Lyric Opera of Chicago has announced the postponement of the remainder of its 2019-2020 season due to the impact of the coronavirus shut-down mandate of all theaters.
General director, president and CEO Anthony Freud made the announcement on Thursday morning, noting that all public performances and events slated through June 30 have been moved to upcoming seasons.
The U.S. debut of Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet production of “42nd Street” (originally set for May 29-June 21) has been moved to the spring of the 2021-2022 season. Stephen Mear will return to direct.
The midwest premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s “Blue” (originally set for June 16-28) at The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare Theater will move to January 2021. Enrique Mazzola, Lyric’s music director designate will conduct. Also, the Chicago premiere of “Proving Up” has been moved to a later season to be announced at a future date.
“We are very disappointed to have to postpone the rest of the season, especially a beloved and uplifting title like ‘42nd Street,’ which offers pure entertainment of the kind we’re all craving. We couldn’t be more grateful for the outpouring of support that we’ve received from our patrons. All of these cancellations have a financial impact on the company and the show of support from our audiences and artists is profoundly appreciated,” Freud said in a statement.
This follows the announcement in March that the three full “Ring” cycles (an event 10 years in the making) set to begin performances April 13, as well as two performances of “Götterdämmerung” scheduled for April 4 and April 11, have been canceled.
Ticket holders for all performances are being contacted about their options.
In addition, tickets to Lyric’s annual Family Day event (scheduled for May 16) will be honored on May 22, 2021. Backstage tour tickets set for May and June will be honored in the fall; dates and more information will be announced in the coming months.
