Welcome
to
The Wagner Society of America
We are also making a number of changes to our web site, including providing links to articles and events that should be of interest both to our members as well as visitors to the site.
Wagner 1876
Bayreuth and the American Centennial
Presented by Bill Shackelford
Bill Shackelford is a Chicago-based writer, musician, and longtime member of the Wagner Society of America. He holds a master’s in music performance from Indiana University and pursued additional study at Universität Hamburg and the Hochschule für Musik und darstellenden Kunst. He later studied with Robert Marcellus. He has performed with ensembles including the Chicago Camerata and has written extensively on opera for Opera (UK) and Opéra Magazine (Paris). He served for many years as editor of Wagner News, the journal of the Wagner Society of America. His work has focused on Wagner and his contemporaries within their broader historical and cultural context, with particular attention to transatlantic connections between Europe and the United States.
Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL 60091
Time: Gather—12:00 pm, Luncheon: 12:30 pm, Program: 1:30 pm
Cost: 60.00 per person
Please complete your paid registration by noon May 19, 2026.
(If you have not already registered, please contact Bill Smith at 847-256-1292.)
Our Virtual Wagnerian Program
(via Zoom) with
Baritone Jordan Shanahan
Jordan Shanahan has established himself as a significant presence in Wagner performance through appearances in major roles at leading American opera houses. His Wagner repertoire includes Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Donner (Das Rheingold), and Wolfram von Eschenbach (Tannhäuser), performed at institutions such as the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Shanahan brings to Wagner a combination of vocal solidity, textual clarity, and dramatic intelligence essential to sustaining long musical arcs and complex characters. His work emphasizes line, pacing, and character-driven interpretation rather than sheer vocal force, aligning closely with Wagner’s conception of music-drama. In this Virtual Wagnerian conversation, he will speak from direct experience about the artistic and practical demands of singing Wagner today, shaped by work on some of the field’s most demanding stages.
Informal Q & A
with Wagnerian Soprano
Christine Goerke
We are once again pleased to welcome Christine Goerke, one of today’s foremost dramatic sopranos, for an informal conversation and audience Q & A. Celebrated for her commanding interpretations of Wagner and Strauss and always brings rare authority and insight to the dramatic soprano repertoire.
Ms. Goerke will be in Chicago serving as a judge for the Central Region Finals of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, taking place the previous day at Roosevelt University. She has graciously agreed to meet with Wagner Society members and guests for this relaxed, wide-ranging discussion, touching on career development, repertoire choices, and the realities of singing Wagner at the highest level.
This spring, she will sing Brünnhilde in Die Walküre with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel, and Richard Strauss's Elektra at the Bayerische Staatsoper—making this an especially timely opportunity to engage with an artist at the center of today’s Wagnerian and Strauss performance world.
Date: Sunday, January 18, 2026
Gathering Time: 11:00 pm
Informal Q & A: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Location: Union League Club of Chicago
Room 800
65 W Jackson Blvd,
Chicago, IL 60604
Cost: Free Event
Note from President Viktoria Vizin:
I would like to invite all members to my Studio Recital on January 31 7pm at DePaul University. The program is all Wagner in the first part lieder and Rheingold Scene 1. After the intermission, a unique concept of Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle.
Admission free.
In February we will return with our Virtual Wagnerian Series with special guest Jordan Shanahan Wagnerian baritone from top Houses and Festivals. He is in high demand now, and we are lucky to have him.
Vikoria
Annual Holiday Program and Luncheon
Featuring Leo Radosavljevic, pianist
Leo Radosavljevic is a remarkable artist whose dual career as pianist and baritone reflects a rare blend of musical intellect, imagination, and virtuosity. A graduate of the Juilliard School, he has appeared on major concert and operatic stages, earning acclaim for performances that combine technical brilliance with a singer’s instinct for line and phrasing.
At the Wagner Society’s Annual Birthday Program in May 2025, Radosavljevic collaborated with mezzo-soprano Sadie Cheslak, winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, in an unforgettable program of excerpts from Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Götterdämmerung. His playing brought orchestral color and emotional depth to the keyboard, capturing the sweep and drama of Wagner’s musical world.
In his upcoming appearance for the Society, Radosavljevic will perform Wagner-related works of Franz Liszt and others. His command of Liszt’s fiendishly difficult transcriptions of Wagner and others—works that transform the piano into a symphonic instrument—has dazzled audiences and critics alike. Possessing both the technical power and interpretive insight demanded by this repertoire, he reveals the Romantic piano not merely as a vehicle for virtuosity, but as a profound medium for storytelling and expression.
A true musician’s musician, Leo Radosavljevic brings to every performance the union of voice and instrument—the Wagnerian ideal of expressive synthesis—embodying the spirit of artistry that lies at the heart of the Wagner Society’s mission. This is because he is well-established as a bass-baritone who has performed internationally as well as frequently here in Chicago.
Date: Sunday, December 14, 2025
Time: 12:30 - Gather to enjoy wine, soft drinks and conversation,
as well as bid in silent auction
(items include Wagner-related books)
1:00 - Program followed by Lunch and Special Surprise
Location: The Sullivan Room of Roosevelt University
2nd floor, 430 S Michigan Avenue
Chicago
Cost: $80 per person
Entry Instructions (Pick the entrance closest to your parking)
Enter at the Wabash entrance (425 S Wabash):
pass through turnstiles on the right side of the lobby,
take elevators to 2nd floor, walk down until the end of the hallway.
Sullivan Room is to the right of the elevator exit. You can always
just email us or give us a call when you get here and
we will come down to escort you.
Reserve by December 8. (After that, call Bill Smith 847-256-1292 for availability)
Virtual Wagnerian Series Presents
First of this season's LIVE streaming event
Renowned Bass Eric Halfvarson
Eric Halfvarson is recognized internationally as one of today’s foremost interpreters of Wagner’s darkest bass roles. Renowned for his commanding musical presence and deeply characterized portrayals, he has appeared at major opera houses from Vienna, Bayreuth, and Munich to London, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Engagements in the 2009–10 season included Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, and complete Ring cycles in Los Angeles (James Conlon/Achim Freyer), Otello in San Francisco, and Der fliegende Holländer at Madrid’s Teatro Real. In the summer of 2010 he returned to Bayreuth to sing one of his signature roles—Hagen in Götterdämmerung—under Christian Thielemann. Other recent performances have taken him to the Bavarian State Opera (Der Rosenkavalier), the Vienna State Opera (Götterdämmerung, Don Giovanni), and the Budapest Wagner Days (Götterdämmerung, Parsifal under Ádám Fischer).
An esteemed teacher as well as performer, Halfvarson has taught at the University of Southern California and given master classes for the San Francisco Opera. Since beginning his career in 1973 and co-founding the Houston Opera Studio, he has sung leading roles in the world’s foremost houses and appears on numerous recordings and DVDs, including Götterdämmerung (DG), Don Giovanni (Opus Arte), and Don Carlos (EMI)
Saturday, October 25, 2025, 12:30–2:00 PM
Location
Streamed LIVE on ZOOM**
Emmy-Award Winning Filmmaker and Writer Hilan Warshaw
presenting his documentary
Secret Song
President Viktoria, Presenter Hilan Warshaw,
and Past-President Bill Smith
Founded by Emmy-winning director and writer Hilan Warshaw, Overtone Films produces internationally broadcast films and documentaries, often on musical and/or historical topics. Drawing on his musical background as a violinist and orchestral conductor, Hilan and Overtone’s have produced documentaries including Wagner’s Jews, In the Key of Bach, Rachmaninoff Revisited, and My Bolero.
Secret Song is Hilan's documentary focusing on Alban Berg, his controversial personal life, and his troubled relationship with his former teacher, post-Wagnerian Arnold Schoenberg. Featuring interviews and performances by Renee Fleming and the Emerson String Quartet, the film uncovers little-known facts about Berg, Schoenberg, and the musically encrypted messages contained in Berg's masterpiece Lyric Suite. Following the showing of the documentary Hilan will provide comments on the parallels between the lives of Alban Berg and Richard Wagner (there are MANY!).
Sunday, September 21, 2025, 2:00–3:30 PM
Location
Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL 60091
Cost:
$20 per person
Annual Wagner Birthday Program
Celebrating the Life and Music of Richard Wagner
Featuring Sadie Cheslak, mezzo-soprano
and Leo Radosavljevic, pianist
Join us for our annual celebration with performances of arias from Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Götterdämmerung.
This festive gathering will include a three-course lunch.
- Date & Time: Sunday, May 25, 2025, 12:00–3:00 PM (Program begins at 12:30)
- Location: Michigan Shores Club, 911 Michigan Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091
- Cost: $60 per person (by check or Venmo)
VIRTUAL EVENT
with internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano
JUDIT KUTASI
Dear Members,
It was such a pleasure seeing you on our 50th Anniversary event.
At this time, I am pleased to announce the details of our upcoming virtual event with internationally acclaimed mezzo - soprano Judit Kutasi.
When: April 26 @11AM
Where: on Zoom
How: On the day of the event 1-2 minutes before the program begins, please click the link below, and enjoy the Q&A discussion on a Wagnerian's career. Ms. Kutasi will be with us for an hour, in which she will listen to "Dich, teure Halle" sung by an emerging artist, and will reflect on the choice, optional "next steps" in career building as a Wagnerian, and through that experience she will discover the complexity of being a Wagner singer.
Please, find the poster of the event in the attachment, and feel free to share it with friends who might be interested in such an event.
Please, mark your calendars for the date, so we welcome Ms. Kutasi with our presence.
