CHICAGO ( September 3, 2014 ) Michael Tiknis, President and Managing Director of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, today unveiled Beyond the Aria, a new performance series produced by Harris Theater in a unique first-time association with Lyric Unlimited, on the Pritzker Pavilion Stage at Millennium Park.
Four performances—October 21, November 10, January 14, and March 10 ( details below )—will feature internationally celebrated opera singers alongside rising stars from The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, the eminent artist-development program. The artists will perform a repertoire of their choosing, which may include Broadway, American Songbook, Jazz, and more, with accompaniment by pianist Craig Terry.
Audiences will enjoy these intimate performances "cabaret style," seated on the enclosed stage of the Pritzker Pavilion. At café tables and choral risers, patrons will share the stage with acclaimed performers starring in Lyric's 2014—2015 season: mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, performing the role of Azucena in II Trovatore; mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, Jane Seymour in Anna Bolena; tenor Bryan Hymel, Percy in Anna Bolena; tenor Brandon Jovanovich, Walter in The Passenger; baritone Quinn Kelsey, Count di Luna in II Trovatore; soprano Ana MarÃa MartÃnez, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni; baritone Bo Skovhus, the Count inCapriccio; and soprano Amber Wagner, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser. Joining them are Ryan Opera Center ensemble members mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges, baritone Anthony Clark Evans, baritone Will Liverman, and soprano Laura Wilde.
Beyond the Aria marks the first partnership between the Harris Theater and Lyric Unlimited.
"We are so pleased that Harris Theater is producing an innovative series to celebrate great opera singers through a unique and accessible experience," said Michael Tiknis, President and Managing Director of Harris Theater. "The concept of unscripted performances on the singers' night off from the opera is a rare opportunity for Chicago audiences to be a part of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Collaboration is the hallmark of the Harris Theater—this series truly represents our mission at work."
Beyond the Aria will highlight these lead guest artists of Lyric's upcoming season and members of Lyric's prestigious Ryan Opera Center, with Craig Terry as Artistic Director for the series. "When approached by Michael Tiknis and the Harris Theater for this exciting project, I immediately envisioned a musical world through which audience members could experience the visceral nature of hearing spectacular voices, up close and unbuttoned, in a beautiful space, and in favorite and divergent repertoire chosen by the artists themselves," said Terry, also Music Director of the Ryan Opera Center. "The incredible opportunity for our gifted Ryan Opera Center singers to perform alongside these operatic stars in this way is unparalleled. I couldn't be more grateful to the Harris Theater and to these magnificent artists for joining me on this adventure!"
"People seldom have an opportunity to hear artists of this caliber perform classical works in such an intimate setting," said Anthony Freud, General Director at Lyric Opera of Chicago. "We are excited to be working in partnership with the Harris Theater to offer audiences something new and unique."
The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the generous support from Kenneth R. Norgan, theBeyond the Aria series presenting sponsor.
Subscriptions for the four-performance series are on sale beginning tomorrow, September 4, starting at $99. Single performance tickets will be available September 16 starting at $35. All tickets are available through the Harris Theater Box Office at 205 East Randolph Drive, 312.334.7777, and online at HarrisTheaterChicago.org .
Dates and artists for Beyond the Aria are below:
Tuesday, October 21, 2014, 7:30PM
Featuring Ana MarÃa MartÃnez, soprano ˘ Bo Skovhus, baritone ˘ J'nai Bridges, mezzo-soprano
Monday, November 10, 2014, 7:30PM
Featuring Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano ˘ Quinn Kelsey, baritone ˘ Laura Wilde, soprano
Wednesday, January 14, 2015, 7:30PM
Featuring Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano ˘ Bryan Hymel, tenor ˘ Anthony Clark Evans,baritone
Tuesday, March 10, 2015, 7:30PM
Featuring Amber Wagner, soprano ˘ Brandon Jovanovich, tenor ˘ Will Liverman, baritone
˘˘˘ All programs, prices, and dates are subject to change ˘˘˘
About Lyric Unlimited
Launched in 2012, Lyric Unlimited is a long-term, evolving initiative that encompasses company activities that are not part of Lyric's mainstage season. It has been established to provide a relevant cultural service to communities throughout the Chicago area and to advance the development of opera, exploring ways in which opera as an art form can resonate more powerfully and in a range of different ways, with people of multiple backgrounds, ethnicities, and interests. Lyric Unlimited leads the development of innovative partnerships with a wide range of cultural, community, and educational organizations to create a breadth of programming through which Chicagoans of all ages can connect with Lyric.
In the 2013-14 season, more than 111,000 children, students, and adults participated in Lyric Unlimited activities. For more information, visit LyricOpera.org/LyricUnlimited.
