Orpheus dares to rescue his beloved Eurydice from the underworld, only to lose her forever with a fateful glance. More than 400 years after its premiere, The Newberry Consort and Haymarket Opera Company join forces to present Monteverdi’s timeless operatic masterpiece.

L’ORFEO

Music by Claudio Monteverdi
Libretto by Alessandro Striggio the Younger

Co-produced by The Newberry Consort and Haymarket Opera Company
Presented in a new, fully staged production

Thursday, September 24, at 7pm
Friday, September 25, at 7pm
Saturday, September 26, at 2pm
Sunday, September 27, at 2pm

Jarvis Opera Hall
Holtschneider Performance Center at DePaul University
800 W. Belden Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614

Performance length: 2.5 hours, including one 20-minute intermission.
This performance is sung in the original Italian, with projected English titles.

Post-opera talkback
Following the performance, members of the team will host a talkback with the audience to answer questions and share insights into the music, dramatic choices, and the making of the production.

You’re invited: Opening-night toast
Join Haymarket’s cast, orchestra, and production team immediately following the performance on September 24. All ticket holders are invited! No post-opera talkback will be presented on opening night.

Ticket Information

Purchase tickets through the DePaul School of Music box office
Tickets can be purchased online, in person, or by phone through the DePaul University School of Music box office. For assistance, please contact the box office by email (musicboxoffice@depaul.edu) or by phone (773-325-5200). The box office is open Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–3pm.

Early-bird ticket pricing
Purchase tickets now to take advantage of early-bird prices for this performance. Due to limited seating and high demand at the Jarvis Opera Hall, this special pricing will end one month prior to the performance.

Event parking
Lincoln Common Garage: 2316 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago, Il 60614. Validation stickers for discounted parking are available at the DePaul University School of Music box office 90 minutes prior to the event start and through the end of the event.

The Newberry Consort and Haymarket Opera Company join forces to present Claudio Monteverdi’s 1607 operatic masterpiece, L’Orfeo. Following a 2025 presentation of the oldest surviving opera, Jacopo Peri’s Euridice, Chicago's acclaimed historical-performance ensembles return to the myth of Orpheus in a new, fully staged production of Monteverdi’s timeless favola in musica (fable in music) on the same myth. L’Orfeo stands as one of the most enduring masterpieces of the operatic genre. More than four centuries after the opera’s premiere, this co-production will captivate both seasoned opera lovers and first-time audiences, restoring Monteverdi’s revolutionary work to its full splendor for the 21st-century stage.

Making his Haymarket debut in the title role, tenor Zachary Wilder has established himself as a leading interpreter of 17th- and 18th-century repertoire, from Monteverdi to Mozart. His artistry and dramatic commitment have earned him invitations from some of the world’s most distinguished conductors and ensembles on both sides of the Atlantic. He collaborates regularly with renowned ensembles such as Pygmalion, L’Arpeggiata, Les Arts Florissants, Les Talens Lyriques, Le Concert d’Astrée, the Boston Early Music Festival, Bach Collegium Japan, the Monteverdi Choir & The English Baroque Soloists, the Handel & Haydn Society, the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, and the Nederlands Kamerkoor. Chicago audiences may remember Wilder’s notable performances in the 2017 trio of Monteverdi operas presented by the Monteverdi Choir at the Harris Theater.

A troupe of soloists portrays the gods, nymphs, shepherds, and spirits that populate ancient Thrace and the mythical underworld. The cast features Geoffrey Agpalo, Ryan Belongie, Hannah De Priest, Kaitlin Foley, Emily Fons, David Govertsen, Patrick Kilbride, Lindsay Metzger, Leo Radosavljevic, Erica Schuller, and Michael St. Peter.

The Newberry Consort Artistic Director Liza Malamut and Haymarket Opera Company Artistic Director Craig Trompeter once again join forces to bring together an ensemble of early-music specialists to perform Monteverdi’s inventive score on period instruments including cornetti, sackbuts, recorders, violins, viola da gamba, lirone, harp, lutes, organ, and harpsichord.

Craig Trompeter, praised for “vitality and great sensitivity” (Chicago Classical Review), conducts the ensemble of 17th-century instruments.

Chase Hopkins returns for his third production as stage director after his "skillful" (Chicago Classical Review) debut in 2023 leading a production of Hasse's Marc'Antonio e Cleopatra, and his 2024 staging of Handel's Tamerlano, praised as "another impressive achievement" (Opera Magazine). Hopkins is joined by regular Haymarket collaborators including set designer Wendy Waszut-Barrett, costume designer Stephanie Cluggish, and wig and make-up designer Megan Pirtle. Accomplished Chicago-based lighting designer Lee Fiskness makes his Haymarket debut.

The Creative Team

Stage Director: Chase Hopkins
Music Directors: Liza Malamut and Craig Trompeter
Dramaturg: Louise K. Stein
Set Designer: Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Costume Designer: Stephanie Cluggish
Wig Designer and Lead Makeup Artist: Megan E. Pirtle
Lighting Designer: Lee Fiskness

The Cast
(Complete casting details including role assignements to be announced)

Orfeo: Zachary Wilder, tenor
Erica Schuller, soprano
Hannah De Priest, soprano
Kaitlin Foley, soprano
Emily Fons, mezzo-soprano
Ryan Belongie, countertenor
Lindsay Metzger, mezzo-soprano
Patrick Kilbride, tenor
Michael St. Peter, tenor
Geoffrey Agpalo, tenor
David Govertsen, bass-baritone
Leo Radosavljevic, bass-baritone

The Instrumentalists
Complete ensemble to be announced

Performance Support

Production Manager: Jen Smith
Head Electrician & Technical Supervisor: Aaron Lichamer
Stage Manager: Alycia Martin
Draper: Beth Uber
Program Note: Louise K. Stein

Ushering support provided by The Saints: Volunteers for the Performing Arts