Make plans to fire up your biggest screen and experience an exciting virtual cabaret featuring some of your favorite Broadway and Lyric artists with The New Classics: Songs from the New Golden Age of Musical Theater. This final concert in Lyric’s 2020/21 reimagined season highlights a rich variety of thrilling Broadway songs, both new and old.
- A star-studded cast: Leading the virtual cabaret are Broadway stars Gavin Creel (Hello Dolly!, The Book of Mormon), Nikki Renée Daniels (Hamilton, Company), and Norm Lewis (Once on This Island, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera). These artists are joined by Lyric musical favorites Amanda Castro (Anita/West Side Story), Jenn Gambatese (Maria/The Sound of Music and Carrie/Carousel), Jo Lampert (Mary Magdalene/Jesus Christ Superstar), and Heath Saunders (title role/Jesus Christ Superstar), who perform selections remotely.
- From a cozy corner of the Lyric Opera House: Portions of The New Classics were filmed in the space directly behind the Lyric Opera stage, where the former stage of the Civic Theatre was built in 1929 as part of the block-long Civic Opera Building. Scores of noteworthy performances took place in the jewel-box theater over the course of 64 years, most famously the 1944 world premiere of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie.
- Musical collaboration: Broadway’s David Chase serves as music director, host, and pianist for The New Classics, performing with members of the Lyric Opera Orchestra — Robert Hanford (violin), Calum Cook (cello), Ian Hallas (bass), Susan Warner (clarinet), and Eric Millstein (percussion). Chase made his Lyric debut conducting Carousel (2014/15) and has since returned for The King and I, My Fair Lady, and Lyric’s Celebrating 100 Years of Bernstein concert.
- What makes a classic? As Chase so aptly puts it, "A classic feels familiar, even if you’re hearing it for the first time; and feels fresh, even if you’ve heard it a hundred times." Lyric’s virtual cabaret features songs from the Golden Age of Broadway and newer selections that carry those genes forward, with music from The King and I, Brigadoon, Les Misérables, The Little Mermaid, Wicked, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Secret Garden, Once on This Island, Side Show, and more.
- From the stage to the screen: In this reimagined season, Lyric has presented an ongoing selection of digital programming and virtual concerts. To watch and learn more about Lyric’s digital programming, visit lyricopera.org/2021.
- One-time virtual premiere: Thursday, June 10, at 7pm CT on Lyric’s Facebook and YouTube channels. The concert will remain available to stream after the premiere.
- 70 minutes, including musical selections and spoken introductions.
- Sung in English with English closed captions.
For more information, visit lyricopera.org/newclassics or call 312-827-5600.
The New Classics: Songs from the New Golden Age of Musical Theater is generously made possible by Shure Incorporated, Crowe LLP, and The Parr Family.
This project and other programming innovations from Lyric Opera of Chicago are generously supported by Sylvia Neil & Daniel Fischel, Patricia A. Kenney & Gregory J. O’Leary, Susan & Robert Morrison, an Anonymous Donor, and Virginia Tobiason.
Lyric Opera of Chicago thanks its Official Airline, American Airlines, and acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
About Lyric
Lyric Opera of Chicago is committed to redefining what it means to experience great opera. The company is driven to deliver consistently excellent artistry through innovative, relevant, celebratory programming that engages and energizes new and traditional audiences.
Under the leadership of General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud, Music Director Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director Designate Enrique Mazzola, and Special Projects Advisor Renée Fleming, Lyric is dedicated to reflecting, and drawing strength from, the diversity of Chicago. Lyric offers, through innovation, collaboration, and evolving learning opportunities, ever-more exciting, accessible, and thought-provoking audience and community experiences. We also stand committed to training the artists of the future, through The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center; and to becoming increasingly diverse across our audiences, staff, programming, and artists—magnifying the welcoming pull of our art form, our company, and our city.
Through the timeless power of voice, the splendor of a great orchestra and chorus, theater, dance, design, and truly magnificent stagecraft, Lyric is devoted to immersing audiences in worlds both familiar and unexpected, creating shared experiences that resonate long after the curtain comes down.
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For more information, visit lyricopera.org.