Please, flag this email, so you can find the zoom link easily on April 26. Here is the link to the event:
All the best,
Viktoria Vizin
President, Wagner Society of America
The Wagner Society's 50th Anniversary Celebration
Program and Celebratory Lunch
featuring
Acclaimed Baritone Franco Pomponi
SCHEDULE
12:30: Gather with conversation and cash bar
1:00: Program by Franco Pomponi, Baritone
2:00: Celebratory Lunch: three courses
LOCATION
The Lathrop House (private club)
120 E. Bellevue Place
Chicago, IL
(Parking is available in the condominium building immediately west of Lathrop House)
COST
$85.00 per person for performance and celebratory three course lunch
Professor John Digaetani, Author And Lecturer
Richard Wagner and Medieval Drama
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This book is the first to explain how Wagner's operas were structured around the format of medieval theater. Medieval drama in both England and Germany was written and staged to convert pagans to Christianity. These plays always included some sort of miracle at the end to prove the superiority of the Christian religion. Even when criticizing Christianity, Wagner made use of this device, and this approach made Wagner's operas uniquely fascinating and impressive. His new book treads ground scarcely covered by other works of Wagner scholarship. John Louis DiGaetani is Professor Emeritus of English at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. He received his BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his MA from Northern Illinois University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. DiGaetani's published works include studies on modern British literature, modern American literature, opera, and the connections between literature and music, including six on the life and work of Wagner!
Program - 2:30 pm
Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Cost: $15 person - Payable at the door by cash or check (payable to The Wagner Society)
Questions: 847-256-1292
SPRING OPERA RECITAL
PRESENTED BY
THE WAGNER SOCIETY OF AMERICA
and
THE EVANSTON & NORTHFIELD CHAPTERS
OF LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO
PERFORMED BY
ZACHARY MENDENHALL, bass-baritone
NATALIE MUSTEA, coloratura soprano
CARMEN VIZIN, mezzo-soprano
KEVIN WHEATLE, baritone
IRINA FEOKTISTOVA, piano
SELECTIONS FROM
BELLINI: I PURITANI
MOZART: COSI FAN TUTTI, DON GIOVANNI, MAGIC FLUTE,
and MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
ROSSINI: BARBER OF SEVILLE, LA CENERENTOLA
VERDI: DON CARLO, UN BALLO IN MASCHERA
WAGNER: DAS RHEINGOLD
2:30 PM Reception
3:00 PM Program
KENILWORTH ASSEMBLY HALL
410 KENILWORTH AVENUE
KENILWORTH
Cost: $30 per person
Annual Holiday Luncheon and Program
with baritone Evan Bravos
and pianist Shannon McGinnis
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Michael Black's tenure at Lyric Opera of Chicago has been marked by a combination of rigorous work ethic, a push for perfection, and a positive, collaborative environment. His unconventional path from a focus on piano and musicology to choral conducting led him to become a significant figure in opera, eventually leading the Lyric Opera Chorus to critical acclaim. His work in productions such as this season's production of Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" showcases the chorus's dynamic impact, underlining Wagner's intricate and emotive choral compositions.
The Australian chorus master held this position at Opera Australia in Sydney from 2001 to 2013. Black has served in this capacity for such distinguished organizations as the Edinburgh International Festival, Opera Holland Park (London), and, in Australia, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia Choir, Motet Choir, the Cantillation chamber choir, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Other activities include preparing The Damnation of Faust chorus at the Grant Park Music Festival, where he has worked for two seasons. As one of Australia’s most prominent vocal accompanists, Black has regularly performed for broadcasts and recordings. He has served as chorus master on four continents, and his work has been recorded and/or aired on ABC, BBC, PBS, for many HD productions in movie theaters, and on television.
His upcoming presentation for us will explore Wagner's use of chorus, highlighting the composer's innovative choral compositions in operas and non-operatic works in Wagner's early operas, such as "Die Feen," already exhibit his use of choruses to enhance the narrative, illustrating his developing technique in integrating the chorus into the operatic experience.
7:30 PM Program
Hotel Allegro
171 W. Randolph Street
Chicago
Cost: $15 person - Payable at the door by cash or check (payable to The Wagner Society)
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2023 Events |
with baritone Evan Bravos
and pianist Shannon McGinnis
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Marked as a “young talent to watch” by the Chicago Tribune, Baritone EVAN BRAVOS has received critical acclaim for his “lovely lyric baritone” (Opera News). Highlights for the 2023-24 season include Countess’ Lackey/Ivan Ivanovich in Shostakovich’s The Nose with Chicago Opera Theater, an orchestral debut with Helena Symphony on Rachmaninoff's The Bells and a featured performance of Schubert's Der Winterreise for Opera Up Close, a concert series in Chicago. Most recently, Bravos revisited the role of Count in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in Columbia, South Carolina.
Bravos’ 2022-23 season featured company debuts with White Snake Projects in Boston Let’s Celebrate! Living Holiday Traditions in America, Opera Tampa (Silvio, I Pagliacci) and returns to Chicago Opera Theater for a premiere of Shawn Okpebholo’s The Cook-Off as TV host, Kenny Kincaid. On the concert stage, he received praise for an “elegantly sung” Carmina Burana with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.
In the 2021-22 season, Bravos performed the role of Hannah Before in Laura Kaminsky, Kimberly Reed and Mark Cambell’s groundbreaking As One with Opera Santa Barbara and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. With Chicago Opera Theatre, he played El Dancaïro in Carmen alongside Jamie Barton and Stephanie Blythe, and “sang winningly” (Opera News) as Clay in the world premiere of Matthew Recio and Royce Vavrek’s opera The Puppy Episode. Other recent roles include Cascada in The Merry Widow and Riff in West Side Story (New Philharmonic Opera); Maximilian in Candide (Ravinia Festival); George Jones in Kurt Weill's Street Scene and Masetto in Don Giovanni (Virginia Opera); the title role in Don Giovanni (Hawaii Performing Arts Festival); Inman in Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain (Music Academy of the West); and Tom Joad in the Chicago premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath.
Other credits include Sarasota Opera, San Diego Opera, Central City Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. In concert, he has sung with the symphonies of Santa Fe, Milwaukee, Madison, and Colorado and as a Vocal Fellow at Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute, and has been featured in art song initiatives, the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago and the Horto Music Festival in Pelion, Greece. He is a candidate for the Doctorate of Musical Arts at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and is Artist Faculty at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Learn more about this artist at www.evanbravos.com
SHANNON MCGINNIS has been recognized for skilled performances and solid support in partnerships with some of the brightest stars in the classical vocal music world. Her playing has been described as “excellent” (Opera News), “strong and supportive” (Chicago Tribune), and “boldly projected, characterful, and delicately nuanced” (Chicago Classical Review). Recent highlights include recitals with tenor David Portillo, baritone Douglas Williams, and sopranos Sarah Shafer and Laquita Mitchell; multiple live broadcasts on Chicago’s WFMT with tenor Nicholas Phan; and an appearance with mezzo-soprano Jennifer Rivera, for a live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion. 2017-2018 brings performances at the Laguna Beach Music Festival, as well as recitals with bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen and soprano Melody Moore.
McGinnis serves as Lecturer in Vocal Coaching at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she leads undergraduate and graduate-level diction courses and serves as music director for the undergraduate opera. She also serves as French vocal coach for Up North Vocal Institute, a summer intensive for career-oriented singers. A passionate advocate for art song, McGinnis is a founder of Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC), where, as Director of Education, she oversees a series of master classes and workshops for singers and pianists, as well as the organization’s Vocal Chamber Music Fellowship. Also at home in the world of opera, McGinnis has held internships and appointments with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, DePaul University Opera Theater, DuPage Opera, Kentucky Opera, and the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 2015 served as vocal coach and ensemble pianist for the world-premiere performances of Matthew AuCoin’s Second Nature, presented by Lyric Opera of Chicago and “Lyric Unlimited”.
McGinnis was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts in Accompanying and Chamber Music from the University of Michigan, as a student of Martin Katz. She is the 2017-2018 recipient of the U of M Alumni Society’s Emerging Artist Award.
Reception - 12:30 pm
Luncheon and Program - 1:00 pm
Kenilworth Assembly Hall
Kenilworth Avenue
Kenilworth, IL
Cost: $60 person
Checks Payable payable to Evanston Chapter, LOC by December 10
Mail Checks to:
Bill Smith
PO Box 514
Wilmette, IL 60091
Questions: Bill Smith at 847-256-1292
Items donated (books, CDs and DVDs, etc.) can be purchased at the event
THIS IS NOT AN AUCTION
The Definitive Diva: The Life and Career of Maria Callas
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John is a Chicago native is Professor Emeritus of English at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. He received his BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his MA from Northern Illinois University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. DiGaetani's published works include studies on modern British literature, modern American literature, the theatre, opera (including SEVEN books on Wagner!), and the connections between literature and music. He served as director of Hofstra's London Program.
His most recent book is The Definitive Diva: The Life and Career of Maria Callas, which tells her story from difficult beginnings as the daughter of Greek immigrants to New York City in 1923 to her triumphs at La Scala, Covent Garden, and the Metropolitan Opera. A diva and a master at creating a captivating public image. The book also covers her very public affair with Aristotle Onassis, who left Callas to marry Jacqueline Kennedy.
John's talks are always insightful and captivating. And this is sure to be no exception!
Program - 2:30 pm
Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Cost: $15 person - Payable at the door by cash or check (payable to The Wagner Society)
Questions: 847-256-1292
A conversation with renowned sopranos
LISE DAVIDSEN and NINA STEMME currently co-starring in
Lyric Opera of Chicago's new-to-Chicago
production of Leos Janacek's Jenufa
LISE DAVIDSEN, a rising star in the opera world, hails from Stokke, Norway. Trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, her journey to operatic stardom was swift and impressive. Davidsen's voice is a marvel, characterized by its crystal-clear purity and astonishing power. Her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines has earned her acclaim, and she has graced the stages of prestigious opera houses worldwide. On October 16th this year, Lise was named Musical America's “Artist Of The Year” for 2024.
NINA STEMME, born in Stockholm, Sweden, is celebrated as our era's greatest Wagnerian soprano. Her career, marked by powerful performances, has spanned the globe. Stemme's ability to bring Wagner's heroines to life has drawn comparisons to the legendary Kirsten Flagstad. Her vocal versatility extends beyond Wagner, as she has portrayed a wide range of iconic roles.
Both artists have followed unique paths to operatic greatness. Stemme's musical journey began with piano and viola, and she honed her talent at Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm. Davidsen, on the other hand, combined her studies of business administration and economics with a deep passion for opera, ultimately dedicating herself to a professional singing career. Davidsen's and Stemme's careers have been characterized by an impressive and diverse repertoire. Stemme has graced the stages of opera houses such as La Scala Milano, Covent Garden London, and the Metropolitan Opera New York, interpreting roles that range from Puccini's Mimì to Wagner's Isolde. Meanwhile, Davidsen's portrayal of Wagnerian heroines and her performances in renowned opera houses worldwide have solidified her place among the great sopranos of her generation.
