Lyric Opera’s 2019 “Don Giovanni” (Photo: Kyle Flubacker)
Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced its the 2026-27 season, which includes six mainstage operas, one opera in concert, two Lyric premieres, two concerts showcasing the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus, two films with live music, and the musical Guys & Dolls. Music Director Enrique Mazzola conducts five major works: Don Giovanni, Don Pasquale, La traviata, Hérodiade in concert, and The Creation. The season also brings the appointment of beloved soprano and “Chicago’s hometown diva” Sondra Radvanovsky as Lyric’s Artistic Advisor, who will appear alongside SeokJong Baek in a special concert of arias and duets.
“This season is a celebration of excellence, discovery, and bold storytelling,” says John Mangum, General Director, President & CEO of Lyric Opera of Chicago. “We have assembled one of the most robust and diverse seasons in recent memory — seven operas ranging from Mozart and Verdi classics to the Pulitzer Prize–winning Omar and the beloved American folk opera Susannah. And we are thrilled to bring the Lyric summer musical back to our stage with a spectacular new production of Guys & Dolls. There is something here for everyone, and this season shows how Lyric is evolving opera by pushing the boundaries of the art form through new works, bold reinterpretations, and new audience experiences. Everything we do will be brought to life by extraordinary casts, alongside our magnificent Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus.”
The season opens with Mozart’s Don Giovanni, running October 10 through November 1, 2026 — eight performances completing Lyric’s exploration of the Mozart/Da Ponte trilogy that began with The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte over the past two seasons. Chicago theatrical legend Robert Falls returns to direct the production last seen in 2019. Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn stars as the legendary seducer, leading a stellar ensemble that includes the return of Lawrence Brownlee as Don Ottavio and Mané Galoyan as Donna Anna alongside the Lyric debuts of Nina Solodovnikova as Donna Elvira, Anna El-Khashem as Zerlina, and Tommaso Barea as Leporello. Kyle Ketelsen sings the title role for two performances.
As the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, Lyric will premiere the Pulitzer Prize–winning opera Omar by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, with three performances October 23, 25, and 28. A Lyric co-commission, Omar is inspired by the memoir of 19th-century Islamic scholar Omar ibn Said — an African Muslim whose diaries preserve a firsthand account of the enslaved — and tells a fundamentally American story of survival, faith, and identity. The score weaves together hymns, spirituals, and bluegrass in a tapestry as emotionally direct as it is musically breathtaking. Issachah Savage returns in the title role alongside Kearstin Piper Brown as Julie, Chicago-native Zoie Reams as Fatima, and Kyle Ketelsen as the two Masters, Johnson and Owen. Conductor Kazem Abdullah, who led Lyric’s world premiere of Proximity, returns to the podium. Director Kaneza Schaal, who helmed the opera’s world premiere, creates a new theatrical presentation exclusively for Lyric in her company debut.
LA Opera’s “Omar” (Photo: Cory Weaver)
Before the winter break, Enrique Mazzola returns to lead an opera he considers to be the composer’s self-portrait: Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. The opera’s vibrant score animates the story of an aging bachelor whose disowned nephew and sharp-witted fiancée orchestrate an elaborate series of dupes and double-crosses — all in the name of true love. The beloved production from Glyndebourne — described by The Guardian as “a stunning take on Donizetti with a Dangerous Liaisons-style twist” — is directed by Mariame Clément in her Lyric debut. Georgian baritone Misha Kiria makes his Lyric debut in the title role, joined by audience-favorite soprano Ying Fang as the irrepressible Norina, Mexican tenor Alberto Robert in his Lyric debut as Ernesto, and Ryan Opera Center alumnus Ian Rucker as Dr. Malatesta. Six performances November 12 through 27, 2026.
Glyndebourne Opera’s “Don Pasquale” (Photo: Clive Barda)
For two performances only, November 20 and 22, the fantastical world of Richard Wagner is brought to life in Wagner: Myth & Music, a concert program of overtures and choruses conjuring valiant heroes, ghostly figures, and golden sunrises over majestic mountaintops. Conductor Alexander Soddy, a noted Wagnerian, makes his Lyric debut leading the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus. These performances introduce Lyric Opera’s new David W. & Orit K. Carpenter Concert Shell, a specially designed acoustic shell that will optimize the listening experience for Wagner’s and other concert performances this season.
