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

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 6 From the Chair and the General Director Welcome to Lyric Opera of Chicago! Whether it’s your first time here or your 50th, we are pleased to have you in our home. Lyric’s stage is the largest in the city of Chicago, allowing us to present grand works of many different kinds – including this extraordinary world premiere, A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness. As exceptional as this production is, in many ways it demonstrates the true magnetic pull of our art form. Billy Corgan, frontman for The Smashing Pumpkins, has been an enthusiastic audience member at Lyric for many years. (As you might imagine, his presence usually causes a bit of a stir.) Two seasons ago, he attended a performance of Mozart’s Requiem here, and the experience — the full world-class orchestra, our legendary chorus, and Music Director Enrque Mazzola on the podium — galvanized an idea he’d been contemplating. Might Lyric be the place to bring The Smashing Pumpkins’ spectacular double album to life, in a new form? Certainly the source material had the goods. Besides being one of the most commercially successful releases of the 1990s — and today the recording enjoys certified Diamond status (10 million units sold) — Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is distinguished by the breathtaking scope of its ambition. Washes of orchestral music merge with ineluctable guitar alt-rock. The lyrics both express and comment upon a vibrant cultural moment. And while there isn’t a story, per se, time and life and emotions move forward, driving a core character. Billy collaborated with expert conductor and orchestrator James Lowe, no stranger to Lyric audiences, and the result was an operatic collaboration for the ages — a work for orchestra, chorus, and soloists that feels right at home on a stage that has hosted some of the 20th and 21st centuries’ most luminous talents. All of us here are glad you’ve joined us for what promises to be a once-in-a- lifetime experience. And we hope, if it’s your first time here, you’ll come again and, like Billy, become a Lyric fan too. Enjoy the performance! JOHN MANGUM General Director, President & CEO, The Women’s Board Endowed Chair SYLVIA NEIL Chair of the Board Kyle Flubacker