Ópera Lírica de Chicago

La Lyric Opera de Chicago es una compañía de ópera estadounidense con sede en Chicago , Illinois. Fue fundada en Chicago en 1954 con el nombre de «Lyric Theatre of Chicago» por Carol Fox , Nicola Rescigno y Lawrence Kelly, y su primera temporada incluyó el debut estadounidense de Maria Callas con Norma . Fox reorganizó la compañía en 1956 con su nombre actual. La Lyric tiene su sede en un teatro y espacios anexos del Civic Opera Building , que actualmente son propiedad de la compañía.

La primera ópera que se representó en Chicago fue La sonnambula de Bellini , presentada por una compañía de ópera itinerante el 29 de julio de 1850. ^{[ 1 ]} El primer teatro de ópera de Chicago abrió sus puertas en 1865, pero fue destruido en el Gran Incendio de Chicago en 1871. El segundo teatro de ópera, el Auditorio de Chicago , abrió en 1889. ^{[ 2 ]}

En 1929, se inauguró el actual Teatro de la Ópera Cívica en 20 North Wacker Drive, aunque la propia Compañía de la Ópera Cívica de Chicago quebró durante la Gran Depresión . El antiguo Auditorio continuó produciendo espectáculos teatrales y musicales hasta su cierre en 1941. ^{[ 3 ]}

Las compañías de ópera residentes comenzaron en Chicago en 1910 con la formación de la Chicago Grand Opera Company a partir de los restos de la Manhattan Opera Company, fundada por Oscar Hammerstein I y desplazada por la más sólida financieramente Metropolitan Opera. Chicago contó con esta primera compañía durante cuatro temporadas; luego, tras no haber temporada en 1914/15, se reconstituyó como la Chicago Opera Association . Esta duró hasta 1921/22, cuando se convirtió en la Chicago Civic Opera desde 1922 hasta 1932. Tras no haber temporada en 1932/33, la compañía se reconstituyó y volvió a llamarse Chicago Grand Opera Company desde 1933 hasta 1935. De 1936 a 1939, la compañía se llamó Chicago City Opera Company , y finalmente, de 1940 a 1946, la ópera fue presentada por la Chicago Opera Company . No hubo temporadas desde 1947 hasta 1953, por lo que la ópera fue presentada por otras compañías de gira. La Lyric Opera de Chicago se fundó en 1954 y ha continuado ininterrumpidamente, excepto en 1967.

Carol Fox, America's first female opera impresario at the age of 28, began her first season in 1954 by bringing Maria Callas for her American debut in the title role of Norma, the first of many electrifying Callas performances in Chicago. However, this first eight-opera season in 1954 was not the result of a long apprenticeship in opera production; Carol Fox, fluent in Italian and French, had studied opera singing for many years, culminating in two years of intensive work in Italy. However, when she realized that performance was not to be in her future, she decided that it lay in bringing the performances of the world's finest artists to her home town of Chicago. Her success can be measured in one statistic regarding the filling of Lyric's Civic Opera House: in 1954, the season ran for three weeks; in 2007/08 Lyric had an almost six-month season.

Fox also used her formidable persuasive powers on artists other than singers: she was able to bring Rudolf Nureyev to make his debut on an American opera stage at Lyric; Vera Zorina, Alicia Markova, Erik Bruhn and Maria Tallchief also danced at Lyric, and George Balanchine created choreography for Lyric. The Italian composer Pino Donati was her artistic director. Bruno Bartoletti was principal conductor, but other conductors included Tullio Serafin, Dimitri Mitropoulos and Artur Rodziński. Christoph von Dohnányi and Sir Georg Solti chose Lyric for their American operatic debuts. Franco Zeffirelli staged operas as did Harold Prince. After retiring from dancing, Tallchief moved to Chicago where she served as director of ballet for Lyric from 1973 to 1979. In 1974, she founded Lyric Opera's ballet school, where she taught the Balanchine technique.^[4][5]

Because of Fox's illnesses and her refusal to lower her artistic standards despite Lyric's dire financial state in 1980, her resignation was sought and given. She died a few months later, survived by a daughter, Victoria.

