Young suburban singers perform with Lyric Opera

When Kati Young steps onstage, she is no longer Kati Young, 13, of Lisle. She is a fairy.

Her transformation to fairy form occurs not on a middle school stage, but on the downtown stage of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where Kati is one of 24 suburban youths performing in “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” which runs until Nov. 23.

“We had to put in a lot of effort to be able to do it, but just singing on that stage, it almost empowers you because you know you can go out and do anything after that,” Kati said.

Kati and the other young performers are members of Anima Young Singers of Greater Chicago, a Glen Ellyn-based choral organization. They auditioned within the group last spring for the privilege of performing with the Lyric Opera this fall, said Priscilla Smith, executive director of Anima Young Singers.

“Any time the children can work with people of that quality, it just brings up their own game. It's fantastic for the children who are performing and it's fantastic for the rest of the chorus to see this going on,” Smith said.

This is the second year Anima singers have performed with the Lyric Opera, Smith said. The group also has sent members to sing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and perform at professional-quality venues such as Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park.

While Kati and many of the young Lyric Opera performers play fairies in “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” four have solo roles. Kenny Lumb, 13, of Glen Ellyn, plays a character called Cobweb as a soloist.

“It's crazy cool. It's such an amazing experience,” Kenny said. “These are real, really awesome opera singers.”

And as another performer, 11-year-old Matthew Petersen of Lombard says, “you never know who's watching; it could be someone from Broadway.”

The young singers hail from hometowns including Carol Stream, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, West Chicago, Westmont and Wheaton. And as opening day neared, they traveled downtown for about 10 rehearsals, costuming sessions and staging practices, Smith said. But the singers say the overall experience of singing, acting and dancing alongside professionals is worth the months of practice.

“I've missed quite a bit of school, the shows are late nights and the music is hard,” Kenny said. “But other than that, it's amazing.”