Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced their 21/22 season featuring 7 new opera productions, several of which feature some of Canada’s greatest opera stars.

Aiming to return to the theatre, live performances for their 67th season are set to start on September 17, 2021.

“As we boldly move forward from this uniquely challenging year, we find ourselves at a legacy moment for our company,” said Anthony Freud, General Director, President and CEO of Lyric Opera of Chicago. We are profoundly grateful for our patrons’ ongoing and generous support, which will continue to be more essential than ever as we work to adapt and recover. We can’t wait to welcome everyone safely back to the Lyric Opera House for the shared community and the life-affirming power of live performance.”

Here are some of the Canadians who will be onstage in 21/22 at Lyric Opera of Chicago:

Role Debuts

Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky is making her debut as Lady Macbeth in the opening show for the Lyric 21/22 season. Taking on Verdi’s Macbeth, this co-production with the Canadian Opera Company will be the inaugural show of Music Director Enrique Mazzola’s tenure, and a brand-new production from Sir David McVicar.

Conductor Jordan de Souza will also be debuting, leading Lyric’s first ever Spanish-language work to be presented as part of the mainstage opera season: Florencia en al Amazonas.

Returning to LOC

In a new-to-Chicago production, baritone Joshua Hopkins will be taking on the role of Belcore in the Lyric 21/22 season’s The Elixir of Love.

Making its Lyric premiere, Proving Up created by composer Missy Mazzoli and Canadian librettist Royce Vavrek tells a supernatural story of Nebraska homesteaders in the 1870s and the American Dream. The story was adapted from the short story of the same title by novelist Karen Russell.

“New beginnings are cause for celebration, and we look forward to the joyful return of live performances in the 2021|22 Season,” said Freud.

Tickets and more information for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 21/22 season can be found here www.lyricopera.org.

By Alya Stationwala for operacanada.ca.

Photo: Jordan de Souza. © Neda Navaee.