Tickets for these performances are on-sale and available at the Harris Theater box office located in Millennium Park at 205 E. Randolph Dr., by calling 312-334-7777 or by visiting www.HarrisTheaterChicago.org.

Program information for the month of January at the Harris Theater is as follows:

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble with Artistic Director Jon Faddis

Celebrating “The Great Summit”:  The Music of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington

Friday, January 15, 2010, 8:00 pm

Tickets: $15-$45

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble pays tribute to Jazz greats, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington in what is sure to be an evening of fabulous music. Highlights of the performance include big band arrangements of Armstrong classics, such as “What a Wonderful World,” “Swing that Music,” and “Stardust,” as well as Ellington favorites pulled from the CJE’s own library.

Harris Theater and Contempo present

Double-Bill: Where Jazz and Contemporary Music Intersect

Saturday, January 16, 2010, 7:30 pm

Tickets: $25, $40

Cliff Colnot, conductor

Susanne Mentzer, mezzo soprano

eighth blackbird

Chris Potter, saxophones

Kenny Werner, piano

This exciting co-presentation of Contempo’s Double-Bill: Where Jazz and Contemporary Music Intersect

features important Chicago premieres and combines the best of living composers, cutting-edge performances by contemporary artists, and memorable appearances by jazz musicians. Featuring Grammy Award-winning sextet eighth blackbird and renowned mezzo soprano Susanne Mentzer, who performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus this past October and wowed both critics and audiences with her portrayal of Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Chicago Opera Theater in 2006, as well as jazz musicians Chris Potter and Kenny Warner, Double-Bill will include the Chicago premiere of Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer Bernard Rands’ work, now again – fragments from Sappho for ten-piece ensemble, along with Kurt Weill’s September Song. The  performance will also feature the Chicago premiere of Taiwanese composer Yu-Hui Chang’s Binge Delirium for solo percussion and conclude with a jam session with jazz musicians saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Kenny Werner.

Shawn Brogan Allison    Towards the Flame

Bernard Rands              now again – fragments from Sappho

Kurt Weill                      September Song

Yu-Hui Chang                Binge Delirium for solo percussion

Set with Chris Potter, saxophone, and Kenny Werner, piano

The Dance Center of Columbia College presents

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

Moon Water

Friday, January 22 and Saturday, January 23, 2010, 8:00 pm

Tickets: $30 – $65

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Asia’s leading contemporary dance company, returns to Chicago blending Eastern and Western dance styles with Lin Hwai-min’s internationally renowned signature work, Moon Water. Lauded worldwide for its innovation, grace and extreme physical fluidity, Moon Water is a contemporary exploration of the Tai Chi Tao Yin movement, set to JS Bach’s exquisite Six Suites for Solo Cello. During this breathtaking performance, water sweeps across the entire stage and is reflected by a wall of mirror suspended midair, creating a stunning on-stage work of art. The company, made up of two dozen dancers with training in Tai Chi Tao Yin, meditation, martial arts, Chinese Opera movement, modern dance, ballet and calligraphy, execute Lin Hwai-min’s choreography beautifully – varying from the weighty stillness of a stone sculpture, to floating lyricism, to fierce martial-art like attacks. “Mr. Lin has accomplished what creative artists rarely succeed in doing today: challenging the audience with a work unlike any other,” says The New York Times. “Moon Water is not about meditation but is a meditation in itself.”

UIC Department of Surgery presents

Barbara Frittoli
Sunday, January 24, 2010, 3:00 pm

Tickets: $50 – $500; Student and UIC Staff discounts available

Barbara Frittoli will join Members of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, led by conductor Mattia Rondelli for this exciting fundraising event for the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Surgery. The program includes Beethoven Seventh Symphony and Berlioz Les Nuiz d’Ete for soprano and orchestra. This special event will use the fine art of music to raise funds for the special art of robotic surgery under the direction of Dr. Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti. Originally from Italy, Dr. Giulianotti moved to Chicago two years ago to advance the art of robotic surgery, and now is the director of robotic surgery at UIC. Dr. Giulianotti has performed over 2,100 minimally invasive surgeries with over 1,000 robotic procedures.

As a classical pianist and the world’s premiere robotic surgeon, Dr. Giulianotti has sought to unite these two worlds by creating a new organization,” The Art of Healing, The Art of Music”. He emphasizes “Surgery helps the body while opera soothes the soul”.

Platinum $500 Tickets: A portion of the proceeds of this purchase will fund the Robotic Surgery Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Platinum ticket holders are invited to a private pre and post concert reception, meet and greet with Barbara Frittoli, and will hold premiere seating.

Gold $250 Tickets: A portion of the proceeds of this purchase will fund the Robotic Surgery Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Your donation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Gold ticket holders are invited to a private pre concert reception and will hold preferred seating.

Harris Theater presents

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 7:30 pm

Tickets: $45 – $75

Following an appearance in the UK, including a performance in celebration of the 80^th Anniversary of the Royal Variety Performance which Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall attended, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo promise to delight Chicago audiences with an exciting new program demonstrating their playful, entertaining view of classical ballet in parody form and en travesti. Hailed as “wholly spectacular” and “stunning” by The New York Times, the Trocks, as they are affectionately known, will amuse and inspire Chicagoans with their blend of their loving knowledge of dance, their comic approach, and the astounding fact that men can, indeed, dance en pointe without falling flat on their faces! The fact that men dance all the parts–heavy bodies delicately balancing on toes as swans, sylphs, water sprites, romantic princesses, angst-ridden Victorian ladies–enhances rather than mocks the spirit of dance as an art form, delighting and amusing the most knowledgeable, as well as novices, in the audience. This Harris Theater presentation of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is back by popular demand after a sold-out engagement at the Harris in 2007.

Judith Neisser is the Presenting Sponsor of the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo engagement.

Swan Lake- Act II (Le Lac Des Cygnes)
Patterns in Space
La Vivandiere
Majisimas

Old Town School of Folk Music presents

Rosanne Cash

January 29 2010 at 8:00 PM

Tickets: $42, $45

Johnny Cash’s daughter has held her own since she ventured into the country music scene in the late ’70s. With what Rolling Stone calls “a voice that floats like smoke,” plus an ability to “belt it out,” the Grammy Award-winning Rosanne Cash has topped Billboard’s charts and earned acclaim for both country and crossover songs. With the recent release of “The List,” a celebrated new album of 12 covers culled from a list of 100 essential country songs her father gave her in 1973, Cash collaborates with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Wilco. New country fans and traditionalists alike tip their hats to this star in her own right. Radio sponsor for Rosanne Cash is WXRT.

Harris Theater Family Series presents

New Millennium Orchestra

DJ Beethoven

Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 1 pm

Tickets: $10

Join Francesco Milioto and the New Millennium Orchestra on a fresh, urban electronic musical journey to the opera house and cinema, then on to a jazz club and underground lounge and discover a brand new way to look at music and musicians! In its inaugural presentation, DJ Beethoven will enlighten audiences as to how the orchestra and its musicians have burst out of the concert hall and now can be found in everyday places – including a DJ’s turntable! – influencing every genre of music.

The Slusar-Goldman Family is the Lead Sponsor of the DJ Beethoven family series performance.

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All programs, prices and dates are subject to change.

* * *

Opened in 2003, the Harris Theater’s mission is to partner and collaborate with an array of Chicago’s emerging and mid-sized performing arts organizations to help them build the resources and infrastructure necessary to achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. The Harris Theater for Music and Dance was the first multi-use performing arts venue to be built in the Chicago downtown area since 1929 and today the Theater continues to host the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, featuring the city’s world-renowned music and dance institutions and the Harris Theater Presents series of acclaimed national and international companies.  To learn more about the season at the Harris Theater, visit www.harristheaterchicago.org or call the box office at 312-334-7777 to request a brochure.