During this special program, the two sopranos will share their experiences, insights, and stories from their illustrious careers. They will delve into the nuances of their roles, the challenges and rewards of performing on the grandest stages, and the evolution of the opera as an art form. Their conversation promises to be an enlightening journey through the world of opera, appealing to both seasoned opera enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Join us for an engaging evening as Lise Davidsen and Nina Stemme come together to celebrate their shared passion for the opera. This program offers a unique opportunity to connect with these exceptional artists on a more intimate level, gaining a deeper understanding of their art and its impact on the world.
7:30 PM Program
Hotel Allegro
171 W. Randolph Street
Chicago
Cost: $15 person - Payable at the door by cash or check (payable to The Wagner Society)
Questions: 847-256-1292
A conversation with renowned Wagnerian bass-baritone
Tomasz Konieczny
currently appearing in the title role in
Lyric Opera of Chicago's new-to-Chicago production of
Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer
His musical journey began on a unique path. Initially, Konieczny studied acting at the Film Academy in Łódź, and he embarked on a career as an actor, participating in various theater productions and film projects. However, a deep-seated passion for singing gradually drew him towards a different destiny. Formal vocal training commenced at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy in Warsaw, and it continued at the University of Music in Dresden under the guidance of Prof. Christian Elßner. Konieczny's dedication and innate talent shone through, and he garnered recognition at the 33rd International Dvořák Singing Competition in Karlovy Vary in 1998.
In 1997, Konieczny made his debut as a singer at the Opera Poznań in Poland, where he portrayed Figaro in Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro." It marked the genesis of a career that would see him grace the stages of theaters across Europe, from Leipzig to St. Gallen, Chemnitz to Mannheim. In 2002, he became a permanent ensemble member at the National Theatre Mannheim, solidifying his reputation as a rising star. It was here that he received the Arnold Petersen Prize, a coveted honor bestowed upon talented emerging artists.
During his tenure at the National Theatre Mannheim, Konieczny displayed his vocal prowess and versatility. He tackled a wide array of challenging roles, such as Golaud in Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande," Amfortas in Wagner's "Parsifal," and Kurwenal in Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde." His performances as the Dutchman in Wagner's "Der fliegende Holländer," Barak in Strauss's "Die Frau ohne Schatten," and Balstrode in Britten's "Peter Grimes" were met with critical acclaim.
Konieczny's presence extended far beyond Mannheim. He graced prestigious opera houses and festivals as a guest artist, leaving an indelible mark. His role choices at the Budapest Wagner Days included Amfortas and Wotan in "Die Walküre." In 2008, his debut as Alberich in Wagner's "Das Rheingold" and "Siegfried" at the Semperoper Dresden received widespread acclaim. By 2010, Konieczny had made his debut as one of the Four Villains in Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" at the National Theatre Prague, where he later achieved a significant artistic triumph as Amfortas in the premiere of Wagner's "Parsifal" in 2011. The year 2010 marked a pivotal moment when Konieczny debuted as Alberich in Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, a monumental achievement. His first appearance at the Opéra National de Paris as Biterolf in Wagner's "Tannhäuser" in 2011 further cemented his status as a force to be reckoned with in the opera world.
Konieczny's international acclaim continued to grow as he performed with renowned orchestras and conductors. He made his debut as Pizarro in Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the Kennedy Center with the NSO Washington, leaving audiences in awe. His performance at the Salzburg Festival in 2012 as Stolzius in Zimmermann's "Die Soldaten" further solidified his reputation as a remarkable artist. In 2016, he achieved remarkable success in Salzburg as Jupiter in Strauss's "Die Liebe der Danae," conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. His collaborations with esteemed conductors led to two significant recordings of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" in 2013, one under Marek Janowski for Pentatone Classics, where Konieczny portrayed Wotan, and another under Christian Thielemann for Deutsche Grammophon, with Konieczny as Alberich.
In 2015, Sir Simon Rattle released a recording of Wagner's "Das Rheingold," featuring Konieczny as Alberich. Konieczny continued to make waves in the opera world with his performances as Telramund in Wagner's "Lohengrin" and various other roles. In that same year he made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in an extraordinary performance in the title role of Alban Berg's "Wozzeck," directed by Sir David McVicker.
However, perhaps one of the most significant moments in Konieczny's career occurred when he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2019 as Alberich in Wagner's "Das Rheingold." Critics lauded his performance, describing him as a powerhouse bass who brought depth and nuance to the character. In May of this year he performed "Der fliegende Holländer" to equally enthusiastic response and his Wotan at Bayreuth this firmly established himself as "today's reigning Wotan" (Opera Wire) And of course Chicago audiences are currently lucky enough to hear his Holländer first-hand for just two more weeks.
Amidst his many accomplishments, Tomasz Konieczny has found a home at the Vienna State Opera since 2009, where he receives an enthusiastic welcome from Vienna's discerning audience. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the world of opera, Tomasz Konieczny was awarded Austrian Chamber Singer status in 2017. This prestigious honor reflects the high regard in which he is held by both the Austrian government and the international opera community. On January 16, 2019, Tomasz Konieczny was bestowed with the title of Austrian Kammersänger on the stage of the Vienna State Opera, further cementing his status as a celebrated and influential figure in the world of opera.
7:30 PM Program
Hotel Allegro
171 W. Randolph Street
Chicago
Cost: $15 person - Payable at the door by cash or check (payable to The Wagner Society)
Questions: 847-256-1292
RECITAL
Viktoria Vizin, mezzosoprano
Andrea Silvestrelli, bass
Irina Feoktistova, piano
Viktoria Vizin
Andrea Silvestrelli
Irina Feoktistova
Originally from Kecskemet, Hungary, Vizin studied at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Szeged. She won several international singing competitions, including the 'Nicolae Bretan' International Singing Competition in Cluj-Napoca and the Belvedere Competition in Austria. Vizin completed her Master's and Ph.D. studies in Romania and currently resides in the greater Chicagoland area. She also shares her expertise as a member of the Voice Faculty at DePaul University School of Music. Her remarkable talent, passion for the performing arts, and extensive repertoire have cemented her status as a celebrated mezzo-soprano on the international stage. Her performances continue to captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression in the world of opera. ANDREA SILVESTRELLI is a much sought-after basso profondo in the international opera scene, known for his commanding performances and deep, resonant VOCALISM. His debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in "Rigoletto" garnered critical acclaim, with his portrayal of the assassin Sparafucile praised for its terrifying and sepulchral tone. Silvestrelli's notable performances include the roles of Hagen in "Götterdämmerung," the Grand Inquisitor in "Don Carlo," and Sparafucile in "Rigoletto." He has also taken on roles such as Fafner in "Siegfried," Geronte in "Manon Lescaut," and Pistola in "Falstaff." In the 2017-2018 season, he returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Nourabad in "Les pêcheurs de perles" and Timur in "Turandot," and performed as Hunding in "Die Walküre" in Taiwan.
Silvestrelli's performances in the 2016-2017 season included Fafner in "Das Rheingold" at the National Taichung Theater, Oroveso in "Norma" at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Hagen in "Götterdämmerung" at the Houston Grand Opera. He also sang the roles of the Commendatore in "Don Giovanni" and Sparafucile in "Rigoletto" at the San Francisco Opera. In the 2015-2016 season, he appeared as Wurm in "Luisa Miller," The Night Watchman in "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg," Don Basilio in "Il barbiere di Siviglia," and the Grand Inquisitor in "Don Carlo." During the 2021-2022 season he sang Filippo Secondo in "Don Carlo" and Banco in "Macbeth" with Maryland Lyric Opera, as well as Il Piccolo Marat in Teatro Goldoni, Livorno, Italy.
In the current season, 2023-2024, Silvestrelli is set to collaborate with Opera Festival Chicago, where he will perform the roles of Attila and the 4th Temptation in Pizzetti's "Assassinio nella Cattedrale." He will then take on the role of Hagen in "Götterdämmerung" with Opera Australia in Brisbane. His powerful presence and rich bass voice have established him as a highly acclaimed basso profondo, and audiences eagerly anticipate his performances in renowned opera productions around the world. IRANA FEOKTISTOVA (pianist), graduated from St. Petersburg Conservatoire, Russia. A classically trained pianist, she has toured Russia, Europe, and the United States as a soloist, duo pianist and accompanist. Her collaborations include the world's foremost performer of Baroque trumpet, Crispian Steele-Perkins, and most recently internationally acclaimed Italian singer Andrea Silvestrelli. As a duo pianist, she won third prize at the First International Competition of Contemporary Music Interpretation in Weimar, Germany (1996) and was chosen to perform at Purcell Room in London for the Park Lane Group Young Artists Concert Series. As a piano soloist, she won the Kawai CD Recording Competition in 2004.
Ms. Feoktistova relocated to the United States in 1998, and since then she has performed extensively in the Chicagoland area. She has been involved in numerous musical theater productions as an accompanist and music director. She is also active in various projects performing Russian and American contemporary music. She was affiliated with CUBE, VOX 3 and MAVerick Ensembles in Chicago and the Union of Composers in St. Petersburg, where she performed a program of American contemporary music at the international festival St. Petersburg Musical Spring in May of 2005. She was the Principal Keyboardist with Millennium Chamber Players (Chicago based ensemble). Irina made her Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist and an accompanist with Russian singer Vladimir Galouzine for The Russia Day concert on June 12th, 2008.
Irina Feoktistova is a classically trained pianist who graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatoire in Russia. With a diverse musical background, she has established herself as a sought-after soloist, duo pianist, and accompanist, captivating audiences in Russia, Europe, and the United States.
