Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 4 - Cavalleria

25 | Lyric Opera of Chicago Samson . His numerous credits at the Royal Ballet & Opera include Lohengrin , Il trovatore , and Peter Grimes , the latter two released on DVD. Other highlights include productions at the Mariinsky Theater, the Vienna Staatsoper, Welsh National Opera, Opera Australia, and State Opera of South Australia. His work encompassed The Turn of the Screw at Wilton Opera House, London’s oldest music hall; Shadowlands on Broadway; five Shakespeare plays for the BBC; The Royal Shakespeare Company’s productions of Richard III and Lord of the Flies ; and Much Ado About Nothing , Three Sisters , Cyrano de Bergerac , A Woman of No Importance , and several other productions seen in London’s West End. PETER M c CLINTOCK REVIVAL DIRECTOR Previously at Lyric: Three productions since 1996, most recently Capriccio (2014/15) and Mefistofele (1998/99). As Staff Stage Director with the Metropolitan Opera for more than 30 years, McClintock has participated in over 70 productions during his tenure. In recent seasons, he has directed revivals of Queen of Spades, Elektra , and La Clemenza di Tito . At Lyric he also directed the Emmy-award winning film of Pagliacci (2021) and Turandot (1996/97). He has directed for Teatro alla Scala, Staatsoper Berlin, Liceu Opera Barcelona, Opéra de Paris, Canadian Opera Company, Rome Opera, Matsumoto Festival, Finnish National Opera, the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Mariinsky Theater, Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Vancouver Opera. McClintock also serves as a dramatic coach for the Ryan Opera Center, as well as for young artist programs at the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Washington National Opera. MICHAEL YEARGAN SET & COSTUME DESIGNER Previously at Lyric: 12 productions since 1991/92, most recently Aida (2023/24) and Le Comte Ory (2022/23). Yeargan has created sets (and sometimes costumes) for many major American companies, among them the Metropolitan Opera (12 productions to date, including a recent Rigoletto , in a co- production with the Berlin State Opera), and the San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, and Washington opera companies, as well as The Glimmerglass Festival, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Frankfurt Opera, and Opera Australia. At Lyric, he designed Rigoletto (2017/18), Romeo and Juliet and Nabucco (both 2015/16), and The Sound of Music (2013/14). Since 1990/91 he has designed for London’s Royal Ballet & Opera. Yeargan recently designed the Metropolitan Opera’s new Porgy and Bess , and his work appeared also at the Berlin State Opera ( Rigoletto ) and Tulsa Opera ( Madama Butterfly ). He has designed many Broadway productions, winning Tony Awards for The Light in the Piazza (2005) and South Pacific (2008). Yeargan has also designed numerous productions off Broadway and for regional U.S. theaters. He is resident set designer at the Yale Repertory Theatre. Costume Designers are supported by the Richard P. and Susan Kiphart Costume Designer endowment. DUANE SCHULER LIGHTING DESIGNER Previously at Lyric: Previously at Lyric: More than 200 productions since 1977, most recently La Bohème and Rigoletto (both 2024/25). Lyric’s former resident lighting designer has recently created lighting for Opera Australia ( Cendrillon ), the Santa Fe Opera ( The Marriage of Figaro, La Bohème ), and LA Opera ( Romeo and Juliet ). Other operatic highlights have included works as diverse as Turandot (La Scala), Pelléas et Mélisande and La Rondine (Metropolitan Opera, where he has designed more than 25 productions), La fanciulla del West (Opéra national de Paris), Elektra , Benvenuto Cellini (Salzburg Festival), Fidelio (Royal Opera House), Béatrice et Bénédict (Glyndebourne Festival Opera), The Bassarids (Dutch National Theatre in Amsterdam), and Lohengrin (Festspielhaus Baden-Baden). Ballet credits include Swan Lake, Of Love and Rage, The Snow Maiden (American Ballet Theatre), The Sleeping Beauty (Stuttgart Ballet), Giselle (Deutsche Ballet), and The Nutcracker (Houston Ballet). Theater credits include House and Garden (Manhattan Theatre Club) and The Importance of Being Earnest (Broadway). Schuler is a founding partner of Schuler Shook, a Lighting Design/Theatre Planning /Audio Video design firm. Lighting designers are supported by the Mary-Louise and James S.Aagaard endowment in honor of Duane Schuler. MICHAEL BLACK CHORUS DIRECTOR The Australian chorus director joined Lyric full time in the 2012/13 Season, after having served as interim director the season before. He was named Head of Music at Lyric, a new position, in the 2023/24 Season. Black was Chorus Director at Opera Australia in Sydney from 2001 to 2013, and has worked in this capacity for such distinguished organizations as the Edinburgh International Festival and 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. In Chicago, Black became the first chorus director to work with the choruses of Lyric, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Grant Park Music Festival, where he served for six seasons, including preparation of The Damnation of Faust chorus and Haydn’s Creation . Last summer, he worked with the Young Artists at Opera Australia and the apprentice singers at the Santa Fe Opera, and he has lectured or given masterclasses at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. Black has served as chorus director for close to 140 different operas 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. Michael Black is supported by the Howard A.Stotler Chorus Director Endowed Chair.