Lyric Opera 2023-2024 Season: Dutchman, Aida, Cinderella, Audra

Next year’s lineup of six mainstage operas offers choices for traditional and contemporary opera fans alike.

At top of opera, Yoncheva worries about classical music

In a bid to shape projects and bolster opera’s audience, Yoncheva is launching her own record label.

Quiz: Should These Opera Characters Be on the Naughty or Nice List?

We’ve made a list, now we’re checking it twice… can you help WFMT find out which of these opera characters can expect a nicely wrapped present… and which ones can expect coal?

Chicago-born opera stars Janai Brugger & Matthew Polenzani trade hometown tales, tips for singing on camera

Tenor Matthew Polenzani reflects that “there are definitely pieces where what’s required dramatically in a hall of 4,000 seats is different from what’s required dramatically on a screen.”

Singer driven from Belarus for speaking out tries to rebuild

“It was so evident to all of us that we could not keep silent any more,” said baritone Ilya Silchukou.

Playlist: Classical Fire and Flames

The Great Chicago Fire began on October 8, 1871. Here’s some music that takes inspiration from flames.

US soprano, offended by blackface, pulls out of Italy opera

Soprano Angel Blue will be bowing out of La Traviata because the theater recently mounted another Verdi opera using blackface.

Sing Different: Why the Life of Apple’s Steve Jobs Makes for Great Opera

Steve Jobs gets the operatic treatment with Mason Bates’ Grammy-winning The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. We spoke with the composer, librettist Mark Campbell, as well as baritone Edward Parks, who created the role of Jobs.

Met moves Donizetti opera to decaying American town

Call it bel canto in the Rust Belt.

Ginsburg’s art, fur coat, awards in auction to benefit opera

A signed and inscribed print of the late Supreme Court Justice is among 150 items from Ginsburg’s office and home in an online auction to benefit opera in Washington.

New ‘La bohème’ tells story in reverse for happy ending

The director says that the reinterpretation emphasizes the power of love despite inevitable death and disappointment.

‘Music is an ephemeral art’: Conductor Eun Sun Kim on Puccini and her Lyric Debut

It’s been a very Puccini year for conductor Eun Sun Kim. In the span of 9 months, she’ll have conducted two Toscas, two Bohèmes, and a Turandot. Here’s how she continues to find the new in these beloved scores.

Verdi’s ‘Don Carlos’ arrives at Met Opera in original French

The version is largely based on the 1867 rehearsals and Paris Opéra premiere, including long-lost sections rediscovered in the late 1960s by David Rosen and Andrew Porter.

Mozart’s Top 10 Works

Picking a favorite out of Mozart’s immense catalog of music is no small feat, so we asked all WFMT hosts, producers, and staff to weigh in on their best-loved compositions and recordings.

Vivaldi Opera Gets Premiere in Ferrara Nearly 300 Years Late

The Catholic Church and the northern Italian city of Ferrara are making their peace with Antonio Vivaldi nearly 300 years after the city’s archbishop effectively canceled the staging of one of his operas.

Met Opera to present Blanchard’s ‘Champion’ in April 2023

The staging follows the success of the composer Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones on the opening night of this season.

Kennedy Center Honors back once more, Biden attends

Honorees include Motown Records creator Berry Gordy, opera singer Justino Diaz, and folk music legend Joni Mitchell.

Opera’s Newest Voice: Meet Debra Lew Harder, the New Host of the Met Broadcasts

After nearly two years, Metropolitan Opera live broadcasts are back. With their revival comes the arrival of a new host: Debra Lew Harder.

Bass-Baritone Ryan Speedo Green Ready for Operatic Stardom

This Met Opera season alone has been an impressive run of roles for Ryan Speedo Green, whose bass-baritone voice and charismatic stage presence unfailingly impress critics and audiences.

Verismo Meets Lyrical Flow: Chicago Composer Creates Opera from Classic Nas Track

It was a rap song by Nas that directly influenced Chicago composer Steve Wallace’s newest chamber opera, Undying Love.

Anna Netrebko needs shoulder surgery, cancels performances

Soprano Anna Netrebko needs shoulder surgery and has canceled performances in Verdi’s Nabucco at the Vienna State Opera.

Watch WFMT’s Classical Conversation With ‘Approaching Ali’ Composer D. J. Sparr and Star Soloman Howard

Ali was among the most important, most charismatic, most unique figures in American (not just sports) history. So how do you adapt the monumental life of the People’s Champion into an opera?

Operatic day at the beach evokes climate crisis

Twenty-one tons of sand are transforming the Brooklyn Academy of Music into a day at a beach for the staging of the global warming opera Sun and Sea.

La Scala Remembers Caruso, Di Stefano, and Corelli With an Interactive Exhibit

1921 was a pivotal year in Italian opera. Enrico Caruso died at age 48, and Franco Corelli and Giuseppe Di Stefano were born. Italy’s greatest opera theater marks the centenary of these events with a free virtual exhibit.

Marian Anderson’s vocal artistry honored in new CD bonanza

Marian Anderson broke barriers throughout her career, from her 1939 Easter Sunday performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to her 1955 performance at the Metropolitan Opera.

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