Lyric Opera’s Sunday in the Park/Photo: Kyle Flubacker
The August night could not have been more ideal for Lyric Opera’s annual outdoor Sunday in the Park with Lyric in Millennium Park.
Selections from five of the six staged operas that will make up the 2026-27 season were presented, along with an excerpt from an opera that will be heard in concert and two arias from operas not part of the season.
Lyric Opera music director Enrique Mazzola was the conductor for most of the evening, which began with the Overture from Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” which, apart from a scattered opening, was a graceful rendering.
The roster of singers were all from the Ryan Opera Center, Lyric Opera’s development program for emerging professional artists.
“Don Pasquale,” which has not been heard at Lyric for nearly a decade and a half, is “the one where nobody dies,” as Lyric general director and evening co-host John Mangum put it. It will be presented November 12-27 at Lyric.
Soprano Josie Larsen and tenor Sid Chand rendered a tender traversal of the Act III garden love duet “Tornami a dir che m’ami,” which was followed by a somewhat heavy-handed rendering of the comic baritone and bass patter duet, “Cheti, cheti, immantinente” by baritone Adam Partridge and bass-baritone Benjamin R. Sokol.
Massenet’s epic and lush take on the biblical story of Herod, Salome and John the Baptist “Hérodiade” will be given its first-ever performances at Lyric in concert for three performances on February 23, 25 and 28, 2027.
Baritone Sihao Hu sang an enraptured and introspective “Vision fugitive” in which Herod is intoxicated by a vision of Salome induced by a magic potion.
Lyric Opera’s Sunday in the Park/Photo: Kyle Flubacker
Two excerpts from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”—which opens the season October 10-November 1—included Leporello’s famous “Catalogue Aria” by bass-baritone Lin Fan, in need of a bit more energy. There was also a somewhat slow rendition of the seduction duet between Giovanni and Zerlina, sung by baritone Matthew Dexter and mezzo-soprano Camille Robles.
Mezzo-soprano Alexis Peart gave a valiant effort in scaling the Composer’s Aria from the Prologue to Richard Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos,” but its rhythmic complexity, demanding range and dramatic nuance, left this ultimately still a work in progress. “Ariadne” runs March 11-26, 2027, which will be the first performances of this opera within an opera since 2011.
It will have been nearly twenty-five years since Lyric Opera last presented the great American opera “Susannah” when it returns April 11-23, 2027. It’s a celebration of the 2026 centennial of composer Carlisle Floyd.
The work’s most famous aria, “Ain’t it a pretty night,” was perfect for the occasion of a summer evening concert—though it was a tad oversung by soprano Kylie Kreucher, making for some muddled diction. (Subtitles were helpfully provided throughout the night.)
Luke Poeppel, a Ryan Center conductor, provided atmospheric accompaniment and also led two other compelling performances of arias from operas not part of Lyric’s upcoming season.
The best of these was “Vainement ma bien-aimée” from Lalo’s “Le roi d’Ys,” tenderly rendered by tenor Sid Chand, which provided some of the most accomplished singing of the evening.
The conclusion brought Mazzola back to the podium for three selections from Verdi’s “La traviata,” which he will conduct March 24-April 25, 2027.
A poignant prelude to Act I was followed by the tenor aria “Lunge da lei” rendered by Daniel Luis Espinal, who didn’t sing the famous “Brindisi” much differently. Soprano Josie Larsen joined in and the entire ensemble served as a chorus, providing a festive finale.
More on Lyric Opera’s 2026-27 season here.
