A season to celebrate

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 2026/27 Season soars with a mix of classics, concerts, and the return of the summer musical. 

When John Mangum took the helm of Lyric Opera of Chicago as General Director, President & CEO, he spoke of a company poised to push opera forward — to honor tradition while expanding what an American opera company can be and do. Lyric’s 2026/27 Season is the most vivid proof yet of that vision. Seven operas spanning centuries and continents. Five works conducted by Music Director Enrique Mazzola. Two Academy Award–winning films performed live. And, after four years away, the triumphant return of the Lyric summer musical. It’s a robust schedule with range, daring, and — above all — some of the greatest singing on the planet.

“This season is a celebration of excellence, discovery, and bold storytelling,” says Mangum. “It’s also about showcasing the extraordinary expressive power of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus. We have assembled one of the most robust and diverse seasons in recent memory — seven operas ranging from Mozart and Verdi classics to the Pulitzer Prize–winning Omar and the beloved American folk opera Susannah. And we are thrilled to bring the Lyric summer musical back to our stage with a spectacular new production of Guys & Dolls. There is something here for everyone, and this season shows how Lyric is evolving opera by pushing the boundaries of the art form through new works, bold reinterpretations, and new audience experiences.” 

Music Director Enrique Mazzola — “Chicago’s maestro-around-town” — will conduct five works next season, an eclectic and wide-ranging list that spans Mozart, Donizetti, Haydn, Massenet, and Verdi. “This is a season of remarkable musical journeys,” says Mazzola. “Opening the season with Don Giovanni is incredibly meaningful to me — it is one of those operas that has the entire world of opera inside it: comedy, drama, philosophy, and singular musical architecture. And in Verdi’s La traviata, everything is truth. These are works that speak directly to the heart. I am also thrilled that we will be bringing Haydn’s magnificent The Creation to Lyric audiences, and I cannot wait to share Massenet’s rarely heard gem Hérodiade with Chicago — a score I know deeply, having recorded it in Berlin, and one that deserves to be heard at the highest musical level.”  

The season also marks a milestone for the company with the appointment of internationally acclaimed soprano Sondra Radvanovsky as Lyric’s Artistic Advisor for the next five seasons. In addition to a mainstage appearance each season — including a concert of duets with tenor SeokJong Baek in 2026/27 — Radvanovsky will work closely with The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center through masterclasses, mentorship, and career guidance for the world’s finest emerging artists.

“Lyric is my artistic home, and I am honored to deepen that bond in this extraordinary new role,” says Radvanovsky. “Supporting the next generation of singers through the Ryan Opera Center is one of the most meaningful things I can imagine doing. I look forward to sharing everything I have learned on the world’s great stages with these remarkable young artists — and to performing for the Chicago audiences I love so much. We have some magnificent surprises in store!” 

Lyric’s 2026/27 Season at a glance

The fall brings Mozart’s Don Giovanni (October 10 - November 1, 2026) conducted by Music Director Enrique Mazzola and directed by Chicago theatrical legend Robert Falls, with Ryan Opera Center alumnus Christian Van Horn in the title role; the Lyric premiere of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Omar by Rhiannon Giddens & Michael Abels (October 23, 25 & 28, 2026), conducted by Kazem Abdullah and directed by Kaneza Schaal in a new theatrical presentation created exclusively for Lyric; Donizetti’s sparkling Don Pasquale (November 12–27, 2026), conducted by Mazzola and directed by Mariame Clément in her Lyric debut; the concert program Wagner: Myth & Music (November 20 & 22, 2026), conducted by the great Wagnerian Alexander Soddy in his Lyric debut; and the family spectacular Disney’s Encanto in Concert Live to Film (November 28 & 29, 2026), conducted by Gonzalo Farias. 

The season continues in winter with Amadeus LIVE (January 15 & 16, 2027), conducted by Brett Mitchell, with the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus performing Mozart’s music live to picture; the Lyric premiere of Haydn’s towering oratorio The Creation (January 22 & 23, 2027), conducted by Mazzola; and the long-awaited Lyric premiere of Massenet’s rare French gem Hérodiade: An Opera in Concert (February 23, 25 & 28, 2027), conducted by Mazzola. 

Spring 2027 brings Richard Strauss’s irresistible Ariadne auf Naxos (March 11–26, 2027), conducted by Oksana Lyniv in her Lyric debut and directed by Bruno Ravella; Verdi’s beloved La traviata in an expansive 11-performance run (March 24–April 25, 2027), conducted by Mazzola and directed by Tara Faircloth; Carlisle Floyd’s defining American opera Susannah (April 11–23, 2027), conducted by Daniela Candillari and directed by Patricia Racette, a legendary soprano who has herself performed the title role; and an unforgettable evening with Sondra Radvanovsky & SeokJong Baek in Concert (April 30 & May 2, 2027), conducted by Riccardo Frizza. 

And summer 2027 belongs to the return of the Lyric musical: Frank Loesser’s Guys & Dolls, featuring the return of the iconic leadership team of director Francesca Zambello and conductor James Lowe, for 19 unmissable performances, June 4–20, 2027. 

This is what it means to live in Chicago: night after night, the world’s greatest musical artists gather on one stage to remind the world why this city stands apart. Lyric’s 2026/27 Season is no exception — don’t miss a single extraordinary moment.  

To explore Lyric’s 2026/27 Season and customize a package that’s right for you, visit lyricopera.org/subscribe.