Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 10 - El último sueño de Frida y Diego

25 | Lyric Opera of Chicago DANIEL LUIS ESPINAL SECOND VILLAGER/YOUNG MAN Previously at Lyric: Four roles since 2024/25, most recently Third Jew/ Salome and Beppe/ Pagliacci (both 2025/26). A second-year Ryan Opera Center member, the Cuban-Dominican tenor from Sarasota was a national winner of the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, received a 2025 Sara Tucker Study Grant, and was in residence at the 2025 Aix-en-Provence Festival Académie and Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute. He debuted with the company in 2024/25 as Jacquino/ Fidelio . This summer Espinal makes his debut with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Frederic/ The Pirates of Penzance . A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Espinal continued his studies at Yale University, where he received a Master of Musical Arts degree. His roles there included Tom Rakewell/ The Rake’s Progress , Rinuccio/ Gianni Schicchi , and Male Chorus/ The Rape of Lucretia . The tenor previously participated in San Francisco’s Merola Opera Program for two summers. Daniel Luis Espinal is sponsored by Lead Sponsor the J.Thomas Hurvis Endowment, in loving memory of Dick Kiphart and cosponsors Fred & Phoebe Boelter, Margo & Michael Oberman & Family, and Jennifer L. Stone. BENJAMIN R. SOKOL THIRD VILLAGER Previously at Lyric: Fifth Jew/ Salome (2025/26). Originally from Westbury, New York, Sokol is a first-year Ryan Opera Center bass-baritone. This season at Lyric he made his debut in Salome. He recently received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music and professional studies certificate from the Manhattan School of Music. Sokol was a winner of the 2025 Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition, semi-finalist in the 2025 George and Nora London Foundation Competition and 2023 Premiere Opera Foundation Competition, finalist in the 2022 Opera Index Competition, and winner of the 2021 Milnes Opera Idol Competition. He has previously participated in the artist-development programs at San Francisco’s Merola Opera (Commendatore/ Don Giovanni ), Chautauqua Opera Company and Conservatory, and the Taos Opera Institute. He has also been with the Milnes VOICE Programs for several years, participating in the Florida VOICE Project and Milnes VOICE Studio and performing at the Savannah VOICE Festival. Benjamin R. Sokol is sponsored by David & Janet° Fox and Penelope R. Steiner. ADIA EVANS FIRST FRIDA IMAGE Previously at Lyric: Three roles, most recently Theresa Alvarez/ The Listeners and Girlfriend 2/ Blue (both 2024/25). A second-year soprano with the Ryan Opera Center from Baltimore, Evans sang Countess Ceprano/ Rigoletto in Lyric’s 2024/25 Season. After participating in the 2025 Britten Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh, England, she presented a recital for the Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago. Recent debuts include The Cliburn in Recital with Jake Heggie, the Dayton Philharmonic (Handel’s Messiah ), Annapolis Opera (First Lady/ The Magic Flute ), Borderland Arts Foundation (Mimì/ La Bohème ), and the National Orchestra Institute (Beethoven’s 9th with Marin Alsop). Evans has performed with Santa Fe Opera, Merola Opera Program, Fort Worth Opera, Dallas Opera Guild, Opera Columbus, Tulsa Opera, and Knoxville Opera, among others. A winner of the 2026 London Foundation Competition and a semi-finalist in the 2026 Tenor Viñas Competition, her other numerous honors include the 2025 Lola Fletcher Award from the American Opera Society of Chicago, a 2024 Richard F. Gold Career Grant, third place in the 2023 and 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Midwest Region, and a 2022 Sullivan Foundation Award. Adia Evans is sponsored by Lead Sponsor the H. Earl and Miriam U. Hoover Foundation and cosponsors Ron and Peggy Beata, Pamela Crutchfield, Margo & Michael Oberman & Family, and Sheila & David Ormesher. ALEXIS PEART SECOND FRIDA IMAGE Previously at Lyric: Kate Pinkerton/ Madama Butterfly (2025/26). Peart is a first-year Ryan Opera Center mezzo-soprano from Titusville, New Jersey. A former Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, she appeared there as Arbate/ Mitridate , The Choreographer/ The Seasons , Mrs. Noah/ Noah’s Flood , Tisbe/ La Cenerentola , and Big Stone/ Eurydice , as well as in the company’s educational touring productions. Other recent roles include Dorabella/ Così fan tutte , Jo/ Little Wome n, Ruggiero/ Alcina , Taller Daughter/ Proving Up , title role/ Giulio Cesare , Der Trommler/ Der Kaiser von Atlantis , and Ada Lovelace in the world premiere workshop of Ruehr’s The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage . The mezzo can be heard on Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera’s Grammy-nominated recording of Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X and on several art song releases by PARMA Recordings. An Encouragement Award winner in the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition New England Region, Peart is a two-time alumna of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio and has worked with the Princeton Festival, Chautauqua Opera Company (Studio Artist), Rochester Oratorio Society, Guerilla Opera, and Castle of Our Skins. Alexis Peart is sponsored by Lead Sponsor Blythe McGarvie and cosponsors Karen Petitte and the Thierer Family Foundation. CAMILLE ROBLES THIRD FRIDA IMAGE Previously at Lyric: Lola/ Cavalleria rusticana and Second Handmaiden/ Medea (both 2025/26). A first-year Ryan Opera Center member, the mezzo-soprano from San Juan, Puerto Rico, was a Jan Miller Studio Artist at Pensacola Opera for the 2024/25 Season. While there, she covered the role of Cherubino/ Le nozze di Figaro and performed the Dolphin in ° Deceased