Lawrence Edelson, Edlis Neeson General Director
WHY DO YOU GO TO THE OPERA?
To hear great singing and beautiful music? For the visual spectacle? To be transported to another time and place? For a chance to see the world anew? For all of these reasons and more, we invite you to join us at Chicago Opera Theater.
This season we are taking you on a journey through a thrilling variety of musical and theatrical storytelling.
We open this Fall with a rarely performed, virtuosic Italian opera that not only influenced Beethoven, but that also tells a story about persecution, freedom and the power of love that is as powerful and relevant today as it was when it first premiered in 1804.
Our December celebration of Puccini’s legacy will feature a passion-filled program that includes Italian, German, Czech and Spanish opera alongside musical theater favorites.
During the Spring, we get a taste of the future as we showcase work developed through our Vanguard Initiative; and we close the season with a world premiere by two of the most exciting artists writing for the opera stage today.
Of course, there is no opera without extraordinary singing, and we are thrilled to welcome an incredible array of acclaimed local and international artists to COT to bring all of these works to life.
SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS
We promise that COT subscribers always get the best price on their tickets, and we will not undercut your loyalty by offering last minute sales at lower prices. As a subscriber, you get:
• The best prices we offer, period
• Seating priority for every performance during the season
• 10% off extra tickets for friends or family on all performances*
• First right of refusal to keep your seats, and first-in-line to request a new location when you re-subscribe
• Fee-free ticket exchanges from your performance into any other opera or concert, based on availability
Subscriptions include tickets for all four performances that make up the 2024/25 season.
BEFORE JULY 15TH:
Subscribers get 20% off their tickets* PLUS free tickets to Bohème and Beyond — saving you up to 40% off the price of single tickets for all shows.
AFTER JULY 15TH:
Subscribers get 20% off their tickets*.
*Please note: A+ seats to Leonora and She Who Dared, are not discounted.
over the phone.
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Composer: Ferdinando Paër
Librettists: Giuseppe Maria Foppa and Giacomo Cinti after Jean Nicolas Bouilly
WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR LOVE?
Leonora is inspired by a profoundly moving true story from the French Revolution, where a young woman disguised herself as a man to rescue her wrongfully imprisoned husband. One of four operas inspired by the libretto Léonore by Jean Nicolas Bouilly, the politically infused plot inspired not only Ferdinando Paër, but also composers Pierre Gaveaux, Simon Mayr and Ludwig van Beethoven, whose opera Fidelio is the most frequently performed. Chicago audiences will have the extremely rare opportunity to see Paër and Beethoven’s operas side by side, as Chicago Opera Theater’s three performances of Leonora have been scheduled to complement the fall run of Fidelio at Lyric Opera.
While you might not be familiar with the music of Ferdinando Paër, he was one of the most popular composers of the early 19th century, writing over 50 virtuosic operas in the late Classical style and playing an integral role in the musical life of Paris where he preceded Rossini as the director of the Théatre Italien. Dame Jane Glover returns to COT to lead the new production, which will be directed by Lawrence Edelson in his debut with the company. The cast features soprano Vanessa Becerra as Leonora, tenor Edgardo Rocha as Florestano, soprano Keely Futterer as Marcellina, tenor Ian Koziara as Don Pizzarro, baritone Joo Won Kang as Rocco, bass baritone Alex Soare as Giachino, and tenor Kameron Alston as Don Fernando. Sung in Italian with English Supertitles
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1ST @ 7:30PM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4TH @ 7:30PM SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6TH @ 3PM
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED FOR?
As companies around the globe celebrate the centennial of Giacomo Puccini’s death in 2024, COT presents a unique concert that highlights how Puccini’s work impacted the evolution of opera and musical theater. Despite facing criticism and mixed reactions from many of his contemporaries, Puccini’s operas are still among the most popular in the world – and for good reason. He had a unique ability to capture complex human emotions and relationships, and his operas contain a wealth of beautiful, memorable melodies that linger in our hearts long after the curtain comes down… he was truly a master of musical storytelling.
This special event will feature beloved arias and ensembles from Puccini’s operas alongside a variety of scenes from operas and musicals by composers who were influenced by the great Italian composer, including Franz Lehár, Leoš Janacek, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Gian Carlo Menotti, Daniel Catán, Richard Rodgers, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Jonathan Larson
Featured guest artists to be announced.
HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW PUCCINI’S LEGACY?
What opera by Janacek was inspired in part by Puccini’s Madama Butterfly?
In 1987 the Puccini estate filed a lawsuit against Andrew Lloyd Webber, accusing him of plagiarism, noting similarities between “The Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera and a recurring melody in which of Puccini’s operas?
In 1981, COT produced its first Puccini opera. Which opera was it?
What American opera, which was highly influenced by Puccini, won the Pulitzer prize for music when it premiered on Broadway in 1950 and has been performed by COT with the composer in attendance?
Visit cot.org/trivia for the answers!
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7TH @ 3PM
VANGUARD OPERA IN CONCERT WORLD PREMIERE
Composer: Carlos R. Carrillo
Librettist: Stephanie Fleischmann
