Composer John Adams isn’t one to shy away from controversial subjects (the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the atom bomb come to mind). Lately, he’s circled back to the Arab world … More John Adams’s “Feminist” Concerto
When Lyric Opera of Chicago added the music theater piece ‘Show Boat’ to its schedule in February of 2012, it seemed like a departure to some, a reconciliation to others. The latter group felt the project was long overdue … More ‘Show Boat’s’ Voyage into the Opera House
The glass ceiling between living composers and those of a hundred years ago seems to be splintering. One of the principal agents is Dallas-native Christopher Theofanidis. He is one of the most sought-after composers today, with performances by over seventy orchestras … More Video: A Conversation with Christopher Theofanidis
On their first day as newly anointed “community ambassadors” for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Eric Owens and Ana María Martínez dispensed with the typical school presentation and chatted with students about growing up in a confusing world. … More Opera Singers as Motivational Speakers?
It’s Friday afternoon, the day before the opening of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. It’s 50 degrees outside. Wacker Drive, which had been a maze of ice canyons, is now six inches underwater. Onstage, there’s a matinee of Die Fledermaus. Backstage, a crew copes with a missed Butterfly rehearsal. Earlier in the week, a polar vortex had … More An Exclusive with Patricia Racette
Even international violinists brighten at the mention of swashbuckling Skywalkers and soaring trumpets. But Gil Shaham knows something of the gentleman who conjured the Star Wars musical universe: it’s his friend and collaborator John Williams … More Gil Shaham Talks ‘Star Wars,’ the Violin and the New York Knicks
To perform Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, nearly three hundred people will come together under Riccardo Muti’s baton—a chorus, an orchestra, soloists—each having taken his or her own journey through steadfast determination … More Is It Scary to Sing for Muti?
If ever there were one whose reputation precedes her, it’s Anna Netrebko. She’s been electrifying opera houses across the globe for over fifteen years, but not in Chicago. Tonight that changes. Ms. Netrebko will sing … More Anna Netrebko: The Toughest Crowd Is…
Noel Morris 