For additional information about the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago’s state-of-the art 1,470 seat performance venue, please visit www.harristheaterchicago.org.

For high-res images please contact Betsy Shea, Harris Theater for Music and Dance at 312.334.2459 or bshea@harristheaterchicago.org.

The Harris Theater is pleased to announce that UBS is serving as the 2009-2010 Season Sponsor.

The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the Irving Harris Foundation for its leadership support of the Presenting Fund.

United Airlines is the Official Airline of the Harris Theater.

Judith Neisser is the Presenting Sponsor of the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo engagement.

The Slusar-Goldman Family is the Lead Sponsor of the DJ Beethoven family series performance.

Windy City Media Group is the Media Partner for the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo engagement.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is the Lead Underwriter of the Harris Theater’s Rental Subsidy Program.

The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s support of the theater’s collaborative partnerships.

The Harris Theater is partially supported by the CityArts Program 4 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

English mezzo-soprano Diana Montague has withdrawn from all performances in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s revival of The Marriage of Figaro Feb. 28-Mar. 27 due to ill health, Lyric’s general director William Mason announced today. The distinguished singer was to have made her Lyric Opera debut as Marcellina in the Mozart opera.

American mezzo-soprano Lauren Curnow will portray Marcellina (role debut) in all 11 performances of The Marriage of Figaro at Lyric.

“We send best wishes to Ms. Montague for a swift recovery,” said Mason. “We are fortunate that Ms. Curnow, a former member of our Ryan Opera Center who has graced our stage several times previously, is available on such short notice.”

Lauren Curnow debuted this fall at Florence’s Maggio Musicale as the Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen; she debuted in the same production in 2008 at Japan’s Saito Kinen Festival, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and directed by Laurent Pelly. An alumna of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Curnow has been heard at Lyric as Berta/The Barber of Seville (2007-08), Clorinda/Cenerentola and Papagena/The Magic Flute (2005-06), the Fox/The Cunning Little Vixen (2004-05), and Alisa/Lucia di Lammermoor (2003-04). Other engagements include Hansel/Hansel and Gretel (Opera Company of Philadelphia, 2007), Elle/La Voix Humaine and Second Sprite/Rusalka (Wexford Opera Festival, 2007), and Donna Elvira/Don Giovanni (Austin Lyric Opera, 2006). Also this season, the lyric mezzo-soprano performed as a soloist in a concert of folksongs by Luciano Berio at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. In Lyric’s 2007-08 Barber of Seville, the “other” Figaro opera, Curnow was praised by Opera News for her “unusual comedic flair…and her quite fine voice. Berta afforded her a proper aria and she made a delightful thing of it.”

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (in Italian with projected English translations)  11 performances beginning at 7:30 p.m., except for matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Feb. 28 (mat.), March 3 (mat.), 6, 9, 12 (mat.), 15, 18 (mat.), 20, 22, 24, 27

Lyric Opera has presented The Marriage of Figaro in eight different seasons previously since 1957, most recently during the 2003-04 season. “La folle journée” (“The Crazy Day”) was the subtitle of Beaumarchais’ comedy on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart based his opera, one of the greatest creations in the entire repertoire. It centers on a single frantic day in the life of Aguas Frescas, the castle of Count Almaviva (baritone Mariusz Kwiecien). The Count has designs on Susanna (soprano Danielle de Niese), maid of the Countess (soprano Anne Schwanewilms). Susanna is to be married this very day to the count’s valet, Figaro (bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen), which doesn’t stand in the way of the Count’s keeping an assignation with her. But he reckons without Figaro and Susanna who – aided by the Countess – conspire to teach the philandering Count a lesson. Others figuring prominently in the plot are the amorous young page, Cherubino (mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato); an older couple, Dr. Bartolo (bass Andrea Silvestrelli) and Marcellina (mezzo-sopranoLauren Curnow), who turn out to be Figaro’s parents, to his amazement; Susanna’s devious music master, Basilio (tenor Keith Jameson); and Antonio, the Count’s gardener (baritone Philip Kraus).

The production will be conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (Feb. 28-Mar. 18) and Leonardo Vordoni (debut, Mar. 20-28). The original production is by Sir Peter Hall; Herbert Kellner is stage director, with sets and costumes by John Bury and lighting by Duane Schuler.

The Dr. and Mrs. Edwin J. DeCosta and the Walter E. Heller Foundation Production. Revival made possible by Mr. & Mrs. Dietrich M. Gross.

Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Guild Board of Directors celebrates its 26^th Fantasy of the Opera in the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive., on Saturday, February 6, 2010, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Guests at the $400 per-person black-tie fundraiser will begin the evening with specialty cocktails or champagne and gourmet hors d’oeuvres prepared by some of Chicago’s top restaurants: Carnivale, Coco Pazzo, Devon Seafood Grill, Il Mulino, Lloyd’s Chicago, Lockwood Restaurant, N9NE Steakhouse, One North Kitchen & Bar, Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush, Piccolo Sogno, primebar, Prosecco, Province, and Shikago Restaurant.

This season’s Fantasy Raffle features American Airlines (Lyric’s official airline) round trips for two to Paris (business class) and round trips for two (business class and first class) on American Airlines to any destination in the world; and a six-month membership at The Spa at Trump Tower.

This season’s Fantasy Silent Auction (held in the Nancy W. Knowles Lobby) features a 4-night stay at Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado, including ski passes and equipment rental; a dinner and fireworks spectacular at the exclusive Independence Day celebration at the Chicago Yacht Club; a chic and practical Prada hobo bag; plus an enticing array of weekend getaways, luxury items, sports-event tickets, opera tickets and memorabilia, and more.

The Cabaret performance in the Ardis Krainik Theatre begins at 8 p.m. and features stars of Lyric’s current and previous seasons. Music Director Sir Andrew Davis will serve as Master of Ceremonies;  Nicole Cabell (Elixir of Love), David Cangelosi (Tosca), Mark Delavan (Cav/Pag), Susan Graham (The Damnation of Faust), Danielle de Niese, Joyce DiDonato, and Philip Kraus (The Marriage of Figaro), Joseph Kaiser (Faust), and members of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center will perform selections from the great American songbook, Broadway classics, and light operatic fare.

After the Cabaret, guests will enjoy a festively elegant seated dinner prepared by Calihan Catering. At 10 p.m. the “Go-Diva” Chocolate Lounge opens in the lower-level Opera Club. Liqueurs and specialty coffees will be served, along with sweet indulgences courtesy of Godiva Chocolatier. Guests will enjoy dancing to music performed by Ken Arlen’s Indigo in the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Grand Foyer, with sizzling décor by Kehoe Designs.

Fantasy of the Opera is made possible by deeply appreciated support from the following: Platinum Grand Benefactor and Lead Sponsor: Harris Private Bank; Golden Grand Benefactors An Anonymous Donor, Bain & Company, Baker & McKenzie, closerlook, inc., Deloitte., Ernst & Young LLP, Jenner & Block LLP, Mr. and Mrs. John W. Jordan II/Jordan Industries, Richard P. and Susan Kiphart, KPMG LLP, Mayer Brown LLP, and Donna Van Eekeren; Silver Grand Benefactors An Anonymous Donor, Eisen Family Foundation, James G. and Laura G. McCormick, Allan and Elaine Muchin, Peer Pedersen, Spencer Stuart, and Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP; and Benefactors BBJ Linen and Quarles & Brady LLP. The Fantasy Raffle Sponsor is American Airlines, the official airline of Lyric Opera of Chicago.

All proceeds benefit Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Valet parking is complimentary to all guests.  To make a reservation and for more information, visit www.lyricopera.org\fantasy or call (312) 827-5656.

