Eugene Onegin

L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O

February 26 - March 20, 2017

Chorus Companions

My husband and I met when we sang in the chorus of the Florentine Opera

Company in Milwaukee. We started attending Lyric when we were dating,

and I think we’re now in our 43rd subscription season. We just celebrated our

40th wedding anniversary. We have six children, and they all came to Lyric.

I sang twice with Beverly Sills, my absolute favorite since childhood, and we also

sang with Sam Ramey and Sherrill Milnes and many others who we’ve seen at

Lyric. We have seen firsthand what goes into the production of an opera and

have seen some around the world. It is great to have a world-class opera house

so close to home. We have seen most of the great opera singers, some many

times, at Lyric and have enjoyed the depth of your “in house” musical talent.

We have brought both family and friends to productions. We hope to be able

to attend for many more years. Thank you for continuing to produce such high-

caliber operas with such great singers, dancers, and production personnel.

Janis and Don Crego

(Elm Grove, Wisconsin)

Lifelong Listeners

I love to sing. I attended what was then an all-boys high school in New Jersey and joined the Glee Club. We sang a fair

amount of classical and sacred music, and the more we rehearsed and performed, the more I realized that the key to truly

enjoying music of any kind was repetitive listening. By the time I was accepted in the Union College Glee Club, I began

what has become an extensive collection of classical records. It wasn’t until I was in my early thirties that my wife Debbie

and I started doing repetitive listening to opera. This increased our enjoyment further. We attended a few operas in New York

and then moved to the Chicago area. We soon realized that Lyric had many

of the same performers as the Met, and we began subscribing. Each year we

would make a point of buying records or eventually CDs of two or three

operas that appeared on our season series and did the repetitive listening,

so we would know the opera when we attended. Now, about 30 years later,

we already know and love many if not most of each season’s list, and also

enjoy those we don’t know. The quality of the performers, the sets and

costumes is second to no other opera company I have witnessed – and we

have seen some of the other great ones. Keep up the fine work.

Debbie and George Schulz

(Lake Forest)

COURTESY OF DON AND JANIS CREGO

Don and Janis Crego, costumed for

Cavalleria

rusticana

at Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera,

1973.

TODD ROSENBERG

A great favorite of George and Debbie Schulz,

Das

Rheingold

, pictured in this season’s new Lyric production.

Giving Back

Lyric has played a major role in my life for over fifty years as a

subscriber, donor, and volunteer. That is why I loved helping in the

lobby as an “ASK ME” volunteer during the run of

The King and I

It was amazing to me how many people had never been to Lyric before,

and I hope my information and enthusiasm will prompt some to return

during the regular opera season.

Bonnie Zeitlin

(Wheeling)

A Welcome Escape

Why do I love Lyric and opera? It is

mesmerizing! The music, the costumes,

the performances. The ambience of the

Civic Opera House, which is outstanding.

You just relax and are transported into

a magic world that is exhilarating.

How nice to escape the daily hustle and

bustle for a few hours of pure pleasure.

Don Brown

(Chicago)