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Among the most memorable and acclaimed offerings during James Conlon’s 2005-15 tenure as music director of the Ravinia Festival were his full-length concert performances of operas in the 850-seat Martin Theatre.
Marin Alsop, who is back at Ravinia for her third summer as chief conductor, will pick up that tradition with concert presentations Aug. 4 and 6 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s beloved opera, The Magic Flute.
“James Conlon really set that going,” Alsop said of Ravinia’s opera performances. “I wanted to continue that, because I think it’s something that is wonderful. It’s something different, too, for everyone.”
Ravinia has a long history with the genre. From 1912 through 1931, Ravinia was known as the “summer opera capital of the world,” with Europe’s most-celebrated singers appearing on a regular basis. (Initially known as Ravinia Park, the event took on the name of the Ravinia Festival starting in 1936.)
The Magic Flute, in particular, holds special meaning for Alsop, because, like many other opera fans, it was the first work she attended as a child. “So it has that incredible connection to childhood,” she said. “I also think the music is just pretty incomparable.”
The two performances will feature the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, as well as a cast of well-known singers such as baritone Joshua Hopkins (Papageno), soprano Janai Brugger (Pamina), tenor Matthew Polenzani (Tamino), soprano Kathryn Lewek (Queen of the Night), bass David Leigh (Sarastro), tenor Christian Sanders (Monostatos) and soprano Diana Newman (Papagena). Joining them will be the Apollo Chorus of Chicago. The work will be sung in German (with English supertitles) but the recitatives will be spoken in English.
Alsop, whose other posts include chief conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, is best known as a symphonic conductor, but she devotes some time to opera during most of her seasons.
While those opera presentations often tend to be concert performances, Alsop is set to make her debut next year at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, leading the fully staged company premiere of John Adams’ opera-oratorio, El Niño (April 23-May 17).
“I don’t do a lot [of opera],” said Alsop, a longtime Adams champion. “It tends to be more contemporary opera, because that interests me, mostly because of the narratives feeling more relevant and easier to connect to for our time.”
