From: Lisa Middleton, Vice President, Marketing & Communications  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
 
 

PRESS RELEASE

Lyric Announces Host Tituss Burgess for the
Renée Fleming 25th Anniversary Concert

Saturday, March 23 at 7pm at the Lyric Opera House
CHICAGO (3/21/2019) Lyric Opera of Chicago is pleased to announce Broadway and television star Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) will host the Renée Fleming 25th Anniversary Concert & Gala at the Lyric Opera House on Saturday, March 23 at 7pm.

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago, the one-night-only musical extravaganza will honor and celebrate American soprano Renée Fleming for her extraordinary commitment to the city and her unparalleled contributions to the musical world.

Enhancing the celebration, Renée Fleming’s most iconic designer gowns and costumes are displayed throughout the Lyric Opera House. Guests can explore career highlights of "The People’s Diva" through her impeccable style, including the gown Vivienne Westwood designed for Fleming’s 2017 Carnegie Hall recital, her La traviata costumes designed by Christian Lacroix, a gown for Manon by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, the Oscar de la Renta gown worn by Fleming at Buckingham Palace for the televised Diamond Jubilee Concert in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, multiple gowns designed by John Galliano for Dior, and the gown designed by Vera Wang for the live telecast of Fleming’s July Fourth performance on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Tickets start at $69 and and are available now at lyricopera.org/renee25concert or by calling 312-827-5600.

Renée Fleming will sing beloved arias from her signature roles, including "Porgi amor" from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, "Song to the Moon" from Dvořák’s Rusalka, and "You’ll Never Walk Alone," from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel.

The multiple Grammy-winning, Tony-nominated superstar will be joined by a powerhouse lineup that includes stars of Lyric’s 2019/20 season: soprano Sondra Radvanovsky (The Three Queens, Dec. 1-7, 2019), tenor Lawrence Brownlee (The Barber of Seville, Sept. 28-Oct. 27, 2019), baritone Quinn Kelsey (Luisa Miller, Oct. 12-31, 2019), and bass-baritones Eric Owens (The RING Cycle, 2020), and Christian Van Horn (Luisa Miller, Oct. 12-31, 2019). These outstanding artists will variously perform with and pay tribute to their beloved friend and colleague in this unforgettable musical celebration.

Patrick Summers will conduct the Lyric Opera Orchestra. Artists from The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center will also participate in the concert.

Musical selections will encompass captivating works by Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Gounod, Massenet, Boito, Floyd, Offenbach, and Lehár.

  • Emmy- and SAG-nominated actor, musician, and writer Tituss Burgess is an astonishingly versatile and dynamic performer, widely acclaimed for his work in television, film, and theater. Burgess is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon in the hit Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

  • Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky has sung seven leading roles at Lyric since 2002, most recently the title roles of Norma, Anna Bolena, and Aida. She is heralded internationally for portrayals of formidable heroines in the Verdi and bel canto repertoire.

  • Tenor Lawrence Brownlee starred opposite Renée Fleming in the Metropolitan Opera’s company premiere of Rossini’s Armida. His Lyric triumphs include I puritani, Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD, and Cenerentola, plus a recital with Eric Owens.

  • Baritone Quinn Kelsey, a Ryan Opera Center alumnus, has triumphed at Lyric in 17 roles, including the title role in Rigoletto and Enrico/Lucia di Lammermoor (2016/17). One of today’s few genuine Verdi baritones, he enjoys an outstanding international career.

  • Bass-baritone Eric Owens has earned critical praise at Lyric in seven roles, most recently Wotan in Lyric’s new Ring cycle and in recital with Lawrence Brownlee. He has been lauded internationally for creating new roles and for classic portrayals.

  • Bass-baritone Christian van Horn, a Ryan Opera Center alumnus and winner of the 2018 Richard Tucker Award, has appeared at Lyric in 15 roles since 2004/05, most recently Mephistophélès/Faust, Escamillo/Carmen, and Narbal/Les Troyens.

