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L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
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February 22 - March 19, 2016
I’m thrilled to begin my tenure as President of Lyric Opera for many reasons, but above all, because opera has become a vital
element of my life, both personally and professionally. In the early 1990s, when my company was about five years old, I realized
that in the marketing world you took clients to a Bulls Game, or to Wrigley Field – there was a customary set of entertainment
venues. But rather than a sports outing, what if we treated them to the opera? We began bringing clients, for whom it was unique
and unforgettable, introducing them to an art form they’d heard about but never experienced. For me, it checked the boxes on the
business side, but it also nurtured in me an enduring love for opera. I’d grown up in New Jersey listening to WQXR, hearing the
Met on the radio, but becoming a subscriber and enjoying opera
in the theater
was
brand new to me.
It’s been my great pleasure to be a Lyric subscriber since 1992. l feel a special
excitement every opening night, and when I return to a production a second or third
time, I always see things I hadn’t seen before. My wife and I continue to introduce
people to Lyric, many of whom have become subscribers themselves.
When I was growing up in the 1960s and ’70s, people frequently responded
to opera as something classic, almost old world, best seen and heard in traditional
performances. Today, however, I relish the broad range of theatrical interpretation.
I’m struck every season by performances that communicate a particular resonance
with what’s happening culturally or socially in our world at the time. Certain truths
captured so memorably in opera are timeless, still challenging us as they challenged
these works’ original audiences. I think of recent productions, such as
Rusalka
or
The Passenger
– each was a truly visceral experience that stayed with me for weeks.
This year I’m looking forward with great anticipation to Lyric’s new production of
The Marriage of Figaro
, and especially to the world premiere of
Bel Canto
.
Under my watch, the next chapter in Lyric’s history will implement the
strategic plan the management and board developed four years ago. The principles
of excellence, relevance, and fiscal responsibility are our key priorities of focus. I’m
excited to witness Lyric becoming a broader provider of cultural service to Chicago
and the Chicagoland region.
To stay excellent, relevant, and fiscally responsible in this rapidly changing
world, we need to be prepared to innovate. That means looking beyond the customary constraints of our art form and asking,
“What can we learn, borrow, beg, or steal from other forms of entertainment and cultural enrichment?” One idea behind the board’s
innovation committee has been to empower a small group of board members to do just that. In many ways Lyric Unlimited is our
laboratory. Through it we are reaching out to communities throughout Chicago, we are forming collaborative partnerships with other
cultural, community, and educational organizations, and we are exploring the ways in which opera, as an art form, may develop in
the future.
Lyric offers an increasing number of diverse activities – not only our mainstage opera season, but also our productions of great
musicals, Lyric Unlimited’s wide-ranging projects, and, of course, our world-renowned Ryan Opera Center. But we need to think
of ourselves as
one
Lyric. Everything we do is part of a unified, single-minded goal to be the great North American opera company
of the twenty-first century.
David T. Ormesher
From the President
TODD ROSENBERG