Nov. 2025 and Jan. 2026
Orchestrataing Peace
Presented by Connecticut Lyric Opera and 3 Rotary Clubs of Southern CT (New London, Meriden, and Madison), this special event is part of Rotary’s Opus for Peace initiative, a global movement that uses the arts to build bridges, foster empathy, and promote understanding across cultures. The performance will take place at the historic Lighthouse Inn, a fitting setting for an evening dedicated to light, connection, and renewal. The concert features three extraordinary artists: internationally acclaimed cellist Diego Carneiro, founder of the Youth Orchestra of Ecuador; soprano Jūratė Švedaitė, Artistic Director of Connecticut Lyric Opera; and distinguished pianist Samuel Orem. Together, they will offer a program of stirring works with a Latin flair, including Villa-Lobos and Piazzolla, reflecting the universal language of hope and reconciliation that lies at the heart of Opus for Peace
April 2026
What It Costs to Sing: A Recital with Kelly Whitesell
The program weaves together art song and puppetry to explore a theme as old as art itself — the uneasy relationship between creativity and commerce. Selections from Richard Strauss’s wickedly sardonic Krämerspiegel anchor the evening, a cycle that skewers the music industry with the precision of someone who lived it. Shadow puppetry transforms these songs into something cinematic and viscerally alive, elevating even the smallest art song to the level of spectacle. The evening promises both bite and delight — a program that asks what it truly costs to make art, and answers with music, shadow, and no small amount of wit.
May 2026
Abigail Adams: An opera by Richard Owen
Abigail Adams is a powerful and timely opera that brings to life one of the most intelligent, courageous, and influential voices of America’s founding era. Centered on the woman who urged her husband, John Adams, and the nation’s early leaders to “remember the ladies,” the work explores the personal and political dimensions of the American experiment through themes of liberty, conscience, family, and civic responsibility. With its blend of historical insight and emotional immediacy, Abigail Adams offers audiences a fresh way to engage with the nation’s origins, not as distant mythology, but as a living conversation about democracy, equality, and whose voices are heard. As Connecticut Lyric Opera looks toward America’s 250th, the opera is an especially fitting work, honoring the past while speaking directly to the questions and aspirations of the present.