Lyric Opera cancels rest of season, announces most of 2021-22 lineup

Wed Oct 21, 2020 at 1:49 pm

By Lawrence A. Johnson

Ana Maria Martinez starred in Florida Grand Opera’s 2018 production of Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas. Photo: Chris Kakol 

To no one’s surprise the Lyric Opera of Chicago has cancelled the rest of its 2020-21 season. The Wednesday announcement follows the company lining out its fall 2020 productions in June due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, the company announced “highlights” of its schedule for 2021-22.

Verdi’s Macbeth will open next season in a new production by David McVicar and John Macfarlane. Enrique Mazzola will conduct in his first assignment as music director.

Mozart’s Magic Flute will return—not in a revival of the company’s backporch version of 2016 but in Barrie Kosky’s well-traveled silent-movie staging.

Daniel Catán’s widely acclaimed Florencia en el Amazonas will have its Chicago debut.

Fire Shut Up in My Bones will also be heard in its Chicago debut. Terrence Blanchard’s coming-of-age opera is based on Charles M. Blow’s memoir of the same name. The opera debuted at Opera Theater of St. Louis last year.



Mazzola will also conduct Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up, a work that received strong reviews at its Washington premiere in 2018.

Dates and casting details will be announced at a future date.

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One Response to “Lyric Opera cancels rest of season, announces most of 2021-22 lineup”

  1. Posted Oct 23, 2020 at 5:20 pm by John

    Lord! You’d think after this catastrophe that the Lyric could do something better than present three contemporary works that premiered somewhere else. I saw the original Florencia in Houston ago and will certainly avoid it over 20 years later.

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