Throughout her career, Feoktistova has collaborated with esteemed musicians, including the world-renowned Baroque trumpet performer Crispian Steele-Perkins and internationally acclaimed Italian singer Andrea Silvestrelli. Her exceptional skills as a pianist have earned her recognition and accolades. As a duo pianist, she achieved third prize at the First International Competition of Contemporary Music Interpretation in Weimar, Germany in 1996. She was also selected to perform at London's Purcell Room as part of the Park Lane Group Young Artists Concert Series. In 2004, Feoktistova won the Kawai CD Recording Competition as a piano soloist. After relocating to the United States in 1998, Feoktistova became actively involved in the vibrant musical scene of the Chicagoland area. She has lent her talents as an accompanist and music director to numerous musical theater productions. Additionally, she has been an integral part of various projects focusing on Russian and American contemporary music. Her affiliations include CUBE, VOX 3, and MAVerick Ensembles in Chicago, as well as the Union of Composers in St. Petersburg, where she performed an American contemporary music program at the international festival St. Petersburg Musical Spring in 2005. Feoktistova has also served as the Principal Keyboardist with the Millennium Chamber Players, a Chicago-based ensemble. In a significant milestone in her career, Irina Feoktistova made her debut at Carnegie Hall as both a soloist and an accompanist, performing with Russian singer Vladimir Galouzine for The Russia Day concert on June 12th, 2008. Furthermore, she showcased her skills as an assistant conductor during the Lyric Opera's production of Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" in the 2011-2012 season.
With her impressive musical achievements and contributions, Irina Feoktistova continues to leave a lasting impact on the world of classical music, enchanting audiences with her exceptional pianistic abilities and versatile collaborations.
2:00 PM - Reception
2:30 PM -Program
Cost: $ 20 per person - Payable at the door by cash or check (payable to The Wagner Society)
Kenilworth Assembly Hall (Formerly the Kenilworth Club)
410 Kenilworth Avenue (1 block east of Green Bay Road & METRA tracks)
Kenilworth, IL
Free Street Parking
Questions: 847-256-1292
Commemorating Wagner's 210th Birthday
Viktoria Vizin and Friends
JADE DASHA, soprano
QUAINE HOGAN, tenor
ALEX KOLYSZKO, baritone
ALEXIS LANGLOIS, soprano
NATALIE MUSTEA, soprano
MARCO RIVERA ROSA, countertenor
CARMEN VIZIN-ESQUIVEL, mezzo-soprano
VIKTORIA VIZIN, mezzo-soprano
With IRINA FEOKTISTOVA, piano
Performing works of Wagner, Monteverdi, Weber, Bellini, Brahms, and Mahler
Bellini: Norma - Adalgisa’s Prayer (Carmen Vizin-Esquivel)
Monteverdi: Incoronazione fi Poppea - Pur ti miro (Marco Rivera Rosa + Viktoria Vizin)
Wagner: L’attente (Natalie Mustea)
Wagner: Tout n’est qu’image fugitives (Jade Dashà)
Liszt: O Lieb (Alexis Langlois)
Brahms: Weg der Liebe (Natalie Mustea + Viktoria Vizin)
Wagner: Tannenbaum (Marco Rivera Rosa)
Mendelssohn: Abschiedslied der Zugvögel (Carmen Vizin-Esquivel + Viktoria Vizin)
R. Strauss: Allerseelen (Quaine Hogan)
Mahler: Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen (Katherine Cosenza)
Weber: Der Freischütz - Max's Aria (Quaine Hogan)
Wagner: Die Götterdämmerung Norn Scene (Jade Dashà + Katherine Cosenza + Viktoria Vizin)
Presented by The Wagner Society
and
The Evanston and Northfield Chapters of Lyric Opera of Chicago
12:30 pm – Reception
1:00 pm – Optional Luncheon (Reservations closed May 17)
2:15 pm – Program Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Sunday, APRIL 16, 2023
DOCUMENTARY: LEONTYNE PRICE SINGS!
Presented by the Wagner Society and the Evanston and Northfield Chapters of Lyric Opera of Chicago
3:00 pm – Reception
3:30 pm – Program Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Cost: $15 per person
Free Valet Parking
Vocal Program Featuring
JADE DASHÁ, soprano
ERICA TIMMERMAN, mezzo-soprano
ALEXIS LANGLOIS, soprano
IRINA FEOKTISTOVA, piano
(Photo credit: Larry Lapidus)
JADE DASHÁ
ERICA TIMMERMAN
ALEXIS LANGLOIS
IRINA FEOKTISTOVA
Irina Feoktistova graduated from St Petersburg Conservatoire in Russia, has performed in Russia, Europe, and the US as a soloist, duo pianist and accompanist.
Presented by the Wagner Society and the Evanston and Northfield Chapters of Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Chapter and Wagner Society Members - $ 15 at the door
(All guests and Presbyterian Homes residents are free)
3:00 pm – Reception
3:30 pm – Program
WESTMINSTER PLACE
3200 GRANT STREET
EVANSTON
Annual Holiday Event
Alexandra Lobianco, Dramatic Soprano
Jade Dashá, Soprano
Laurann Gilley, Piano
Professor John Digaetani, Author And Lecturer
Double Bill
Prelude: Wagner And His Uncle Adolf Wagner - The Writer Who Most Influenced Him?
Main Event: Wagner And Medieval Drama: The Search For A Miracle
VALKYRIES
Produced and Directed by Viktoria Vizin
Streaming and Starring
Performers from our April 22 All-Wagner Program
Presented by the Wagner Society and the Evanston and Northfield Chapters of Lyric Opera of Chicago
12:00 Noon – Reception
1:00 pm – Luncheon and Program Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Click YouTube Link Below to View the Video (Speakers ON!!!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNNw11Q1mQE
VALKYRES
An All-Wagner Program
Honoring the Composer's (upcoming) 209th Birthday
PLUS an array of vocal artists including:
Monika Cachro
Hailey Cohen
Kyle Cortés
Katherine Cosenza
Jeffrey Goldberg
Jade Hardy
Lauren Ingebrigtsen
Alexis Langlois
Alie Lewis
Sarah Magid
Kat McKinley
Carmen Vizin-Esquivel
L'Attente
Sieben Kompositionen zu Goethes Faust (Excerpt)
Les Deux Grenadiers
Der Tannenbaum
Elsa’S Dream
Tout n’est qu’images fugitives
Götterdämmerung - Act 3 (Rhein Trio)
Das Rheingold - Scene 1
3:00 pm – Reception
3:30 pm – Program Caldwell Assembly Hall
Presbyterian Home
3200 Grant Street
Evanston, IL
LidIya Yankovskaya Conductor
and
Musical Director of Chicago Opera Theater
IMPORTANT COVID-19 REMINDER: Like CSO, Lyric Opera, and other local arts organizations, Wagner Society requires all event attendees to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination in order to enter events and to wear masks throughout the entire event regardless of vaccination status.
3:30 pm – Program Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Cost: $10 per person
Annual Holiday Event
Ola Rafalo, Mezzo Soprano
Laurann Gilley, Piano
1:00 pm – Luncheon and Program Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Cost: $70 per person (Reservations required)
Genevieve Thiers, Soprano
Heidi Joosten, Piano
''
"An Hour with Anna Russell"
IMPORTANT COVID-19 REMINDER: Like CSO, Lyric Opera, and other local arts organizations, Wagner Society requires all event attendees to show proof of Covid-19 vaccination in order to enter events and to wear masks throughout the entire event regardless of vaccination status.
Reception - 3:00 pm
Program - 3:30 pm
Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Cost: Members - $ 15.00/Guests - $ 20.00
Professor John Digaetani, Author And Lecturer
The Ring Cycle as a Light Comedy
Wagner Outside the Ring: Essays on the Operas, Their Performance, and Their Connections with Other Arts
Penetrating Wagner's "Ring"
Richard Wagner and the Modern British Novel
Inside the Ring: Essays on Wagner's Opera Cycle
Wagner and Suicide
Richard Wagner: New Light on a Musical Life
Along with other books on opera, including
An Invitation to the Opera
Puccini the Thinker
The Definitive Diva: The Life and Career of Maria Callas
7:30 PM Program
Cost: Members - $ 5.00/Guests - $ 10.00
Hotel Allegro
Orpheum Room, 3rd Floor
171 W. Randolph Street
Chicago
Sunday, August 15, 2021
Robert C Marks Memorial Event
Kyle van Schoonhoven, tenor
Sarah Cambidge, soprano
Laurann Gilley, piano
Reception - 2:00 pm [NOTE EARLIER TIME]
Program - 3:00 pm
Ganz Hall
Roosevelt University
430 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
IN HONOR OF RICHARD WAGNER'S BIRTHDAY (MAY 22)
ON-DEMAND STREAMING FROM DECEMBER, 2020 RECITAL
Ola Rafalo, mezzosoprano
Andrea Silvestrelli, bass
Andrew Anderson, string bass
Irina Feoktistova, piano
PROGRAM
Après un Rêve, Fauré
Ich Bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, Mahler
W Malczani Noci Tajnaj, Radhmaninov
Hagen's Aria from Götterdämmerung, Wagner
Erda's Aria from Das Rheingold, Wagner
Don quichotte Aria, Massenet
Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix from Samson et Delila, Saint-Saens
Czardaś
Voi lo sapete from Cavallaria Rusticana, Mascagni
Phillipo's Aria from Don Carlos, Verdi
Les tringles des sistres tintaient from Carmen, Bizet
La calunnia, from the Barber of Seville, Rossini
Per questa bella mano, Mozart
Va, laisse couleur mes larmes from Werther, Massenet
I te vurri a vasà, Di Capua
CLICK TO STREAM THE PROGRAM
Alternatively: copy and paste the following link into your web broawser: https://youtu.be/xyGdiiZGcfg/
VIKTORIA VIZIN, mezzo-soprano
and
Colleagues and Students
Link to these Streams
Children of the Holocaust
Featuring Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder
VIKTORIA VIZIN, mezzo-soprano
and
SAORI CHIBA, piano
Ives: Songs My Mother Taught Me (ensemble)
Kodaly: The Spinning Room -Shades Of Eve Are Slowly Falling (Carmen Vizin-Esquivel, Alie Oates)
Szymanowski: Vocalise (Jade Ferrell)
Góreczki: Symphony #3 “Sorrowful Songs”, 2nd Movement piano (arrangement by Viktoria Vizin) (ensemble)
Mahler: Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (Jade Ferrell)
Mahler: Kindertotenlieder (Viktoria Vizin)
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm Ganz Hall
Roosevelt University
430 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
|
WSA and Lyric Opera of Chicago Chapters
Present
Ricardo Rivera (Baritone) & Laurann Gilley (Piano)
The Puerto Rican baritone, a second-year Ryan Opera Center member, has been heard as Guglielmo/Così fan tutte with the International Vocal Academy of Rome; has participated in several recitals with the American Masters’ of Opera Academy in Moscow; and has appeared in several scene and concert presentations with the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel-Aviv. In Puerto Rico, he has had repeat engagements at the Performing Arts Center of San Juan and at the University of Puerto Rico Theater, appearing as the Notary/Don Pasquale, Maestro Spinelloccio/Gianni Schicchi, and Don Quixote/Maurice Ravel’s Master Peter’s Puppet Show as part of the 2016 Casals Festival. Rivera recently received his master’s degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he appeared with the Opera Department as Fiorello/The Barber of Seville, Starveling/A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and Marco/Gianni Schicchi. He is the recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant and is a past participant in the Aspen Music Festival (Claudio/Béatrice et Bénédict, Angel #7/Luke Bedford’s opera Seven Angels) and VOICExperience programs. Rivera returned to Aspen last summer to understudy Germont/La traviata and sing Angel #7/Luke Bedford’s opera Seven Angels. In 2018/19, Rivera sang Schaunard/La bohème and Baron Douphol/La traviata and appeared in concert with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn). In 2019/20, he sings Yamadori/Madama Butterfly.
