HARRIS THEATER BRINGS BACK ACCLAIMED BEYOND THE ARIA SERIES
IN ASSOCIATION WITH LYRIC UNLIMITED
With Craig Terry as Artistic Director
CHICAGO (July 15, 2015) The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, in association with Lyric Unlimited, has announced the return of Beyond the Aria – the highly acclaimed performance series produced by the Harris Theater which pairs internationally celebrated opera singers of Lyric’s main-stage alongside rising stars from The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago performing together on the stage of the Pritzker Pavilion.
Beyond the Aria brings audiences a one-night-only experience with some of the greatest operatic talents of our generation in performances that will never be repeated. To audience’s delight, artists perform a repertoire of their choosing which may include Broadway, American Songbook, Jazz, and more, with accompaniment by pianist Craig Terry. These intimate performances take place “cabaret style,” seated on the enclosed stage of the Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park – each is unique and customized by the featured artists.
The Harris Theater’s inaugural season of Beyond the Aria, was received with sold out performances and patron requests for more; therefore the Harris Theater is pleased to present the return of the series with an expanded five performance schedule—October 12, December 1, January 15, March 14 and May 17 (details below). Craig Terry returns as Artistic Director for Beyond the Aria.
“This series spotlights the astounding beauty of the voice and brings back to the forefront the art of recital performance. We are proud to be leading and enhancing the appreciation of an art form that all too often is neglected,” said Michael Tiknis, President and Managing Director of Harris Theater. “Creating Beyond the Aria, in association with Lyric Unlimited, has been an honor and has filled a necessary space in the music world. These intimate performances give audiences a rare opportunity to experience the greatest caliber of talent in both Chicago and the world, in such a uniquely personal setting.”
Patrons will share the stage with acclaimed performers from Lyric’s 2015–2016 season: soprano Amanda Majeski, Countess in The Marriage of Figaro and Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier; bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni, Count in The Marriage of Figaro; soprano Heidi Stober, Valencienne in The Merry Widow; baritone Thomas Hampson, Danilo in The Merry Widow; soprano Danielle de Niese, Roxane Coss in Bel Canto; countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, Cesar in Bel Canto; soprano Susanna Phillips, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet; bass-baritone Christian Van Horn, Alidoro in La Cenerentola and Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet; and soprano Christine Brewer, Mother Abbess in last season’s The Sound of Music. Joining them are Ryan Opera Center ensemble members: tenor Jonathan Johnson, bass-baritone Richard Ollasarba, bass Bradley Smoak, mezzo-soprano Annie Rosen, tenor Mingjie Lei, and tenor Jesse Donner.
“I couldn’t be more excited for a second season of Beyond the Aria and am grateful to both the Harris Theater and to our enthusiastic audiences for their continued support,” said Artistic Director Craig Terry. “The opportunity to make music with these extraordinary artists in this spectacular setting has been a complete labor of love, and based on the preliminary repertoire discussions I’m already having with this year’s artists, we are certainly in for another epic musical journey!”
The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the generous support from Kenneth R. Norgan, the Beyond the Aria series presenting sponsor. Additional support has been provided by the Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Beyond the Aria lead foundation sponsor.
Choral riser single performance tickets are on sale now starting at $40. All single tickets are available through the Harris Theater Box Office at 205 East Randolph Drive, 312.334.7777, and online at HarrisTheaterChicago.org. For Tables ($150-$500) and series subscriptions, please call 312-334-2455.
** Harris Theater will soon be announcing additional opera luminaries in special performances on the main stage of the Harris – WATCH THIS SPACE for further details **
Dates and artists for Beyond the Aria are below:
Monday, October 12, 2015, 7:30PM
Featuring Amanda Majeski, soprano • Luca Pisaroni, bass-baritone • Jonathan Johnson, tenor
Tuesday, December 1, 2015, 7:30PM
Featuring Heidi Stober, soprano • Thomas Hampson, baritone • Richard Ollarsaba, bass-baritone
Friday, January 15, 2016, 7:30PM
Featuring Danielle de Niese, soprano • Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor • Bradley Smoak, bass
Monday, March 14, 2016, 7:30PM
Featuring Susanna Phillips, soprano • Christian Van Horn, bass-baritone • Mingjie Lei, tenor
Tuesday, May 17, 2016, 7:30PM
Featuring Christine Brewer, soprano • Annie Rosen, mezzo-soprano • Jesse Donner, tenor
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About Harris Theater for Music and Dance
The Harris Theater’s mission is to partner with an array of Chicago’s emerging and midsize performing arts organizations to help them build infrastructure and achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. Opened on November 8, 2003, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance was the first multi-use performing arts venue to be built in the Chicago downtown area since 1929. Today the Theater continues to host the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, featuring the city’s world-renowned music and dance institutions and the Harris Theater Presents series of acclaimed national and international artists and ensembles.
