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L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
14
|
April - May, 2017
devastating conflict between Wotan, king
of the gods, and his Valkyrie daughter
Brünnhilde, as well as the profoundly
moving love of Wotan’s human children,
Siegmund and Sieglinde. “Wagner reveals
these characters’ psychology in the most
remarkably insightful way,” says Freud,
adding that
Walküre
’s music is “surely the
most beautiful in the entire
Ring
.”
On the podium will be the
company’s remarkable music director, Sir
Andrew Davis, renewing his collaboration
with
Ring
director David Pountney, so
memorable not just in
Rheingold
but
also in
The Passenger
two seasons ago.
Returning will be four internationally
renowned Wagnerians who have starred
at Lyric this season: Christine Goerke
(Brünnhilde), Eric Owens (Wotan),
Brandon Jovanovich (Siegmund), and
Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Fricka). Two
notable debuts will be those of Swedish
soprano Elisabet Strid (Sieglinde) and
Estonian bass Ain Anger (Hunding).
Lyric will then move to French
repertoire with one of the most rapturously
melodic works in 19th-century opera,
Georges Bizet’s
The Pearl Fishers
.
This opera presents a romantic triangle
involving the priestess Leïla and the two
men who love her – the fisherman Nadir
and his friend Zurga, king of the pearl
fishers. For this work “Bizet created a
truly entrancing score,” Freud asserts,
“including the world-famous tenor-
baritone duet, as well as heartfelt arias
and exhilarating choruses, but also with
an elegant, exotic beauty in every scene.
I’m delighted that Sir Andrew will be on
the podium, confirming his mastery of
the French repertoire that Lyric and other
major houses have been relishing over the
past decade.”
Lyric is presenting
The Pearl Fishers
in irresistibly colorful and imaginative
sets and costumes by fashion icon Zandra
Rhodes. Glorious performances can be
expected from soprano Marina Rebeka
and the tenor-baritone duo who recently
triumphed together in this opera at the
Met – Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz
Kwiecień.
Exoticism will again pervade the
air with
Turandot,
Giacomo Puccini’s
final work, boasting some of opera’s
most sumptuously beautiful music. It
transports us back to a mythical ancient
Peking, in which an ice-hearted princess
finally discovers love. “The music will
provide a fabulous showcase for the Lyric
Opera Orchestra and Chorus,” notes
Freud. “I love all the large-scale moments
of
Turandot,
but I’m also attracted to the
sweet, intimate arias of the lyric soprano
Liù. Like the rest of the world, I can’t
resist ‘Nessun dorma,’ which has become
everyone’s favorite tenor aria!”
Lyric will be presenting
Turandot
in
a much-celebrated production, created
originally forThe Dallas Opera. After Ryan
Opera Center alumna Amber Wagner’s
recent successes at Lyric in
Il trovatore
and
Tannhäuser
, she’ll return for Puccini’s
formidable title role. Performing opposite
her will be three debuting artists who
have distinguished themselves in major
houses worldwide: Italian soprano Maria
Agresta (Liù - December performances),
American soprano Janai Brugger (Liù –
January performances), and Italian tenor
Stefano La Colla (Calaf).
Freud loves the operas of Vincenzo
Bellini “for their emotion, elegance, and
the sheer beauty of the melodies. That’s
why I’m so pleased that we’ll present his
final masterpiece,
I Puritani,
at Lyric
for the first time in more than a quarter-
century.” This romantic/historical drama,
set in 1640s England, abounds with one
moment of vocal splendor after another,
including one of the greatest of all bel canto
Puccini’s
Turandot
, designed by Allen
Charles Klein.
(left) Amber Wagner
returns to Lyric to star
in the title role.
KAREN ALMOND / THE DALLAS OPERA
(left) Lyric’s leading lady for
I Puritani
is Russian soprano Albina Shagimuratova;
(right) Lawrence Brownlee, who stars as Arturo in
I Puritani
, is pictured (with Olga Peretyatko)
at the Metropolitan Opera.
PAVEL VAAN – LEONID SEMENYUK
KEN HOWARD / METROPOLITAN OPERA