Lyric Opera of Chicago to open 2010-11 season with Verdi’s “Macbeth,” cut total performances

Lyric Opera of Chicago announces 2010-11 season

CHICAGO — Lyric Opera of Chicago has scheduled a full season of eight productions for its 2010-11 season, but will cut the total number of performances to 68 for economic reasons.

Lyric general director Bill Mason announced the cutback from this season’s 77 performances Tuesday. He says ticket prices won’t increase.

The upcoming season begins Oct. 1 with a new production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” directed by Barbara Gaines. Gaines is founder of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

The upcoming season’s other productions are: Bizet’s “Carmen”; the Lyric premiere of Benjamin Britten’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; Verdi’s “A Masked Ball”; Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado”; Puccini’s “The Girl of the Golden West”; Wagner’s “Lohengrin”; and a modern-dress version of Handel’s “Hercules” directed by Peter Sellars.