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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 2 - 22, 2019
Welcome to the second half of Lyric’s thrilling 2018/19 season! I know you’ll
have a terrific time at this performance, and it’s my great pleasure to welcome you
on behalf of the board of directors.
One of my distinct pleasures as chairman is to work with an extraordinary
board. It’s really a “brain trust” of experience and leadership that is fully engaged
in helping us confront the challenges, as well as the opportunities, of operating
a world-class opera company in the 21st century. Together we work with senior
management to consider new ways of thinking about the business of opera.
For the past year, our board meetings have been dominated by the very
important work of examining our operations, streamlining our processes, and
building a new business model. As technology, social, and entertainment options
change all around us, Lyric must continue to evolve. We must work together to
develop new strategies to stay relevant while maintaining our high standards of
quality.
is is all necessary, of course. It is part of our fiduciary duty as trustees. But
it’s also important that we don’t miss the forest for the trees.
Why are we here? Why do we do what we do?
What is special about this art form and this company and why has it captured
our minds, our hearts, our passion, our pocketbooks?
We often talk about the “transformative power of opera.” How do you
experience this? Personally?
Is it when you witness an exciting new rising star from the Ryan Opera Center making their opera debut? Or when school
children and communities throughout Chicagoland encounter the powerful stories of opera through Lyric Unlimited?
Is it in the Ardis Krainik eatre, where families come together for the annual musical, and music lovers from all over the
world come to experience the brilliance of our orchestra and chorus supporting the best opera singers in the world?
When I was a teenager, I used to think it was silly that grown women and men would cry at the opera...until it happened to
me for the first time during Act ree of
Madama Butterfly
.
When did you first feel a surge of emotion at the opera? And left with a poignant feeling of resonance or joy? A lasting
memory of artistic excellence, of musical athleticism that took your breath away?
Each one of us approaches art, and is impacted by art – whether the visual arts or the performing arts – in very personal
ways. And yet there is something special, powerful, transformative even, about opera, with its unique combination of the visual,
the musical, the storytelling, the ageless themes of myth and humanity.
If you know what I’m talking about, I want you to join me as ambassadors for Lyric. To spread the word about this unique
company, this crown jewel in Chicago’s cultural life, whose reputation extends beyond our city to every musical capital in the
world. To invite your neighbors, your colleagues, your family members to come experience Lyric like you do.
It’s only as we roll up our sleeves and work, in every way we can, not simply to produce performances at the top level, but to
sell out every one of those performances, that we have a future of which we can be proud. A future that Lyric deserves. A future
that Chicago needs. Onward and upward!
I look forward to greeting many of you at performances throughout the season.
David T. Ormesher
Chairman
From the Chairman
TODD ROSENBERG