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throughout Europe, with venues that include
the Dresden Semperoper, Lisbon’s Centro de
Cultural de Belem, London’s Royal Albert Hall
and Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera.
KENNETH NICHOLS
(
Undertaker
)
Previously at Lyric Opera
:
Chorus member since
2000; nine solo roles since
2002-03, most recently
Servant/
Capriccio
(2014-15);
Old Servant
/Elektra
(2012-
13); Second Armed Man
and Second Priest/
Die Zauberflöte
(2011-12).
Among the American bass-baritone’s roles in
Chicago have been the King and the Herald/
The Love for Three Oranges
(Chicago Cultural
Center) and Leporello/
Don Giovanni
(DuPage
Opera Theater). He was an ensemble member
and sang many performances of the featured
role of Joe in Harold Prince’s production of
Show Boat
(1993-98) in New York, Toronto,
Chicago, and London. Since 1998 Nichols has
made seven appearances with “Night of 1,000
Voices,” the annual charity concert at London’s
Royal Albert Hall. His concert activities have
also included “An Evening of Gershwin” earlier
this year with Sarasota’s Artist Series. Nichols
is an alumnus of the Crane School of Music/
SUNY Potsdam.
SAMANTHA
McELHANEY
(
Strawberry Woman
)
Lyric Opera debut
The American soprano’s
operatic repertoire includes
Nella/Gianni Schicchi, the
First Lady/
Die Zauberflöte,
Elisetta/
Il matrimonio segreto
, Barbarina/
Le
nozze di Figaro
, and the Strawberry Woman/
Porgy and Bess
. These roles have brought
McElhaney to the Washington National
Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Royal Danish
Opera, the Washington Symphony Orchestra,
the Hines Lee Opera Ensemble, the National
Symphony Orchestra, and the University of
Maryland Opera Studio. Other significant
engagements include appearances as a concert
soloist at Washington’s Kennedy Center,
Carnegie Hall, the National Cathedral, the
Smithsonian, Cairo’s Citadel, the Washington
Performing Arts Society, and the White House.
Handel’s
Messiah
, Bach’s
Magnificat
, and
Mozart’s
Requiem
comprise her oratorio and
concert experience. McElhaney is an alumna
of Bowling Green State University (Bachelor of
Music) and the University of Maryland (Master
of Music). She currently performs with the
Washington National Opera and resides in the
nation’s capital.
JOHN LISTER
(
Detective
)
Previously at Lyric Opera:
Sheriff Vallon and
Maître D’/
Show Boat
(2011-12).
The actor’s Chicago credits
include
The Crucible
(Steppenwolf Theatre Company),
Guys and
Dolls
(Marriott Lincolnshire), and six seasons of
A Christmas Carol
(Goodman Theatre). He has
been seen in more than a dozen productions
at Chicago Shakespeare Theater (among
them
Richard III, Twelfth Night, The Herbal
Bed,
and
Edward
II) and has also appeared in
Lady
Windermere’s Fan, Red Herring, Inherit
The Wind, She Stoops to Conquer
and
Tom
Jones
at Northlight Theatre, and
As You Like
It, Heartbreak House
and
Yellow Moon
at
Writers Theatre. His regional credits include
productions with Indiana Repertory Theatre,
American Players Theatre, Peninsula Players,
Notre Dame Shakespeare and the International
Mystery Writers Festival. Film and television
credits include
Public Enemies
(Universal),
Animals
(Schiffli),
Prison Break
(FOX), and
The
Beast
(A&E).
BRIAN McCASKILL
(
Policeman)
Previously at Lyric Opera:
Pete/
Show Boat
(2011-12)
The actor’s Chicago credits
include productions at
the Goodman Theatre,
Steppenwolf
Theatre
Company, TimeLine Theatre, Eclipse Theatre
and Raven Theatre. He has received two Jeff
Awards and five Jeff Award nominations for
his theatrical work. Film and television credits
include
Chicago P.D.
,
Crisis
, and
Prison Break
.
DEV KENNEDY
(
Coroner
)
Previously at Lyric Opera:
Franz/
The Sound of Music
(2013-14).
The actor has been seenwith
most of the Chicago area’s
major theater companies.
Among his roles have been Capt. Brackett/
South Pacific
(Marriott Theatre), Potter/
It’s a
Wonderful Life
(Fox Valley), Murray/
The Odd
Couple
(Drury Lane Oakbrook, where he has
also appeared in seven other productions,
among them
Barefoot in the Park, Arsenic
and Old Lace, Guys and Dolls
, and
West Side
Story
), Cop/
Teddy Ferrara,
Hank/
The Night
of the Iguana
and Moran/
The Iceman Cometh
(Goodman Theatre), Oronte/
The School for
Wives
(Court Theatre), Condon/
Hauptmann
and Crowe/
Never the Sinner
(Victory Gardens
Theatre and Off Broadway). Other companies
include First Folio, Mercury Theatre, Live Bait,
Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Body Politic Theatre,
and National Jewish Theatre. Kennedy’s
television credits include
Chicago P. D.,
(NBC),
Early Edition
and
Goodnight, Sweet Wife
(both
for CBS). He has also acted in nine films, among
them
Outing Riley
(Miramax),
Barbershop
(MGM), and
Hero
(Columbia).
WARD STARE
(
Conductor
)
Previously at Lyric Opera:
Die Fledermaus
(2013-14);
Hansel and Gretel
(2012-13).
Recently appointed music
director of the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra, the
conductor opened the RPO’s 2014-15 season
with a special concert featuring guest soloist
Midori. Highlights of Stare’s current season
include debuts with the Baltimore Symphony,
Sydney Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony,
and New World Symphony. His successes in
opera include productions at Opera Theatre
of Saint Louis (
Il tabarro/Pagliacci, Dialogues of
the Carmelites
), Washington National Opera
(
L’elisir d’amore
), and the Norwegian National
Opera (
The Rape of Lucretia
). From 2008 to
2012 Stare was resident conductor of the St.
Louis SymphonyOrchestra, with whom he made
his triumphant Carnegie Hall debut. The 2013-
14 season included his return to the Atlanta and
Detroit Symphony Orchestras, as well as debuts
with the Syracuse Symphoria, Jacksonville
Symphony, and Naples Philharmonic with Lang
Lang as soloist. He has also led the major