Baritone steps up to keep two Lyric shows running
In the great scheme of things, the world of grand opera is a small one, and when emergencies occur, members of this international family are ready to step up.
Lyric Opera of Chicago has a knack for creative solutions to such problems, and in this case one of the singers, English baritone Andrew Shore, was quite handy, to say the least.
American baritone Philip Kraus, a longtime favorite in Chicago, will portray Dr. Bartolo in the first three performances of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" Feb. 16, 19 and 22.
Kraus will replace Shore for those three performances after the latter was engaged on short notice to replace Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri as the lead for all eight performances of the Lyric's upcoming production of Verdi's "Falstaff" because of a death in Maestri's family.
Shore is regarded as one of the leading interpreters of Shakespeare's cartoonish, corpulent knight Sir John Falstaff (Verdi's final opera, "Falstaff" is based on "The Merry Wives of Windsor"). Shore, who according to The Times of London was "born to sing" the role of Falstaff, appeared at Lyric Opera last season as Frank in Johann Strauss' "Die Fledermaus." He made his Lyric debut as George Wilson in "The Great Gatsby" in the 2000-01 season.
According to Maestri's management, the father of the 37-year-old singer died unexpectedly in December at a relatively young age, forcing Maestri to cancel his Lyric Opera debut in order to care for his mother in their hometown of Pavia, a small city south of Milan.
A slight overlap in performance dates for "Falstaff" and "The Barber of Seville" resulted in the hiring Kraus for the first three "Barber" performances. Shore will sing the remaining nine performances of "The Barber of Seville" Feb. 26-Mar. 22 as originally announced.
Kraus has sung 21 roles at the Lyric since 1990-91, most recently Baron Douphol in this season's production of Giuseppe Verdi's "La traviata," the Notary in Riochard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" (2005-06) and Harasta in Leos Janacek's "The Cunning Little Vixen" (2004-05).
Kraus made his Lyric Opera debut as José Castro in Verdi's "La fanciulla del West" in 1990-91.
Gioacchino Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" has been one of the most significant operas in the Lyric's history Performances started in 1954 and continued in 11 subsequent seasons, most recently 2000-01.
American baritone Nathan Gunn has the title role of Figaro, with Rosina portrayed by mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato in her Lyric Opera debut. Tenor Juan Diego Florez will portray Rosina's beloved "Lindoro," who is really the disguised Count Almaviva. Also in the cast is bass-baritone Wayne Tigges as Don Basilio. Donato Renzetti will conduct this revival of the Lyric's acclaimed John Conklin-designed production, with stage direction by John Copley.
"Falstaff" will open Jan. 28 for nine performances through Feb. 23. Soprano Veronica Villarroel will portray Alice Ford, with baritone Boaz Daniel (Lyric Opera debut) as her husband, Ford. Contralto Meredith Arwady will portray Mistress Quickly, with Meg Page portrayed by mezzo-soprano Elizabeth De Shong. Soprano Stacey Tappan is the Fords' daughter, Nannetta, and tenor Bryan Griffin is Fenton.
Ticket information for all Lyric Opera performances is available by calling (312) 332-2244, ext. 5600, or by visiting www.lyricopera.org.