For a sneak peek at some hot silent-auction items that are Lyric exclusives, go to http://www.makeitbetter.net/make-a-difference/charity-auctions

The schedule for the Harris Theater winter/spring 2010 season includes a variety of acclaimed Chicago favorites, Chicago premieres and engagements with individuals and organizations that are seldom seen in Chicago. Joining such popular and acclaimed Chicago institutions as River North Chicago Dance Company, Music of the Baroque, eighth blackbird, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Chicago Opera Theater and Chicago Jazz Ensemble is highly anticipated return of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan; the introduction of the Harris Theater’s Broadway Luminaries series, including engagements with composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheimand Chicago area native Christine Ebersole; the annual Contempo Double-Bill, featuring eighth blackbird and jazz musicians Kenny Werner and Chris Potter; classical guitarist Sharon Isbin and violinist Mark O’Connor; The Magnetic Fields; and the conclusion of the Harris’ new Eat to the Beat $5.00 lunchtime dance series.

The Harris Theater is pleased to share that UBS is serving as the 2009-2010 Season Sponsor. The Harris Theater’s 2009-2010 season has been made possible with support from United Airlines, the Harris Theater’s Official Airline. Judith Neisser is the Presenting Sponsor of the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo engagement; the Irving Harris Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of the Sharon Isbin and Mark O’Connor engagement; the Feitler Family Fund is the Presenting Sponsor of the Stephen Sondheim engagement; BlueCross Blue Shield of Illinois is the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the Christine Ebersole engagement; Lori Gray Faversham and Family is the Lead Sponsor of the Cross that River family series performance; The Slusar-Goldman Family is the Lead Sponsor of the DJ Beethoven family series performance. Windy City Media Group is the Media Partner for the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Sharon Isbin and Mark O’Connor, Stephen Sondheim and Christine Ebersole engagements. The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the Irving Harris Foundation for its leadership support of the Presenting Fund. Rental subsidies for select user groups have been provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Lead Underwriter of the Harris Theater’s Rental Subsidy Program. Additionally, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has provided support for collaborative partnerships with the Harris Theater to the following arts and cultural organizations: Alianza de las Artes Puertorriquenas, Chicago Opera Theater, eighth blackbird, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Music of the Baroque and Urban Gateways. All performances are on The Elizabeth Morse Genius Stage.

Tickets to all Harris Theater performances are available at the Harris Theater box office located in Millennium Park at 205 E. Randolph Dr., by calling 312-334-7777 or by visiting www.HarrisTheaterChicago.org.

Program information for the Harris Theater’s 2010 winter/spring season is as follows:

Classical Music

Music of the Baroque
“Glover Conducts Mozart-The Requiem”
Friday, February 5, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30 – $75

Jane Glover, conductor
Music of the Baroque Chorus and Orchestra
Arianna Zukerman, soprano
Phyllis Pancella, mezzo-soprano
Scott Ramsay, tenor
Stephen Morscheck, bass

Mozart’s great Requiem Mass under Jane Glover’s baton is an extraordinary musical experience. Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 is also on the program.

W. A. MOZART Symphony No. 29 in A Major
Requiem

Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts Symphony Orchestra
Tuesday, February 9, 7:30 pm
Tickets: FREE

Stephen Squires, conductor
Featuring Student Solo Competition Winners Katie Ventura, harp; Leila Bowie, soprano; Marta Botelho-Vieira, violin

Ravel Introduction and Allegro
Respighi Dieta silvane
Sarasate Zigeunerweisen
Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts Symphony Orchestra presents its annual series of free concerts featuring some of the school’s most gifted performers and world-renowned faculty.

Music of the Baroque
“Handel and the Royals”
Monday, March 1, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30 – $75

Jane Glover, conductor
Music of the Baroque Chorus and Orchestra
Christine Brandes, soprano
Daniel Taylor, countertenor
Nicholas Phan, tenor
Neal Davies, bass-baritone

The superb Music of the Baroque chorus shines in brilliant, rarely heard works
written for important occasions at court.

HANDEL Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline,
“The ways of Zion do Mourn”
Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, “Eternal source of light divine”
Anthem for the Wedding of Prince Frederick and Princess Augusta of
Saxe-Coburg, “Sing unto God”

Harris Theater Presents
Sharon Isbin and Mark O’Connor
Saturday, March 6, 2010, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $45 – $75

Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist Sharon Isbin and virtuoso violinist Mark O’Connor will make their Chicago premiere performing together as duo recitalists in a program highlighting Sharon’s new release on Sony Classical, Journey to the New World, a voyage in song from the British Isles to the New World. The disc features the world premiere of O’Connor’s folk-inspired Strings & Threads Suite for violin and guitar and the Joan Baez Suite by John Duarte for solo guitar, both of which will be performed as part of Sharon and Mark’s debut at the Harris.

Acclaimed for her lyricism and technique, Sharon Isbin is considered “the preeminent guitarist of our time.” Her catalogue of more than 25 recordings – spanning Baroque, Spanish/Latin to jazz-fusion – reflect her versatility and ability to expand the guitar repertoire with some of the finest new works of the century. Sharon last performed in Chicago with the Grant Park Music Festival in 2006. Fresh off the release of the critically acclaimed world premiere recording of his most ambitious work yet, the six-movement “Americana Symphony” (performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under conductor Marin Alsop), Mark O’Connor is on the rise and considered one of the most talented and imaginative artists working in music today. A product of America’s rich aural folk tradition as well as classical and flamenco music, O’Connor has melded and shaped these influences into a new American Classical music, and a vision of an entirely American school of string playing.

The Irving Harris Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of the Sharon Isbin and Mark O’Connor engagement.

Asturias Isaac Albeniz
(transcribed by Andrés Segovia) (1860-1909)

Recuerdos de la Alhambra Francisco Tárrega
(1852-1909)

Andecy Andrew York (b.1958)

Waltz Opus 8, #4 Agustin Barrios Mangoré
(1885-1944)
Sharon Isbin, guitar

Selections to be announced from the stage
Mark O’Connor, violin

Joan Baez Suite, Opus 144 (2002) John Duarte (b. 1919)
(written for Sharon Isbin — Commissioned by the Augustine Foundation)
Sharon Isbin, guitar

Selections to be announced from the stage
Mark O’Connor, violin

Strings & Threads Suite Mark O’Connor (b. 1961)
Violin & Guitar adaptation written for Sharon Isbin 2006
Mark O’Connor, violin/Sharon Isbin, guitar

Harris Theater and Bella Voce Chamber Choir Present
Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 – The 400th Anniversary
Monday, March 29, 2010, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $35

Hear one of Western music’s most celebrated masterworks when Bella Voce Chamber Choir performs the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 with Rachel Barton Pine. A collection of sacred pieces demonstrating Monteverdi’s mastery of composition and religion, the Vespers of 1610 elegantly and seamlessly combines the prevalent compositional styles of the day into one of the most intricate and beautiful tapestries of celestial sound. Join Bella Voce Chamber Choir as they celebrate the 400th anniversary of this joyous and majestic work.

Claudio Monteverdi Vespro della Beata Virgine (1610)

Music of the Baroque
“Double Play-Bach, Mozart, Haydn”
Wednesday, March 31, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30 – $75

Jane Glover, conductor
Music of the Baroque Orchestra
Robert Waters, violin
Robert Morgan, oboe
Mary Stolper, flute
Alison Attar, harp

Virtuoso principal players take center stage for a program that includes Bach’s concerto for violin and oboe, and Mozart’s concerto for flute and harp.

