Our History
CHAMBER OPERA CHICAGO is a professional not-for-profit opera company devoted to making great opera affordable, presenting operas in English in intimate settings and providing performance opportunities for Chicago-area singers. The Chamber Opera Chicago Orchestra is distinguished by first-rate conductors and orchestral players and has been highly praised by both critics and audience members alike. With award-winning designers and acclaimed directors from around the world, audiences can expect high quality, innovative productions that bring opera to life.
Originating over 25 years ago, Chamber Opera Chicago is now in its fifth year under the direction of General/Artistic Director Barbara Landis and has re-energized its original mission of making opera accessible to the widest possible audience. “COC has the potential to become an opera company on par with a repertory theatre,” Landis says. “We want to move our audience emotionally and create memorable performances for both experienced opera-goers and novices. Our main goal is to touch the hearts of our audience members…make them laugh, make them cry, and leave them wanting more!”
Originating over 25 years ago, Chamber Opera Chicago is now in its fifth year under the direction of General/Artistic Director Barbara Landis and has re-energized its original mission of making opera accessible to the widest possible audience. “COC has the potential to become an opera company on par with a repertory theatre,” Landis says. “We want to move our audience emotionally and create memorable performances for both experienced opera-goers and novices. Our main goal is to touch the hearts of our audience members…make them laugh, make them cry, and leave them wanting more!”
Our Staff
General/Artistic Director – Barbara Landis
Barbara Landis has been the General and Artistic Director of Chamber Opera Chicago since 2005. She recently adapted and created an original musical drama based on Jane Austen’s Persuasion, which first premiered at the Athenaeum Theatre in 2011. She received critical praise for her portrayal of Baba in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera The Medium with COC in 2005, a role she also covered and studied with the composer at the 2002 Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Ms. Landis can be heard on Cedelle Records’ The Medium starring Joyce Castle with Chicago Opera Theater. In 2003, she sang in recitals at the Spoleto Festival and then in 2004 in Modena, Italy. She has sung roles with Komische Oper München (Munich Comic Opera) in Germany and while studying at the Britten-Pears School in England, she sang the role of Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretia), which was taped for broadcast by the BBC. Barbara has also specialized in roles with a Spanish flair. She has performed the role of Carmen with numerous opera companies including Chamber Opera Chicago, Opera North Theater, American Opera Group, in San Francisco with the Golden Gate Opera and the San Francisco Lyric, and in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra in the Dominican Republic. She has portrayed the role of Aldonze in Man of La Mancha with COC, in the Colorado Lyric Theatre Festival, and throughout the midwest. Other roles for which she has received critical acclaim include Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and many of the Gilbert and Sullivan mezzo-soprano roles such as Katisha in The Mikado, Mad Margaret in Ruddigore, and Ruth in Pirates of Penzance with Light Opera Works; Azucena in Verdi’s Il Trovatore with da Corneto Opera; the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with both DuPage Opera Theatre and COC; and the Secretary in The Consul (a role she also performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Guild), the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Erika in Vanessa, Jane Austen in the original musical Pride and Prejudice, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Jane Austen/Anne Elliot in Persuasion with Chamber Opera Chicago. Barbara participated in the review Cheers from Chawton at the 2010 Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England. She also performed at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of her premiere role in advancing culture and education in the arts.
Barbara Landis has been the General and Artistic Director of Chamber Opera Chicago since 2005. She recently adapted and created an original musical drama based on Jane Austen’s Persuasion, which first premiered at the Athenaeum Theatre in 2011. She received critical praise for her portrayal of Baba in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera The Medium with COC in 2005, a role she also covered and studied with the composer at the 2002 Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Ms. Landis can be heard on Cedelle Records’ The Medium starring Joyce Castle with Chicago Opera Theater. In 2003, she sang in recitals at the Spoleto Festival and then in 2004 in Modena, Italy. She has sung roles with Komische Oper München (Munich Comic Opera) in Germany and while studying at the Britten-Pears School in England, she sang the role of Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretia), which was taped for broadcast by the BBC. Barbara has also specialized in roles with a Spanish flair. She has performed the role of Carmen with numerous opera companies including Chamber Opera Chicago, Opera North Theater, American Opera Group, in San Francisco with the Golden Gate Opera and the San Francisco Lyric, and in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra in the Dominican Republic. She has portrayed the role of Aldonze in Man of La Mancha with COC, in the Colorado Lyric Theatre Festival, and throughout the midwest. Other roles for which she has received critical acclaim include Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and many of the Gilbert and Sullivan mezzo-soprano roles such as Katisha in The Mikado, Mad Margaret in Ruddigore, and Ruth in Pirates of Penzance with Light Opera Works; Azucena in Verdi’s Il Trovatore with da Corneto Opera; the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with both DuPage Opera Theatre and COC; and the Secretary in The Consul (a role she also performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Guild), the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Erika in Vanessa, Jane Austen in the original musical Pride and Prejudice, Maria in The Sound of Music, and Jane Austen/Anne Elliot in Persuasion with Chamber Opera Chicago. Barbara participated in the review Cheers from Chawton at the 2010 Jane Austen Festival in Bath, England. She also performed at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of her premiere role in advancing culture and education in the arts.
