Freud, Anthony

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    Lyric Opera of Chicago Appoints Orchestra Veteran as New Leader

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    John Mangum, who helped guide the Houston Symphony through the turmoil of the pandemic, will serve as the company’s next general director.John Mangum, a veteran orchestra manager who helped guide the Houston Symphony through the turmoil of the pandemic, will serve as the next general director of Lyric Opera of Chicago starting this fall, the company announced on Wednesday.Mangum, 49, will take the reins of Lyric, one of the premier opera companies in the United States, as it faces a series of challenges, including rising costs, cuts to programming and changes in audience behavior.Mangum said in an interview that he was joining Lyric because it is “one of the great opera companies in the country and really in the world.” He said he was confident that Lyric could find ways to expand its base of fans and donors.“Opera is about storytelling,” he said. “We have to remind people that this is what opera is built from, and there are ways for them to connect.”Mangum has not worked in opera before, but he is a veteran of the classical music industry. He has held posts at a number of institutions, including the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic. Since 2018, he has led the Houston Symphony, helping increase fund-raising and expand community programs.Sylvia Neil, chair of Lyric’s board, said Mangum’s experience in the orchestral world would help the company as it works to broaden its audience.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      A ‘Missionary for Opera’ Steps Down in Chicago

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      Anthony Freud is leaving Lyric Opera of Chicago on good terms, though the company faces challenges in a strained environment for the performing arts.In 1975, Anthony Freud went to a performance that changed his life.Still in his teens, he waited in line for hours to see a concert version of Benjamin Britten’s opera “Peter Grimes” at the BBC Proms in London. For the Proms, seats are removed from the Royal Albert Hall to create a vast standing room, and Freud found himself pressed against the stage, just a few feet from the tenor Jon Vickers, who sang a crushingly intense Grimes.“This is what I want to spend my life doing,” he realized, recalling the show with relish in a recent interview. “I want to be a missionary for opera.”Last Sunday, Freud, now 66, was once again as close as he could be to the opera stage. At a matinee of Verdi’s “Aida,” the final full performance of his 13-year tenure as the general director of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Freud was front row, left aisle.Freud in the dressing room of William Clay Thompson, right, before the season finale of “Aida.”Evan Jenkins for The New York TimesHe usually sat there — in the theater’s traditional seat for the general director — only on opening nights. But “it seemed right to be in that seat today,” he said during intermission, as he made his way upstairs to greet donors.After 30 years leading opera companies — Welsh National Opera and Houston Grand Opera before coming to Chicago — Freud is retiring as one of the field’s most experienced hands. Gentle and genial, with a deep knowledge of operas and voices, he has tried to balance his venturesome spirit with the sensibilities of audiences — to challenge without alienating the people he needed for support.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More