VISIONARY COLLABORATOR
Lidiya Yankovskaya is a fiercely committed advocate for Slavic masterpieces and contemporary works on the leading edge of classical music. She has conducted more than 40 world premieres, including 17 operas, and her strength as a visionary collaborator has guided new perspectives on staged and symphonic repertoire from Carmen and Queen of Spades to Price and Prokofiev. Her transformative tenure as Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater earned consistent recognition from the Chicago Tribune, which named her Chicagoan of the Year and credited her with “raising the profile of COT immensely, her interpretations bracing and repertoire head-spinningly varied.”
“Yankovskaya has raised the profile of COT immensely, her interpretations bracing and repertoire head-spinningly varied: She led 25 new-to-Chicago works, 11 of which were world premieres. She’s also attracting the kind of high-profile talent that would have been unheard of for the company a few short seasons ago.”