A preview of Lyric's season
Here's a look at the Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2007-08 season:
"La traviata," by Giuseppe Verdi.
When: Saturday through Oct. 15 (six performances); Jan. 11-26 (six performances).
Conductors: Bruno Bartoletti (fall performances), Sir Andrew Davis (January performances).
Stage director: Frank Corsaro.
Stars: Elizabeth Futral (Violetta); Joseph Calleja (Alfredo) and Mark Delavan (Germont), fall performances' Renee Fleming (Violetta), Matthew Polenzani (Alfredo) and Thomas Hampson (Germont), January performances.
"La Boheme" by Giacomo Puccini.
When: Monday through Nov. 23 (11 performances).
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Stage director: Renata Scotto
Stars: Angela Gheorghiu (Mimi) and Roberto Aronica (Rodolfo),October performances; Serena Farnocchia (Mimi) and Gwyn Hughes Jones (Rodolfo), November performances; Nicole Cabell (Musetta), all performances.
"Giulio Cesare," by George Frideric Handel (Lyric Opera premiere).
When: Nov. 2-Dec. 1 (eight performances).
Conductor: Emmanuelle Haim
Stage director: David McVicar.
Stars: David Daniels (Julius Caesar), Danielle de Niese (Cleopatra).
"Die Frau Ohne Schatten" by Richard Strauss.
When: Nov. 16 through Dec. 20 (nine performances).
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Stage director: Paul Curran
Stars: Deborah Voigt (Empress), Christine Brewer (Dyer's Wife), Robert Dean Smith (Emperor), Franz Hawlata (Barak), Jill Grove (Nurse).
"Doctor Atomic" by John Adams (Lyric Opera premiere).
When: Dec. 14 through Jan. 19 (eight performances).
Conductor: Robert Spano
Stage director: Peter Sellars
Stars: Gerald Finley (J. Robert Oppenheimer), Eric Owens (Gen. Leslie Groves), Richard Paul Fink (Edward Teller).
"Falstaff" by Giuseppe Verdi.
Schedule: Jan. 28 through Feb. 23 (nine performances).
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Stage director: Olivier Tambosi
Stars: Ambroglio Maestri (Sir John Falstaff), Veronica Villaroel (Alice), Peter Mattei (Ford), Bernadette Manca di Nissa (Dame Quickly)
"The Barber of Seville" by Gioacchino Rossini.
Schedule: Feb. 16 through March 22 (12 performances).
Conductor: Donato Renzetto
Stage director: John Copley
Stars: Nathan Gunn (Figaro), Juan Diego Florez (Count Almaviva), Joyce DiDonato (Rosina).
"Eugene Onegin" by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Schedule: March 1-30 (10 performances).
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Stage director: Paula Suozzi
Stars: Dmitry Hvorostovsky (Eugene Onegin), March 1-14 performances; Mariusz Kwiecien (Eugene Onegin), March 17-30 performances; Dina Kuznetsova (Tatiana), Frank Lopardo (Prince Lensky).