In the spring of 2015, baritone Ricardo Rivera — who was a semi-finalist in the Met Opera National Council Auditions — made major debuts at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and San Diego Opera in the world premiere of El pasado nunca se termina, directed by Broadway and opera director Leonard Foglia, in the leading role of Acalán which he will perform in 2019 with Fort Worth Opera.
In the 2018/2019 season, Ricardo will perform as Lt. Gordon in Silent Night with Arizona Opera, as Acalán in El pasado nunca se termina with Fort Worth Opera, and as Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni in New York at the renowned Bay Street Theater.
Engagements from the past two seasons include performances as Hérode in Hérodiade with Washington Concert Opera with Michael Fabiano and Joyce El-Khoury; as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and as Lt. Audebert in Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night with Opera San José; as Escamillo in Carmen with Musica Viva Hong Kong and Heartbeat Opera; as Schaunard in La bohème with Musica Viva Hong Kong; as El payador in María de Buenos Aires with Des Moines Metro Opera; and as Germont in La traviata with the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra
Operatic performance highlights, of recent past seasons, include: Orsini in Rienzi and Mathieu in Andrea Chenier with the Opera Orchestra of NY in Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall; Moralès and Escamillo (cover) in Stephen Wadsworth's new production of Carmen, Thomas Martin and the Hotel Managers in the world premiere of Theodore Morrison's Oscar, and Germont (cover) in La traviata at Santa Fe Opera; Marcello in La bohème and Escamillo in Carmen with El Paso Opera; Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with the Opera Company of Middlebury; Thomas Martin and the Hotel Managers in Oscar with Opera Philadelphia; Le chat in L’enfant et les sortilèges and Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi at the Castleton Festival with the late conductor Lorin Maazel; Moralès in Carmen and Fiorello/L'Ufficiale in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera North; Ashby in La fanciulla del West with Knoxville Opera; the baritone soloist in both Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Fauré’s Requiem with the Pioneer Valley Symphony; Uncle John in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath with Sugar Creek Opera; and Corifeo in Jorge Liderman's opera Antigona Furiosa in Chicago with Contempo and members of the multi-Grammy Award-winning ensemble eighth blackbird.
Concert performance highlights include his Alice Tully Hall debut in an Eve Queler and Friends Concert with Eve Queler at the piano and his Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center debut in the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Gala with Eve Queler conducting the Opera Orchestra of NY. Concert performance highlights of standard repertoire include the baritone solos in: Ein deutsches Requiem with both The New York Choral Society and The Westchester Chorale Society; Carmina Burana with Monmouth Civic Chorus; and Bach’s “Coffee Cantata” at the White Mountains Music Festival.
Ricardo is a graduate of Mannes College the New School for Music where his B.M. M.M. and PDPL were conferred. As a Mannes Opera Young Artist, he performed the title role in Don Giovanni, Ford in Falstaff, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, and Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas. At Mannes, he was mentored by Met Opera conductor and Music Director at The Glimmerglass Festival, Joseph Colaneri, and the great, late American mezzo-soprano Regina Resnik.
Ricardo was an apprentice singer with Santa Fe Opera, a young artist with Opera North, and an Eva and Marc Stern Fellow at SongFest where he coached with Martin Katz, Graham Johnson, and composer Lori Laitman on her music. As an apprentice artist at Chautauqua Opera, he covered Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor; performed the Sergeant and covered Lescaut in Manon Lescaut; and performed in two concerts with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.
In a review of Ricardo’s performance in Sophia Gubaidulina's Perception with multi-Grammy Award–winning ensembles eighth blackbird and the Pacifica Quartet, the Chicago Tribune declared him "amazingly precise of musical and verbal gesture." In continuation of his commitment to the vitality of contemporary music, Ricardo performed Steven Stucky's Four poems of A.R. Ammons with the FLUX Quartet, the world premiere of Reinaldo Moya's Soliquio en las olas with the Arts Symphony Orchestra, and the world premiere of Aaron Dai's Con furia with the Chelsea Symphony. 21st-century operatic roles which have been composed for and have been performed by Ricardo include leading roles in Robert Cuckson's A Night of Pity and Horace: a Portrait, Christopher Park's Phaedra and Hippolytus, Alexander Berezowsky's The Nine Billion Names of God, and Andrew McManus's Killing the Goat.
Ricardo won 1st Prize in the Eastern Region of the 2012 Met Opera National Council Auditions (MONC) which led him to the semi-finals of that competition. He received two awards upon graduating from Mannes College: the Richard F. Gold Career Grant in 2008 and the Michael Sisca Memorial Opera Award in 2012. He was awarded 3rd Prize in the Gerda Lissner Competition, a Career Grant from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition, 1st and Audience Prizes in the NY Lyric Opera Competition, and Encouragement Awards from the Opera Index, Career Bridges, and Connecticut Opera Guild Competitions.
Gilley has been a pianist and coach with the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago for the past 13 years, performing frequently with members of the ensemble, coaching upcoming repertoire, playing for the final stage auditions, recording for WFMT, and playing with the Lyric Opera Orchestra. She served in the same capacity with Glimmerglass Opera for 15 seasons, having prepared several operas, including 3 world premieres. Other companies she has worked with include San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, San Diego Opera, Vancouver Opera, Opera Omaha, Tulsa Opera, Kentucky Opera, Sacramento Opera, Mississippi Opera, and the American Symphony Orchestra, with whom she has also recorded.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Gilley has accompanied recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Chicago Cultural Center, on the San Francisco Opera Schwabacher Series, and in other venues throughout the U.S. and Canada, collaborating with artists such as Amanda Majeski, Nicole Cabell, Alyson Cambridge, William Burden, and Mark Oswald. She is an accompanist for the Central Region Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, and as a faculty member of Northwestern University, she coaches in the voice department and assists in preparation of operas. Ms. Gilley holds degrees from Southern Methodist University, The Eastman School of Music, and Manhattan School of Music, where she also worked as a vocal coach and accompanist.
As a conductor, Laurann Gilley most recently led Midwest Opera Theater’s production of Suor Angelica and The Impresario. In 2018, she was selected by The Dallas Opera to be an observer at its Hart Institute for Women Conductors. She has conducted Il Barbiere di Siviglia from the piano with Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Opera in the Neighborhoods, and has conducted Don Pasquale from the piano for a touring production of Glimmerglass Opera. She served as Assistant Conductor for The Turn of the Screw at Northwestern University, and has a wide range of backstage and choral conducting experiences. Her conducting teachers include David Effron and Michael Christie, and she has worked as a pianist under Sir Andrew Davis, Richard Bonynge, Edoardo Müller, and Stewart Robertson.
Gathering - 12:30 pm
Luncheon - 1:00 pm
PROGRAM FOLLOWS The Merion’s Crystal Ballroom
The Merion
1611 Chicago Ave.e
Evanston, IL
Valet parking adjacent at 529 Davis St.
Free parking garage: Church
$70 each, Cash Bar
Ola Rafalo (Mezzo-Soprano) and Paul Dykstra (Piano)
Recital
"Goddesses and Mortals: The Feminine Experience"
Ola Rafalo, Polish-American mezzo has been called a "Vocal Powerhouse," and "a budding next Cossotto" by critics. “Ola Rafalo proved to be a mezzo to watch, with a strong Stride la Vampa.” said Anne Midgette, for the Washington Post, of The Washington Chorus’ Essential Verdi concert 2014, at the Kennedy Center, where Rafalo was featured in scenes as“A Mezzo with great promise”, Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun (Nabucco, Opera Baltimore 2014). Ola Rafalo, Polish-American mezzo has been called a "Vocal Powerhouse," and "a budding next Cossotto" by critics. “Ola Rafalo proved to be a mezzo to watch, with a strong Stride la Vampa.” said Anne Midgette, for the Washington Post, of The Washington Chorus’ Essential Verdi concert 2014, at the Kennedy Center, where Rafalo was featured in scenes as Azucena, and Amneris. “A Mezzo with great promise”, Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun (Nabucco, Opera Baltimore 2014).
Upcoming engagements include Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera Forza in New York City, Ola’s debut with Chicago Opera Theater as the Old Gypsy in Aleko, her debut with the Israel Philharmonic as Emilia in Verdi’s Otello under Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, as well as a recital with the prestigious Dame Myrna Hess Memorial concert series in Chicago.
