Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 7 - A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness

31 | Lyric Opera of Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra in Sweeney Todd , a return to The Atlanta Opera for Rent and La Bohème , and Il barbiere di Siviglia at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, where he debuted in 2023/24 with The Sound of Music . That season he debuted also at San Diego Opera ( El Milagro del Recuerdo ) and Opera San Antonio ( The Pirates of Penzance ), and returned to Washington National Opera for Songbird . SYDNEY MANCASOLA SOPRANO Previously at Lyric: Marzelline/ Fidelio (2024/25). This season Mancasola returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Lisa in a new production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula . Other operatic highlights include Susanna at Atlanta Opera, and Pamina in Barrie Kosky’s The Magic Flute conducted by James Conlon in his final performance as Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera. Concert appearances include Brahms’s Requiem with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. Last season, the soprano made her house debuts at Dutch National Opera as Adele in Barrie Kosky’s Die Fledermaus , at the Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur as Pamina, and at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival in Japan as Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream , reprising the role she performed the previous season in company debuts at both the Fondazione Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Italy, and at the Royal Opera House Muscat. Other recent highlights include the title role of Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice in a new chamber arrangement of the work for Boston Lyric Opera, a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Frasquita in a new production of Carmen , and Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande at Des Moines Metro Opera, a role she debuted in her house debut at Los Angeles Opera in the 2022/23 season. ZOIE REAMS MEZZO-SOPRANO Previously at Lyric: Seven roles since 2018/19, most recently Neris/ Medea (2025/26) and Mother/ Blue (2024/25). This season’s engagements for the American mezzo-soprano include Maddalena/ Rigoletto at the Canadian Opera Company, Siegrune/ Die Walküre Act III with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Boston Symphony. Other recent engagements include Neris/ Medea at Canadian Opera Company, Solange Knowles’ El Dorado Ballroom with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Erika/ Vanessa at Spoleto Festival USA, Dinah/ Trouble in Tahiti and Autumn/ Service Provider at Minnesota Opera, and her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Doubtful Old Lady/Sergei Prokofiev’s BILLY CORGAN COMPOSER, ARRANGER, AND VOCALS Lyric debut Beyond founding and fronting the Grammy Award-winning band The Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan is a noted solo artist, producer, songwriter, poet, wrestling promoter, podcast host, and café owner. His solo catalogue comprises TheFutureEmbrace (2005), Aegea (2014), Ogilala (2017), and Cotillions (2019). In the studio, he has collaborated with everyone from Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Rick Ocasek, Cheap Trick, Ray Davies, New Order, Marianne Faithful, and Scorpions to Korn, Phantogram, The Veronicas, and Code Orange. He has also contributed music to film soundtracks such as Ransom directed by Academy Award winner Ron Howard, Stigmata , and Spun , among others. He released his first poetry book, Blinking with Fists , in 2004. A lifelong wrestling aficionado, he owns and serves as president of The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), home to a dynamic roster and bombastic pay-per-view spectacles. He is owner of Madame ZuZu’s Tea House in Highland Park, where he often performs intimate surprise sets, and is also the host of “The Magnificent Others,” a podcast which brings listeners face-to-face with world- renowned artists, innovative entrepreneurs, and visionary leaders who have dared to push boundaries and redefine what’s possible. Corgan remains a staunch animal advocate who supports no-kill shelters such as PAWS Chicago. The Chicago native is constantly writing and recording new music. JAMES LOWE CONDUCTOR AND ARRANGER Previously at Lyric: West Side Story (2022/23, 2018/19) and Oklahoma! (2012/13). Equally at home in opera and musical theater, the Grammy-nominated conductor debuted at Lyric with Oklahoma! in the 2012/13 Season. Highlights this season include debuts with the Shakespeare Theatre Company for Guys and Dolls , Chicago Opera Theater for Der Silbersee , Billings Symphony Orchestra for their Holiday Concert, and The Phoenix Symphony for two programs: The Music of Elton John and Dolly Parton’s Threads: My Songs in Symphony . He also returns to Washington National Opera to conduct West Side Story . Other recent engagements include a debut with the Illinois Artist profiles