It was of Lyric's founder that Saul Bellow wrote in 1979 "Miss Fox will be remembered, together with Jane Addams of Hull House and Harriet Monroe of Poetry magazine, as one of Chicago's greatest women."^[6]

A lo largo de sus muchos años en Lyric, Carol Fox desarrolló la confianza y la autoridad para traer a artistas de fama mundial a Lyric: Luciano Pavarotti (56 funciones en 7 papeles), Tito Gobbi , Eleanor Steber , Jussi Björling , Birgit Nilsson , Renata Tebaldi , Giuseppe Di Stefano , Giulietta Simionato , Richard Tucker , Boris Christoff , Eileen Farrell , Dorothy Kirsten , Leonie Rysanek , Leontyne Price , Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , Geraint Evans , Mirella Freni , Nicolai Ghiaurov , Alfredo Kraus , Renata Scotto , Robert Merrill , Joan Sutherland , Christa Ludwig , Jon Vickers , Marilyn Horne , Grace Bumbry , Montserrat Caballé , Tatiana Troyanos , Sherrill Milnes , Plácido Domingo , Felicia Weathers , Vyacheslav Polozov y José Carreras . Anna Moffo también eligió Lyric para su debut americano.

Fox fue sucedida en Lyric por su asistente de dirección durante mucho tiempo, Ardis Krainik (1981-1996), en cuyo honor se nombró posteriormente el auditorio principal del teatro de la ópera, y luego por William Mason (1997-2011).

De 1964 a 1974, Bruno Bartoletti fue codirector artístico y director principal, y de 1974 a 2000 se convirtió en director único y principal. ^{[ 7 ]} Sir Andrew Davis fue director musical y director principal de Lyric, cargo que ocupó a partir de septiembre de 2000. Davis se jubiló en junio de 2021 y cedió el puesto a Enrique Mazzola , actual director musical y director principal de Lyric Opera. ^{[ 7 ]}

Danny Newman fue el agente de prensa de la compañía durante muchos años, desde 1954 hasta su jubilación en la temporada 2001-2002. A Newman se le atribuye en gran medida la fundación del marketing artístico basado en suscripciones, el modelo económico estándar para las organizaciones artísticas sin fines de lucro en los EE. UU. ^{[ 8 ]} Philip David Morehead fue jefe del personal musical hasta su jubilación en 2015. ^{[ 9 ]}

Anthony Freud became general director of the company in October 2011. In September 2020, Lyric announced the election of Sylvia Neil as chair of Lyric’s board of directors, the first woman board chair in Lyric’s history.^[10] In December 2021, Freud's contract was extended through 2026.^[11] However, Freud concluded his tenure with the company at the close of the 2023-2024 season, two seasons earlier than the previously announced extension of his most recent contract. In July 2024, the company announced the appointment of John Mangum as its next general director, effective with the autumn of 2024.^[12][13]

In addition to the standard operatic repertoire, Lyric also presents contemporary works. Recent productions have included Harbison'sThe Great Gatsby (2000–2001), Weill'sStreet Scene (2001–2002), Floyd'sSusannah, Sondheim'sSweeney Todd (2002–2003), and John Adams' Doctor Atomic directed by Peter Sellars.

Composer William Bolcom wrote his most recent opera for Lyric, A Wedding, based on the 1978 film of the same name directed by Robert Altman. It premiered during Lyric's 50th-anniversary season. During the 2015/16 season, the company premiered its latest commission, Bel Canto by Peruvian composer Jimmy López with a libretto by Nilo Cruz based on the novel by Ann Patchett.

Lyric's productions were broadcast and nationally syndicated by WFMT Radio Network, from 1971 until 2001. The broadcasts ceased then because of a loss of sponsorship.^[14] The issue was resolved at the 11th hour for the October 21, 2006 premiere of Richard Strauss's opera Salome starring Deborah Voigt. Syndicated broadcast of Lyric resumed in May 2007 on the WFMT network, which was included on XM Satellite Radio before it merged and became SiriusXM Radio.

