My Fair Lady

L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O

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

KAREN ALMOND / THE DALLAS OPERA

Puccini’s Turandot , designed by Allen Charles Klein.

(left) Amber Wagner returns to Lyric to star in the title role.

PAVEL VAAN – LEONID SEMENYUK

KEN HOWARD / METROPOLITAN 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.

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

14 | April - May, 2017