From: Lisa Middleton, Vice President, Marketing & Communications  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
 
 

PRESS RELEASE

What You Need to Know About Elektra
at Lyric Opera of Chicago

Six Performances: February 2-22, 2019
CHICAGO (12/19/2018) – Blood spills in this twisted family drama featuring one daughter’s single-minded mission to avenge her murdered father.

MAGNIFICENTLY THEATRICAL AND DEVASTATINGLY MOVING

  • Richard Strauss at the height of his powers: This suspenseful story of murder and vengeance roars to life thanks to Richard Strauss’s pulse-pounding music.The brutal splendor of Strauss’s score grabs its audience and refuses to let go until its hair-raising, bloody finale

  • A tour-de-force soprano performance: The title role of Elektra demands a great singing actress, and Lyric is fortunate to have found one in Swedish soprano Nina Stemme, who makes her long-awaited Lyric Opera debut in one of the most challenging soprano roles in opera repertoire.

  • A stellar cast of strong actors and singers: This ancient family drama demands powerful performances by its supporting characters. Portraying Elektra’s emotionally tortured mother Klytämnestra is mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens, and soprano Elza van den Heever plays Elektra’s conflicted sister Chrysothemis. Klytämnestra’s creepy lover Aegisth is sung by tenor Robert Brubaker (Lyric debut) and bass-baritone Iain Paterson (Lyric debut) plays Orest, Elektra’s long lost-brother.

  • An electrifying production: Audiences will not only be thrilled by the herculean singing but also by the chilling visuals of this singular Elektra. Acclaimed director Sir David McVicar has created a production as twisted and dramatic as Strauss’s monumental music with Nick Sandys as revival director, making his Lyric debut in that capacity. John Macfarlane’s haunting set and costume designs and Jennifer Tipton’s atmospheric and ominous lighting set the scene for the gripping drama.  

  • Esteemed conductor Donald Runnicles will make his highly-anticipated Lyric debut leading the Lyric Opera Orchestra through Strauss’s thrillingly intense score. At Deutsche Oper Berlin he earned praise for capturing "the very essence" of the "richly-textured and atmospheric" music. (The Opera Critic Review)

  • Hear tomorrow's stars today in featured roles: This powerful production includes several current members of the Ryan Opera Center: sopranos Emily Pogorelc, Whitney Morrison, Ann Toomey; contralto Lauren Decker; and tenor Eric Ferring.

  • See it if you like: Powerfully evocative music, twisted plots, riveting acting and singing performances, complex women characters, and unforgettable visuals.

  • My bloody Valentine: Skip the usual crowds in the usual places and catch an incredible show that will make you very grateful for your relatively normal family & love life.

  • Running Time: 1 Hour and 40 minutes without intermission: Enjoy an exceptional live experience that’s shorter than many movies.

  • Sung in German with projected English translations.

  • Six performances Feb. 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, and 22 at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago. Performance times vary.

  • For more information and to order tickets, visit LyricOpera.com/Elektra or call 312-827-5600. Tickets start at $37.

  • For information about pre-performance dining options at Lyric, visit LyricOpera.org/Dining to learn about on-site restaurants, pop-up sushi bar, beverage service, and more.
From: Lisa Middleton, Vice President, Marketing & Communications

Holly H. Gilson
Senior Director, Communications
312.827.5939

Magda Krance
Director of
Media Relations

312.827.5924

Nathaniel Hamilton
Public Relations
Manager

312.827.5928

About Lyric

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s mission is to express and promote the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great opera. Lyric exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to Chicago and the nation, and to advance the development of the art form.

Founded in 1954, Lyric is dedicated to producing and performing consistently thrilling, entertaining, and thought-provoking opera with a balanced repertoire of core classics, lesser-known masterpieces, and new works; to creating an innovative and wide-ranging program of community engagement and educational activities; and to developing exceptional emerging operatic talent.

Under the leadership of general director, president & CEO Anthony Freud, music director Sir Andrew Davis, and creative consultant Renée Fleming, Lyric strives to become The Great North American Opera Company for the 21st century: a globally significant arts organization embodying the core values of excellence, relevance, and fiscal responsibility.

To learn more about Lyric’s current season, go to lyricopera.org. You can also join the conversation with @LyricOpera on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. #Lyric1819 #LongLivePassion

Photo: Robert Kusel

Lyric production revival of Strauss’s Elektra generously made possible by Julie and Roger Baskes, Sylvia Neil and Daniel Fischel, the Mazza Foundation, and Exelon

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Lyric Opera of Chicago
20 N. Wacker Drive
Suite 860
Chicago, IL 60606
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