Chicago Opera Theater (COT), Chicago’s foremost producer of new and reimagined opera, closes its 50th Anniversary season presenting the final performances of the world premiere tour of Before It All Goes Dark, the latest opera by the most famous American opera writing duo working today: composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer. Produced in partnership with Music of Remembrance, Before it All Goes Dark follows the fascinating and true story of a suburban Chicago man who, just before his death, discovers he is the heir of a Jewish art collector killed in the Holocaust, and the rightful owner of a cache of valuable art looted by the Nazi’s. The remarkable story was reported by Chicago’s own Howard Reich- Emmy-award winning author, journalist, filmmaker, and former classical music critic at the Chicago Tribune. Before All Goes Dark stars renowned bass-baritone Ryan McKinny and mezzo-soprano Megan Marino in two performances only; Saturday, May 25 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, May 26 at 3:00 PM at the Studebaker Theater in the Fine Arts Building, 410 S Michigan Ave. Tickets start at $45.00 and are available at chicagooperatheater.org.
While researching an article on violins looted during WWII, Chicago Tribune reporter Howard Reich got in touch with an organization dedicated to repatriating stolen cultural property. The organization was attempting to track down an heir of Emil Freund – a Jewish art collector killed in the Holocaust whose stolen art was being claimed as property of the Czech government. With no more information than the names of Freund’s sisters and a hunch that they immigrated to Chicago, Reich traced the Freund family tree to Gerald “Mac” MacDonald; an ailing Vietnam veteran living in Lyons, IL. After discovering he was the rightful heir to Freund’s multi-million-dollar collection, MacDonald made an arduous journey to Prague- made all the harder as he dealt with debilitating health issues– to see the art and convince the Czech government to turn it over to him. During the journey, he discovered not only the astonishing works of art in the collection, but also a deep connection to his long-lost relative and his own Jewishness which had been suppressed by his family for generations. Freund’s collection was never turned over to MacDonald who died three years later at the age of 55.
“When I first identified Mac as the heir to this invaluable art collection, I had no idea how this news would change his life,” said longtime Chicago Tribune journalist Howard Reich. “If Mac were alive today, I believe he’d be stunned and pleased to discover that the world still wants to hear from a long-forgotten Vietnam vet. Thanks to Jake Heggie, Gene Scheer, and Music of Remembrance, Mac’s story of tragic loss and surprising redemption will live forever on the operatic stage.”
Each performance of Before It All Goes Dark will begin in Freund’s vibrant salon, where audiences will be surrounded by projections of the looted art and the sounds of Czech music – all written by composers who would ultimately perish in concentration camps. The action then moves to Mac’s sparse, dark apartment in Chicagoland 63 years later, drawing a sharp distinction between Mac’s reality and the astonishing world of color, identity, and connection embodied by Freund’s collection.
“We are thrilled to once again be partnering with Music of Remembrance and to be bringing this story that is at once local as well as universal to our Chicago audiences,” added COT Edlis Neeson General Director Lawrence Edelson. “Howard’s dedicated research and insightful reporting, interpreted through the artistic lens of Jake and Gene is sure to be an incredibly moving, not-to-be-missed experience as performed by Ryan, Megan, and the musicians of Music of Remembrance.”
Before It All Goes Dark, the newest opera by celebrated opera writing team Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, was commissioned by Music of Remembrance. The world premiere tour makes stops in Seattle on May 19 and San Francisco on May 22 before coming to Chicago’s Studebaker Theater on May 25 & 26. Erich Parce directs and Joseph Mechavich conducts the Music of Remembrance Ensemble: Demarre McGill, flute; Laura DeLuca, clarinet; Mikhail Shmidt, violin; Susan Gulkis Assadi, viola; Eric Han, cello; Jonathan Green, double bass; and Jessica Choe, piano.
Established in 1998, Music of Remembrance (MOR) has made a unique impact through works that honor the resilience of all people excluded or persecuted for faith, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality. Its programs pay tribute to historic memory, and directly confront challenges to human rights and dignity today. In addition to its work discovering and performing music from the Holocaust, MOR is admired around the world for its leadership in commissioning and premiering new works by leading composers, including varied chamber ensembles, song cycles, choral works, dance music, film scores, musical dramas, and full-length operas. MOR’s online concerts, nine albums, three documentary films, and many outreach programs have added to the impact experienced by live audiences. MOR’s annual David Tonkonogui Memorial Award welcomes new generations along on this journey, nurturing young musicians who seek to address issues of human rights through their art.
