Former St. Charles resident to perform concert showcase in Lyric's new season

The Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2019-20 season features former St. Charles resident and Berwyn native Sondra Radvanovsky singing a special Donizetti concert showcase titled "The Three Queens" in December, in addition to singing the tragic Lisa in Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades" in 2020.

In April and May of 2020, the Lyric will present three full postseason turns of Wagner's four-opera Norse mythology epic "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (aka "The Ring Cycle") in director David Pountney's new staging.

Additional season add-ons include a 2020 recital by Sir Bryn Terfel (Feb. 20), an imported Paris production of the Broadway musical "42nd Street" (May 29-June 21) and a Lyric/Chicago Shakespeare Theater collaboration of "Blue" (June 19-28), an African-American family police drama featuring a score by Tony Award-winner Jeanine Tesori ("Fun Home") and libretto by director Tazewell Thompson.

The Lyric's main opera season features:

• "The Barber of Seville" (eight performances, Sept. 28-Oct. 27) - Tony Award-winner Rob Ashford's 2014 production of Rossini's comic masterpiece is revived with Sir Andrew Davis conducting.

• "Luisa Miller" (six performances, Oct. 12-31) - Verdi's early tragedy returns in a new-to-Chicago production directed by Francesca Zambello. Enrique Mazzola conducts.

• "Dead Man Walking" (six performances, Nov. 2-22) - Patricia Racette stars in Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally's 2000 opera inspired by the ministry and activism of Sister Helen Prejean. Nicole Paiement conducts the Leonard Foglia production.

• "Don Giovanni" (nine performances, Nov. 14-Dec. 8) - Tony Award-winner Robert Falls' 2014 Lyric production is revived with Gurnee native Amanda Majeski starring as Donna Elvira. James Gaffigan conducts Mozart's classic score.

• "The Three Queens" (three performances, Dec. 1-7) - Sondra Radvanovsky stars as Anne Boleyn, Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I in semi-staged concerts of the finales of Donizetti's operas "Anna Bolena," "Maria Stuarda" and "Roberto Devereux."

• "Madama Butterfly" (10 performances, Feb. 6-March 8, 2020) - Henrik Nánási conducts a revival of Michael Grandage's production of Puccini's tragedy of a Japanese geisha who is betrayed by a U.S. sailor.

• "The Queen of Spades" (five performances, Feb. 15-March 1, 2020) - Brandon Jovanovich stars as the gambler Gherman and Jane Henschel makes her Lyric debut as the Countess in a new-to-Chicago production directed by Richard Jones. Sir Andrew Davis conducts.

• "Götterdämmerung" ("Twilight of the Gods") (April 4 and 11) - Subscribers who saw the first three "Ring" operas "Das Rhinegold," "Die Walküre" and "Siegfried" in previous seasons can opt in to these two performances without buying a separate full cycle. Sir Andrew Davis conducts the expansive finale of Wagner's four-opera epic.

For more information and to order subscriptions, visit lyricopera.org or call (312) 827-5600. Single tickets go on sale in July 2019.