On Thursday, in the massive William Mason Rehearsal Room named for his predecessor, Lyric Opera general director Anthony Freud announced what is sure to be a memorable upcoming season. In 2019-2020, Lyric will top off its regular offerings with three complete postseason Ring Cycles.
The logistics for that are a hugely complicated jigsaw puzzle, Freud said, and are the reason the regular opera season for 2019-2020 has been reduced to seven operas (from eight). And that’s counting two performances of Gotterdammerung as the seventh.
And, oh yes, the postseason musical next year will be 42nd Street, which is scheduled for 25 performances from May 29 through June 21. Freud said the annual musicals are bringing in new audiences and contributing to the bottom line. Exactly how much are they contributing? He said it depends on the show but didn’t offer any numbers.
Word is that communications director Chris Thoren will move up to the managing director slot.