American composer Jake Heggie is best known for Dead Man Walking, the most widely performed new opera of the last 20 years, with a libretto by Terrence McNally, and his critically acclaimed operas Moby-Dick, Three Decembers, and It’s a Wonderful Life, all with libretti by Gene Scheer. In addition to 10 full-length operas and numerous one-acts, Heggie has composed more than 300 art songs, as well as concerti, chamber music, choral, and orchestral works, which have been performed on five continents. A bold new production of Dead Man Walking opens the Metropolitan Opera’s 23/24 season, while Intelligence, created with Jawole Zollar and Gene Scheer, receives its world premiere on opening night of Houston Grand Opera’s season. The Elements: Fire, Heggie’s new commission for violinist Joshua Bell, premieres at Germany’s Elbphilharmonie and tours to major stages in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and Hong Kong.
Gene Scheer’s collaboration with Jake Heggie is a truly remarkable creative partnership. Scheer has crafted powerful works with other opera composers as well: Tobias Picker (An American Tragedy and Thérèse Raquin), Joby Talbot (Everest), and Jennifer Higdon (Cold Mountain). A composer in his own right, Scheer has written songs for Renée Fleming, Sylvia McNair, Stephanie Blythe, Jennifer Larmore, Denyce Graves, and Nathan Gunn. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns featured Scheer’s song “American Anthem” in his Emmy-winning documentary “The War,” and millions of people around the world heard President Biden share inspiring lines from that song in his inauguration address.
Howard Reich was born in Chicago and at age 10 moved with his family to Skokie, a northern suburb that was a nexus of Holocaust survivors like his parents. At age 16, Howard happened on the film “An American in Paris” and instantly became obsessed with music. By 18 he was a piano performance major at Northwestern, and at 22 he began freelancing articles on music for the Chicago Daily News. The next year he started contributing arts coverage to the Chicago Tribune, where he was hired full time in 1983 and spent his entire newspaper career. Howard’s stories took him to London, Paris, Warsaw, Vienna, Moscow, Munich, Prague, Havana, Panama and other locales, as well as deep into one of the most culturally vibrant cities in the world: Chicago. After 30 years as the Tribune’s jazz critic, Howard also became the newspaper’s classical and opera critic, serving in this joint capacity until he retired from the newspaper in 2021. Additionally recognized as the Emmy-winning writer/producer of three documentary films and author of six books, including “Prisoner of Her Past: A Son’s Memoir” and “The Art of Inventing Hope: Intimate Conversations with Elie Wiesel,” Howard lives in a suburb of Chicago with Pam Becker, his wife, a retired Tribune editor.
About Chicago Opera Theater:
Celebrating its 50th Anniversary season in 2023/24, Chicago Opera Theater is a company laser-focused on living its values: expanding the tradition of opera as a living art form, producing high-quality works new to Chicago audiences, identifying top-tier casts and creative talent at the beginning of grand operatic careers, and following through on commitments to equity and access – behind the scenes, on the stage, and in the audience. Since its founding in 1973, COT has grown from a grassroots community-based company to a national leader in an increasingly vibrant, diverse, and forward-looking art form. COT has staged over 155 operas, including 81 Chicago premieres and 47 operas by American composers. COT is led Lawrence Edelson who began his tenure as General Director in the 2023/24 season; and Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya who concludes her tenure with the company at the end of this season.
The Vanguard Initiative, founded in 2018 and celebrating its fifth anniversary this Spring, is COT's fully comprehensive program for composers ready to delve into the world of opera. This immersive two-year residency includes participation in all COT productions, sessions with top industry leaders, extensive study of repertoire and vocal writing, and direct insight into administrative and other behind-the-scenes processes, culminating with the development of a full-length opera commissioned by the company. The program is guided and overseen by Elizabeth Morse and Genius Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya, with Composer Advisors Jake Heggie, Kamala Sankaram, and Gene Scheer. The program has renewed funding from the Mellon Foundation for the 2023/24 season. The 2023/24 Vanguard Composers are Gillian Rae Perry (second year) and Carlos R. Carrillo (first year).
The remainder of Chicago Opera Theater’s season includes COT's 50th Anniversary Gala, Fifty & Fabulous: A Golden Night of Song & Celebration on April 5, and the Vanguard Initiative concert premiere of The Weight of Light April 27.
For more information on Chicago Opera Theater productions, visit chicagooperatheater.org/