About Craig Terry, Beyond the Aria Artistic Director
A native of Tullahoma, Tennessee, pianist Craig Terry has launched an international career regularly performing with some of the world's leading singers and instrumentalists. Currently Mr. Terry is in his 10th season as assistant conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago and has recently been named music director of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric. Previously, he served as assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera after joining its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Mr. Terry has performed in recital with such esteemed vocalists as Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Nicole Cabell, Sasha Cooke, Eric Cutler, Joyce DiDonato, Giuseppe Filianoti, Denyce Graves, Joseph Kaiser, Kate Lindsey, Ana MarÃa MartÃnez, Susanna Phillips, Patricia Racette, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Hugh Russell, and Amber Wagner. In 2008, he was twice featured as soloist with the Chicago Philharmonic, performing piano concertos of Chopin and Mendelssohn. In March 2010, he made his conducting debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago, leading student matinee performances of L'Elisir d'Amore, and in 2012 he made his Lyric stage debut as Jake in Show Boat. Mr. Terry was also featured in a Live from Lincoln Center national broadcast on PBS with Stephanie Blythe in April 2013. Mr. Terry's 2014-2015 concert schedule includes recitals with Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Joyce DiDonato, Jill Grove, Brian Jagde, Ana MarÃa MartÃnez, Patricia Racette, Hugh Russell, and Heidi Stober. Mr. Terry's discography includes three recordings released in the past year: Diva on Detour with Patricia Racette, As Long As There Are Songswith Stephanie Blythe, and Chanson d'Avril with Nicole Cabell. Mr. Terry received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Tennessee Technological University, continued his studies at Florida State University and received a Master's of Music in Piano Performance/Accompanying from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a student of pianist Warren Jones.
About The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago
The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center was established in 1974 as the professional artist-development program for Lyric Opera of Chicago. Since its inception, the Ryan Opera Center has been recognized as one of the premier programs of its kind in the world. That standing is maintained by providing the finest up-and-coming singers with unparalleled training and experience. The program is administered by Director Dan Novak, Music Director Craig Terry, and Advisor Renée Fleming. For more information, please visit LyricOpera.org/RyanCenter.
About Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the world's great opera companies. Founded in 1954, it is renowned internationally for its artistic excellence and financial strength. The company's mission is to express and promote the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great art and opera. Lyric Opera exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to the Chicago region and the nation, and to advance the development of the art form of opera by producing and performing consistently thrilling, world-class opera, with a balanced repertoire that encompasses core classics, less-known masterpieces, and new works; creating a diverse, innovative, wide-ranging program of community engagement and education activities that reaches the widest possible public; and developing exceptional emerging operatic talent. To learn more about the 2014-15 season, please visit LyricOpera.org
About Harris Theater for Music and Dance
The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance is a 1500-seat state-of-the art performance venue located in Chicago's Millennium Park. Opened in November 2003, the nonprofit Harris Theater was the first multi-use performance venue built in downtown Chicago since 1929. Harris Theater serves as a unique national model of collaboration between the philanthropic community and performing arts organizations in music and dance. More than a decade later, the theater features the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, hosting local, national, and internationally renowned artists and ensembles.
The Harris Theater's primary mission is to partner with an array of Chicago's music and dance performing arts organizations to help them build the resources and infrastructure necessary to achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. The Harris Theater's original group of 12 resident companies has grown to include 35 diverse and exceptionally talented performing arts organizations, including internationally acclaimed Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Music of the Baroque, Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Symphony Orchestra's MusicNow, and collaborations with Lyric Opera of Chicago, National Museum of Mexican Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Columbia College Chicago. Through these partnerships, the Theater has earned national recognition as a distinctive model for collaboration, performance, and artistic advancement.
The Theater supports this mission by providing these partner organizations with subsidized rental, technical expertise, and marketing support, allowing the organizations to focus on what they do best—bringing the finest in music and dance performances to the public. The Theater offers professional development opportunities, including the innovate Learning Lab, endorsed with grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Harris Theater is also dedicated to presenting internationally acclaimed music and dance organizations to enhance its reputation as well as to help build audiences for the Theater's resident companies. Through the Harris Theater Presents series, the Theater has achieved widespread recognition as a vital cultural anchor in Chicago. Daniel Barenboim, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Renee Fleming, the Hamburg Ballet, Lang Lang, the New York City Ballet, the Paris Opéra Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, Stephen Sondheim, and many others have graced the Harris' Elizabeth Morse Genius Stage through this series.
The Harris Theater maintains a commitment to community engagement for children, teens and adults. Programs advance access to, and understanding of, the performing arts. They include the Family Series and the lunchtime Eat to the Beat series. Collaborating with community arts centers and health and human service agencies, the Theater has provided more than 7,000 complimentary tickets through its Access Tickets Program. Through the Teen Arts Project, the theater partners with public and private schools to provide "behind the scenes" access to visiting world-class artists through master classes, artist discussions, and other enrichment activities.
To learn more about the Harris Theater, please visit HarrisTheaterChicago.org . Call the Marketing Department at 312.334.2419 to request a brochure or additional information.
The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago's state-of-the art 1,525-seat performance venue, can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
