“I’ve been working towards this my whole career,” Lopez said excitedly as he observed summer technical rehearsals for Bel Canto.

“Telemann has written… some truly funny arias about Don Q.’s dreams of chivalry and Sancho’s donkey and mishaps”

Ana María Martínez is a seasoned performer on the stage of Chicago’s Civic Opera House. In the last year, she’s sung Mimì, Desdemona, and opens as Rusalka on Saturday. What is less dazzling, less conspicuous, has been her role as a role model to Chicago’s youth. The Puerto Rican-American soprano (who is fluent in Italian, English, and Spanish) frequently volunteers as a …

Pieces of music that turned the art form into something it hadn’t seen.