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L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
February 26 - March 20, 2017
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Coming Home to Lyric
I was 14 when I first attended Lyric Opera, a performance of
Tristan und Isolde
with
Birgit Nilsson singing (shortly before her highly acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut
in that role) and Artur Rodziński conducting. As with so many musicians and others,
the first experience of that opera, and with such performers, was a transformational
experience never to be forgotten. For several years after that, visits to Lyric Opera with
my mother were highlights of each year though our family lived in Minnesota. About
20 years ago, after a hiatus in attending Lyric Opera, I started going there regularly each
fall and winter. The first time back, walking up Madison Street approaching the Civic
Opera House, I felt a powerful sense of returning home again, which only intensified
as I entered the grand lobby and the auditorium itself.
Winston Kaehler
(St. Paul, Minnesota)
Be Transported
Who wouldn’t love opera? Where else can one experience
six people, simultaneously relating their troubles at the top
of their voices in perfect harmony? And their troubles are
intricately interwoven with each other, and usually the result
of their own foibles or weaknesses. It is a catharsis worth
repeating at regular intervals for one’s health and happiness.
Moreover, at Lyric it is done in perfect audio reception
wherever one is seated. Visually, one is stimulated by
sumptuous costumes, overpowering sets, and nuanced
staging. Where else can one, for a few hours, be harmlessly
transported to a world beyond the everyday and ordinary
into a world of great drama? Whether it’s a tragic or
comedic world, the catharsis is equally complete.
What’s not to love?
Dorothy Batka
(Chicago)
Father & Husband
I was born on July 13, 1939, to Italian parents. My father came to this country
from Sicily when he was 16 knowing many of the Italian opera melodies by heart.
When I was a little girl he rocked me to sleep singing his favorite ones.
When I met my husband-to-be, our first real date was to Lyric Opera of
Chicago for
L’elisir d’amore
with Luciano Pavarotti as the tenor. My husband-to-
be was an opera lover from high school on. In Europe as a soldier he spent his
leave at opera houses. The combination of memories of my Papa, Pavarotti, and
my new-found love made Lyric Opera of Chicago a very special place for me.
We have kept our subscriptions through the 37 years we have been married.
We love opera and Lyric!
Anna Cholewa
(Glenview)
Generations of Opera Lovers
I love opera because my daddy started taking
my sister and me to Lyric when we were still
in grade school. Every time I attend a Lyric
performance, everything about it reminds of my
daddy. I have always encouraged and brought
my friends and young people. People of all ages
should be exposed to this wonderful world!
Cris Crisafulli
(Evanston)
L’elisir d’amore
with Luciano Pavarotti
(1977), a production that Anna Cholewa and
her husband-to-be saw on their first date.
TONY ROMANO
NANCY SORENSEN
The Lyric premiere of
Tristan und
Isolde
(1958) – a performance
enjoyed by the young Winston Kaehler
– starred Birgit Nilsson and Karl
Liebl in the title roles.