(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 {…}
(Photo credit: Fadil Berisha) Soprano Ermonela Jaho has been named an Opera for Peace ambassador. Albanian soprano Jaho is recognized for her portrayals of opera characters in Baroque, bel canto, and verismo repertoire. She recently recorded “Turandot” with Warner Classics and Erato CD which was nominated for best Opera album at the 2023 Gramophone Awards, and “Fuoco Sacro,” with Michael {…}
The Board of Directors of Chicago Opera Theater has announced that Lidiya Yankovskaya will step down from her position as Morse and Genius Music Director at the end of the company’s 2023-24 50th Anniversary season. Yankovskaya will continue to lead Chicago Opera Theater’s Vanguard Initiative, the immersive training and residency program for first-time opera composers which she created for the {…}
Chicago Opera Theater (COT), will present two major performances this May. First up will be “The Cook-Off,” by composer Shawn Okpebholo and librettist Mark Campbell on May 11, 2023. “The Cook-Off” will be the fourth world premiere that the company showcases as part of its Vanguard program, which is led by Elizabeth Morse and genius Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya. The opera will be {…}
The Minnesota Opera has announced its 2021 season which will include both live opera and digital offerings, as well as a major directorial debut of an iconic artist. The season kicks off with “Opera in the Outfield” as the company presents operatic favorites at CHS Field. David Radamés Toro directs with Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducting. Performance Date: Sept. 24, 2021 The {…}
(Credit: Michael Brosilow) Chicago Opera Theater has announced an extensive digital 2020-21 season, which will feature five full operas. “Like most arts organizations, we’ve had to take stock of our values and strengths to determine how best to approach our season,” said Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson General Director Ashley Magnus in a press release. “For COT, the priority is {…}
The Chicago Opera Theater has announced its 2020-21 season, which will feature three Chicago premieres. “The 21st century has redefined American opera through an exceptional creative surge,” said Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya, who was at the forefront for programming for the season. “COT is quickly establishing our place at the vanguard of this movement. In our 2020-21 season, we uphold {…}
For five years, the Dallas Opera’s Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors has done something that few other major companies have done – champion women conductors. The program, the first ever designed to meet the needs of women opera conductors, has allowed participants an opportunity to engage in a wide-range of musical opportunities alongside some of the most {…}
Chicago Opera Theater has received a $500,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The grant will support the Vanguard Emerging Opera Composer Residency Program, the heart of COT’s Vanguard Initiative. The Residency Program invites composers to join the company for a two-year study of opera-specific skills, with the goal of “bridging the gap between general compositional skills taught in {…}
The Chicago Opera Theater has announced its 2019-20 season with the company presenting three productions and a world premiere. Take a look at what the company is set to offer. The season will begin with a double-bill of Chicago premieres. The double bill will include “Everest,” by Joby Talbot with a libretto by Gene Scheer, and “Aleko” by Sergei Rachmaninov. {…}
Lidiya Yankovskaya, the new Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is a musical unifier and explorer. Her goals for the future at COT include presenting a variety of underrepresented repertoire, supporting and promoting the best of new operatic works being created in our current “golden age of American opera,” and bolstering COT’s current education and community engagement initiatives. Yankovskaya {…}
