A fellow opera fan once remarked that opera was the ultimate art – attending both a play and a symphony at once. This season, the Lyric Opera of Chicago is also a museum as it offers the exhibit TEN: A Season of Creative Women at its Opera Club.
This exhibit celebrates artistic contributions made by female directors, choreographers, and designers of costumes, lighting, and productions. The women being recognized include both Lyric regulars and those making their Lyric debuts. Nabucco’s costume designer Jennifer Tipton is in her seventh production at the Lyric, while The Merry Widow’s director and choreographer Susan Stroman and Bel Canto’s costume designer Constance Hoffman are currently working on their first Lyric engagement. Also among those recognized is Barbara Gaines, the founder and artistic director of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, who directed Lyric’s season opening production of Le Nozze di Figaro.
While this season’s exhibit recognizes the effort of many deserving female leaders of the current season, Lyric’s history of female leadership is much deeper. Currently, Renee Fleming serves as the company’s first ever creative consultant and commissioner of this season’s world premier Bel Canto. The legacy of Lyric’s former female artistic directors also lives on through the naming of the Civic Opera House’s Ardis Krainik Theatre and the Honorary Carol Fox Drive, the stretch of Wacker Drive running in front of the Lyric.
The exhibit can be seen in conjunction with Lyric’s new offering of one-hour backstage tours, running from October through April.
For more information, visit www.lyricopera.org.
