Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is set to present the Chicago premiere of “Der Silbersee: Ein Wintermärchen” by Kurt Weill and text by Georg Kaiser. Directed by COT General Director Lawrence Edelson and conducted by James Lowe in his COT debut, the new production will be performed March 4, 7 & 8 at the Studebaker Theater. The work is presented in {…}
Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is set to present the second Discovery Concert of the 2025-26 season titled, “In America’s Embrace: Celebrating Immigrant Composers.” The program, set for Jan. 18, 2026 at 3 p.m. local time, will include opera, musical theater and songs by composers who fled their native countries and came to America—some as children, others later in life—finding safety, {…}
The Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is set to present the Chicago premiere of “Falstaff, ossia le tre burle” by composer Antonio Salieri and librettist Carlo Prospero Defranceschi. The opera will feature a cast that includes bass-baritone Christian Pursell as Sir John Falstaff as well as soprano Vanessa Becerra as Mistress Ford, tenor Andrew Morstein as Master Ford, Tzytle Steinman as {…}
The Chicago Opera Theater will present “Shakespeare Sings” on Oct. 19, 2025. The concert will take audiences on a journey through the passion, comedy, tragedy, and romance inspired by the lasting genius of Shakespeare. The concert will showcase arias and scenes from operas inspired by the Bard’s plays and will include works by Rossini, Bellini, Nicolai, Gounod, Verdi, Faccio, Zandonai, {…}
The Chicago Opera Theater (COT) has announced a new opportunity for audiences to get a unique look inside the creative process this fall with a public piano/vocal workshop of “Trusted,” a new opera in development by composer Aaron Israel Levin and librettist Marella Martin Koch. The workshop, part of COT’s acclaimed Vanguard Initiative, will culminate in a public concert reading of the first {…}
The Chicago Opera Theater has announced its 2025-26 season. The season opens with “Trusted: Vanguard Piano/Vocal Workshop,” featuring a public concert reading and audience engagement in the workshop process for Aaron Israel Levin and Marella Martin Koch’s new opera in development at COT. Performance Date: Sept. 21, 2025 There will be a Discovery Concert: Shakespeare Sings, which will feature arias and {…}
Chicago Opera Theater will continue its 2024-25 season with the concert premiere of the sixth full-length opera produced through COT’s industry leading Vanguard Initiative. The work entitled “Remedios Varios para las Aflicciones del Cuerpo y el Espíritu” is composed by Carlos R. Carrillo with a libretto by Stephanie Fleischmann. The work is set in a world devoid of color and {…}
Chicago Opera Theater is set to celebrate the centennial of Giacomo Puccini’s death with “Bohème and Beyond – The Legacy of Puccini.” The concert will highlight how Puccini’s work impacted the evolution of opera and musical theater and will be performed at DePaul University’s Gannon Hall at the Holtschneider Performance Center on Dec. 7. This concert will feature beloved arias {…}
The Lyric Opera of Chicago Opera and Chicago Opera Theater are teaming up for a free panel event on Sept. 21, 2024. The focus of the panel will be Beethoven’s “Fidelio” and Paër’s “Leonora,” two operas based on the same story. WFMT program host LaRob K. Rafael will host a panel featuring Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Enrique Mazzola and Matthew {…}
(Credit: Picture from Chicago Opera Theater) Chicago Opera Theater is set to open its 2024-25 Season with the North American premiere of “Leonora.” The Italian opera composed by Ferdinando Paër to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa and Giacomo Cinti is based on the same story as Beethoven’s later opera “Fidelio.” According to musicologists, Beethoven was influenced by Paër while {…}
Chicago Opera Theater has unveiled its 2024-25 season. The season opens with Ferdinando Paër, Giuseppe Maria Foppa, and Giacomo Cinti’s “Leonora.” The opera, which premiered in 1804, will get its North American premiere and tells another version of the same story that Beethoven adapted for his famed “Fidelio.” The work stars Edgardo Rocha, Vanessa Becerra, Ian Koziara, Kameron Alston, Keely {…}
