Mazzola speaks with WFMT general manager George Preston about returning to live performance, Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth, Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, and what he loves most about being a Chicagoan.
Fire Shut Up in My Bones became the first work by a Black composer in the 138-year history of the Metropolitan Opera as the company presented its first staged performance since March 2020 following a gap caused by the coronavirus.
The 2021-22 season was initially meant to be Muti’s final as music director, but because of the many Muti-led concerts that were canceled as a consequence of the pandemic, that date has been pushed back.