Other Concert highlights include Carnegie Hall as the Alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, as well as soloist in De Falla’s El Amor Brujo with the Pacific Symphony,which she sang with a “fine dusky quality”-L.A. Times. Ola has sung many galas including; Gulfshore Opera Legends of Opera featuring Samuel Ramey., Springfield Symphony’s Arabian nights, as well as concerts in Italy at Teatro Curci in the province of Bari. She joined the Paderewski symphony several times for their and Karnaval Concert, and the American premier of the Poniatowski Mass, an important work of Polish history and art. Rafalo has enjoyed an active recital and chamber music schedule in New York and Chicago, including a very successful duo with superstar bass Andrea Silvestrelli.
Ms. Rafalo carries dual passports for the U.S. and Poland, and speaks fluent English, Italian, Polish. Making her also a natural interpreter slavic repertoire, in roles such as Olga in Eugene Onegin, Konchakovna in Prince Igor, Pollina in Queen of Spades, and Jadwiga in Straszny Dwor. Other roles in her diverse repertoire include Adalgisa in Norma, Venus in Tannhauser, and Dalilah in Samson et Dalilah.
Upcoming engagements include Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera Forza in New York City, Ola’s debut with Chicago Opera Theater as the Old Gypsy in Aleko, her debut with the Israel Philharmonic as Emilia in Verdi’s Otello under Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, as well as a recital with the prestigious Dame Myrna Hess Memorial concert series in Chicago.
Other Concert highlights include Carnegie Hall as the Alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, as well as soloist in De Falla’s El Amor Brujo with the Pacific Symphony,which she sang with a “fine dusky quality”-L.A. Times. Ola has sung many galas including; Gulfshore Opera Legends of Opera featuring Samuel Ramey., Springfield Symphony’s Arabian nights, as well as concerts in Italy at Teatro Curci in the province of Bari. She joined the Paderewski symphony several times for their and Karnaval Concert, and the American premier of the Poniatowski Mass, an important work of Polish history and art. Rafalo has enjoyed an active recital and chamber music schedule in New York and Chicago, including a very successful duo with superstar bass Andrea Silvestrelli.
Ms. Rafalo carries dual passports for the U.S. and Poland, and speaks fluent English, Italian, Polish. Making her also a natural interpreter slavic repertoire, in roles such as Olga in Eugene Onegin, Konchakovna in Prince Igor, Pollina in Queen of Spades, and Jadwiga in Straszny Dwor. Other roles in her diverse repertoire include Adalgisa in Norma, Venus in Tannhauser, and Dalilah in Samson et Dalilah. the
symphony and opera.
Paul Dykstra began working as a conductor/pianist at a dinner theater in southern Wisconsin, and since moving to Chicago, he’s focused predominantly on his two loves — chamber collaborative piano and vocal accompaniment, especially song and operatic. Among his musical achievements are founding the Lira Symphony in Chicago and premiering the Weinberg Piano Trio in Warsaw at the Singer Festival.
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm Ganz Hall
Roosevelt University
430 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
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JIM GINSBURG, founder and president of Cedille Records, a not-for-profit organization that produces recordings of Chicago based performers. Jim will give a presentation on this organization, which has been successful in carving out a niche for itself in the competitive world of music as well as being very successful. Jim was interviewed several times in the widely acclaimed documentary film RBG, the 2019 Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature covering the life and career of Jim's mother, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
For years, Swedish born Nina Stemme has been considered a leading singer of the most challenging parts in major dramas:Isolde, Brünnhilde and Kundry, Salome and Elektra, Fanciulla and Turandot.
That she initially shied away from these staggering heights of the soprano repertoire is a noteworthy – if not the defining – characteristic of her career. Mozart’s Cherubino is a far cry from Isolde and Turandot, a leap only few have mastered. Nina Stemme made the leap successfully by taking the time a development of this kind requires. When she was offered the part of Isolde, to be performed at the 2003 Glyndebourne Festival, she already had fourteen years of on-stage experience, having first taken lyrical parts such as Cherubino, Pamina, the “Figaro” Countess, Agathe and Eva, before moving on to increasingly lyrical-dramatic roles such as Mimi, Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Tosca, “Tannhäuser” Elisabeth, Marschallin and Senta.
Isolde would have been the next step, but it was not until she had conferred with Birgit Nilsson that she took the offer. To her surprise, the legendary Wagner singer offered to help her learn her part. Nonetheless, Nina Stemme felt she was not yet ready to sing Isolde. When she did take the stage as Isolde for the first time at Glyndeborne, her performance was met with enthusiasm and she subsequently made a record with Plácido Domingo singing as Tristan and Antonio Pappano as conductor. Even then, she remained cautious: “You are never ready with these gigantic roles”, she said in retrospect in her interview with the “New York Times”.
Respect for the roles and the operas, flexibility, diversity and a level-headed estimation of her voice’s potential – these were the factors that, alongside her voice itself, talent and musicality, made this highly talented singer an artist of global stature. In 1993, she was rewarded when she won Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition. Whether at the Metropolitan Opera New York, La Scala Milan, the Bayreuth Festival, the Vienna State Opera or the Royal Opera House in London – Nina Stemme has furthered the great tradition of Flagstad and Nilsson at leading opera houses.
2018 Events
Mezzo Jennifer Kosharsky (top) has performed in operas, operettas, musicals and concerts.
Recent roles: Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) and Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana). Silent Auction 12 Noon (cash, check, or major credit card)
A former student of Leonard Bernstein, Saul Lilienstein holds B.A. and M.S.degrees in music from Queens College, N.Y. He initially came to the attention of Maryland audiences as Director of The Handel Choir of Baltimore and the Harford Choral Society. Lilienstein was for many years Artistic Director and Conductor of Maryland’s Harford Opera Theatre and then of Operetta Renaissance in Baltimore, conducting and producing in all well over fifty operas.
A highly regarded Professor of Music, his is a familiar voice at the Smithsonian Institution, Johns Hopkins University in Rockville, at the Goethe Institut, for symphonic concerts at the Kennedy Center, opera lectures for Washington National Opera and recently at music symposiums in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Palm Beach. Lilienstein’s subjects range from the Origins of Opera to the Origins of Jazz, from Bach and Beethoven to Music of the Gypsies, from Immigrant Cultures to Music of The Beatles.
He has now completed over eighty-five highly acclaimed Commentaries on CD for The Washington National Opera, analyzing the repertoire in the most extensive series of its kind in the English language. His essays on music have appeared in newspapers throughout the country ,in journals and anthologies.
PLEASE NOTE NEW ADDRESS
Beth Elliott is the author of the satirical time-travel novel “Don’t Call It ‘Virtual’”, a former weekly columnist for the San Francisco Bay Area Reporter and book and record reviewer for Telewoman, and an independent recording artist. Something of a minor counterculture figure who has been written about in a small number of books, she has chased total solar eclipses around the world and written business materials and conference presentations for a commercial lunar sample retrieval mission start-up. She wrote “Redemption Through Love!” out of a belief that Wagner’s “music dramas” are too beautiful, thrilling, transformative and inspirational for people to feel intimidated to approach. Delving into the mythological, metaphysical and psychological underpinnings of Wagner’s art, she brings a lifetime of spiritual exploration (not to mention irreverence and deadly wit) to making the most written-about and controversial composer of all time accessible to people who are neither opera nor Wagner buffs
JAMES K. HOLMAN is Chairman of the D.C. Wagner Society, a well-known Wagner expert, AND an Evanstonian will present a lecture on Tannhäuser with a visual presentation much like his wonderful presentation this past year.
Reception 1:00 PM
Master Teacher Kathleen Kelly is the University of Michigan’s first Coach/Conductor of Opera at its School of Music, Theater, and Dance. From 2010–2013 at the Vienna State Opera, Kathleen oversaw the daily musical life of more the fifty ensemble singers in more than fifty operas. She has appeared nationally and internationally as a recital accompanist, notably at Vienna’s Musikverein, New York City’s Weill Hall, and the Kennedy Center. Besides Ms. Strahl, her partners have included Jamie Barton, Christine Goerke, Amber Wagner, Michael Kelly, Troy Cook, Jill Grove, Patrick Carfizzi, Albina Shagimuratova, and Valentina Nafornita. She has curated recital series at the Vienna State Opera and the Houston Grand Opera, and is co-artistic director of SongFusion. In Vienna, Kathleen was the musical assistant and recitative accompanist for new productions of Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro. Professor Matthew Bribitzer-Stull began as Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of Minnesota in 2002. He is now Director of the University Honors Program and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. The author of Understanding the Leitmotif: From Wagner to Hollywood Film Music (Cambridge University Press 2015), Matt looks forward to continued engagement with Wagner’s music despite the demands of his administrative appointment. 2017 Events
Award-winning American soprano Christine Brewer’s appearances in opera, concert, and recital are marked by her 1own unique timbre, at once warm and brilliant, combined with a vibrant personality and emotional honesty reminiscent of the great sopranos of the past. Named one of the top 20 sopranos of all time (BBC Music), her range, golden tone, boundless power, and control make her a favorite of the stage and a highly sought-after recording artist, one who is “in her prime and sounding glorious” (Anthony Tommasini, New York Times). (Our "CD Fire Sale" will continue at $ 1.00 per CD.)
3:00 pm
Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased at the door or in advance via PayPal.
A few selections from Kyle's program
JIM HOLMAN
"THE SYMPHONY: FROM BEETHOVEN TO WAGNER"
Photo courtesy of WETA
Reception - 3:00 PM
Program - 3:30 PM
HILTON ORRINGTON HOTEL
1710 Orrington Avenue
WAGNER 206th BIRTHDAY MUSICAL EVENT
VIKTORIA VIZIN, mezzo-soprano
ssand
MARIA CONSAMUS, mezzo-soprano
with
DANA BROWN, piano
Schumann: Frauenliebe und Leben (MC)
Wagner: Einsam wachend in der Nacht (VV)
INTERMISSION
Cilia: Acerba voluta (MC)
Wagner: Seit er von dir gechieden - Waltraute's Scene (VV)
Charles Ives: Songs My Mother Taught Me (MC)
Debussy: Beau soir (MC)
Offenbach: Barcarolle
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
Ganz Hall
Roosevelt University
430 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL
A joint program with the Evanston, Glencoe, and Northfield Chapters of Lyric Opera of Chicago
JIM GINSBURG
Founder and President of Cedille Records
Jim is married to lyric soprano, composer, and Mozart specialist Patrice Michaels , who is currently Director of Vocal Studies at The University of Chicago. Recently, Cedille Records released Notorious RBG in Song, an 80th Birthday Tribute in song, story and images, celebrating Justice Ginsburg’s personal and professional life in Patrice Michaels' nine-song cycle THE LONG VIEW as well as American composer Stacy Garrop, winner of many prestigious awards and commissions; JUNO Award-winning Canadian composer Vivian Fung; prolific art-song composer Lori Laitman; and an aria from Derrick Wang’s new comic opera, Scalia/Ginsburg—all in collaboration with pianist extraordinaire Kuang-Hao Huang.