J. S. Bach Concerto for violin and oboe
W. A. MOZART Concerto for flute and harp
HAYDN Symphony No. 6 in D Major (Le Matin)
Symphony No. 87 in A Major

Harris Theater Presents
Lang Lang, piano
Christoph Eschenbach, conductor
Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra
Sunday, April 11, 2010, 3:00 pm
Tickets: $45 – $95

Hailed by The New York Times as “the hottest artist on the classical music planet,” Lang Lang will perform an impressive two concerto program at the Harris under the baton of his mentor Maestro Christoph Eschenbach with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra (SHFO), one of the finest youth orchestras in the world. The challenging program for Lang Lang’s debut at the Harris and the Chicago premiere of SHFO includes Mozart’s Piano concerto No. 17 and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 and Piano Concerto No. 3.

Beethoven “Leonora No. 3″ Overture, Op. 72a

Mozart Piano concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453

Prokofiev Symphony No. 1 (Classique) in D Major, Op. 25

Prokofiev Piano concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26

Music of the Baroque
“Gloriously Baroque-Telemann and Bach”
Friday, May 7, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30 – $75

Nicholas Kraemer, conductor
Music of the Baroque Orchestra and Chorus
Suzie LeBlanc, soprano
Colin Ainsworth, tenor
Sanford Sylvan, bass-baritone

The concert season concludes with dramatic cantatas by J. S. Bach, plus the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 and music by Telemann.

J. S. Bach Cantata No. 50, “Nun ist das Heil und die Kraft”
Cantata No. 130, “Herr Gott, dich loben alle wir”
Cantata No. 19, “Es erhub sich ein streit”
Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major
TELEMANN Suite in D Minor for three oboes, bassoon, and strings

Jazz

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble with Artistic Director Jon Faddis
Celebrating “The Great Summit”: The Music of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington
Friday, January 15, 2010, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $15 – $45

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble performs Duke Ellington favorites from The CJE’s library and special Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of New York arrangements of Armstrong classics, including “What A Wonderful World,” “Swing that Music,” and “Stardust.” This concert officially kicks off the third annual Louis Armstrong Legacy Program and Celebration (LALPC), The CJE’s educational initiative for students in Chicago Public Schools.

Double-Bill: Where Jazz and Contemporary Music Intersect
Presented by Harris Theater and Contempo
featuring
Cliff Colnot, conductor
Susanne Mentzer, mezzo soprano
eighth blackbird
Chris Potter, saxophones
Kenny Werner, piano
Saturday, January 16, 2010, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $25 for students, $40

This exciting co-presentation of Contempo’s Double-Bill: Where Jazz and Contemporary Music Intersect
features important Chicago premieres and combines the best of living composers, cutting-edge performances by contemporary artists, and memorable appearances by jazz musicians. Featuring Grammy Award-winning sextet eighth blackbird and renowned mezzo soprano Susanne Mentzer, who performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus this past October and wowed both critics and audiences with her portrayal of Dido in Dido and Aeneas with Chicago Opera Theater in 2006, as well as jazz musicians Chris Potter and Kenny Warner, Double-Bill will include the Chicago premiere of Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer Bernard Rands’ work, now again – fragments from Sappho for ten-piece ensemble, along with Kurt Weill’s September Song. The performance will also feature the Chicago premiere of Taiwanese composer Yu-Hui Chang’s Binge Delirium for solo percussion and conclude with a jam session with jazz musicians saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Kenny Werner.

Shawn Brogan Allison Towards the Flame

Bernard Rands now again – fragments from Sappho

Kurt Weill September Song

Yu-Hui Chang Binge Delirium for solo percussion

Set with Chris Potter, saxophone, and Kenny Werner, piano

The Chicago Jazz Ensemble with Artistic Director Jon Faddis
“The Chicago Jazz Ensemble Past, Present, and Future”
with special guests Alioune Faye on sabor and Baba Faye on djembe
Wednesday, March 5, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $15 – $45

Join The Chicago Jazz Ensemble for an exploration of Jazz: Past, Present and Future, the American premier of Jon Faddis’ “Teranga” compositions (from his critically-acclaimed album) arranged for big band by Michael Philip Mossman. The concert also features Slide Hampton’s “Africa” (music commissioned in 2004-2005 by The CJE for Mr. Faddis’ first season as Artistic Director) and arrangements by The CJE’s founder, William Russo. Special guests on “Teranga” and “Africa” include Alioune Faye on djembe and Baba Faye on sabar. Dana Hall, The CJE’s Music Director and drummer, also will be featured.

New/Popular/Country Music

The Old Town School of Folk Music Presents
Rosanne Cash
Friday, January 29, 8:00 pm
Tickets: $42, $45

Johnny Cash’s daughter has held her own since she ventured into the country music scene in the late ’70s. With what Rolling Stone calls “a voice that floats like smoke,” plus an ability to “belt it out,” the Grammy Award-winning Rosanne Cash has topped Billboard’s charts and earned acclaim for both country and crossover songs. With the recent release of “The List,” a celebrated new album of 12 covers culled from a list of 100 essential country songs her father gave her in 1973, Cash collaborates with Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Rufus Wainwright and Wilco. New country fans and traditionalists alike tip their hats to this star in her own right. Radio sponsor for Rosanne Cash is WXRT.

Public on-sale is Wednesday, December 16 at 12:00 pm.

The Old Town School of Folk Music Presents
The Magnetic Fields
Sunday, March 7, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30, $35

The Magnetic Fields are the music and brainchild of New York songwriter-producer-instrumentalistStephin Merritt, whose dramatic musical tales are often compared to those of Irving Berlin andCole Porter. SPIN gives him 10 out of 10; Rolling Stone described his songwriting as “gorgeous;” and The New York Times hailed his work as “genius.”

MusicNOW
Musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Monday, March 15, 8:00 pm
Tickets: $20, $10 for students

J. Lawrie Bloom, clarinet
Michael Ward-Bergeman, hyper-accordion

JOHN LUTHER ADAMS Qilyaun
OSVALDO GOLIJOV Postlude from The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS for Jim (rising)
Michael Ward-BERGEMAN/Golijov Patagonia
JOHN LUTHER ADAMS …and bells remembered…
OSVALDO GOLIJOV Tekyah

The 2009-2010 MusicNOW season concludes with music by CSO Mead Composer-in-Residence Osvaldo Golijov, John Luther Adams and Michael Ward-Bergeman. John Luther Adams has been deeply influenced by the Alaskan geography and culture-his music reflects the musical traditions of indigenous peoples and evokes images of the northern landscape. Adams’ experience as a percussionist is manifest by the rhythmic complexity of his compositions and their use of Inuit drumming techniques. Featured on this concert are Adams’ “Qilyaun,” for four bass drums; “for Jim (rising),” for trumpet-trombone sextet; and “…and bells remembered…,” for five percussionists. Sharing the bill are Golijov’s “Tekyah,” for klezmer clarinet, hyper-accordion, horns, trumpets, trombones and shofars; the Postlude from Golijov’s klezmer string quartet with solo clarinet, “The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind”; and “Patagonia,” written for hyper-accordion by Michael Ward-Bergeman, who also appears as soloist, and arranged by Golijov to include string quartet.

Fulcrum Point New Music Project
Myths: Heroes and Demons: Legends of Urban, Latin and Native America
Tuesday, March 23, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30; $15 for students and seniors

Myths grow stronger-and more meaningful-as cultures overlap, cross borders, dance together. Each of these pieces evokes the ancient power of storytelling through new, surprising juxtapositions. Indigenous Mexican tales are set in motion anew as Luna Negra Dance Theatre debuts a work to Paredes score. The spellbinding power of myths-the layers, the loss, the loves-provides The Common bond for four rappers’ reinvention of urban myths transformed in Woolf’s multimedia world premiere.