The company's permanent home is the Civic Opera House, sections of the building which it rented from 1954 until after the 1993 renovations, when it bought those facilities. It is a 1929 structure with an Art Deco interior. Its 3,276-seat capacity makes it the second-largest opera auditorium in North America after the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The interior was named The Ardis Krainik Theatre in 1996 in honor of Ardis Krainik, the former General Director, who was responsible for its renovation from 1993 onwards.

The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center (formerly Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, 1981–2006), established in 1974 as the Lyric Opera School by Carol Fox, is the professional artist-development program for Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The Ryan Opera Center is considered one of the most prestigious vocal programs in America,^[17] and has produced notable singers, including:

Approximately a dozen young singers are selected from the near 400 who audition annually,^[18] and they are in residence for twelve months. Over the course of the year they receive advanced instruction in numerous aspects of operatic performance, including voice lessons and coachings, language and acting training, and master classes with some of opera's most renowned artists. The singers gain valuable performing experience by participating in recitals and concerts at many Chicago-area venues. During Lyric's mainstage season, they perform and understudy roles at all levels. The singers work with the world's greatest opera singers, conductors, and directors, thus advancing the young artists’ professionalism. In 2005, author William Murray wrote a book about a year in the life of an entering class at the Ryan Opera Center.^[19]

El primer director del Ryan Opera Center durante sus primeros años, de 1974 a 1981, cuando pasó a llamarse Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, y hasta su jubilación en 1991, fue Lee Schaenen. ^{[ 20 ]} Andrew Földi lo sucedió como director del Ryan Opera Center de 1991 a 1995. Le sucedió Richard Pearlman , quien dirigió el programa desde 1995 hasta su fallecimiento en 2006. La reconocida soprano Gianna Rolandi , quien había sido directora de estudios vocales e instructora principal del Ryan Opera Center desde 2002, fue nombrada directora del programa en 2006. ^{[ 21 ]} El programa ahora está dirigido por Dan Novak, director; Craig Terry, director musical; Julia Faulkner, directora de estudios vocales, y Renée Fleming , asesora.

• Lista de museos e instituciones culturales en Chicago

Notas

Fuentes

• Cassidy, Claudia (Prólogo de Saul Bellow ) (1979), Lyric Opera of Chicago . ISBN 0-9603538-0-1
• Murray, William (2006), Fortissimo: Tras bambalinas en la ópera con monstruos sagrados y jóvenes cantantes , Crown, 2005: ISBN 1-4000-5360-9; Three Rivers Press, 2006 ISBN 9781400053612
• Preston, Katherine K. (1993), Ópera itinerante: Compañías de ópera ambulantes en los Estados Unidos, 1825-60 . Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press. (Serie Música en la vida estadounidense) ISBN 0-252-01974-1
• Zeitz, Karyl Lynn (1996), Guía del National Trust de las grandes óperas de Estados Unidos (National Trust for Historic Preservation en Estados Unidos). John Wiley & Sons Inc.; Nueva York: Preservation Press: ISBN 0-471-14421-5ISBN 9780471144212

• Skrebneski, Víctor, Dan Rest y Tony Romano. Bravi: Ópera Lírica de Chicago . Nueva York: Abbeville Press, 1994. ISBN 1558597719
• Warrack, John y West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera ISBN 0-19-869164-5
• Lista de enlaces a entrevistas con muchos de los artistas de los primeros 50 años de la Lyric Opera (1954-2003/4).

• Sitio web oficial
• Perfil en Centerstage Chicago
• Monumentos de Chicago: Edificio de la Ópera Cívica
• Entrevista a Ardis Krainik realizada por Bruce Duffie.
• Colección de fotografías de la ópera lírica de May Valentine, archivada el 5 de enero de 2011 en la Wayback Machine de la Biblioteca Newberry.
• Entrevista a Danny Newman realizada por Bruce Duffie.