Puccini’s La Rondine

Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the French courtesan Magda.

With Mazzola Extended, Lyric Opera Explores Contrast in 2024-2025 Season

The season includes 9 programs, including concerts from opera and musical theater royalty.

Lawrence Brownlee and Donald Lee III

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer on the world’s top stages, and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry.

An Interview with Nicole Cabell

A conversation with the winner of the 2005 BBC Singer of the World Competition and one of the most sought-after lyric sopranos of today.

Mezzo-soprano Katherine DeYoung, Pianists Chris Reynolds and Craig Terry, and Violinist John Macfarlane

Ryan Opera Center Members mezzo-soprano Katherine DeYoung and pianist Chris Reynolds are joined by Lyric Opera of Chicago violinist John Macfarlane and Ryan Opera Center’s Music Director, pianist Craig Terry, in an eclectic program of music by Richard Wagner, Vasyl Barvinsky, Stella Jang, and Marta Keen.

Lyric Opera of Chicago Rising Stars in Concert

A showcase performance by The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center 2022/23 Ensemble with members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra conducted by Roberto Kalb.

Video: WFMT’s Bach to School Virtual Assembly with the Ryan Opera Center

On May 10, 2022, WFMT General Manager George Preston welcomed Ryan Opera Center performers Lunga Eric Hallam, tenor, and Chris Reynolds, pianist; along with ROC director Dan Novak, for an hour of conversation and music.

Lyric’s ’22-23 Season: Verdi, ‘Fiddler,’ Fleming, & ‘Carmen’

Plus a world premiere, Chicago-set take on ‘The Barber of Seville’ and the return of ‘West Side Story’

See Photo Highlights from WFMT’s 70th Anniversary Day of Celebration

We’re still soaring from our big day last week, when we welcomed some of Chicago’s leading artists to take part in a daylong celebration of WFMT and the music we’ve been presenting for the last 70 years!

Stream Highlight Performances from WFMT’s 70th Anniversary Day of Celebration

How better to mark 70 years of WFMT than with a party!?

WFMT at 70: A Q&A with WFMT’s General Manager and Music Director

As we look back on WFMT’s 70th birthday, we sit down with George Preston and Oliver Camacho to discuss the commemorative celebration and their plans to kickstart the next 70 years of WFMT.

Chicago Classical Music Makes A Strong Showing at 2021 Grammy Nominations

It’s another great year for the city’s classical music community with Chicago-born and based artists, producers, and engineers receiving recognition.

Artist Icebreaker: Bass-baritone David Govertsen

Is it luck? Preparation? Skill? David Govertsen thinks it’s a little bit of each that has guided him to some of the city’s biggest stages.

Soprano Gianna Rolandi Has Died at Age 68

Rolandi retired from performance in the 1990s, then joined the Ryan Opera Center first as the director of vocal studies (the program’s first), and then the program’s director from 2006-2013.

Chicago Sinfonietta ‘Revels’ in 2021-22 Returns to Live Concerts

The Chicago Sinfonietta has over 30 years of experience making classical music relevant, accessible, and reflective of Chicago’s diverse communities. This season, the orchestra is tackling diversity through the lens of joy.

Lyric Announces 2021-22 Season With ‘Magic Flute,’ ‘Macbeth,’ Mazzola

A Verdi and bel canto expert, Lyric’s new music director Enrique Mazzola will open the season with Verdi’s Macbeth and Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, while also conducting contemporary opera Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli later in the season.

In Their Own Words: Quotes From Artists and Friends of WFMT Who Died in 2020

2020 was a year of great loss for all; the music world was no exception. As we reflect on the year gone by, WFMT salutes the contributions of artists and friends who died this past year.

Hope and Strength: Celebrating Black Artistry with Lawrence Brownlee & Lyric

Ahead of a free livestream this weekend, the star tenor reflected on his colleagues and career in opera and what he thinks classical music organizations should be doing to better represent their communities.

American Takes Top Prize at 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup, Ryan Opera Center Tenor Takes Third

In March, the ascendant American baritone Edward Nelson took first prize at the 2020 Glyndebourne Opera Cup, an operatic singing competition hosted in England.

From the Opera House to Your House: Ryan Opera Center Artists Bring Music Home

Keeping busy and enjoying great music are some of the best ways to get through COVID-19 quarantining. Ryan Opera Center artists have been doing both in a series of homemade performance videos.

Playlist: What Makes a Verdi Baritone? Sherrill Milnes and Quinn Kelsey Explain

There are baritones, and then there are Verdi baritones. They are the elite performers, athletes among baritones, thrilling their fans with blazing top notes and plumbing the depths of some of the most dramatically complex roles in opera.

Lyric Opera of Chicago Announces 2019-2020 Season, With Wagner’s ‘Ring’ Cycle, ‘Don Giovanni’, ‘Madama Butterfly’

Lyric’s 2019-2020 season will include seven mainstage operas (three of which are company premieres), three full performances of Lyric’s new Ring cycle, and the Broadway at Lyric premiere of 42nd Street.

Grant Park Music Festival Announces 2018 Season

The summer festival’s 2018 season of concerts runs for 10 weeks from June 13 to August 18.

This Chicagoan Never Expected To Sing Opera. Now She’s Singing on One of the World’s Largest Stages.

Soprano Whitney Morrison began singing before she could even speak. Through her early years of singing in church, she never thought she would pursue a career in opera. Now, Morrison is one of 12 young artists selected for the 2017/2018 ensemble at Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. The Ryan Opera Center is one …

Lyric, Joffrey Announce First Collaboration with 17/18 Season Opener

John Neumeier, director and chief choreographer of the Hamburg Ballet, directs, choreographs, and designs the production.