns with a sweeping vision of beauty and decay that commands attention from first note to final breath.
Hell hath no fury like a sorceress scorned. This centuries-old tale burns with unrelenting emotional fire, and in Cherubini’s hands, it demands to be retold. Audiences witness the tragedy of Medea, a powerful sorceress betrayed by her lover, Giasone, who abandons her and their two children to marry another woman, Glauce, the daughter of the king Creonte. Given just 24 hours to accept her fate, Medea instead bends it to her will, with her accomplice, Neris, at her side, delivering vengeance that shakes the very foundations of the kingdom. A favorite of Beethoven himself, who considered Cherubini to be the greatest living composer of his time,
Medea channels the raw power of Greek tragedy and sets it to unforgettable music, leaving audiences breathless as love curdles into rage, and a mother’s heartbreak becomes her most devastating weapon.
A pantheon of world-class operatic talent. Soprano
Sondra Radvanovsky, who was born just outside of Chicago in Berwyn and now calls suburban Evanston home, is one of the world’s most renowned and in-demand vocal artists. She received thunderous critical and audience acclaim for her intense tour-de-force performance as Medea when the world premiere of this new co-production opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2021/22 Season. Since beginning her Lyric career in the title role of Carlisle Floyd’s
Susannah in the 2002/03 Season, she has performed the heroines of Verdi, Bellini, Tchaikovsky, and more on the Lyric stage. Her innovative Lyric concert performances of
The Puccini Heroines during the 2024/25 Season, in which she sang most of Puccini’s iconic arias in a single monumental program, was recorded by Pentatone for a future release. In the wake of the pandemic, Radvanovsky ushered Lyric back into live performances at the start of the 2021/22 Season with her role debut as Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s
Macbeth conducted by Maestro Mazzola in his first performances as Music Director.
At the Metropolitan Opera, she has regularly appeared in leading roles since her debut in 1996. A highlight of her extensive career at the Met was her 2015/16 Season portrayal of each of Donizetti’s Three Queens — the title roles of
Anna Bolena and
Maria Stuarda and Elisabetta in
Roberto Devereux — a feat not accomplished at an American opera house since the legendary Beverly Sills sang the roles at New York City Opera in the 1970s. Radvanovsky’s Donizetti heroines were also the inspiration for her concert program
The Three Queens, presented at Lyric in the 2019/20 Season and also recorded for Pentatone.
Away from the opera stage, Radvanovsky is a co-creator and co-host of the podcast and video series
Screaming Divas, in which she and fellow soprano Keri Alkema talk with great humor and frankness about their lives and operatic careers.
Tenor
Matthew Polenzani, an Evanston native and alumnus of Lyric’s renowned artist-training program, The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, is one of the most gifted and distinguished lyric tenors of his generation. In
Medea, he sings Giasone, a role he performed opposite Radvanovsky at the Metropolitan Opera. His more than 15 roles at Lyric since his debut as the Captain of the Crossbowmen in Verdi's
Simon Boccanegra in the 1995/96 Season include the title role in Mozart’s
Idomeneo in the 2018/19 Season, and Nadir in Bizet’s
The Pearl Fishers and the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto, both in the 2017/18 Season. He most recently appeared at Lyric in Mozart’s
Requiem during the 2023/24 Season, with performances conducted by Maestro Mazzola.
In addition to his extensive work at Lyric, Polenzani has sung nearly 500 performances in more than 20 roles at the Met. Highlights later this season include Don José in Bizet's
Carmen and Pinkerton in Puccini's
Madama Butterfly at the Met, Don José at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and Riccardo in Verdi's
Un ballo in maschera at Opéra national de Paris.
He was the recipient of the 2004 Richard Tucker Award, the Met’s 2008 Beverly Sills Artist Award, and a 2017
Opera News Award.
Soprano
Elena Villalón makes her much-anticipated Lyric debut as Glauce. A winner of the 2019 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and several prizes at the 2023 Operalia competition, she recently performed the role of Gilda in Verdi's
Rigoletto at Santa Fe Opera, and later this season she stars as Dalinda in Handel’s
Ariodante at London's Royal Ballet & Opera. In the 2024/25 Season she made two major appearances in New York: as Nuria in the highly anticipated Metropolitan Opera premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s
Ainadamar and in a solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall with pianist (and Ryan Opera Center Music Director) Craig Terry.
Exceptional ensemble cast. Mezzo-soprano
Zoie Reams, a native of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, is Neris, a role she has performed in this co-production at Canadian Opera Company. In the 2024/25 Season she performed two roles at Lyric: the Mother in Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s
Blue and Maddalena in Verdi’s
Rigoletto. Also in the 2024/25 Season, she appeared with the LA Phil as part of the Eldorado Ballroom series curated by Solange Knowles for Saint Heron, singing Julia Perry’s
Stabat Mater, with an additional performance with the Houston Symphony. Later this season, she returns to Lyric as a soloist in Billy Corgan’s
A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness.
