Lyric opera chicago history9/6/2023 ![]() There’s no doubt that Bill Mason has maintained the high artistic standards that have long been a hallmark of the Chicago company under his predecessor and mentor Ardis Krainik. And, at this significant transitional time for the Lyric Opera’s leadership that vision remains very much an open question. ![]() There’s little doubt that Freud seems well equipped to keep a firm hand on the fiscal tiller and steer the Lyric financially through the next decade.īut in addition to economic management, there is one crucial element necessary for successful leadership of an American opera company - a strong, acutely focused artistic vision and the means to go about realizing it. Mason has left the Lyric in solid financial shape considering the extraordinarily difficult economic times (though the company had to dip into its reserves once again to balance its books, this year to the tune of $4.4 million). Perhaps most importantly for the Lyric Opera board that approved him, Freud has raised a staggering boatload of money in his tenure as general director of Houston Grand Opera, even more impressive in a city that was still reeling from the fallout of the Enron debacle. Indeed, Mason made it clear at the press conference introducing Freud that he has been grooming his younger colleague to succeed him as chief on North Wacker Drive. The 53-year old Englishman is a genial and engaging presence and was the clear choice of outgoing general director William Mason. The appointment last April of Anthony Freud as the next general director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago was received positively by the local press as well as most informed observers. Lauren Flanigan (l) and Cynthia Lawrence in Marvin David Levy's "Mourning Becomes Electra" at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1998.
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