Imagine: The Campaign for Harris Theater, is a $38.8M comprehensive fundraising effort supporting the Theater’s multifaceted mission. The campaign ensures the continued growth and artistic development of the Harris Theater over the next 10 years. 13
The Imagine campaign is led by four transformational gifts: from The Irving Harris Foundation, Joan W. Harris; Alexandra and John Nichols; Chauncey and Marion D. McCormick Family Foundation, Abby McCormick O’Neil and D. Carroll Joynes; Caryn and King Harris, The Harris Family Foundation. Additional leadership gifts supporting programmatic and capital projects have been generously funded by The Crown Family, Jay Franke and David Herro, Jack and Sandra Guthman, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Neisser Family Foundation, The Northern Trust Company, Christine and Glenn Kelly, Laura and Ricardo Rosenkranz, and Marilyn and David J. Vitale.
The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust and Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust are the lead underwriters of fundraising for Imagine: The Campaign for Harris Theater.
The Harris Theater maintains a commitment to engaging Chicago residents of all ages and communities. Programs like the popular Eat to the Beat and Exelon Family Series advance access to, and understanding of, the performing arts. The Theater partners with health and human service agencies, K-12 schools, and community arts organizations, providing more than 8,800 underwritten performance tickets through the Access Tickets Program since 2009. The Theater also connects gifted young artists and students to presented artists through master classes, artist talks, and other enrichment activities.
To learn more about the Harris Theater, please visit HarrisTheaterChicago.org. Call the Box Office at 312.334.7777 to request a brochure or additional information.
The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago’s state-of-the art 1,525-seat performance venue, can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
About Craig Terry, Beyond the Aria Artistic Director
Lauded for his “sensitive and stylish” (The New York Times) and “superb” (Opera News) playing, pianist Craig Terry has launched an international career regularly performing with some of the world’s leading singers and instrumentalists. Currently Mr. Terry is in his eleventh season as Assistant Conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and also serves as Music Director for Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center. Previously, he served as Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera after joining its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Mr. Terry has performed with such esteemed vocalists as Jamie Barton, Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Nicole Cabell, Sasha Cooke, Eric Cutler, Danielle de Niese, Joyce DiDonato, Giuseppe Filianoti, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Bryan Hymel, Joseph Kaiser, Quinn Kelsey, Kate Lindsey, Ana María Martínez, Susanna Phillips, Luca Pisaroni, Patricia Racette, Hugh Russell, Bo Skovhus, Garrett Sorenson, Amber Wagner, and Catherine Wyn-Rogers. He has collaborated as a chamber musician with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchester, and the Pro Arte String Quartet.
About Lyric Unlimited
Launched in 2012, Lyric Unlimited is a long-term, evolving initiative that encompasses company activities that are not part of Lyric’s mainstage season. It has been established to provide a relevant cultural service to communities throughout the Chicago area and to advance the development of opera, exploring ways in which opera as an art form can resonate more powerfully and in a range of different ways, with people of multiple backgrounds, ethnicities, and interests. Lyric Unlimited leads the development of innovative partnerships with a wide range of cultural, community, and educational organizations to create a breadth of programming through which Chicagoans of all ages can connect with Lyric.
In the 2014-15 season, more than 126,000 children, students, and adults participated in Lyric Unlimited activities. For more information, visit LyricOpera.org/LyricUnlimited.
About The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago
The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center was established in 1974 as the professional artist-development program for Lyric Opera of Chicago. Since its inception, the Ryan Opera Center has been recognized as one of the premier programs of its kind in the world. That standing is maintained by providing the finest up-and-coming singers with unparalleled training and experience. The program is administered by Director Dan Novak, Music Director Craig Terry, Director of Vocal Studies Julia Faulkner, and Advisor Renée Fleming. For more information, please visit LyricOpera.org/RyanCenter.
About Lyric Opera of Chicago
Founded in 1954, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s mission is to express and promote the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great opera. Lyric exists to provide a broad, deep, and relevant cultural service to Chicago and the nation, and to advance the development of the art form.
Lyric is dedicated to producing and performing consistently thrilling, entertaining, and thought-provoking opera with a balanced repertoire of core classics, lesser-known masterpieces, and new works; to creating an innovative and wide-ranging program of community engagement and educational activities; and to developing exceptional emerging operatic talent.
Under the leadership of general director Anthony Freud, music director Sir Andrew Davis, and creative consultant Renée Fleming, Lyric strives to become The Great North American Opera Company for the 21st century: a globally significant arts organization embodying the core values of excellence, relevance, and fiscal responsibility. To learn more about the 2015/16season, please visit LyricOpera.org
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