Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 9 - Così fan tutte

63 | Lyric Opera of Chicago Playing the title role in Katie: The Strongest of the Strong was Lyric teaching artist Lauren Ingebrigsten (above, in red),whose students gave her a warm welcome.The show will tour again this spring. The fall stretch of the Opera in the Neighborhoods tour took place in October and November, bringing Katie: Strongest of the Strong across Chicago and the suburbs for nine student performances and one public performance. One was particularly special, as Ingebrigtsen’s Elementary Opera Residency students from St. Frances of Rome were in attendance. After working to explore, understand, and create opera together, the class was able to attend a live opera performance, with their teaching artist in the leading role. “I felt like I was Maria Callas! I have never had an audience cheer like that in all my life,” Ingebrigtsen reflects on the experience. “The students were getting up, dancing, crying, laughing, clapping, and cheering any chance they got. Kids want to be a part of the opera and we get to give them that chance.” This full-circle moment was a highlight for the Lyric Unlimited team who helped to make it happen, as well. “It is always a meaningful opportunity for students to experience working with a teaching artist to bring an opera of their own creation to life. But for these students, watching their teaching artist in the role of Katie Sandwina was unforgettable,” Potter says. “Seeing so many awestruck faces in the theater and hearing their cheers of ‘Bravo!’ for Lauren is something truly special.” The Opera in the Neighborhoods tour of Katie: The Strongest of the Strong continues this spring with several school and public performances, including two at Kennedy-King College on Saturday, May 2, 2026.