Chicago Born Artists Make Epic Art at Lyric Opera

The recent Lyric Opera production of Cherubini’s rarely performed opera Medea was astonishing on many levels. Director David McVicar never shies away from darkness and this is a plot with lots of shadow work to chew on. Conductor and Lyric music director Enrique Mazzola brought Cherubini’s score to sumptuous fullness. And then there is Medea her self, a mythical icon, sung by Sondra Radvanovsky (born in Berwyn). This role is notoriously difficult, on both technical and dramatic levels. It was one of Maria Callas’s triumphal portrayals and became a kind of signature for her. Here Radvanovsky brings a spine tingling beauty and outsized passion to the role and makes it her own. Her voice goes right to your soul. She is a consummate actress as well as a formidable soprano, and she empowered this tragic Greek mythological figure with agency and depth.  Giasone (as in Jason of the Argonauts) is sung by Evanston born Matthew Polenzani, a gifted tenor and actor who brings a gravitas to a character who, lets face it, was an opportunistic hero who was known to use romantic relationships to accumulate power: before Medea he fathered children with the Queen of Lemnos.  This opera starts after he has acquired the Golden Fleece to claim back his kingdom with the help and love of Medea who has given him two sons. Jason is now set to wed the Corinthian princess Glause (sung with tragic innocence by Elena Villalón in a spectacular Lyric debut). Medea, who has given up everything and murdered her own brother to be with and help Giasone, is shattered by this betrayal. She gifts the bride with a dress and diadem that are embedded with a blistering poison when they are put on, and the bride's father King Creon (sung by the regal bass-baritone Alfred Walker) also dies trying to save her.  Her revenge cannot end there: she slays her own children before disappearing in a stunning flaming finale. 

It is interesting to note that an opera premiered in 1797 could offer such a strong and independent woman protagonist, and could so well portray the utter rage and then despair that a woman betrayed could feel: finding out the love of your life has cheated on you and is leaving you for another woman is a pain like no other. While many are appalled that she murders her own sons, in other versions of the myth it isn't Medea that kills them. Some commentators note that either they would have been executed anyway in retaliation for the murder of the King and Princess, and she may have been trying to save them from a worse fate: children of disgraced women were rarely well cared for. But these are thoughts for after experiencing this opera  where you are swept up as you focus on the raw emotion of the characters and the utter tragedy of the events. 

A special shout out to David McVicar's stage design which has an enormous mirror at the back to reflect and expand upon the goings on. It gave the production a majestic scale. It' simplicity was perfectly enhanced by the projections designed by S. Katy Tucker-- the finale scene was visually mind bending .

This opera was a stellar opening of the Lyric season which is set to offer many gems. And while this star duo also presented this production at the Met, Radvanovsky and Polenzani prove that Chicago is a fertile field for growing talent and the art available here is second to none. Chicago also has the audience and institutions to make work that is thrilling and unforgettable.   It is a wonderful hometown pride moment remembering Radvanovsky in her Lyric debut of Susannah, where she already showed her acting and vocal mastery. Every time she returns here to take on a role she grows and astounds.   I’ve been lucky enough to be a supernumerary (extra)  onstage with Polenzani in Abduction from the Seraglio and Magic Flute: he is a star we locals can love and be proud of. They may live elsewhere now, but they are always ours.. 

In addition to reveling in the opera, I had the opportunity to personally experience audio description of an opera for the very first time. Audio description is where a talented person–here Martin Wilde (check out his calendar here: https://wildemouth.com/)who has a fan club amongst the community who frequents these shows– describes the visual elements of the production in real time in a device in your ear so that people with visual impairments can better understand the show. The Chicago theatre community is setting a high bar internationally for accessibility: Steppenwolf and the Goodman, Jackalope, Northlight and many other theatres make sure that they have a show that has a live audio describer. Broadway shows in New York use taped audio description for all shows but the recording does not always sync up to what’s on stage, and a recent trip to the Stratford Theatre Festival in Canada revealed one audio described show of only one production for the entire season! Many Chicago theatres including the Lyric for this show also offer a touch tour where people can touch costumes and sometimes walk the set to get an idea of what is there so they can picture it in their mind.Occasionally actors come and speak a line from the show and describe how they look to help people with vision impairments identify the characters.  It brings an added dimension to the immersive nature of live performance and helps people have a richer experience. You can find audio described, touch tours, close captioned, ASL, Spanish subtitled and sensory friendly shows here: https://chicagoplays.com/access

As a sighted audience member I loved the audio description: I now longer had to look up and get distracted reading supertitles! Martin managed to sparingly narrate so that the show was absolutely understood. 

The one downside to audio described performances is that generally they come later in the run: I cannot exhort you to run to the opera house and get tickets for this unforgettable show that inspired audiences every time to leap to their feet screaming appreciations: it was the last performance of the series.  Don’t miss the next show is all I can say.  For additional content and information on Medea which played the Civic Opera House at 20 N Wacker Drive in Chicago from October 11 through October 26, 2025 go to https://www.lyricopera.org/shows/upcoming/2025-26/medea/

 No part of this review was created using AI

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