Brian Mulligan’s upcoming performances in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s thrilling Ring cycle have regrettably been canceled because of coronavirus concerns. Mulligan was set to make his highly anticipated role debut as Wotan in Das Rheingold and to return to the role of Gunther in Götterdämmerung.
Marking the Lyric’s fourth time to present Wagner’s epic four-opera saga, director David Pountney placed the production in a darkly imaginative future. Music Director and Principal Conductor Sir Andrew Davis was set to conduct the expanded Lyric Opera Orchestra and an all-star cast. The extraordinary creative team included set designer Robert Innes Hopkins (expanding original designs by the late Johan Engels), costume designer Marie-Jeanne Lecca, lighting designer Fabrice Kebour, and choreographer Denni Sayers. Statement regarding COVID-19 cancellations from Lyric Opera of Chicago:
“At a press conference on Thursday, March 12, Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a State and City mandate that all large-scale events exceeding 1,000 individuals be canceled for the next 30 days as a preventive measure to stop the spread of COVID-19 disease (coronavirus). Additionally, the State and the City encouraged that community events of 250 people or more should be canceled until May 1. This encompasses the time period of our long-planned and highly-anticipated Ring cycle. With great regret, we have no option but to cancel all three Ring cycles and the preceding two performances of Gotterdammerung.” For more information, click here.