Haymarket’s 2022 Return to Live Performance: Bologne, Monteverdi, Cabell

Haymarket Opera company has announced its 2022 lineup; the March-September season will feature three works.

Coming up in March is a work by Alessandro Stradella: La Susanna. Held at DePaul University’s Gannon Concert Hall, the intimate chamber oratorio features a cast and ensemble of five each. The 1681 oratorio adapts a biblical story that sees the title character falsely accused of adultery; Haymarket bills the production as “an original #MeToo story.” Soprano Kaitlin Foley sings the title role.

In June, Haymarket brings a Baroque opera by a Black composer to the stage at Jarvis Opera Hall at DePaul University. They’ll present L’Amant anonyme (The Anonymous Lover) by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Bologne was born to a French planter and a Senegalese woman whom he enslaved. Acclaimed soprano Nicole Cabell headlines the composer’s only known opera, with past Haymarket performers David Govertsen, Erica Schuller, and Michael St. Peter returning. As is characteristic of this period of French opera, this title will also feature dance interludes, which will be choreographed by Sarah Edgar.

Finally, Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea will round out the season in September. Erica Schuller will take the stage again — this time in the title role — in a cast that will also feature mezzo-soprano Lindsay Metzger, David Govertsen, Kristin Knutson, and more. Haymarket general director Chase Hopkins will also appear in the role of Mercurio. Also seeing performances at Jarvis, this work is a story of infidelity and political intrigue.

This season represents a return to live music for Haymarket — the company was quick to embrace digital alternatives to in-person performances at the outset of the pandemic.

---