Opera Festival of Chicago

Opera Festival of Chicago
Opera Festival
Opera Festival of Chicago performance of Attila in July 2023
Founded2020; 6 years ago (2020)
LocationChicago, Illinois, USA
Music director
Emanuele Andrizzi
Websitewww.operafestivalchicago.org

The Opera Festival of Chicago is a summer opera festival based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2020 by Uff. Emanuele Andrizzi, Tim Corpus, Franco Pomponi, and Ella Marchment, the company presents Italian operas, vocal recital concerts, and special events.

The festival has worked with renowned opera singers from around the world including Ferruccio Furlanetto, Andrea Silvestrelli, Patrick Blackwell, Jose Simerilla Romero, Kenneth Tarver, Maria Kanyova, Jonathan Tetelman, Franco Pomponi, and others.

History

The festival launched its first live festival in 2021 after moving its originally planned festival online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between 2023 and 2025, the festival scaled up to involve over 150 cast and crew members. The company formed strategic partnerships with the Italian Cultural Institute and the Chicago Federation of Musicians, while also launching a dedicated Young and Emerging Artist Program to mentor the next generation of singers.

Operas

Main Stage Festival Shows
Year Show Composer Venue Dates
2026 La bohème Giacomo Puccini North Shore Center for the Performing Arts June 26, July 1, 5, 2026
2026 Adriana Lecouvreur Francesco Cilea North Shore Center for the Performing Arts June 28, July 3, 2026
2025 L’amore dei tre re Italo Montemezzi Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture May 9, 11, 2025
2025 Pagliacci Ruggero Leoncavallo North Shore Center for the Performing Arts June 27, 29, 2025
2024 Manon Lescaut Giacomo Puccini Cahn Auditorium June 27, 29, 30, 2024
2024 Il Prigioniero Luigi Dallapiccola Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture July 11, 14, 2024
2024 The Medium Gian Carlo Menotti Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture July 11, 14, 2024
2023 Assassinio nella cattedrale Ildebrando Pizzetti The Chicago Temple July 6, 9, 2023
2023 Attila Giuseppe Verdi Cahn Auditorium July 20, 23, 2023
2022 L’Inganno Felice Gioachino Rossini Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture July 8, 10, 2022
2022 Il Corsaro Giuseppe Verdi Cahn Auditorium July 22, 24, 2022
2021 Il Segreto di Susanna Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture July 24, 2021
2021 Il Tabarro Giacomo Puccini Thalia Hall August 5, 2021

References

  1. ↑ "Leadership & Organization". Opera Festival of Chicago. May 22, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Our History". Opera Festival of Chicago. Retrieved June 1, 2026.
  3. ↑ Salazar, David (May 23, 2023). "Ferruccio Furlanetto, Andrea Silvestrelli, Maria Kanyova, Reuben Lillie Headline Opera Festival of Chicago 2023 Slate". Opera Wire.
  4. ↑ Edgar, Hannah (July 23, 2021). "A new opera company? Introducing the Opera Festival of Chicago, a team of ambitious Italophiles". Chicago Tribune.
  5. ↑ Camacho, Oliver (July 23, 2021). "First Planned for 2020, Opera Festival of Chicago Finally Opens Inaugural Season". WFMT. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  6. ↑ "La Boheme". Opera Festival of Chicago. May 6, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Manon Lescaut". Opera Festival of Chicago. May 6, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ "2024 Festival Season". Opera Festival of Chicago. May 22, 2026. Retrieved May 22, 2026.