Florentine Opera Company

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! How I miss the small-​town charm and big-​city quality of the Milwaukee Florentine Opera! You might think, «Give me a break! You live in Chicago — you can see all the huge stars at the Lyric.» Yes, it’s true, but there you’re lost in a huge sea of people about 80 yards from the stage.
If you want a more intimate opera experience, the smaller Chicago companies don’t hold a candle to the Florentine. The Florentine is like the Lyric’s «Mini Me.» More intimate, almost as good, and, on occasion, even better. Their symphony is as good as the Lyric’s because they use the outstanding Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen them, but they’ve had some tremendous productions. Loved seeing Sherill Milnes in Tosca late in his career, and still an outstanding villain and artist. I remember seeing Vivica Genaux play the lead in L’Italiana in Algeri before she became a huge international star. They do a great job with finding young talent before these folks hit the big time and you have to watch them with binoculars. These artists are very, very good, and working hard to break into the big time, so there’s an excitement and edge-​of-​your-​chair element that the Lyric doesn’t generally have.
BTW, if you’re up in the balcony, you’ll still want the binoculars (but it won’t be a tragedy if you forget them like it is at the Lyric). This is a high-​quality regional opera company.