Chicago Classical Review

Lyric Opera announced its 2026-27 season Thursday, the first to show significant influence by John Mangum, the company’s new general director, president and CEO.

The season will open October 10 with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. This will be the third time around for the highly praised Robert Falls production since its 2014 debut. Christian Van Horn stars as the charismatic seducer with Lawrence Brownlee as Don Ottavio and Mané Galoyan as Donna Anna. Nina Solodovnikova as Donna Elvira and Tommaso Barea as Leporello make their Lyric debuts; Kyle Ketelsen sings the title role for the final two performances. Enrique Mazzola conducts. 

The season continues with the Lyric premiere of Omar by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels on October 23 for just three performances. The opera is inspired by the memoir of Omar bin said, an African Muslim and “19th-century Islamic scholar,” whose diaries “preserve a firsthand account of the experiences of the enslaved.” Issachah Savage stars as Omar with a cast that includes Kearstin Piper Brown, Zoie Reams and Kyle Ketelsen. Kazem Abdullah conducts.

Donizetti’s bel canto comedy Don Pasquale returns November 12 with Misha Kiria making his company debut in the title role of the lecherous miser, alongside Ying Fang as Norina, Alberto Robert as Ernesto and Ian Rucker as Malatesta. Mazzola conducts.

Massenet’s Hérodiade opens the new year in its belated Lyric Opera premiere—albeit in a concert performance and not a staged production. Clémentine Margaine stars in title role of the French composer’s biblical sex-and-sand drama with Federica Lombardi as Salomé, Piero Pretti as Jean and Igor Golovatenko as Hérode. Mazzola conducts.

Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos returns March 11 with Russell Thomas as Bacchus/The Tenor, Leah Hawkins as Ariadne/Prima Donna, Erin Morley as Zerbinetta and Samantha Hankey as the Composer. Oksana Lyniv conducts in her Lyric Opera debut. 

Verdi’s La Traviata opens an extended run March 24 with Yaritza Véliz as Violetta, Liparit Avetisyan as Alfredo and Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Germont. Mazzola and Tess Jackson share conducting dates.

The season closes with Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah (April 11-23)—a year late for the American composer’s 2026 birthday centennial but welcome in its first Lyric revival in 25 years. Gabriella Reyes stars in the title role with Ryan Speedo Green as Reverend Blitch and Matthew Cairns as Sam. Daniela Candillari conducts.

A Lyric spokesman confirmed that Mangum, the new CEO, was responsible for adding Susannah, Hérodiade and Ariadne to the lineup, as well as much of next year’s casting.

The company also announced the appointment of Sondra Radvanovsky as artistic advisor for a term of five years through 2031. The soprano, who opened the current Lyric season in Cherubini’s Medea last fall, will perform a program of arias and duets with tenor SeokJong Baek April 20 and May 2, 2027.

Other events include “Wagner: Myth and Music,” a concert of Wagner’s music with Timothy Soddy conducting the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus (November 20 and 22). Mazzola will lead two performances of Haydn’s The Creation (January 22 and 23) with soloists Erin Morley, David Portillo, and Michael Sumuel. And the company’s summer musical series will return next year with Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls June 4-20.

lyricopera.org

Posted in News
No Comments