Opera and Dance Reviews

House of DOV recently unveiled its newest dance work in the Chicagoland area - the world premiere of "Circle of Apathy"

****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED****  Now that the 2025/2026 season at Lyric Opera of Chicago has come to a close, it is the perfect time to reflect on the amazing number of diverse productions that were presented during General Director, President and CEO John Mangum's inaugural season in his new role. In hindsight, it appears that Lyric may have saved the best for last. "safronia" enjoyed an extremely spirited -- yet sadly brief -- run last week. Created by Chicago's first Poet Laureate, the immensely talented avery r. young, "safronia" quite literally blew the roof off of the venerable opera house during its world premiere there. 4 BIG SPOTLIGHTS

***RECOMMENDED***      If you are curious to find out what a mash-up of classical Greek mythology, Mexican folklore and liberal doses of surrealism and some sprinklings of early feminist empowerment might look like, you are in luck. Lyric Opera of Chicago is presenting the Midwest premiere of "El ultimo sueno de Frida y Diego," a work composed by Gabriela Lena Frank in 2022 with a highly poetic libretto written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz. Not only is this production visually striking -- one would certainly hope that that was the case in an opera which depicts the lives of two very famous artists/muralists -- but the score composed by Frank is exceptional, veering from the ethereal to downright enchanting. 3 SPOTLIGHTS

**** Highly Recommended  Joffrey Ballet’s Grainger Academy’s 14th Annual Winning Works, presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art, is a performance I await with great anticipation. It’s a chance to see brand new pieces by new choreographers, all ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists, performed by up-and-coming dancers who get a chance to shine. This year’s program was absolutely fabulous!  4 BIG Spotlights