General Manager/Artistic Administrator – Kerri Rosenberg Burkhardt
Kerri assisted Ms. Landis in the adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion and in editing the script. She accompanied Ms. Landis to England to do research for the project, where she also photographed many of the projected images used in the production. She has been instrumental in arranging tours of Persuasion to England and New York City since 2013. Kerri received her B.A. and M.A. in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa, where she also completed coursework for the Doctorate of Musical Arts. She has sung with the Zurich International Opera Studio in Switzerland, the Zurich Opera (singing with conductors such as Nello Santi and Nikolaus Harnoncourt), the University of Iowa Opera Theater, and Muddy River Opera, among others. Her favorite leading roles have included Nedda/I Pagliacci, Mimi/La Boheme, Marenka/The Bartered Bride, Blanche and Constance in different productions of Dialogues of the Carmelites, Felice/Die vier Grobiane, Adina/L’Elisir d’Amore, Zerlina/Don Giovanni, Helena/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Frasquita/Carmen, Casilda/The Gondoliers, and Mabel/ Pirates of Penzance. She has soloed with many symphonies and choruses throughout the United States and Europe and has performed in recital with Simon Estes. As a finalist in the Miss America Pageant, she also performed "Ah, je veux vivre" from Gounod's Romeo and Juliet on national television. Previously, Kerri was the Director of Auditions and Admissions for the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, where she worked for 14 years. She and her husband, Brian, are the proud parents of Brandon and Karissa Burkhardt, who have performed frequently with Chamber Opera Chicago.
Kerri assisted Ms. Landis in the adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion and in editing the script. She accompanied Ms. Landis to England to do research for the project, where she also photographed many of the projected images used in the production. She has been instrumental in arranging tours of Persuasion to England and New York City since 2013. Kerri received her B.A. and M.A. in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Iowa, where she also completed coursework for the Doctorate of Musical Arts. She has sung with the Zurich International Opera Studio in Switzerland, the Zurich Opera (singing with conductors such as Nello Santi and Nikolaus Harnoncourt), the University of Iowa Opera Theater, and Muddy River Opera, among others. Her favorite leading roles have included Nedda/I Pagliacci, Mimi/La Boheme, Marenka/The Bartered Bride, Blanche and Constance in different productions of Dialogues of the Carmelites, Felice/Die vier Grobiane, Adina/L’Elisir d’Amore, Zerlina/Don Giovanni, Helena/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Frasquita/Carmen, Casilda/The Gondoliers, and Mabel/ Pirates of Penzance. She has soloed with many symphonies and choruses throughout the United States and Europe and has performed in recital with Simon Estes. As a finalist in the Miss America Pageant, she also performed "Ah, je veux vivre" from Gounod's Romeo and Juliet on national television. Previously, Kerri was the Director of Auditions and Admissions for the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, where she worked for 14 years. She and her husband, Brian, are the proud parents of Brandon and Karissa Burkhardt, who have performed frequently with Chamber Opera Chicago.
Stage Director - Francis Menotti was born in Philadelphia and studied at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. He perfected his craft with Lee Strasberg in New York and began his career with the American Shakespeare Festival in New York. He has interpreted roles ranging from the opera works of Gian Carlo Menotti (and is famous for his portrayal of Toby in The Medium) to the narrator in both Beethoven’s Egmont in the Alice Tully Hall in New York and Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon at the Charleston Festival. Following in the footsteps of his adoptive father, Gian Carlo, Francis took over much of the responsibility for the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy and became its Artistic Director in 1999. The festival was revitalized thanks to his artistic choices, and he has also made artistic contributions to more than 52 other festivals throughout the United States, Italy and Australia. In February 2007, he directed a critically acclaimed production of The Medium with the Monte Carlo Opera. Francis directed last season’s COC production of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa, which received rave reviews such as “A triumph! Chamber Opera Chicago dazzles!” (Chicago Sun Times) and “Hats off to Chamber Opera Chicago!” (Chicago Tribune). Francis also directed previous productions of Amahl and the Night Visitors and A Brilliant Life, A Brilliant Night, Chamber Opera Chicago’s tribute to his father which was called “one of the top shows of the year!” (Oak Park Journal)Technical Production Manager – Rick Combs
Conductor - Victoria Bond is also a composer who has written for every medium including opera, orchestra, ballet, and chamber music. Her work has been widely performed and recorded in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. Profiled in the Wall Street Journal, on the NBC Today Show, in People Magazine and in the New York Times, she has attracted the kind of attention rarely focused on a classical musician. Victoria’s conducting engagements have taken her to China, Brazil and Europe, and in the United States, she has led such prestigious orchestras as the Houston, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo Symphonies. The first woman to be awarded a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the Juilliard School, Bond worked with Roger Sessions, Pierre Boulez, Sixten Ehrling, Jean Morel, and Herbert von Karajan. She has previously conducted Chamber Opera Chicago’s productions of Vanessa, Carmen, The Consul, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Medium, The Telephone, and A Brilliant Life, A Brilliant Night. In 2007, she conducted a recording of Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thiefwith members of the Dallas Opera and Symphony.
