Lawrence Edelson founded American Lyric Theater in 2005, building a model organization for presenting and fostering new opera.

In Chicago composer Shawn E. Okpebholo’s new opera, three chefs vie for cooking show glory — and $100K — by tackling the classically American dish macaroni and cheese.

Three mainstage operas, three additional special events, and all six titles are Chicago premieres.

The English conductor returns to Chicago Opera Theater to lead Britten’s comic masterpiece later this month.

As we reflect on the year gone by, WFMT salutes the contributions of members of the arts community who died this past year.

COT Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya joins Oliver to preview Karol Szymanowski’s benchmark opera receiving it’s Chicago premiere this month.

“It feels like I’ve been carrying this world with me for a long time.”

In this celebratory season, audiences will hear two twentieth-century operas and three world premieres across COT’s full slate of mainstage and special programming.

Though there is a long way still to go, today’s stages are richer because these pioneering conductors are on them.

WFMT talks with the outspoken mezzo-soprano about what it means to take on the role of Carmen, why she’s excited to open the COT season, and how modern-day audiences and artists can best confront the more outdated aspects of Carmen and other beloved operas.

From Carmen to Claus, learn what is in store for the next season of Chicago Opera Theater.

“The reach is exponentially larger.”

2020 was a year of great loss for all; the music world was no exception. As we reflect on the year gone by, WFMT salutes the contributions of artists and friends who died this past year.

Chicago Opera Theater has revised its 2020-21 season with digital livestreams and additional performances.

A collaborative performance with Chicago Opera Theater, the Refugee Orchestra Project, and conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya seeks to express the importance of refugee populations in American music and around the world.

General director Ashley Magnus maintains that even in troubled times, the company is “moving forward with the belief that opera truly is a living, resilient art form.”

With a story that highlights how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go, Chicago Opera Theater presents the world premiere of Dan Shore’s Freedom Ride, which centers on a pivotal moment in the civil rights struggle.

Two operatic opus ones will have their Chicago premieres this weekend, and they both command a chorus of well over 100. Chicago Opera Theater opens its 2019-20 season with a double bill: Joby Talbot’s Everest and Rachmaninoff’s Aleko.

In the early 1990s, the famed composer and librettist Gian Carlo Menotti came to Chicago as the guest for a black-tie event for Chicago Opera Theater. Larry Johnson recounts a rare opportunity to spend time with a world-famous musician and composer.

In 2019, Lucia Lucas made history as the first trans opera artist to star in a professional American opera production of a standard repertory opera.

Moby-Dick is a Great American Novel, no doubt. But that fact doesn’t make Herman Melville’s 600+ page opus any less intimidating.

General director Ashley Magnus exclaims that “to ensure that opera stays relevant as a living art form, we must bring contemporary voices, as well as works of international prominence never before seen in Chicago to the stage.”

“Right now, we’re in a golden era of American opera”

Chicago Opera Theater concludes its 2017/18 season with a Donizetti double bill presenting two Chicago premieres: “Il Pigmalione” and “Rita.”

Chicago Opera Theater today announced its 2018/19 season composed of three new-to-Chicago works, continuing the company’s commitment to presenting new and rarely performed operas.