Ravinia 2026 Issue 1

JANAI BRUGGER A native of Chicago, Janai Brugger completed a master’s degree at the University of Michi- gan, where she studied with Shirley Verrett, then joined the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera and the Domingo- ornton Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera for – . In , she not only won the Metro- politan Opera National Council Auditions but also took all three top prizes in the Operalia competition: Opera Prize, Song Prize, and Au- dience Prize. Since debuting at the Met as Liù in Puccini’s Turandot , Brugger has appeared with the company as Jemmy in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell , Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen , Helena in e Enchanted Island , Pamina in Mozart’s e Magic Flute , Glauce in Cherubini’s Médée (role debut), and Pip in Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick , as well as Clara in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess for several recent productions. Last season, Brugger made role debuts as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Met and as Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème at Los Angeles Opera, which has been her second artistic home, recently featuring her as Servilia in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito and Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro . With Houston Grand Opera in , Brugger created the role of Mary Jane Bower in Jake Heggie’s In- telligence , this year winning the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording from the production. Highlights of recent seasons have included her title role debut in Floyd’s Susannah with Opera eatre of Saint Louis as well as reprising Mi- caëla for her Glyndebourne Festival and BBC Proms debuts, Pamina for her Royal Opera at Covent Garden debut, Glauce with Canadian Opera Company, and Liù at Opera Colorado and Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she has also appeared at Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo . In con- cert, Brugger recently made her Seattle Sym- phony debut singing Poulenc’s Stabat Mater and joined the Minnesota Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony for a specially curated program of Florence Price songs. Janai Brugger was a fellow at Ravinia’s Steans Institute in and has returned to Ravinia to sing in Weill’s Zaubernacht (US premiere), Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony (broadcast on PBS’s Great Perfor- mances ), and Beethoven’s Ninth and Mahler’s Second Symphonies, as well as portray Mozart’s Zerlina ( Don Giovanni ), Servilia, and Pamina. HUNTERPAVILION 7:00 PM SUNDAY, JULY 12 , 2026 It’s a Nice Day To… Tour Again BILLY IDOL † with special guest TOM HAMILTON BAND † Tom Hamilton Band – – Billy Idol † Ravinia debut TOMHAMILTONBAND Tom Hamilton has made a career of pushing rock-and-roll boundaries. Over the last three decade,s Hamilton has fronted a cadre of bands including Brothers Past, American Babies, and Ghost Light. He also sings and plays lead guitar in the juggernaut contemporary Grateful Dead cover band Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. In January , Hamilton released his most personal e ort yet, the new LP I’m Your Vampire via AWAL/ Relix. e album is a -song suite wreathed in tattered- annel rock and roll that encapsu- lates Hamilton’s salvation in isolation, as he sorts through darkness to nd a pinpoint of light. RAVINIAMAGAZINE • JULY 11 – JULY 19 , 2026 74 DAVEVANN(HAMILTON)