(Credit: Karen Almond)

The former Chicago Opera Theater Music Director, Lidiya Yankovskaya, is leaving the United States.

The conductor told WBEZ Chicago that she wanted to raise her children in a free environment where they could express themselves.

She said, “I want to be sure that my children can grow up feeling like they can always express themselves freely. I want my children to live in a society that really takes care of its people. I want my children to live in a world that really values things like the arts, that really values things like education. In London in particular, there is such a culture of valuing intellectualism, of valuing the arts and artistic pursuits for their own sake.”

In the interview, she also spoke about working at the Kennedy Center following President Donald Trump’s takeover and the op-ed she wrote for the Washington Post. Yankovskaya said, “I think it feeds into this idea of squashing art and killing personal expression. What we should be trying to do is flooding the country with as much thought-provoking art as possible.”

Yankovskaya recently conducted “Carmen” at the Sydney Opera and is set to conduct at the Ravinia Festival.

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