Reception - 3:00 PM
Program - 3:30 PM
Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Cost: Members: $ 15.00 Guests $20.00
Guests are always welcome
Questions: 847-256-1292
NINA STEMME
Nina Stemme as Isolde
Tristan and Isolde, 2016
Metropolitan Opera
Presentation of the Birgit Nilsson Prize to Nina Stemme
Hotel Allegro
171 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
Cost: Members - $ 5.00 Guests - $ 10.00
Questions: 847-256-1292
Joint program with Evanston Chapter of Lyric Opera of Chicago
ANETTE ISAACS
“The Tainted Legacy of Richard Wagner”
Program - 3:00 PM
Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
Cost: Members - $ 15.00 Guests - $ 20.00
Questions: 847-256-1292
The Evanston, Glencoe, Northfield, Wilmette, Winnetka chapters of
The Lyric Opera of Chicago
and
The Wagner Society of America
invite you to our
Annual Holiday Luncheon Event
>
Ariana Strahl, soprano
with
Celeste Rue, piano
Soprano Ariana Strahl (bottom) wowed critics in her opera roles as Blanche (Streetcar Named Desire)
and brought 20 roles to the stage as a young artist at Komische Oper , Berlin.
Luncheon 1:00 PM
Program follows
Evanston
Cost: $ 70.00 per person<
Make checks payable to The Wagner Society of America
P.O. Box 514
Wilmette IL 60091
There will also be THE QUIZ with prizes for all and the CD Fire Sale will continue at $ 1.00 per CD.
Reservations required
Parking: FREE PARKING ON STREET OR IN LOTS AND IN GARAGES
Saul Lilienstein
"Wagner, Mahler, and Mann"
<
Roosevelt University
Room 616
425 S. Wabash Avenue
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
Cost: Members - $ 5.00
Guests - $ 10.00
This event is sponsored by The Wagner Society of America and the Central Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council
PLEASE NOTE: Guests and non-members wishing to attend need to reply to Bill Smith (847-256-1292)
no later than November 13th so that they may be admitted by the University's Building Security staff.
JUDITH CABAUD
"Mathilde Wesendonck: Isolde's Dream"
Roosevelt University
Room 528
430 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
Cost: Members - $ 5.00
Guests - $ 10.00
This event is sponsored by The Wagner Society of America and the Central Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council
PLEASE NOTE: Guests and non-members wishing to attend need to reply to Bill Smith (847-256-1292)
no later than October 12th so that they may be admitted by the University's Building Security staff.
BETH ELLIOTT
"REDEMPTION THROUGH LOVE!"
An Irreverent Guide to Getting Wagnerian
Opera Thrills Without Being a Nut
Roosevelt University
430 S. Michigan Avenue
Room 528
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
Cost: Members - $ 5.00
Guests - $ 10.00
This event is sponsored by The Wagner Society of America and the Central Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council
PLEASE NOTE: Guests and non-members wishing to attend need to reply to Bill Smith (847-256-1292)
no later than September 12th so that they may be admitted by the University's Building Security staff.
WAGNER BIRTHDAY LUNCHEON AND PROGRAM
JIM HOLMAN
Photo courtesy of WETA
Evanston, IL
Buffet Luncheon 1:30 PM
Program 2:45 PM
Soprano ARIANA STRAHL
with Kathleen Kelly, Piano
Roosevelt University
Ganz Hall
430 S Michigan
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
This event is free of charge to all members as well as guests.
PLEASE NOTE: We must receive guest names by April 18.
Phone or email names to Bill Smith (847-256-1292 or wrtsco@att.net).
The CD Fire Sale will continue at $ 1.00 per CD.
Questions: 847-256-1292
MATTHEW BRIBITZER-STULL
"Wagner's Legacy in the Leitmotivic Film Score"
Roosevelt University
Room 420
430 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
Cost: Members - $ 5.00 Guests - $ 10.00
AMBER WAGNER
Photo Credit: Larry Lapidus
Hotel Allegro
Orpheum Room (3rd Floor)
171 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
Cost: Members - $ 5.00 Guests - $ 10.00
The Barrington, Evanston, Glencoe, Northfield, Wilmette & Winnetka Chapters
of
>Lyric Opera of Chicago
and The Wagner Society of America
invite you to our annual
Holiday Luncheon Event
>Christine Brewer, Soprano
Craig Terry, piano
"Brünnhilde's Sisters"
>Lyric Opera Walküre's "Flying Equestrians"
<
Hotel Allegro
Orpheum Room (3rd Floor)
171 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
Cost: Members - $ 5.00 Guests - $ 10.00
David Pountney
>Stage Director and
Artistic Director of Welsh National Opera
>
Photo source: Welsh National Opera
Lyric's Ring Cycle Director DAVID POUNTNEY. Since 2011 David has been the Artistic Director of the Welsh National Opera. He has held positions at the Scottish Opera, the English National Opera, and the Bregenz Festival. He has also written librettos and translated operas into English. He was made a CBE (England) as well as receiving high honorary designations in France and in Poland. We are delighted to present the director of this very innovative Ring.
Hotel Allegro
Orpheum Room (3rd Floor)
171 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL
Reception - 7:00 pm
Program - 7:30 pm
>Kyle van Schoonhoven, tenor
Laurann Gilley, piano
Kyle van Schoonhoven in Recital
Roosevelt University
Ganz Hall
Chicago, IL
Opera selections include:
"Rienzi’s Prayer" from Wagner’s Rienzi
Lenski’s Aria from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin
Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder
Plus music theatre selections:
"You’ll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel
"Anthem" from Chess
"Younger than Springtime" from South Pacific
A reception in the foyer will follow the performance
JAMES K. HOLMAN
Jim is Chairman of the D.C. Wagner Society, a Wagner author, and an Evanstonian.
Photo courtesy of WETA
Buffet Luncheon 1:30 PM
Program 2:45 PM
Make checks payable to The Wagner Society of America
P.O. Box 514
Wilmette IL 60091 There will also be THE QUIZ with prizes for all and the CD Fire Sale willcontinue at $ 1.00 per CD. Reservations required Parking: FREE PARKING ON STREET OR IN LOTS AND IN GARAGES
>Professor KAREN PAINTER
Department of Music, University of Minnesota
ASHLEY SIPKA, mezzo-soprano>
Ashley is a recent graduate of DePaul University.
She was a finalist this year in the Central Region of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions having advanced from the Illinois district.
There are now 4 state districts feeding into the region. Kentucky has now joined Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.
Her repertoire includes the Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Orlovsky, Perichole, Beppe, Susuki, and Ernestina plus concert alto soloist in works of
Brahms, Charpentier, Schumann, and Handel.
Between Venus and the Virgin: Music and Myth in Wagner's Tannhäuser" A Lecture on Tannhäuser's Musical Subtleties and Mythic Sources 
Wagner in Paris for the 1861 Tannhäuser performances
>
This guided tour through Wagner's
This lecture will feature a close reading of selected musical excerpts and passages from the libretto. There will be in-depth discussion of Wagner's own statements about the work, of his literary and mythological sources, and of his responses to reviews of the opera. We will trace the Tannhäuser legend and examine the correspondences between Wagner's poetry and that of the historical Minnesinger who inspired it. Connections will also be drawn to Wagner's other works, particularly Der Ring des Nibelungen.
For those especially interested in Norse mythology, we'll also discuss Freyja, Holda, Wotan, the Wild Hunt, Jacob Grimm's Teutonic Mythology and Wagner's stated "enthusiasm for the genuine heathen legends."
Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro Downtown, Chicago
733 W. Madison St.
7:00 PM Reception
7:30 PM Program
Amber Wagner and Gerald Finley
(Photo Credit: Larry Lapidus) (Photo Credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke) A conversation with our Elizabeth and Wolfram in the Lyric production of Wagner's Tannhäuser
Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro Downtown, Chicago
733 W. Madison St.
We are delighted that both Wolfram (GERALD FINLEY) and Elisabeth (AMBER WAGNER) from the Tannhäuser cast will join us for an informal discussion about their work and about Tannhäuser in particular. Bill Shackelford will moderate the discussion. Please come prepared with questions for Bill to start with. Anette Isaacs, Historian 
Hotel Allegro 171 W. Randolph Street Chicago 7:00 PM Reception 7:30 Program Parking: Lowest price is just south on Wells Street, east side of street. Cost: $ 5.00 members $ 10.00 guests. Reservations not required The storied relationship between the brilliant and controversial composer Richard Wagner and his devoted patron, the extravagant, tragic 'and mad' King Ludwig of Bavaria is legendary. Join German Historian Anette Isaacs and delve into a most interesting friendship that was defined by music, money, and a deep affection between two exceptional German cultural icons!
Peter Bassett, Author and Dramaturg 
>Wagner's Die Meistersinger and Lortzing's Hans Sachs 
Peter Bassett Wagner's Die Meistersinger and Lortzing's Hans Sachs
Hotel Allegro
171 W. Randolph StreetChicago
7:00 PM Reception
7:30 PM Program
In recent decades, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg has been the subject of controversial claims and notorious flights of directorial fancy. So what is it really about? A single lecture could hardly do justice to that question, but Peter Bassett believes there is one frequently overlooked matter that throws light on Wagner's intentions. It is the link between Die Meistersinger and dramatic works about Hans Sachs which were popular in 1845 when Wagner conceived his plan for 'an opera in a lighter genre' and wrote his lengthy prose sketch. Prominent amongst those works was Albert Lortzing's comic opera Hans Sachs, first performed in 1840, the play on which it was based and a Singspiel called Hans Sachs in later life of 1831. It is a fascinating story.
