Evan Kuchar 
Winterreise(0)
“Winterreise” poses more of a challenge as the white box theater is much smaller, but the result is a heightened sense of intimacy more so than constriction. With nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, the 20-some-odd people in the near-sell-out audience and the 5 performers fall into a tangled symbiotic web,…
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The Damnation of Faust
Berlioz based his libretto on Goethe’s classic Faust legend, in which the eponymous scientist pursues love at the expense of his soul. Berlioz unfolds the drama at the onset of Spring, resonating with what Chicagoans must be feeling in coming weeks
Katya Kabanova
Writing in 1921, Janáček benefits from early explorations of human psychology and creates a moving drama devoid of excess. Katya may be of the same lineage as Madama Butterfly, but Janáček trims the fat to make his opera just over 2 hours with intermission. Lyric’s production mirrors the sparseness, affording the drama more psychological space in which to explore.
Gossamer
Aside from the people on stage, Gossamer required the input and collaboration of a whole team of designers. Most strikingly, the puppets, designed by Cynthia Von Orthal, not only managed to turn a human actor into a very believable dog but also somehow gave the terrible mystery of the Sinisteeds a more concrete, yet no less terrifying, presence.