Stepping up!

This fall, the exciting Final Auditions for The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center take place on Sunday, October 4 — a daylong introduction to some of the finest emerging singers in the world.

“Having these up-and-coming talents experience this, taking the stage and singing in a very high-pressure atmosphere — it’s a step they have to take,” says Dan Novak, Director of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. “It’s something every performing artist has to do, and it demonstrates who is ready for a place in the program.”

Indeed, the Final Auditions for Ensemble singer positions in the Ryan Opera Center have a kind of intensity that makes for a very exciting day in the opera house.  “It's one of the most important moments in our year,” Novak adds. “Identifying talent we believe in and want to nurture to reach its fullest potential.”

Which is to say: There’s a good chance you’ll see a star being born.

Witnessing the Final Auditions — this year, at the Lyric Opera House on October 4 — is an experience that first became available to an audience more than a decade ago, thanks to sponsorship by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation. For the past several years, the Lead Sponsor has been Philip G. Lumpkin.

“Subscribers, donors, patron groups, ticket buyers, and students attend, many for the entire six hours — a major commitment of time," Novak says. And while their presence may seem to raise the high-stakes feeling even higher, in the end the presence of spectators has proved beneficial. "It's very nice for the singers to have an audience supporting them with their applause and energy,” Novak says.

The invited singers, up to 15 or 20, arrive literally from all over the world. Some are international artists currently studying in the U.S. But no matter their point of origin, each participant's trip to Chicago is provided by the Ryan Opera Center, including travel and lodging. Typically, the singers fly in for a three- or four-day stay, during which they meet and interview with Ryan Opera Center staff and receive coaching sessions to prepare for their audition. 

The select group is created by casting an astonishingly wide net. Every January, the Ryan Opera Center announces that singer applications are open to all. Numerous outlets publicize the opportunity, and Lyric supplements those efforts through frequent contact with relevant institutions. “We're trying to make sure that we are reaching everybody that we can,” Novak says. “We send several email blasts to every single music school in the United States.”

Improvements in video technology have expanded the pool of applicants to a global scale. In any given year, the Ryan Opera Center will review somewhere around 500 videos. "We review all of the videos and determine who advances to preliminary live auditions in New York City and Chicago over the course of the spring and summer," Novak says. 

As large-scale as all that sounds, it actually represents only one facet of how talent arrives at the Ryan Opera Center. Everyone in Lyric's artistic leadership is keeping an ear out for stars on the rise, wherever their work takes them — to universities, performances, and festivals all over the world. That's the ongoing, less formal part of the company's outreach efforts, which Novak refers to simply as "recruitment." 

When the singers arrive, they participate in interviews as well as coaching sessions with Julia Faulkner, the program's Director of Vocal Studies, and Craig Terry, Music Director. “We’re trying to get to know each candidate, their abilities, their learning style, and their ambitions,” Novak says. 

Then comes singing on Lyric’s mainstage, after which the judging panel — composed of Lyric's artistic leadership, including General Director John Mangum and Music Director Enrique Mazzola — convenes for an intense final deliberation session. Once decisions are made, the singers learn the results (including the prize for audience favorite), and those selected sign their contracts, right on the spot. 

"What we're really looking for is extraordinary talent,” Faulkner says. “Talent that needs to be nurtured." 

"It's always tremendous fun, watching the singers," Terry adds. “The possibilities are endless. It raises our blood pressure, but it also opens our hearts.”

Join us on Sunday, October 4, as finalists from around the world once again take the stage to audition for a spot in the Ryan Opera Center's 2027/28 Ensemble at Final Auditions.