Two more concert performaces start the new year beginning with Haydn’s The Creation on January 22 and 23, 2027, conducted by Maestro Mazzola with the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus. The performances will feature three star soloists: soprano Erin Morley in her Lyric debut, tenor David Portillo, and bass-baritone Michael Sumuel. Featuring an English libretto drawn from Genesis, the Psalms, and Milton’s Paradise Lost, Haydn’s astonishing oratorio renders the creation of all things in brilliant musical detail — from humankind to the infinite cosmos itself.
February brings the Lyric premiere of Jules Massenet’s Hérodiade, presented in concert February 23 through 28, 2027. As Enrique Mazzola describes this opera, Massenet’s treatment of the story of Salome combines the “velvet of the French style and the power of Wagner’s harmonic language.” Maestro Mazzola leads the huge forces demanded by Massenet’s score rich with haunting choral chants, sultry dances, and vivid evocations of first-century Jerusalem. Mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine, soprano Federica Lombardi, baritone Igor Golovatenko, and tenor Piero Pretti in his Lyric debut, bring this rarely performed gem to life alongside the video designs of Greg Emetaz whose projections were featured in A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness.
Fully staged productions resume in March with Richard Strauss’s witty and vocally spectacular Ariadne auf Naxos. John Cox’s beloved production returns for six performances, March 11 through 26, 2027. The opera pits classical melodrama against commedia dell’arte in a brilliantly self-referential collision of high and low art, featuring the Lyric debut of Leah Hawkins as Ariadne/Prima Donna alongside Erin Morley as Zerbinetta, Samantha Hankey as the Composer, Russell Thomas in his role debut as Bacchus/Tenor, and the Lyric debut of Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv.
Beginning March 24, Verdi’s La traviata enjoys an expansive 11-performance run throough April 25, 2027. Maestro Mazzola continues his survey of the great operas of Verdi, conducting the revival of Arin Arbus’s production. The three leads are each making their Lyric debuts: Chilean soprano Yaritza Véliz as Violetta Valéry, Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan as Alfredo Germont, and Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat as Giorgio Germont. Tess Jackson conducts the final four performances in her Lyric debut.
San Francisco Opera’s “Susannah” (Photo: Cory Weaver)
Returning to the Lyric stage for the first time since 2002, Carlisle Floyd’s iconic American opera Susannah runs for five performances April 11 through 23, 2027. Conducted by Daniela Candillari and directed by acclaimed soprano Patricia Racette — herself a legendary interpreter of the title role — this Appalachian fable of innocence on trial moves at a brisk cinematic pace. Gabriella Reyes stars as Susannah alongside the Lyric debuts of Ryan Speedo Green as Olin Blitch and Matthew Cairns as Sam. Susannah holds a special place in Lyric history as the opera in which both Renée Fleming and Sondra Radvanovsky made their Lyric debuts. Additionally, Floyd’s most performed opera gives Lyric a chance to commemorate the composers centennial while emphasizing American works during the U.S. semiquincentennial.
The spring opera season concludes with Sondra Radvanovsky & SeokJong Baek in Concert on April 30 and May 2, 2027 — an evening of showstopping arias and duets by opera’s leading composers featuring the Lyric Opera Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Frizza. It will also be the first mainstage appearance of Ms. Radvanovsky in her new role as Lyric’s newly appointed Artistic Advisor.
Sondra Radvanovsky (Photo: Kyle Flubacker)
The season culminates in the return of the Lyric summer musical for the first time in four seasons. Frank Loesser’s Guys & Dolls — an irresistible fable of gamblers, showgirls, and the Salvation Army — runs June 4 through 20, 2027, for 19 performances. The production heralds the return of the creative trio of director Francesca Zambello, conductor James Lowe, and choreographer Joshua Bergasse, with further casting details to be announced. Lyric is the only venue in the Chicagoland area where audiences can experience a beloved classic from the Great American Songbook with a full, live orchestra — and Lyric musicals are big: big chorus, big orchestra, top talent from across the country, and spectacular sets.
Movie Nights at Lyric also return next season with Disney’s Encanto in Concert Live to Film on November 28 and 29, and Miloš Forman’s Amadeus LIVE on January 15 and 16, 2027. Amadeus is accompanied live by the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus — the first time the full chorus joins the orchestra for Movie Nights at Lyric.
For more information, visit lyricopera.org.
