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by
Magda Krance
When random events and individuals converge,
the result can be a wondrous series of connections
that appear cosmically predestined. The journey of
Bel Canto
, from headline news to novel to opera, is
just that. This is the story behind Lyric’s latest world
premiere, which runs December 7 through January 17,
2016, and is already garnering international buzz.
In 1996, the world watched an international
hostage crisis unfold in Lima, Peru. A diplomatic
party at the Japanese ambassador’s mansion had
been commandeered by terrorists posing as waiters;
they were trapped together for four months until a
government siege rescued the hostages and killed
the guerrillas. Jimmy López, then an 18-year-old
composer, watched the news reports at home in Lima,
never dreaming the story would inspire his first
opera, commissioned by Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Bel Canto
THE STARS AL IGN TO BR ING
TO LYR IC
BEL CANTO
SET DESIGN
COURTESY
DAVID KORINS
BEL CANTO
CREATIVE TEAM:
KEVIN NEWBURY, DAVID KORINS,
CONSTANCE HOFFMAN,
ANTHONY FREUD (STANDING);
NILO CRUZ, SIR ANDREW DAVIS,
JIMMY LÓPEZ (SEATED)
TODDROSENBERG