Glass’s opera, in a standard indoor setting, had been on LBO’s initial 2021 schedule, curated by Interim Artistic Advisor Yuval Sharon and announced back in May 2020. With a new artistic director at the helm, and live performances looking feasible this spring and summer, the company is ready to realize production plans made last year.įirst up, a drive-in style staging of Phillip Glass’s Les enfants terribles, on the roof of a Long Beach parking garage.

Prophesy Proves True: A Review of Macbeth at Lyric Opera Lyric has opened this season with a production that is delivered open-throttle by everyone involved.Long Beach Opera ’s 2021 season is taking shape.

One Step More: A Review of Madama Butterfly at Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric's production of “Madama Butterfly” is fashioned to invite discussion rather than uninformed permissiveness.

For this house to be able to offer the city a regular diet of opera and ballet changes the feel of what the opera house represents and how the city can perceive it.'

Filling The Dance Card: Lyric Opera Welcomes New Roommate Joffrey Ballet to Refurbished Opera House 'This is a partnership which we hope will have an indefinite future.

Thrilling Night at the Opera: A Review of Tosca at Lyric Opera This is a sumptuous and traditional production of “Tosca” visually with every inch of the cavernous stage filled with a three-dimensional, captivating set.

Lyric Opera Opens With A Verdian Banquet: A Review of Ernani at Lyric Opera Beginning his second full-time season with Lyric, Enrique Mazzola proves once again his connection to the early operas of Verdi, shepherding Lyric’s fine orchestra, mighty chorus, and a group of singularly qualified and passionate principal singers.

Love Songs From The Rainforest: A Review of Florencia en el Amazonas at Lyric Opera of Chicago With the programming of the first Spanish-language opera to appear on the main stage, the company continues its climb toward greater inclusivity, the first with a Spanish libretto to be commissioned by an opera company in this country.Their duets together lit the pilot light but few sparks were generated. Castronovo’s technique was muddled when quick notes were called for, but he did improve as the performance progressed, rendering a poignant “Una furtiva lagrima.” Chicago native soprano Ailyn Pérez as his love interest Adina was more vocally consistent even if bel canto is not where she is most comfortable. His notes were cornered rather than rounded, the end result not as lyrical as preferred for bel canto repertoire. Tenor Charles Castronovo as Nemorino tended to be coarse and harsh early on, particularly in his opening aria. Chorus master Michael Black does a wonderful job of prepping the chorus but the conductor needs to take it to that next level. More problematic are balances and crispness within the Lyric Opera Chorus, a vital communicator of-and commentator upon-action in “Elixir.” The chorus needs to pop, but the tempos are too rigid and slow for that to happen. There is also considerable attention to balance among singers, chorus and orchestra in climactic ensembles. There is a light lyricism and transparency to the sound he gets from the Lyric Opera Orchestra. Mazzola’s balances are superb, each orchestral section is well-layered and none overpower nor are overpowered. That’s not necessarily a bad thing in theory, but in practice on these occasions, it led to a palpable loss of energy and momentum and a lack of flexibility.

What looks more likely is that Mazzola is being cautious and wants to offer a constant safety net to the assembled forces. Whether or not this represents Mazzola’s aesthetic vision of these pieces is difficult to discern, given how much of an unknown quantity he still is here. What these have in common is Mazzola’s exceedingly slow tempos. With its carefree and sunny demeanor, “Elixir” could not be more different than Verdi’s “Macbeth,” which opened the season. The second of these, Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love,” opened Sunday afternoon.

(Although Mazzola will also conduct a contemporary chamber opera, Missy Mazzoli’s “Proving Up,” at the Goodman’s Owen Theatre in January.) He’s conducting only two mainstage operas during the entire 2021-22 season-both standard Italian repertoire-and these are frontloaded to its first few weeks. Ailyn Pérez as Adina and Charles Castronovo as Nemorino/Photo: Cory Weaverĭon’t blink or you might miss the much-ballyhooed fall debut of Lyric Opera’s new music director, Enrique Mazzola.

Lyric opera 2021 season