Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 4 - Cavalleria

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 22 Artist profiles YULIA MATOCHKINA SANTUZZA Lyric debut The mezzo-soprano opens her 2025/26 Season as Amneris in Aida at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She then returns to Hamburg Opera as Ortrud in Lohengrin, and sings Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera at both the Opernhaus Zürich and the Edinburgh Festival. Other recent highlights include Venus/ Tannhäuser and Azucena/ Il trovatore at Bayerische Staatsoper, and her return to Deutsche Oper Berlin as Ortrud/ Lohengrin . She sang Eboli/ Don Carlo at The Metropolitan Opera, Semperoper Dresden, and The Royal Ballet & Opera; Amneris/ Aida and Ulrica/ Un ballo in maschera at the Spring Festival Tokyo with Riccardo Muti; Dalila/ Samson et Dalila with Opera de Tenerife; Verdi’s Requiem at Opernhaus Zürich, the Verbier Festival, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, the Dutch National Opera, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Carmen at Arena di Verona, Azucena/ Il trovatore at Opernhaus Zürich; Ulrica/ Un ballo in maschera at Teatro alla Scala and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Marfa/ Khovanshchina with Opéra national de Paris; Federica/ Luisa Miller at Staatsoper Hamburg and the Salzburg Festival. At the Mariinsky Theatre, her artistic home, she sang Principessa de Bouillon/ Adriana Lecouvreur , Brangäne/ Tristan und Isolde , Wellgunde/ Das Rheingold , Kundry/ Parsifal , and Polina/ Pique Dame , among numerous others. SEOKJONG BAEK TURIDDU Lyric debut This season, Baek returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly . Other highlights include a role and house debut as Macduff/ Macbeth with the Bayerische Staastoper, as well as a return to the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Radamès/ Aida and Calaf/ Turandot . Later in the season Baek reprises the title role in Samson et Dalila with the Royal Ballet & Opera. On the concert platform this season, Baek makes his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Missa Solemni s under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, as well as with the Seattle Symphony in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. In the 2023/24 Season, Baek made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Ismaele in Nabucco , and has made several returns to the house including as Calaf/ Turandot , Cavaradossi/ Tosca , and Radamès/ Aida . Since making his debut at the Royal Ballet & Opera in 2022, Baek has also appeared as Pinkerton/ Madama Butterfly , Radamès/ Aida , Turiddu/ Cavalleria rusticana , Cavaradossi/ Tosca , and Calaf/ Turandot . Other recent highlights include Calaf/ Turandot for Teatro San Carlo, Radamès/ Aida for Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Deutsche Oper Berlin, as well as Cavaradossi/ Tosca and Rodolfo/ La Bohème for Arizona Opera. Recent concert highlights include performances of Verdi’s Requiem with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia led by Sir Antonio Pappano, with the Royal Danish Orchestra conducted by Bertrand de Billy, for the Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under the baton of Zubin Mehta, and in his BBC Proms debut performance at the Royal Albert Hall. QUINN KELSEY ALFIO / TONIO Previously at Lyric: 18 roles since 2003/04, most recently Don Carlo/ Ernani (2022/23) and Miller/ Luisa Miller (2019/20). The Hawaii native and Ryan Opera Center alumnus opens his 2025/26 Season at Royal Ballet & Opera with Verdi’s Les vêpres siciliennes , reprising the role of Guy de Montfort, and returns to the title role in Rigoletto with the Canadian Opera Company and the Baltimore Symphony. Kelsey will also return to The Metropolitan Opera as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly . Kelsey makes his debut at The Royal Danish Opera, singing the title role in Macbeth in concert under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano, and will debut with Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden as Germont in La traviata . He will also appear with his hometown opera company, Hawaii Opera Theatre, for the world premiere of Herb Mahelona’s Kamalehua: The Sheltering Tree . Set in the mid-19th century, the opera tells the story of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s early struggles to maintain independence. On the concert stage, Kelsey will join the Philadelphia Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah , and pianist Craig Ketter in recital at the Cleveland Chamber Music Society and the Kennedy Center for Vocal Arts DC, presenting a program that includes selections from Vaughn Williams, Copland, and Finzi. Last season, Kelsey bowed at The Metropolitan Opera in three roles: Rigoletto (a role he sang at Lyric in 2017/18), Scarpia in Tosca , and Amonasro in Michael Mayer’s new production of Aida . LAUREN DECKER MAMMA LUCIA Previously at Lyric: 9 roles since 2016/17, most recently Jade Boucher/ Dead Man Walking (2019/20) and First Maidservant/ Elektra (2018/19). This season the contralto returns to Deutsche Oper Berlin as Erda, 1st Norm, and Schwertleite in Wagner’s Ring Cycle under Sir Donald Runnicles, and La Zia Principessa and Zita in Puccini’s Il Trittico under Giulio Cilona. In the U.S., she will sing Handel’s Messiah with the South Dakota Symphony. Last season included