  • Conductor Patrick Summers debuted at Lyric in 2014/15 leading Anna Bolena. Summers is artistic and music director at Houston Grand Opera and former principal guest conductor at San Francisco Opera. He has led performances with major companies internationally.

In 1993, Lyric Opera of Chicago audiences first experienced Renée Fleming’s incomparable artistry in the title role of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, and have loved her ever since for her spectacular portrayals in Faust, The Marriage of Figaro, Alcina, Otello, Thaïs, La traviata, A Streetcar Named Desire, Capriccio, and The Merry Widow. She has also given brilliant concerts with the Lyric Opera Orchestra (both alone and in collaboration with Jonas Kaufmann and with the late Dmitri Hvorostovsky); and a dazzling recital with Susan Graham. Fleming was featured in the company’s 50th and 60th anniversary gala concerts and was central to the triumphant Chicago Voices concert in 2017.

Since 2010, Fleming has served as Lyric’s first Creative Consultant. She has fostered emerging artists through important work as Advisor of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, and encouraged a future generation of opera lovers through Lyric Unlimited programs. She has been the driving force behind projects such as Lyric’s world-premiere opera Bel Canto, collaborations with The Second City, and the Chicago Voices initiative, which bridged genres and generations in a groundbreaking, multi-faceted series of programs. Fleming is a Vice Chair of Lyric’s Board of Directors and an honorary member of the Women’s Board of Lyric Opera.

Fleming was featured on the soundtracks of two Oscar-nominated films, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and the Best Picture and Best Soundtrack winner The Shape of Water. She provided the singing voice of Julianne Moore’s opera diva Roxane Coss in the film of Bel Canto. She earned critical acclaim as Nettie Fowler/Carousel on Broadway, as well as a Tony nomination. Her performance schedule this year has also included an international recital tour encompassing Spain, France, the Netherlands, the U.S. and an orchestral concert in Paris. Her latest solo CD, Renée Fleming: Broadway, was released by Decca Records, and her recordings of Der Rosenkavalier and the Broadway cast album of Carousel were both nominated for 2019 Grammy Awards.

Having launched a major initiative with the National Institutes of Health and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts devoted to the intersection of music, neuroscience, and health, Renée is now a sought-after advocate and speaker on this topic, and has delivered more than 20 presentations across the country, from Stanford University to MIT. She will deliver the Pritzker lecture for the Chicago Public Library on Thursday, with guests Sunil Iyengar of the National Endowment for the Arts, and Dr. Nina Kraus of Northwestern University.

The Renée Fleming 25th Anniversary Concert will be followed by an exclusive Gala at The Ritz-Carlton after the performance. To learn more about premier concert seating and Gala attendance please call 312-827-5682 or go to lyricopera.org/reneefleminggala
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

 

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: Timothy White/Decca

Lead Sponsor: Liz Stiffel
Platinum Sponsors: The Crown Family, Patrick G. and Shirley Welsh Ryan, Sage Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. William C. Vance, Ann Ziff
Diamond Sponsors: Mr. and Mrs Fred A. Krehbiel
Golden Sponsors: An Anonymous Donor, Henry and Gilda Buchbinder Family Foundation, Amy and Paul Carbone, Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Cole, Mr. and Mrs. W. James Farrell, Karen Z. Gray-Krehbiel and John H. Krehbiel, Jr., Heinz Family Foundation, J. Thomas Hurvis, ITW, Jenner & Block, Rebecca and Lester Knight, Kohler Co., Mr. and Mrs. Todd D. Mitchell, Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Morrison, Allan and Elaine Muchin, Mr. and Mrs. William A. Osborn, J. Christopher and Anne N. Reyes, UL
Silver Sponsors: Dr. and Mrs. Mark Bowen, Dr. Young Chung, Mrs. Robert W. Galvin, Andi and Jim Gordon, The Edgewater Funds, Make It Better Media, Sylvia Neil and Daniel Fischel, Jennifer N. Pritzker, Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Donna Van Eekeren and Dale Connelly
Additional Support: Mr. & Mrs. Dietrich M. Gross, Julian Family Foundation

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