Evan Ziporyn Sulvasutra (2006)
Midwest premiere

David Dzubay Wintu Dream Song (2008)

David Dzubay Kukulkan II (2008)

Hilda Paredes óox;él ik’il t’aan (2007)
Stephen Burns, trumpet
American Premiere with World Premiere choreography by Luna Negra
Dance Theater

Randall Woolf Urban Legends – World Premiere
Based on the artistry of Rappers Tongo Eisen-Martin, Wordisbon, and Liza Jesse Peterson; Commissioned by Music Alive

eighth blackbird with Rinde Eckert and Steven Mackey
Slide
Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30

Slide is both a poignant tale of human frailty and a work about the seduction and manipulation of the American psyche. This multi-media, multi-art form production features renowned collaboratorsRinde Eckert (director/actor) and Steve Mackey (composer/guitar) alongside eighth blackbird in a Chicago premiere.

Steven Mackey & Rinde Eckert Slide

Fulcrum Point New Music Project
Machines: Computers Come Alive!
Wednesday, May 19, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $30; $15 for students and seniors

Featuring turntable music by Music Alive composer-in-residence Randall Woolf, computer-driven Interactive Audiovisual Improvisation Environment and Performance Art by the Chicago Fluxus Ensemble led by Simon Anderson.

Tomi Räisänen Elevator Music on Mars (2003)
American Premiere

Christopher Burns Fabrications (2000) and Sawtooth (2009)
Chicago Premiere

Luciano Chessa Cinque Quadri da una città fantasma (2003)
For piano, slate board, and 3 turntables
Midwest Premiere

George Brecht For a drummer (Fluxversions 2,4,6,7) (1966)

Randall Woolf Blues for Black Hoodies (2008) for DJ turntablist and strings
Midwest Premiere

Broadway Luminaries

Harris Theater Presents
Stephen Sondheim
A Life In The Theater
Thursday, March 4, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $35 – $65

Marking a first-ever Harris Theater Presents dialogue and what promises to be an important moment of the 2009-2010 theater season in Chicago, composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheimwill offer a personal and engaging view of his life in the theatre and present a rare look into the mind of the most important artist to work in the American musical theater over the past half century. Sondheim, who will celebrate his 80th birthday on March 22, 2010, has not only collaborated on more than a dozen landmark shows and written countless standard songs but has also been the single most influential force in bringing the Broadway musical into the modern age.

During the live, unscripted conversation at the Harris, Stephen Sondheim and moderator Gary Griffin, Associate Artistic Director at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, will reminisce about his career including his collaborations with Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins and Tim Burton; predecessors, including his mentor Oscar Hammerstein II; the state of American musical theater; the differences between film and theater; and, in a very personal series of reflections, his own creative process, speaking specifically on works ranging from his early shows Gypsy and West Side Story to such later classics as Company, Follies and Sweeney Todd. Following the conversation, Sondheim will conduct a Q&A with audience members.

This intimate dialogue program may be repeated with other noteworthy speakers in future seasons at the Harris.

The Feitler Family Fund is the Presenting Sponsor of the Stephen Sondheim engagement.

Harris Theater Presents
Christine Ebersole
An Evening with Christine Ebersole
Thursday, March 25, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $45 – $75

Having received virtually every Off-Broadway award and her second Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical for her “dual role of a lifetime” as Edie Beale and Little Edie Beale in Grey Gardens, and following a critically acclaimed cabaret engagement at New York’s Café Carlyle,Christine Ebersole will make her Harris Theater debut and present a unique line-up of Broadway show tunes and standards for this special performance at the Harris.

Noted by The New York Times as having “the voice of a nightingale,” Chicago native Christine Ebersole has enchanted audiences throughout her performing career, from the Broadway stage to cabaret performances, television series and specials, films, concert appearances, and recordings. Ms. Ebersole is currently starring in the Broadway revival of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit as Elvira and this past fall she delighted audiences by participating in the Opening Night Gala of Carnegie Hall’s 118th Season. After making her debut with the Boston Pops two years ago, she returned to Boston’s Symphony Hall and Tanglewood last season to star as Desiree Armfeldt in a concert version of A Little Night Music with the Boston Pops.

BlueCross Blue Shield of Illinois is the Lead Corporate Sponsor of the Christine Ebersoleengagement.

Opera

Chicago Opera Theater
Gioacchino Rossini

MOSÈ IN EGITTO

April 17, 21, 23, 7:30pm; April 25,3pm

Tickets: Subscriptions (available now): $90 – $345; $45 – $105 student and youth (in sections B-D);
Single Tickets (available March 1, 2010): $30 – $120; $15 – $40 student and youth (in sections B-D)

Conductor: Leonardo Vordoni

Director: Andrew Eggert

THE BUZZ:
Opera lovers of Chicago were invited to choose an opera for performance by COT in 2010. Mosè in Egitto garnered the most votes-making it the People’s Opera Winner!

THE HISTORY:
There has only been one performance of Mosè in Egitto in Chicago – in 1863 at the McVicker’s Theatre on Madison and State. Be part of this historic second performance in Chicago, when COT presents the U.S. premiere of top Rossini scholar Philip Gossett’s new edition of the opera.

THE HIGHLIGHT:
Yes, you’ll see Moses part the Red Sea. But you’ll also hear what some consider Rossini’s most beautiful music in “Dal tuo stellato soglio” (“From Thy starry throne”) sung by Andrea Concetti as Mosè, Manuela Bisceglie as Elcia, and supported by a chorus of 20 young singers playing the Hebrews and Egyptians.

(Sung in Italian with English supertitles).

Chicago Opera Theater
Francesco Cavalli

GIASONE

April 24, 28, 30, 7:30pm; May 2, 3pm

Tickets: Subscriptions (available now): $90 – $345; $45 – $105 student and youth (in sections B-D);
Single Tickets (available March 1, 2010): $30 – $120; $15 – $40 student and youth (in sections B-D)

Conductor: Christian Curnyn

Director: Justin Way

THE CHARM:
Cavalli cleverly mixed the myth of Jason and the Argonauts with bawdy humor, breaking all the operatic rules of the day. The result: Giasone became the most popular opera of the 17th century!

THE CHOICE:
Despite its stature in the operatic repertoire, this is the first time Giasone will be performed in Chicago by a professional opera company. Chicago Opera Theater continues its mission of bringing never-performed-here works to this city. Giasone also anchors the City of Chicago’s first annual Early Music Festival.

THE CONDUCTOR:
Christian Curnyn is one of the most heralded young opera conductors of today. The Guardian called his 2008 performance of Giasone one of “great panache,” and credited Curnyn with ensuring “that the sheer variety and power of Cavalli’s score comes across.”

(Sung in Italian with English supertitles).

Chicago Opera Theater

Jake Heggie

THREE DECEMBERS

May 8, 12, 14, 7:30pm; May16, 3pm

Tickets: Subscriptions (available now): $90 – $345; $45 – $105 student and youth (in sections B-D);
Single Tickets (available March 1, 2010): $30 – $120; $15 – $40 student and youth (in sections B-D)

Conductor: Stephen Hargreaves

Production by: Leonard Foglia

THE EVENT:
The legendary Frederica von Stade makes her first appearance with Chicago Opera Theater in this opera written especially for her by Jake Heggie, of Dead Man Walking fame.

THE STORY:
A glamorous stage actress reveals a shocking secret of their family’s past to her two adult children facing dark challenges of their own. Based on a short play by Terrence McNally with a libretto by Gene Scheer.
THE SCORE:
Jake Heggie’s intimate score features just 11 musicians, and will be performed with Heggie himself at the piano. “Jake Heggie has a true gift for soaring and meaningful melody, a great ear for orchestral effects, a talent for picking good source material, and a knack for crafting affecting melodrama (in the best sense of that word) that can move an audience to tears.” -Opera Today

(Sung in English with English supertitles).

