Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 8 - Salome

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 6 From the Chair and the General Director Salome premiered in 1905 in Dresden, and opera would never be the same. Word of Richard Strauss’ work got out — it helped that it set the text of a scandalous Oscar Wilde play — and at its next run, in the Austrian provincial city of Graz, Gustav and Alma Mahler, Schoenberg, Zemlinsky, Webern, and Puccini were all in the audience. Strauss’ music sounded like nothing that had come before — bitonal and dissonant, yes, but sweeping and sensual at the same time. He called it “a scherzo with a fatal conclusion.” It was strikingly modern, but also timeless. Its American premiere, at the Metropolitan Opera in 1907, caused such outrage that it wasn’t performed again there until 1934. It has since become a repertoire staple, although it’s been 19 years since its last Lyric performance. This is the second production in our season to come from Sir David McVicar, and it presents a stark and riveting vision of the work; it is the first outing for this production in the United States. Above all, the opera depends on a profoundly compelling exponent of the title role, and we are fortunate to welcome American soprano Jennifer Holloway to Lyric for her debut on our stage. Known throughout the opera world as one of the leading Salomes of our time, she has performed the role to acclaim, most recently at the Vienna and Berlin State Operas. Nicholas Brownlee makes his Lyric debut as the object of her abhorrent obsession, Jochanaan. He is a recent recipient of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award and a Grand Prize winner at the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition. They are joined by two true Lyric favorites. Brandon Jovanovich, playing Herod, has sung ten roles here since the 2009/10 Season, most recently Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Gherman in Queen of Spades in 2019/20. And finally there is the formidable Tanja Ariane Baumgartner, who last dazzled us as Fricka in the first two operas of our most recent Ring cycle. Speaking of that, perhaps you’ve heard the news: Our Ring cycle, cut short by the pandemic, will rise again starting in the 2029/30 season. We hope to see you there, and, of course, many, many times before. Enjoy the performance, and thank you for being with us at Lyric! JOHN MANGUM General Director, President & CEO, The Women’s Board Endowed Chair SYLVIA NEIL Chair of the Board Welcome to Lyric Opera of Chicago! Kyle Flubacker