A look back at Lyric's 2019/20 Season

While Lyric’s 2019/20 Season may have been cut short, we’re taking a minute to look back at the incredible performances on our stage this year. This was certainly a season to remember, full of critical and audience acclaim, amazing productions, and community building. We witnessed the thrilling Luisa Miller in its return for the first time in nearly 40 years led by our now Music Director Designate Enrique Mazzola, the vocal fireworks of Sondra Radvanovsky’s tour-de-force Three Queens, and riveting performances of Don Giovanni and The Queen of Spades, among the many unforgettable moments on stage. Here are just a few highlights, some special extended performance excerpts, and a compelling conversation on Lyric’s premiere of Dead Man Walking.

We launched the season with a joyous production of The Barber of Seville, conducted by our music director Sir Andrew Davis. In one of the most well-known arias in all of opera, Figaro (Adam Plachetka) explains how he is in high demand throughout all of Seville.

“Lyric’s fine vocalists threw themselves into Rossini’s fiercely steep, fiendishly intricate melodies with brio.” –Chicago Sun-Times

"Benefiting from an outstanding cast of international vocalists, the stalwart backing of the Lyric Opera Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis, and some gags still fresh 203 years after its premiere in Rome, the Lyric’s performance was a winner to kick off the new season." –Third Coast Review

In preparation for our production of Dead Man Walking this past November, WFMT's general manager George Preston sat down with composer Jake Heggie and author/activist Sister Helen Prejean to discuss the creation of the contemporary opera.

"A must-see Lyric Opera production." –Chicago Sun-Times

"Lyric’s Dead Man Walking is a gut-wrenching, thought-provoking reminder of the best that opera can be." –Chicagoland Musical Theatre

"Whether you are a hardcore opera fan or are totally new to the genre, this show is a testament to the power of operatic storytelling. Go see Dead Man Walking at Lyric Opera of Chicago." –Schmopera

Lyric presented Puccini’s Madama Butterfly just weeks before the stay-at-home order. In this clip, Cio-Cio-San (Ana María Martínez) expresses her absolute certainty that her American husband, B.F. Pinkerton, will return to her.

"Yes, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly still can make you weep." –Chicago Tribune

"In the famous offstage ‘Humming Chorus,’ Lyric’s chorus is, as usual, unsurpassed for both beauty of sound and impeccable musicianship." –NewCity Stage