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February 17 - March 16, 2018
Unlike operas, all singing and dialogue
are amplified in these productions,
and this was something Lyric was just
beginning to learn how to do effectively
in a theater designed for unamplified
sound. That year, Shure Incorporated
provided another generous in-kind
donation of microphones and other
amplification equipment, including
wireless microphone bodypacks that fit
unobtrusively in singers' wardrobes. That
equipment was used by Lyric as it made
its successful transition into its Musical
Theater Initiative, with such productions
as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
The Sound
of Music, The King and I
, and Lerner and
Loewe’s
My Fair Lady
last spring.
In addition to equipment
donations, Mr. and Mrs. Shure gave
generously throughout their lifetimes,
and Shure Incorporated continues its
legacy of financial support. Never taking
for granted their position in life, Mr.
and Mrs. Shure delighted in giving back
to organizations that brought them
joy. Upon her death in 2016, Rose left
bequests to several charitable organizations,
including Lyric. In addition, Lyric is grateful
to receive continued support from the Shure
Charitable Trust created under the Will of
Sidney N. Shure, which is also making grants
to numerous charitable organizations.
“She truly loved Lyric; it was one of her
most revered charities,” Barbara says. “They
had four or more seats for every opera, and
even after my uncle died, my aunt would invite
three people to go with her and take them
to dinner in the Graham Room before the
opera. It was her highlight.” To honor Rose
and Sidney, the Trustees of the Charitable
Trust named their four subscription seats on
the main floor of the Ardis Krainik Theater
with plaques on each one reading, "
In Loving
Memory of Rose L. and Sidney N. Shure
.”
Mr. Shure is remembered at Shure
Incorporated as saying of the Company, “We
know very well that absolute perfection cannot
be attained, but we will never stop striving for
it.” Lyric is grateful that some of that near-
perfection made its way to Lyric, both onstage
and off.
—
Meaghan Stainback
P A T R O N S A L U T E | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
Sidney N. Shure founded Shure
Radio Company in 1925, with offices
located at 19 South Wells Street, just
two blocks from the future site of the
Civic Opera Building. During the Great
Depression, when factory-built radio
sets became more affordable than the
radio kits supplied by his Company, Mr.
Shure pivoted his Company’s efforts to
developing its own microphones. At the
start of World War II, having had great
success in microphones, Shure landed
a contract with the military, producing
microphones used to communicate
between tanks, through pilot oxygen
masks, and over battleship intercoms.
Each product was designed to meet the
strict military standards required for
battlefield conditions, a level of durability
still maintained by the Company today.
In 1949, a bright young woman
named Rose Langer landed in Mr. Shure’s
office as his executive assistant. Hard
working and ferociously intelligent, Rose
quickly proved to be a worthy partner,
both in business and in life. Sidney
and Rose were married in 1954, and such
was their joint leadership that the Board of
Directors elected Rose to succeed her husband
as Chairman of Shure Incorporated after his
death in 1995. She held that role until her
passing in January 2016.
“My aunt didn’t have any children of her
own,” says Barbara Levie, Rose Shure’s niece.
“Her business was like her family, and she
felt close to everyone she worked with.” Aside
from being extremely clever and business-
minded, Barbara describes Rose as “almost
regal. She had a style about her and a certain
presence that was very unusual.”
Barbara’s father would often bring her
and her brother to Rose’s apartment for a
day-long adventure. “She would take us on
the El downtown, and we’d get on the first
car so we could watch the train go into the
subway. We would go out to lunch, then to
Fannie May Candy, and finally to an opera or
a play. Afterward, we’d always go to Kroch’s
and Brentano’s, and we were each allowed to
buy a book. It was a very enriching experience,
and that’s how I grew to appreciate the arts.”
As for the Company they built together,
Shure Incorporated is one of the world’s
leading manufacturers of audio equipment,
Rose L. and Sidney N. Shure:
Amplifying Lyric
with a reputation for exceptional quality,
backed by excellent customer service. The
Company’s industry standard microphone,
the SM58®, will undoubtedly be found in
the hands of Adam Levine on Maroon 5’s
next tour. Pop stars of the 50s and 60s were
regularly photographed crooning into the
iconic Model 55 Unidyne®. Those who tune in
to Presidential addresses have heard the Shure
SM57, the microphone used on the White
House lectern since Lyndon B. Johnson held
the top office. Wherever sound is produced,
Shure is there.
The presence of Shure products at the
opera house might seem counterintuitive
because Lyric's mainstage opera singers
rarely use amplification. But there are always
exceptions. In 2003, Shure Incorporated and
Mrs. Shure generously donated significant
equipment to Lyric. Speaking voices during
operettas and children's singing voices are
usually not strong enough to be heard
unaided throughout the opera house. Lyric
has, for many years, counted on Shure’s
leading technology to smoothly transition
from unamplified singing to spoken dialogue,
and back again.
In 2012, Lyric began regularly presenting
great works from the musical theater canon.