Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Sunday in the Park with Lyric, a free family-friendly event in Millennium Park on August 20

CHICAGO (7/31/23) — Everyone at Lyric Opera of Chicago is delighted to usher in the 2023/24 cultural season on a high note with Sunday in the Park with Lyric, an evening of beautiful music led by Enrique Mazzola along with members of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center and the Lyric Opera Orchestra. Hosted by Lyric's General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud and NBC5-Chicago's LeeAnn Trotter, this event takes place on Sunday, August 20, at 7:00 p.m. at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph Street, Chicago.

Sunday in the Park with Lyric will feature selections from a variety of works in the upcoming 2023/24 opera season, offering a preview of the extraordinary productions to come. Audiences can look forward to compelling moments from Lyric’s new-to-Chicago productions of Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment, Janáček’s Jenůfa, Rossini’s Cinderella, Verdi’s Aida, and the Lyric premiere of Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer's Champion. All selections will feature projected English titles. Additionally, attendees will receive exclusive ticket offers for Lyric's highly anticipated upcoming season.

Leading the concert will be Lyric's esteemed music director, Enrique Mazzola, entering his third full season with the company. Mazzola’s upcoming season at Lyric is full of firsts, including his first Wagner opera in Chicago with The Flying Dutchman, his first contemporary work at Lyric with Champion, and his first-ever production of Verdi’s Aida, which will also be his 100th operatic title as a conductor.

Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2023/24 Season opens on Saturday, September 23, and promises a powerful lineup of productions. The season opens with The Flying Dutchman (September 23 - October 7) and is followed by the Season Opening Gala: An Evening with Audra McDonald (October 6). The season continues with The Daughter of the Regiment (November 4 - 25), Jenůfa (November 12 - 26), Cinderella (January 21 - February 10), Champion (January 27 - February 11), Aida (March 9 - April 7), and Mozart's Requiem (March 22 & 24).

To ensure the safety and security of all attendees, please note that enhanced security protocols will be in effect at Millennium Park. Visitors arriving after 5:30 p.m. may be required to undergo bag checks and pass through metal detectors, and visitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult, with a maximum of four minors per adult.

Lyric's performances for the 2023/24 Season will take place at the Lyric Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive, and will feature easy-to-follow English translations projected above the stage. Subscriptions and single tickets are available now. For detailed information on specific performance dates and ticket availability, please visit lyricopera.org or call 312.827.5600.

Sunday in the Park with Lyric is generously supported through an endowment by an Anonymous Foundation with additional support from the Rhoda & Henry Frank Family Foundation, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events.

Maestro Enrique Mazzola is generously sponsored by Alice & John Butler, H. Gael Neeson, Sylvia Neil & Daniel Fischel, and the Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation as members of the Enrique Circle.

Lyric Opera of Chicago thanks its Official Airline, American Airlines, and acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Lyric Opera's Season is presented by

Lyric Opera of Chicago thanks its Official Airline, American Airlines, and acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency

About Lyric

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 Interim General Director Elizabeth Hurley, Lyric's Executive Leadership Team, and Music Director Enrique Mazzola, 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 on Lyric's upcoming 2024/25 Season, visit lyricopera.org/newseason.