Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 9 - Così fan tutte

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 64 What was your path to working at Lyric? After University of Wisconsin law school, I worked with the Attorney General in Wisconsin for 10 years. When Harold Washington got elected mayor of Chicago, they were looking for attorneys who had no connection to the Daley machine. They recruited me and I came down. And the first thing I did was subscribe to Lyric. I said, Oh, my God, it’s like I’m coming to Mecca . I was doing litigation — heavy court work — and volunteering with the Lyric Lecture Corps, which doesn’t exist anymore. Some bequests had fallen out of the sky, so Lyric was looking for someone to start a planned giving program. They knew they needed an attorney who could talk opera and I was probably the only person in Chicago (or the world!) who could do that. So they hired me! Are you currently a practicing lawyer? Oh, I always have been. If I need to appear in court on estates or represent Lyric, I can do it. You’re always a lawyer! When you started, was planned giving common? I talked to everyone I could, just to learn about it. The CSO had a program, and the Art Institute, and the University of Chicago — I really got to know those three. Universities have been doing it for hundreds of years. When I started, there were about 75 planned gifts in a drawer someplace. Nobody had any details about them. So what did I do at the start? Everything. (We now have over 600 planned givers at Lyric.) What is the most challenging aspect of your job? The initial challenge is, of course, that you’re dealing with a taboo topic — death and dying. But I have always looked at it as, We’re talking about celebrating you, and your incredible commitment to Lyric, while you’re here . It’s a huge difference. This is why we have the Ardis Krainik Society luncheons. We’re telling you now that we appreciate everything you do. When did your love of opera begin? The first opera I ever saw was the entire four-opera, 16-hour Ring cycle on public television, a broadcast from Bayreuth in 1982. I didn’t even know what it was — and why would I want to watch some raving anti-Semite? I was hooked from the first chord. I’ve been to 12 Ring cycles. Every opera lover has a story like that. They went in and it opened up a part of their life they never knew existed. Do you have a favorite moment at Lyric? Catherine Malfitano in Madama Butterfly . I have never seen anything like it. I mean, it’s a sad opera, but she just brought out how tragic the whole thing was. I took a friend who had never been to an opera. And she was in tears at the end. The whole house was sobbing. It was really incredible. What should people know about what you do? Lyric has to constantly plan for huge future projects. And if we want this to be around for our children and grandchildren and succeeding generations, we have to think about the funding. That’s where these important gifts come in. I never cease to be amazed at how Lyric gives so much joy and satisfaction to people that they want to make sure we continue to present grand opera at the highest possible level. People of Lyric A behind-the-scenes conversation Hometown Cranston, Rhode Island When did you start at Lyric? I joined on June 30th, 1994. So I have worked under four General Directors — Ardis Krainik, Bill Mason, Anthony Freud, and now John Mangum. First opera you saw in person? Beethoven’s Fidelio at the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee. It just happened to be what they were playing. I didn’t choose it. But I was blown away by the whole experience in an opera house. First opera at Lyric? Boris Godunov . Opening night was Sam Ramey. Favorite performer? Jerry Hadley, who was one of Lyric’s recurring performers when I started — a local favorite, who lived in Champaign-Urbana. He starred in The Rake’s Progress, my second opera after I started at Lyric, which I had never heard of before. He performed in many of these rare operas at Lyric. Jon Siner Senior Director of Gift Planning Kyle Flubacker