Dame Libby Komaiko (Choreographer) is the Founder, Artistic Director, and Choreographer of the Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Ensemble Español Center for Spanish Dance and Music, the Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Youth Company, and the American Spanish Dance Festival, now celebrating their 32nd anniversary season. Dame Libby was the first American artist in history to be decorated with Spain’s highest honor, the Lazo de Dama (Ribbon of the Dame) by the King of Spain for her superlative work in spreading the cultural and artistic values of Spain throughout the U.S. At the age of 18, she was discovered by the legendary José Greco and danced with his world famous Spanish Dance Company. She also performed with Lola Montes and for theater, opera, television, film and orchestra, including guest performances with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1975 Dame Libby created and founded theEnsemble Español, a full company of 40 dancers and musicians for which she has choreographed the majority of the company’s extensive 120+ repertoire. She is a professor of Dance in the Department of Music and Dance at Northeastern Illinois University, where the Ensemble Español has been in residence for 32 years. Her numerous awards have included the covetedRuth Page Award in 2003 and the prestigious International Latino Cultural Center Lifetime Achievement Award, the Pepsi Cola Hispanic Community Award, the esteemed Brightner Award, the Art of Ethnicity Award of Excellence/Master Teacherby the Chicago Office of Fine Arts/Chicago Public Library, and awards for choreography from the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, and Chicago Office of Cultural Affairs. Recent collaborations with Chamber Opera Chicago includeCarmen, Te Amo: A Musical Evening in Spain and Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Nyela Basney (Conductor Chorus Master/Coach) Founder and Director of the international chamber music festival in Italy, Orvieto Musica, Nyela is also Artistic Director and Conductor of the Allegro Chorale and Orchestra in Texas. She was recently Music Director of the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale where she led Masterworks, Pops, headliner, tiny tots, educational and run-out concerts. Formerly Associate Conductor of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, she has also guest conducted the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony and the Virginia Symphony. She was Assistant Conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra for three years, for whom she led concerts at Lincoln Center featuring Peter Schickele. She is currently Associate Conductor of El Paso Opera. Ms. Basney has also conducted Voices of Change in Dallas, the Glens Falls Symphony in New York and has served as cover conductor for John Nelson with the National Symphony and for Andrew Litton at the Dallas Symphony. With undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Nyela served as an Arts America Cultural Specialist in Uruguay in 1993 for the United States Information Agency.
John Boesche (Projected Scene Design) was the highly acclaimed scene designer for COC’s productions of Persuasion, The Crucible, A Menotti Tribute, and Te Amo. He has also had his scenic and projection designs for theater seen by Chicago audiences at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and others. Broadway credits include The Glass Menagerie at Roundabout Theatre, directed by Frank Galati. Regionally his work has been seen at Arizona Theatre Company, Asolo Theatre (Sarasota), Denver Center Theatre Company, McCarter Theatre (Princeton), Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, New York Shakespeare Festival (NYC), Seattle Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare at the Folger (Washington D.C.), South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa), and Theater On The Square (San Francisco), among others. Mr. Boesche received a Joseph Jefferson Special Award for projection design in 2005. Projection design accompanying the performance of music includes the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Eos Orchestra (New York), and the Ravinia Festival Chicago. Projection designs for dance include Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Mordine and Company, and Lucky Plush dance, among others. His designs for opera have been seen at Austin Lyric Opera, Barbican Theatre Centre (London), Brooklyn Academy of Music, Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Lyon, Opera Pacifica, Portland Opera, Salt Lake Opera, San Francisco Opera, Theatre de la Monnaie (Brussels), Washington Opera (D.C.), and Vancouver Opera, among others. In addition to his work in theater, Mr. Boesche designs media for his own gallery installations, history museums, and outdoor events.
Technical Production Manager – Rick Combs
Administrative Assistant - Ruth Ann Koesun
Accompanist/Musical Preparation - Anatoliy Torchinskiy
Projected Scene Designer – John Boesche
Costume Designer - Emily Nelson
Business Manager - Joan Frontczak
Assistant Business Manager - Amber McMullin
Graphic Designer - Christine Hawley
Webmaster - Joseph Kudart
Founder - Barre Seid
Administrative Assistant - Ruth Ann Koesun
Accompanist/Musical Preparation - Anatoliy Torchinskiy
Projected Scene Designer – John Boesche
Costume Designer - Emily Nelson
Business Manager - Joan Frontczak
Assistant Business Manager - Amber McMullin
Graphic Designer - Christine Hawley
Webmaster - Joseph Kudart
Founder - Barre Seid