Chicago Opera Theater

An Evening with Frederica von Stade

May 10, 7:30pm

Tickets: (Available to subscribers only now; available to the general public on March 1, 2010):$25 – $80; $12.50 – $27.50 (in sections B-D)

In addition to her starring role in Three Decembers, Frederica von Stade presents her final concert in Chicago before retirement. Accompanied by Jake Heggie, she will sing a program of Heggie’s own works, as well as Copland, Hammerstein, Sondheim, Bernstein, and Bizet-just to name a few!

Elizabeth Futral as Hanna Glawari and Roger Honeywell as Count Danilo star as sparring ex-lovers in classic battle of the sexes – Lyric’s own “Fred & Ginger” wind up waltzing back into each other’s hearts!

As diplomatic wife Valencienne, Andriana Chuchman
displays unexpected talents as a winsome can-can girl –
after stealing kisses with Camille de Rossilon,
played by dapper newcomer Stephen Costello!

Even Maxim’s waiters, deftly portrayed by Lyric’s dashing dancers, win cheers from the crowd! And just wait till you see the grisettes…ooh-la-la!

Classy (and sassy) attire and stunning sets inspired by the art of Toulouse-Lautrec, Tissot, Morrissot, and others of the Parisian Belle Epoque

A must-see show for the holidays!! Performances through Jan. 16 – tickets available! 312-332-2244 or www.lyricopera.org

THE MERRY WIDOW / Franz Lehár (in English with projected English texts) Performances begin at 7:30 p.m., except for matinees at 2:00 p.m. Dec. 9, 11, 14, 16 (mat.), 18, 20 (mat.), Jan. 5, 9, 14 (mat.), 16
Lehár’s masterpiece is rivaled only by Die Fledermaus as the most popular of all Viennese operettas. It boasts any number of beloved melodies, from the heroine’s “Vilja” to the hero’s “Maxim’s” and their exquisite duet, known as the “Merry Widow Waltz.” The operetta takes place in Paris, where the high life is being greatly enjoyed by the widow Hanna Glawari (soprano Elizabeth Futral), whose 20 million francs make her particularly attractive to Paris’s most eligible bachelors. Hanna is a native of Petrovenia, whose ambassador, Baron Zeta (bass-baritone Dale Travis), is desperate to have her marry a native Petrovenian so that her fortune can remain in her own country. He tries to interest Hanna’s old flame, Count Danilo (tenor Roger  Honeywell), in marrying her, but Danilo prefers to play the field with the grisettes – the can-can girls from Maxim’s. The amorous intrigues also involve Zeta’s lovely young wife, Valencienne (soprano Andriana Chuchman) and the French nobleman who loves her, Camille de Rosillon (tenor Stephen Costello, debut).
Emmanuel Villaume is the conductor. Making Lyric debuts are Gary Griffin (stage director), Daniel Ostling (set designer), and Mara Blumenfeld (costume designer). Christine Binder is the lighting designer, Daniel Pelzig is the choreographer, and John Boesche is projection designer.
Lyric Opera production generously made possible by Jim and Vicki Mills/Jon and Lois  Mills, an Anonymous Donor, the Howard A. Stotler Estate, Donna Van Eekeren, and Bank of America.
The operetta The Merry Widow has been seen previously at Lyric during the 1981 and 1986/87 seasons. (A ballet version was presented in 1955 and 1962.) “We’re very enthusiastic about this gorgeous new production of Lehár’s delightful operetta, which is full of terrific melodies we all know and love,” Mason says. “It’s just charming – especially for the holidays! The central couple absolutely sparks and sparkles – the lovely Elizabeth Futral as the wealthy widow and the debonair Roger Honeywell as her reluctant suitor Danilo – and both are alumni of the Ryan Opera Center. The ingénue couple are Andriana Chuchman, an extremely talented third-year member of the Ryan Opera Center, as Valencienne, and the up-and-coming young American tenor Stephen Costello, making his debut as Camille. Emmanuel Villaume returns to conduct after his triumph with Manon last season. And of course we’re very excited about the triumphant Lyric debut of acclaimed stage director Gary Griffin and the terrific team of Chicago designers Daniel Ostling Mara Blumenfeld, Christine Binder, and John Boesche. I’ve admired Gary’s theatrical work for many years, and I’m thrilled he’s made his operatic debut at Lyric.”

Great seats from $33 – tickets available for all remaining performances. Call 312-332-2244, x. 5600 to reserve or go to www.lyricopera.org to view video clips and order tickets.

Lyric Opera of Chicago will hold auditions in January and February for experienced, classically trained singers in all voice categories who seek positions in the company’s choral ensemble for the 2010-2011 season. Tenors, in particular, are highly encouraged to apply.

Auditions will be held on the following dates in 2010:

PRELIMINARY AUDITIONS

Friday, January 29                        5:00 – 7:00 PM

Saturday, January 30                        11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Thursday, February 4                        6:00 – 9:00 PM

Friday, February 5                        6:00 – 9:00 PM

Wednesday, February 10                4:00 – 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 13                        12:00 – 2:00 PM (for out-of-town auditionees only)

CALLBACK AUDITIONS (if necessary)

Saturday, February 13                        5:15 – 7:15 PM

AUDITIONS BY INVITATION ONLY

To obtain an audition invitation, singers should send a current résumé and photo to:

Lyric Opera of Chicago

Chorus Auditions Coordinator

20 North Wacker Drive, Suite 860

Chicago, IL 60606

Please include a cover letter indicating your first, second, and third choices for your audition date.  The deadline for submitting materials is Friday, January 22, 2010.  Once you have submitted your materials, your information will be evaluated by the Chorus Master and appointments will be made for qualified candidates.  Not all applicants who submit a résumé and photo will be asked to audition.  Walk-ins will NOT be seen.

To obtain a current audition brochure, please go to www.lyricopera.org and click the “About Lyric” link.  If you are unable to download the brochure please email: choraud@lyricopera.org or call the Audition Hotline at (312) 827-3548.

Terms of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s new contract with the Chicago Federation of Musicians were released late this afternoon following completion of negotiations and ratification by the orchestra members.

The new contract covers three seasons: 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12. It guarantees orchestra members 26 weeks of employment in the first year of the contract, with a reduction to 24 weeks in the second and third years.

Annual salaries for orchestra members essentially remain unchanged for the term of the contract.

The weekly wage is frozen at current levels for 2009/10, with an increase of 4% in the second and third years. However, because of the two-week reduction for 2010/11 and 2011/12, orchestra salaries are essentially frozen.

Other guarantees include the continuation of the Bucksbaum Family Lyric Opera Radio Broadcasts through the 2011/12 season.

William Mason, general director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, stated that the contract terms “were prudent and reasonable in a time of great economic challenge.”

Gary Matts, president of the Chicago Federation of Musicians, said, “The Chicago Federation of Musicians and the musicians of the Lyric Opera Orchestra are pleased an agreement has been reached. We believe this demonstrates how people of good will can work together and compromise for the common good.”

Gary Griffin, one of ShowBiz Chicago’s favorite guests, makes his Lyric Opera debut with a new production of the operetta The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár, starring Elizabeth Futral and Roger Honeywell. Performances will be in English, with projected titles.

Lyric will mount 11 performances of The Merry Widow between Dec. 5, 2009 and Jan. 16,2010, led by French conductor Emmanuel Villaume.  Set designer Daniel Ostling and costume designer Mara Blumenfeld, will make Lyric debuts. Christine Binder is lighting designer and Daniel Pelzig is choreographer.

