You had to be there.
It’s as simple as that.
There are no words to describe the incredible energy that was crackling in the air the night that the Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its doors to the public for the first time in 18 months and offered up a stunning performance of Verdi’s Macbeth that had the audience standing and cheering at evening’s end.
For 18 excruciatingly long months, the Lyric – like so many performing arts organization here and around the world – was on a painful but necessary hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case of the Lyric, they were forced to shut down just as they were preparing for performances of Wagner’s monumental Ring Cycle. Those Ring Cycle performances evaporated – as did the entire subsequent season. The Lyric did put together a couple of interesting/odd performance events during the hiatus, but they very much confirmed that people who know how to present live onstage opera at the highest level are not necessarily able to achieve comparable excellence when trying to create opera films. At any rate, the opera house auditorium was dark and empty for a year-and-a-half …. and for long-time die-hard opera fans like Marshall and me (who have been subscribers since 1987), it was strange and painful to be deprived of one of our favorite pleasures … not just the performances themselves but also the deep-dive post-performance critique sessions on the drive home.
Friday night, September 17th, was our first time back at the Lyric – which also happened to be opening night for the entire season – so there was an unmistakable sense of Resurrection in the air. And for Marshall and me, our excitement extended well beyond the opera itself. It was just nice to be back in downtown Chicago for the first time in a year a half. Sadly, just about every eating establishment close to the Lyric was closed (most, for some reason, are closing at 3:00 on Friday afternoons- and the Corner Bakery where we most often eat before the opera is still only doing takeout) and we had to settle for Qdoba. Then again, our drive down took us 2 hours and 15 minutes, so we would not have had time for fine dining anyway.
(However, if we couldn’t have a festive meal to celebrate, at least there was the possibility of getting a festive cupcake from a brand new place called the Cupcakery. This wedding cake cupcake- almond flavored- cost me more than 4 dollars, but a touch of extravagance felt in order since the night was devoted to the most extravagant of art forms.)
We wanted to arrive at the opera house by 6:00- a full hour before the start of the performance – because we knew that they were going to be checking ID and proof of vaccination at the door, and since this was the very first night, we wondered if there might be some logistical headaches resulting in some long lines. But no- there were eight people stationed at the outer doors and we waltzed in without any waiting at all.
And from there, we strode into the Lyric’s glittering main lobby, which at that point was largely empty- which gave us the chance to just drink in its beauty.
Since we were there so early, we actually got to take in the pre-performance lecture. Although our seats for the performance are up in the highest balcony (the nosebleed section, if you will) for the lecture you get to sit down on the main floor – a chance to catch of whiff of the truly luxurious. It’s also a vantage point from which one can really see the entire Ardis Krainik Auditorium and marvel at its grandeur.
I can’t remember the name of the British gentleman who presented the lecture, but he was really terrific – sharing illuminating insights about the opera and its relationship to Shakespeare’s original play, and offering up recorded excerpts from the opera. But with all due respect to the lecturer and his excellent presentation, the highlight of the lecture came with an unexpected interruption from the Lyric’s brand new artistic director, Enrique Mazzola, who was conducting that night’s performance. He just wanted to greet us and welcome us, and his warm and exuberant personality made all of us smile.
Once the lecture was over, we made our way up to the balcony – and to our seats …. which, by the way, were brand new. The entire auditorium had been refurbished during the hiatus, and we could certainly tell the difference. There was no enforced distancing in the seating – the balcony was almost completely full- but masks were required, and we did not see a single person without a mask all night long.
Right before the performance began, the general manager of the Lyric Opera and the chair of the board of directors came out before the curtain to welcome us there – one more indication that this was not a typical night at the opera. Again and again, their remarks were interrupted by applause and cheers from the 3000+ opera fans gathered there.
After that was a rousing rendition of the national anthem, with the entire audience singing along with the orchestra (a tradition for opening night at the Lyric) ….. and then we settled in for what turned out to be a truly superb performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth. This work came early in Verdi’s long and distinguished career …. before such matchless masterworks like La Traviata, Rigoletto, Aida and Otello …. and is sometimes dismissed as decidedly second-drawer Verdi. But I think the opera is tremendously powerful and effective, especially when performed as well as it was this night. The production was visually compelling – and a bit unconventional without being downright strange. The headliners in the cast were all outstanding. We knew that Sandra Radvanovsky would be a riveting Lady Macbeth …. and she was, both dramatically and vocally. The biggest question overshadowing the evening was the unknown baritone entrusted with the role of Macbeth. Neither Marshall nor I had ever heard of Craig Colclough, and we feared that he would be adequate at best. (If I remember correctly, two previously announced baritones had cancelled – so Colclough was third in line.) He ended up being one of the most exciting pleasant surprises we’ve experienced over three decades of Lyric performances. But in many ways, the true star of the show was the Lyric Opera Chorus, who have never sounded more magnificent than they did that night. And at the heart of the performance was the superb Lyric Opera Orchestra under Maestro Mazzola’s assured baton. At the end of the performance, the audience let loose with one of the most vociferous ovations we can remember- in gratitude not only for the performance we had just heard but also in gratitude for the chance to experience opera in its full splendor – in person.
After the performance, it was great to be able to briefly greet Klaus Georg and Steve Hobe, two members of the chorus I know through Carthage – and to catch a glimpse of Ms. Radvanovsky, whose performance of Lady Macbeth had so completely captivated us.
After that was the drive home – and a resumption of something I think I had missed as much as the opera itself … our heartfelt deep-dive discussions of each performance we have experienced. In some ways, there could be nothing simpler … just two good friends talking … but I think we both have come to see those talks as something truly precious, and something we will never take for granted again.
P.S. – Since writing this celebratory summary of our first night back at the Lyric Opera, Marshall and I have been back for our second performance of the season – Donizetti’s beloved comedy The Elixir of Love. And what this particular night extra special was that we got to enjoy it with one of my former voice students from Carthage, Trevor Parker. It was just the happiest of coincidences that we happened to be there on the same night, and we seized the opportunity to have dinner together at The Italian Village (one of those famous Chicago landmarks where behind the front counter are 8 X 10 photos of illustrious opera singers who have eaten there …. Pavarotti, Domingo, Tebaldi, Scotto, di Stefano, del Monaco, Ramey and more.) It was a joyous night that I don’t think any of the three of us will soon forget.
