Haymarket’s General Director Chase Hopkins’ picks for Spring performances in Chicago

I missed it the first time…The Newberry Consort is remounting a program of varied musical traditions from the realm of Osman Ghazi, or Osman I, who was the founder of the Ottoman Empire. While I don’t know the musicians performing, I am excited to hear music played on a variety of rare period instruments including oud, sandouri, sackbut, nay, violin, percussion, and kanun. Of course, I’m also looking forward to partnering with Liza Malamut and Ben David Aronson for our co-produced concert presentation of Peri’s Euridice. This is widely considered the oldest surviving complete opera, and is an exciting project that will bring together the full force of Chicago’s early music scene!

Friday-Saturday, May 9-10 at The Newberry Consort

Hannah De Priest is singing Dido! Bella Voce is venturing into the realm of opera, presenting one of my favorite pieces, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, with Hannah De Priest and Nathalie Colas performing, both sopranos well known to Haymarket. Hannah in and I first met when we both sang at the Corneille Competition in Rouen, France, presented by Europe’s celebrated early-music ensemble Le Poème Harmonique. It’s funny how life turns out: who’d have guessed I’d be championing Hannah here in Chicago through my work at Haymarket while we stood together in France, and funnily enough, neither Hannah nor I realized we were both living in Chicago while competing in Rouen! Haymarket audiences will remember Hannah’s mesmerizing performance as Mary Magdalene in Handel’s La Resurrezione, and her delightful sea nymph in Caccini’s La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina in 2023. Nathalie Colas has had a long association with Haymarket, and was instrumental in the preparation of our 2022 production and world-premiere recording (produced by Cedille Records) of Bologne’s L’Amant anonyme. It will be fun to see these two fabulous sopranos as the ill-fated Queen of Carthage and her bestie, Belina, at Bella Voce this May. 

Sunday, May 4 at Bella Voce

A countertenor at Chicago Opera Theater? For those not following Chicago Opera Theater’s impressive Vanguard Composer initiative, it’s exactly what I want from COT: New composers and librettists being given the platform to create new, exciting operas. Some memorable performances have been presented, including Matthew Recio’s pandemic production of his original opera, The Puppy Episode, and I loved the feast of macaroni and cheese COT served after Shawn Okpebholo's opera The Cook Off. A new opera by composer Carlos R. Carrillo and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, Remedios Varios Para Las Aflicciones Del Cuerpo Y El Espíritu (Various Remedies for the Afflictions of the Body and Spirit), received its world premiere April 5, and it’s thrilling that Ryan Belongie lent his fabulous countertenor to the project. Haymarket audiences will recall  Ryan’s wickedly fabulous portrayal of the titular despot Tamerlano in our 2024 production that celebrated the 300th anniversary of Handel’s opera. Ryan is one of Chicago’s treasures, and Haymarket audiences can hear Ryan at Haymarket this season for Stradella’s Ester, Vinci’s Artaserse, Peri’s Euridice, and at the Early Opera Cabaret. 

Saturday, April 5 at Chicago Opera Theater

About the author

Chase Hopkins is the General Director of Chicago’s Haymarket Opera Company and Artistic Director of Opera Edwardsville. Since joining Haymarket in 2020, he has produced five critically acclaimed seasons, showcasing historically informed performances of 17th- and 18th-century opera and spotlighting underrepresented composers. His leadership has brought record-breaking box office sales, a sustainable financial foundation, and national recognition for artistic excellence. Hopkins has established important partnerships including Cedille Records, the Ravinia Festival, The Newberry Consort, and WFMT where Haymarket performances have been heard by over one million listeners. Hopkins made his directorial debut in 2023 with Hasse’s Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra, praised by The Wall Street Journal for its emotional depth, and followed in 2024 with Handel’s Tamerlano, hailed as “another impressive achievement” (Opera Magazine). He served as Creative Producer for Haymarket’s cinematic Handel trilogy and the 2022 premiere of L’Amant Anonyme, whose recording earned five stars from BBC Music Magazine. A graduate of Northwestern University and the Royal Northern College of Music, Hopkins completed executive training at Harvard Business School and has judged vocal competitions including the Handel Aria Competition and Luminarts.

About The Haymarket Review: This new digital publication including thoughts about  the work produced by Haymarket is designed to deepen our connection to audiences, nurture and feed audience curiosity about historical performance, offer critical opinions and thoughtful reflections on our performances, and provide a forum for Haymarket and its audience to connect through sharing insights, opinions, learning, and expertise.