Among Viennese operettas, Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow is matched in popularity only by Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Both of these works are regularly produced in opera houses, including Lyric. In The Merry Widow, government officials from the fictional Eastern European nation of Pontevedro come to Paris to try to persuade the widow, Hanna Glawari – a native Pontevedrian – to marry one of her countrymen, thus keeping her 20 million francs in the country. A good deal of amorous intrigue (including the rekindled romance between the widow and her old flame, Count Danilo) is wrapped up in a glorious happy ending. The comedy and bittersweet drama emerge through a musical score of unparalleled luster, with operetta “hits” including the “Merry Widow Waltz,” the heroine’s soaring “Vilja,” Danilo’s scintillating “Maxim’s,” two breathtaking duets for the young couple, Valencienne and Camille, and the hilarious “Women, Women, Women” septet for male ensemble.

Gary Griffin made his Broadway debut with The Color Purple in 2005, which earned 11 Tony nominations, including best musical, and which he directed in its national tour. He also received a Tony nomination the following year for his Broadway production of The Apple Tree. Griffin is currently co-directing Funny Girl at the Drury Lane Theatre as well as the upcoming Private Lives at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre . As associate artistic director of CST, Griffin has directed several innovative productions of music-theater works by Stephen Sondheim there, including Passion, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, and Pacific Overtures.

The latter production transferred to London’s Donmar Warehouse, where it won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production.  Gary is also going to be directing EVITA at the Stratford Festival next year.

“Gary is the first person I thought of when we decided to do The Merry Widow,” says William Mason, Lyric Opera’s General Director.

“He’s an incredibly talented director who’s done both straight theater and musicals, and will bring a great deal to a show like this. Lyric has presented The Merry Widow twice before – in the spring of 1981 following the regular season, and during the 1986 season. It’s a wonderful piece, with glorious music, and it’s performed by opera companies all over the world. Gary is very pleased at the prospect of doing it here. I’ve seen a number of his shows, including his brilliant twelve-person adaptation of My Fair Lady for Court Theatre. His Amadeus at Chicago Shakespeare is well directed and strongly acted. He’s a local treasure. We have a lot of wonderful directors in Chicago and he’s one of them. It will be wonderful to work with him at Lyric.”

“It will be thrilling to work right here in Chicago at one of the world’s premiere opera companies on a much-loved operetta,” says Griffin. “I am eager to work with this unparalleled company of artists to bring to life a beautiful and entertaining Merry Widow onstage at Lyric.”

Performance begin December 5th thru January 16th, 2009.  For tickets and performance dates and times, please click here.

National Opera Week takes place November 13-22, 2009 and celebrates the vitality of opera in America as a contemporary cultural expression. Chicago Opera Theater (COT), partnering with the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, are  proud to participate in this exciting, week-long celebration with “Pop-up Opera” performances around Chicago, a young professionals’ night at Rock Bottom Brewery, and a free double bill of two one-act operas at Preston Bradley Hall in the Chicago Cultural Center.

“At Chicago Opera Theater we strive to make opera accessible to contemporary audiences, and National Opera Week is a perfect way to let us demonstrate that,” said COT General Director Brian Dickie. “So, we are very excited to bring opera to people throughout Chicago, especially in places you might not expect!”

National Opera Week in Chicago begins with “Pop-up Opera” performances throughout the city.  These short “flash” performances of popular opera favorites will be performed by COT Young Artists in unexpected places. Go to ChicagoOperaTheater.org/operaweek for hints on where and when “Pop-up Opera” will be that week!

On Wednesday, November 18, Chicago Opera Theater’s young professional group, Opera Underground, presents “Beers and Baritones” at Rock Bottom Brewery. The evening, aimed at young professionals aged 21 to 45, is only $25 and includes beer, wine, light appetizers, with a short performance by Leila Bowie and Martin Woods, both members of COT’s Young Artists Program.

Finally, on Friday, November 20, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs presents Chicago Opera Theater’s double bill of two-one act operas: Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s Susanna’s Secret. This finale of National Opera Week takes place in Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center and is free and open to the public! The two operas feature COT Young Artists Leila Bowie, Catalina Cuervo and Martin Woods.

The National Opera Week celebration will reach from coast to coast with over 90 opera companies from 32 states and will offer a range of programs for the public. Opera Week will demonstrate the allure and accessibility of opera, this most multi-media of the arts, and will be accessible to both opera lovers and newcomers to the art form.

CHICAGO OPERA THEATER/CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS
NATIONAL OPERA WEEK SCHEDULE

• For more information on Chicago Opera Theater Opera Week events, please go to ChicagoOperaTheater.org/operaweek.

• For more information on all National Opera Week events around Chicago and the country, please go to OperaAmerica.org/now.

“Pop-Up Opera” Performances
When:          November 14 – 20, 2009
Where: All over Chicago!
Price:              FREE!

Was that someone singing in the frozen food section?  Did I just hear a soprano by the “Bean”?   Is that a baritone singing at the United Center?

Chicago Opera Theater and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs presents “Pop-up Opera” all around town during National Opera Week – short performances of opera “favorites” in unexpected places in Chicago!

Go to ChicagoOperaTheater.org/operaweek for hints and tips on where and when “Pop-up Opera” will be, or make sure to sign up for our Twitter alerts at Twitter.com/ChicagoOpera.

Have a Twitter account?   Tweet about “Pop-up Opera” when you see it! Anyone who includes #popupopera in a tweet when they witness a “Pop-up Opera” performance during National Opera Week will automatically be entered in a contest! Prizes will include subscriptions to Chicago Opera Theater, tickets to Kathleen Battle with the Chicago Children’s Choir at the Harris Theater, and $50 gift cards from COT preferred restaurants.

MEDIA:  To sign-up for media alerts of specific times and locations for “Pop-up Opera” contact Colleen Flanigan at cflanigan@chicagooperatheater.org or 312.704.8420, x225.

OPERA UNDERGROUND: “Beers and Baritones”
When:          Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 6-8pm
Where: Rock Bottom Brewery
1 West Grand (Grand and State), Chicago
Price: $25 (includes beer/wine, appetizers and performance)

Come and enjoy a night of fun mingling with free beer and wine, as well as light appetizers with your $25 admission! The evening will also include a short performance from soprano Leila Bowie and baritone Martin Woods, both members of COT’s Young Artists Program.

Opera Underground is Chicago Opera Theater’s young professional club that combines opera with socializing and mingling.  New to opera? COT makes opera contemporary and different — and “Beers and Baritones” is a great way to get started. Chicago Opera Theater’s Opera Underground is open to young professionals ages 21 to 45.

A Double Bill:
Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s Susanna’s Secret
When:          Friday, November 20, 2009, 6:30pm
Where: Preston Bradley Hall in the Chicago Cultural Center
78 East Washington, Chicago
Price:              FREE!

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs presents Chicago Opera Theater’s double bill of two-one act operas: At the Statue of Venus and Susanna’s Secret.  Both operas are sung in English.

Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus is an intimate one-act opera featuring Chicago Opera Theater Young Artist Leila Bowie, as a nervous woman waiting “at the Statue of Venus” for the man who will finally change her luck in love…maybe. (Chicago Opera Theater will present Three Decembers, a fully-staged Jake Heggie opera, as part of their 2010 Spring Festival Season at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park.) At the Statue of Venus is directed by Chuck Smith, Resident Director at the Goodman Theatre.

What is Susanna up to? Smells funny. A jealous husband suspects his wife has a secret passion, but is he right, or is he just a stupid man?  Wolf-Ferrari’s Susanna’s Secret features Chicago Opera Theater Young Artists Catalina Cuervo and Martin Woods. Susanna’s Secret is directed by Joanie Schultz, who most recently directed Acis and Galatea that performed at both the Chicago Cultural Center and Millennium Park.

