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.
“I wanted to encourage young emerging LGBTQ+ composers to write pieces that tell their story in an authentic way… This concert series is both a celebration of how far we have come and how far we still have to go.”
This is the third major presentation of City Opera’s LGBTQ series following Peter Eotvos’ Angels in America in 2017 and Charles Wuorinen’s Brokeback Mountain last year.
More than two decades after a tragedy catalyzed a generation of LGBTQ activists, Matthew Shepard’s story is being shared with a new generation through music.
To celebrate Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, WFMT and the Chicago Gay Men’s Chorus presented a pop-up performance of “Somewhere” from the composer’s beloved musical West Side Story. The event was broadcast live from the Legacy Walk in Chicago’s Boystown neighborhood.
As a composer, conductor, and educator, Leonard Bernstein’s contributions left a tremendous impact on American classical and popular music. Ravinia celebrates his centenary.
Can you imagine a world without the music of Handel, Tchaikovsky, or Britten? These great composers of the past are just a few of many important musical figures who did not identify as heterosexual.
