The Opera Festival of Chicago is a summer opera festival based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2020 by Uff. Emanuele Andrizzi, Tim Corpus, Franco Pomponi, and Ella Marchment, the company presents Italian operas, vocal recital concerts, and special events.
The festival has worked with renowned opera singers from around the world including Ferruccio Furlanetto, Andrea Silvestrelli, Patrick Blackwell, Jose Simerilla Romero, Kenneth Tarver, Maria Kanyova, Jonathan Tetelman, Franco Pomponi, and others.
History The festival launched its first live festival in 2021 after moving its originally planned festival online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between 2023 and 2025, the festival scaled up to involve over 150 cast and crew members. The company formed strategic partnerships with the Italian Cultural Institute and the Chicago Federation of Musicians, while also launching a dedicated Young and Emerging Artist Program to mentor the next generation of singers.
Operas +Main Stage Festival ShowsYearShowComposerVenueDates2026La bohèmeGiacomo PucciniNorth Shore Center for the Performing ArtsJune 26, July 1, 5, 20262026Adriana LecouvreurFrancesco CileaNorth Shore Center for the Performing ArtsJune 28, July 3, 20262025L’amore dei tre reItalo MontemezziAthenaeum Center for Thought & CultureMay 9, 11, 20252025PagliacciRuggero LeoncavalloNorth Shore Center for the Performing ArtsJune 27, 29, 20252024Manon LescautGiacomo PucciniCahn AuditoriumJune 27, 29, 30, 20242024Il PrigionieroLuigi DallapiccolaAthenaeum Center for Thought & CultureJuly 11, 14, 20242024The MediumGian Carlo MenottiAthenaeum Center for Thought & CultureJuly 11, 14, 20242023Assassinio nella cattedraleIldebrando PizzettiThe Chicago TempleJuly 6, 9, 20232023AttilaGiuseppe VerdiCahn AuditoriumJuly 20, 23, 20232022L’Inganno FeliceGioachino RossiniAthenaeum Center for Thought & CultureJuly 8, 10, 20222022Il CorsaroGiuseppe VerdiCahn AuditoriumJuly 22, 24, 20222021Il Segreto di SusannaErmanno Wolf-FerrariAthenaeum Center for Thought & CultureJuly 24, 20212021Il TabarroGiacomo PucciniThalia HallAugust 5, 2021
References
External links www.operafestivalchicago.org https://chicagoclassicalreview.com/2025/06/opera-festival-of-chicago-caps-fifth-season-with-an-impressive-pagliacci/