Both pieces are presented in collaboration with the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

ABOUT CHICAGO OPERA THEATER

Founded in 1974 by Alan Stone, Chicago Opera Theater has carved a significant place for itself in the operatic life of Chicago and has reached an audience of hundreds of thousands through its main stage performances, outreach, education and young artist programs.

Since Brian Dickie’s appointment as General Director in 1999, COT has evolved as an opera company that is young, fresh, and colorful – an image well suited to its surroundings at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.

Chicago Opera Theater’s 2010 Spring Festival Season runs April 17 through May 16 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. The season opens with Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto (April 17-25), followed by Cavalli’s Giasone (April 24-May 2), and closes with Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers (May 8-16) with Frederica von Stade. For more information on the 2010 Spring Festival Season, visit ChicagoOperaTheater.org or call 312.704.8414.

British conductor Edward Gardner, music director of the English National Opera, has withdrawn from his debut engagement at Lyric Opera of Chicago, general director William Mason announced today. Gardner withdrew because his first child is due in late February.

Gardner was to have conducted 11 performances of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro Feb. 28 through Mar. 27, 2010. Lyric’s revival production closes the company’s eight-opera season.

Mason announced that Lyric’s music director, Sir Andrew Davis, will conduct the Figaro opening-night performance on Feb. 28 and the March 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 20 performances. Italian conductor Leonardo Vordoni will make his Lyric Opera debut leading performances on March 15, 22, 24, and 27.

Sir Andrew Davis has served as Lyric’s music director since 2000. This season he conducted the first six performances of Tosca, which opened the company’s 55^th season in late September through mid-October, and is leading all ten performances of Faust, Oct. 5-Nov. 7. He will also conduct all seven performances of a new production of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust Feb. 20-Mar. 17, a company premiere and the first work of Berlioz ever presented at Lyric.
Also this season, Davis will be seen on the podium with the Montreal Symphony, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Additionally he returns to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Davis is the conductor laureate of the Toronto Symphony (having previously served as the principal conductor), the conductor Laureate of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (having served as the second-longest-running chief conductor since its founder, Sir Adrian Boult) and the former music director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

With the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Davis has led concerts at the London Proms and on tour to Hong Kong, Japan, the U.S., and Europe.  He has conducted all of the major orchestras of the world from the Chicago Symphony to the Berlin Philharmonic to the Royal Concertgebouw, and at opera houses throughout the world including the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, and the Bayreuth Festival.

A native of Hertfordshire, England, Maestro Davis studied at King’s College, Cambridge, where he was an organ scholar before taking up the baton.  His diverse repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary. A prolific recording artist, Davis has recorded for Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics International, Capriccio, EMI and CBS, performances.  In 2008, Sir Andrew released Elgar’s Violin Concertos featuring violinist James Ehnes and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra on the Onyx Classics label, which won Gramophone’s coveted “Best of Category – Concerto” award….Releases in 2007 include Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with violinist Min-Jyn Kim and Philharmonia Orchestra on the Sony label; a solo recital of operatic favorites sung by soprano Nicole Cabell with Philharmonic Orchestra on the Decca label, which in May won the Solti Prize from the French Académie du Disque Lyrique; Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with pianist Yundi Li and the London Philharmonia Orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon.

In 1992, Maestro Davis was created a Commander of the British Empire for his services to British Music, and in 1999 he was made a Knight Bachelor in the New Year Honours List.  In 1991, he received the highly prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society/Charles Heidsieck Music Award.

Leonardo Vordoni opened the current season with the Minnesota Opera (debut) in a well-praised new production of The Pearl Fishers: “Under conductor Leonardo Vordoni, both orchestra and chorus resounded grandly…[he] dependably found the gentle pulse of Bizet’s music and, in an evening largely about color, mixed the composer’s sonic pigments with a sure hand.” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) He also conducts Dominick Argento’s Cassanova’s Homecoming in November at Minnesota Opera. In February he will debut at Opera Colorado with The Barber of Seville (in a production he’ll lead at Houston Grand Opera in late 2011) before arriving in Chicago for The Marriage of Figaro. Following his Lyric Opera debut he proceeds to Chicago Opera Theater for Rossini’s Moses in Egypt in April.

In the summer of 2008 Vordoni debuted (in concert) at the internationally renowned Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Other conducting debuts in recent seasons include Carlo Pedrotti’s Tutti in Maschera with Wexford Opera, Madama Butterfly with Madison Opera, and La Cenerentola with Orlando Opera. Vordoni received considerable critical acclaim for his conducting debut in 2004 at the Teatro Mancinelli in Orvieto (Così fan tutte), and for his return engagement in 2005 for Il matrimonio segreto.

During the 2008-09 season, Vordoni was a member of the music staff at the Metropolitan Opera, where he worked on productions of Macbeth, La traviata, Aida, La clemenza di Tito, La bohème, Un ballo in maschera, Norma, and Madama Butterfly. He was also the cover conductor for L’elisir d’amore. He has collaborated with Edoardo Müller, one of Italy’s most respected operatic conductors, on L’Italiana in Algeri with Seattle Opera, La Cenerentola for Houston Grand Opera, and Il trovatore and The Marriage of Figaro for San Diego Opera.

A native of Trieste, Italy, Vordoni studied piano at the Conservatorio Tartini and composition at the Accademia Musicale in Portogruaro before earning a diploma in opera conducting at Bologna’s Reale Accademia Filarmonica. Recognized for his musicality and interpretation, he has given master classes in Italian repertoire across the United States for young-artist programs including those of the San Francisco, Seattle, and Utah opera companies, and at several universities and conservatories.

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (in Italian with projected English translations)   11 performances beginning at 7:30 p.m., except for matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Feb. 28 (mat.), March 3 (mat.), 6, 9, 12 (mat.), 15, 18 (mat.), 20, 22, 24, 27
“La folle journée” (“The Crazy Day”) was the subtitle of Beaumarchais’ comedy on which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart based his opera, one of the greatest creations in the entire repertoire. It centers on a single frantic day in the life of Aguas Frescas, the castle of Count Almaviva (baritone Mariusz Kwiecien). The Count has designs on Susanna (soprano Danielle de Niese), maid of the Countess (soprano Anne Schwanewilms). Susanna is to be married this very day to the count’s valet, Figaro (bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen), which doesn’t stand in the way of the Count’s keeping an assignation with her. But he reckons without Figaro and Susanna who – aided by the Countess – conspire to teach the philandering Count a lesson. Others figuring prominently in the plot are the amorous young page, Cherubino (mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato); an older couple, Dr. Bartolo (bass Andrea Silvestrelli) and Marcellina (mezzo-soprano Diana Montague, debut), who turn out to be Figaro’s parents, to his amazement; Susanna’s devious music master, Basilio (tenor Keith Jameson); and Antonio, the Count’s gardener (baritone Philip Kraus).
The production will be conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (7 performances) and Leonardo Vordoni (debut, 4 performances). The original production is by Sir Peter Hall, and Herbert Kellner is stage director, with sets and costumes by John Bury and lighting by Duane Schuler.
The Dr. and Mrs. Edwin J. DeCosta and the Walter E. Heller Foundation Production. Revival made possible by Mr. & Mrs. Dietrich M. Gross.
Lyric Opera has presented Le nozze di Figaro eight times previously since 1957, most recently during the 2003-04 season. “Mozart’s sublimely human comedy will return in our witty and elegant Sir Peter Hall production,” says Mason. “We’re thrilled by this season’s truly all-star cast, headed by Mariusz Kwiecien, who triumphed as Eugene Onegin here last year; Danielle de Niese, our dazzling Cleopatra last season; Anne Schwanewilms, luminous as Strauss’s Marschallin a few seasons ago; the vibrant young bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen; and of course, Joyce DiDonato, one of the world’s leading mezzo-sopranos – what a marvelous way to end the season!”