PETER BASSETT is an Australian author and speaker with a particular interest in the works of Richard Wagner. He has published books on the Ring, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal and Wagner & Verdi, and his four CD set Der Ring des Nibelungen ' Explorations, was released by Decca in 2013. He was closely involved with productions of the Adelaide Rings of 1998 and 2004 (for the latter as Dramaturg, Artistic Administrator and lecturer), and Parsifal of 2001, and has led more than thirty international opera tours. In a former life he was an Australian diplomat and served in East and West Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and was Chief of Staff to two Governors of South Australia. He is Vice-President of the Richard Wagner Society in Queensland and an Honorary Member of the Finnish Wagner Society.
Wagner Birthday Dinner and Program with Special Musical Guests >Joanna Porackova, mezzo-soprano 
with Celeste Rue, piano
Michigan Shores Club
911 Michigan Avenue
Wilmette, IL
847-251-4100
5:00 PM Reception
5:30 PM Program 6:15 PM DINNER (Please specify any dietary restrictions in advance) AND perhaps: THE QUIZ & PRIZES!!!! Program: We are pleased to have Joanna coming in from Boston for this program. She has done dramatic soprano roles and is now moving into the mezzo-soprano roles. We will hear some of both. Celeste will accompany her and also play a couple of piano works. We first knew Joanna through attending some of her performances and then had the chance to meet her in September, 2013 at a meeting of the Boston Wagner Society. You can find her on YouTube. Joanna Porackova has been celebrated for her 'soaring majesty' (Opera News) and 'huge vocal and emotional range'in both the mezzo soprano and soprano dramatic repertoire. She was hailed by the Boston Globe 2010 as a 'powerful soprano with a heartfelt, involving sense of the music's inner drama (singing Brünnhilde), in Wagner's 'Immolation Scene'. In 2010 the Boston Musical Intelligencer praised her for 'using her impressive instrument to full dramatic effect' for the mezzo soprano solo in Verdi's REQUIEM with the Masterworks Chorale. Her 'warm smooth voice rang out over Wagner's heavy orchestral textureĢ�Ħ clearly at home in the role of Brünnhilde', singing 'Immolation Scene' with the Longwood Symphony directed by Jonathan Mcphee. The New York Sun, in reviews of DIE WALKÜRE in the 2008 Easter Salzburg Festival with the Berliner Philharmoniker under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle singled her out as 'foremost of the Valkyries' she was girlish and fantastic'. The New York Times praised her for singing with 'great fervor and skill' as Magda Sorel in THE CONSUL directed by the composer himself Gian Carlo Menotti at the Washington National Opera, and for 'transmitting the character's obsessive passion and warmth' as Senta at Katharina Wagner's directorial debut of DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER Program:
PLUS: In honor of Wagner's BirthdayĢ�Ħ
three hochdramatische Ladies of THE RING
Thursday, October 8th Francesca Zambello, Artistic Director of the Washington National Opera
Hotel Allegro 171 W. Randolph Street
7:00 PM Reception
7:30 PM Program
Parking: Lowest price is just south on Wells Street, east side of street. FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO, Artistic Director of the Washington National Opera. Francesca will present her production of Wagner's Ring Cycle to be performed next May in Washington, D.C. She will include audio/visual segments of the production. We are delighted to have this acclaimed artist visit us for the first time. A conversation with renowned Wagnerian bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny currently appearing in the title role in Lyric Opera of Chicago's new production of Alban Berg's Wozzeck 
With his sensational success as ALBERICH at the Vienna State Opera and now also as Jochanaan and Wotan/Wanderer Tomasz Konieczny has established himself at the
forefront of outstanding dramatic Bass-Baritones of his generation. Besides ALBERICH and WOTAN in the Ring, Vienna has invited him to sing
MANDRYKA, JACK RANCE, AMFORTAS, HOLLÄNDER, SCARPIA, CARDILLAC and PIZARRO. Among his future plans he has guest contracts to sing with the
Salzburger Festspiele, Bayerischer Staatsoper München, Symphoniorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk,
Lyric Opera of Chicago and Opera Bastille.
Tomasz Konieczny was born in 1972 in Lodz/Poland, where he first studied acting at the Film, TV and Theatre Academy. He made his debut in a film directed by Oscar prize winning director Andrzej Wajda The Ring with the Eagle, following which he worked as actor/director in many TV Film and Theatre productions in Poland. It was at that time that he began his vocal studies at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy in Warsaw, after which he went to Dresden where he joined the class of Prof. Christian ElÄner at the Hochschule für Musik. In 1998 he won the 33rd Dvorak International Vocal Competition in Carlsbad. In 1997 he made his debut singing FIGARO in Le nozze di Figaro at the Poznan Opera in Poland, followed by engagements in places such as Leipzig, St. Gallen, Chemnitz and Mannheim. In 2002 he joined the ensemble of the National Theater Mannheim where he sang many roles included OREST, PIMEN, KING MARKE, AMFORTAS, WOTAN, PIZARRO, JOCHANAAN and the GRAN' INQUISITORE in Don Carlo. In 2004 Mannheim bestowed upon him the Arnold-Petersen-Award, a special prize for outstanding young talents. 2006 - 2014 Tomasz Konieczny was a member of the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf/Duisburg where he could add to his repertoire some important leading roles like WOTAN, OSMIN, GOLAUD in Pelleas et MÄ�Ä©lisande, KURWENAL, HOLLÄNDER, BARAK, BALSTRODE in Peter Grimes SELIM in Il Turco in Italia FALSTAFF and ESCAMILLIO. He has been a regular guest at the Opera Festial "WAGNER IN BUDAPEST", Where he sang under the baton of Adam Fischer AMFORTAS in 2006, WOTAN in Die Walküre in 2007 as well as in 2009, WANDERER in 2010 and KURWENAL in 2010 and 2011. In 2008 he made his debut at the Semperoper Dresden where he sang a highly-acclaimed ALBERICH in both Das Rheingold and Siegfried under Peter Schneider. In the same year he appeared for the first time at the Teatro Real Madrid where he sang DR KOLENATY in Janacek's Case Macropoulos. In 2011 he sang AMFORTAS at National Theater of Prague (Narodni Divadlo). It was a great personal sucsess of Konieczny. In 2011 he made also his debut as BITEROLF in Tannäuser at Opera National de Paris in 2012 as PIZARRO with NSO Washington and at the Bayerische Staatsoper München. The big sucsess was his debut at the Salzburger Festspiele (summer 2012) as STOLZIUS in Soldaten of Zimmermann. 2013 he sings two important CD - Productions of Ring des Nibelungen: as Wotan - the conductor is Marek Janowski (Pentatone Classics) and as Alberich - the conductor was Christian Thielemann (Deutsche Grammophon). 2014 he made his very saccesfully debut at the Carnegie Hall as JOCHANAAN in Salome and goes back as COMMENDATORE to Salzburger Festspiele. At the Vienna State Opera he still sings since 2009: JACK RANCE, ALBERICH and WOTAN, AMFORTAS, HOLLÄNDER, SCARPIA, MANDRYKA, JOCHANAAN, He performs for the Viennese public with consistent and requited love. Tomasz Konieczny is also in great demand for concerts where the colour of his voice and his stage presence make for a special combination. Among his upcoming engagements are concerts with the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic in Prague, and with the BBC London. His repertoire includes Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, the Weihnachtsoratorium, Handel's Messiah and Mendessohn's Elijah, Mozart's, Verdi's and Dvorak's Requiem, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Dvorak's Stabat Mater, Penderecki's Kosmogonia, Lukaspassion, Seven Gates of Jerusalem and the Messa da Requiem by Maciejewski. 171 W. Randolph Street Chicago 7:00 PM Reception >7:30 PM Program Parking: Lowest price is just south on Wells Street, east side of street. David Cangelosi, Tenor > 
Michigan Shores Club 911 Michigan Avenue Wilmette, IL 847-251-4100 12:00 PM Silent Auction 1:00 PM Luncheon and Program
sssWith over 30 years in professional show-business, David Cangelosi is known industry wide as one of its most versatile performers. The internationally acclaimed opera singer is also well versed in the areas of musical-theater, night club/cabaret, voice-overs, and his continuing career in the classical vocal arts as a recitalist, master-class instructor, and symphonic guest artist.
In addition; as the Artistic Director of the Vann Vocal Institute in Montgomery, Alabama, he enjoys a consultancy with the Montgomery Symphony, books their celebrity recital series, and is working to develop the Montgomery Music Festival along with his duties as the Institute's director. Each year he brings the nation's finest coaches, teachers, administrators, and stage directors to Montgomery for extended developmental work with young aspiring vocalists in the South. His very active on-stage career continues with performances and associations with the leading opera houses and symphony orchestras of the world including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington Opera, San Francisco Opera, Paris Opera, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Cincinnati Symphony, and others. For a more in-depth look, and for up-to-date information and postings, you are most heartily invited to browse the new DavidCangelosi.com. Eric Weimer has established himself as one of the pre-eminent coach/Assistant Conductors in the international opera world. Through his work at some of the world's leading companies'in particular, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Bayreuth Festival, but also the San Francisco Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Cleveland Orchestra'he has prepared some 150 productions, collaborating with most of the world's greatest opera maestri: James Levine, Sir Andrew Davis, Bruno Bartoletti, Donald Runnicles, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Moest, Antonio Pappano, James Conlon, Christoph Eschenbach, Christian Thielemann, and Georg Solti. In this work, he has coached and worked closely with virtually all the major singers active on the international opera stage. While famous as a German specialist'he has prepared no less than twelve complete cycles of Wagners's Der Ring des Nibelungen'he is known also for the breadth of his experience with other repertoires, particularly the Baroque and the Italian. A fluent speaker of German and Italian, he has prepared most of the German and Italian repertoire that Lyric Opera of Chicago has presented in the past 24 years. A former musicologist, Eric Weimer holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is the author of Opera seria and the Evolution of Classical Style'he is also in great demand as a coach of young singers. He joined the music staff of the Ryan Opera Center (training wing of Lyric Opera of Chicago) in 1992. |
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