Renowned bass-baritone
Alfred Walker sings the role of Creonte. He has appeared at Lyric as Don Fernando in Beethoven’s
Fidelio in the 2024/25 Season and as the Father in Humperdinck’s
Hansel and Gretel in the 2022/23 Season. Later this season, he takes on the role of Porgy in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. He sang the role of Enobarbus in the San Francisco Opera’s world premiere of John Adams's
Antony and Cleopatra, a role he also performed at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu and at the Met, where he is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
Three current members of Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center Ensemble also have supporting roles in
Medea. Bass-baritone
Christopher Humbert, Jr. is the Captain of the Guard, soprano
Emily Richter is First Handmaiden, and mezzo-soprano
Camille Robles is Second Handmaiden.
Passion and precision drive every beat. Lyric Music Director
Enrique Mazzola takes the podium for this production, bringing his signature blend of elegance and intensity to the Lyric Opera Orchestra. Mazzola — “Chicago’s Maestro-Around-Town” — has quickly become a vital force in the city’s cultural scene. Internationally celebrated for his mastery of the Italian repertoire — from Donizetti and Verdi to Bellini — he brings deep stylistic insight shaped by a career spanning the world’s most prestigious stages, including recent performances at Deutsche Oper Berlin and New National Theatre Tokyo. Back home with Lyric, he continues to shape a bold new musical era with unwavering discipline, fiery enthusiasm, and a true love of the operatic form.
A bold show calls for bold leadership. Internationally acclaimed Scottish director
Sir David McVicar takes the lead as both Director and Set Designer. McVicar is a frequent collaborator with Lyric; Medea will be his tenth opera with the company. McVicar brings dramatic depth and theatrical precision to each production, as seen in recent seasons in Verdi’s
Don Carlos (2022/23), Verdi’s Macbeth (2021/22), and R. Strauss’s
Elektra (2018/19). Known for his bold, visually striking productions, McVicar’s work has been seen at other leading opera houses of the world, including the Met, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, and the Salzburg Festival.
Turning concept into creation. The production team for
Medea includes Costume Designer
Doey Lüthi in her Lyric debut; Revival Lighting Designer
Clare O’Donoghue, who makes her Lyric debut recreating the work of Original Lighting Designer
Paule Constable; and Projection Designer
S. Katy Tucker. Chorus Director
Michael Black leads the 60-member
Lyric Opera Chorus, and
Jo Meredith makes her Lyric debut as Movement Director.
A historic premiere launches one of Lyric’s most thrilling seasons to date. With a cast of operatic Olympians, visionary direction, and music that blazes with wrath and beauty,
Medea sets the tone for a season defined by bold storytelling and emotional intensity. This spellbinding production transforms myth into music and passion into fire — an unforgettable night at the opera that proves hell hath no fury like a sorceress scorned.
Important to know:
- Six chances to see Medea: October 11 at 7:30 p.m.; October 14, 17, 20, at 7 p.m., and matinee performances on October 23 and 26 at 2 p.m.
- Sung in Italian, with easy-to-follow English titles projected above the stage.
- A total running time of 3 hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission.
- Ticketholders are invited to a free pre-opera talk by noted opera scholar Dr. Harris Saunders on Medea’s composition history and social context; the talks begin one hour before each performance on the main floor of the theater.
- Lyric partners with the Chicago Humanities Festival to present Medea Opera Insights on Saturday, October 18 at 3:00 p.m. at the University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, Breasted Hall, 1155 East 58th Street. This event will examine and contextualize Cherubini’s Medea within the broader tradition of theatrical adaptations of the Greek tragedy by Euripides, Seneca, and Corneille. Featuring distinguished faculty from the University of Chicago’s acclaimed Classics, Theater, and Music Departments alongside the world-class artists from Lyric’s cast, this event offers a rich blend of ancient storytelling and contemporary artistic insight. Tickets and more information at chicagohumanities.org.
- Following the Sunday, October 26 matinee performance, former Lyric dramaturg Roger Pines leads a discussion with the artists from Medea. Deepen your experience of this visceral production by hearing how they brought Sir David McVicar's compelling vision to life — and explore each artist’s personal connection to the opera.
- Audio description, a guided touch tour of the set, and SoundShirts are available at the Sunday, October 26 matinee performance. Braille and large-print programs, high-powered opera glasses, assistive listening devices, and booster seats are available from the main floor coat check at all performances. For more information on these and other accessibility assets, visit lyricopera.org/accessibility.
- A co-production of Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, Greek National Opera, and Canadian Opera Company.
- For more information and tickets, visit lyricopera.org/medea or call 312.827.5600.
