Announcing the 2022-23 Harris Theater Presents Season

The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance announces its Harris Theater Presents (HTP) season for 2022-23. The season is comprised of 28 performances featuring more than 220 artists from over 20 countries, reinforcing the Theater's approach as an ambitious, global presenter and destination in Millennium Park. "The 2022-23 Harris Theater Presents season will welcome to the stage some of the most prolific artistic voices of our time and stellar new collaborations," said Lori Dimun, Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols, President and CEO of the Harris. "Over this past year, artists and audiences have shared what a moving and powerfully healing experience it has been to gather for live performance once again. My hope this coming season is that audiences continue to return to cultural homes like the Harris Theater, to experience the magnificent gifts these artists have to share."

The 2022-23 HTP Mainstage dance season highlights dance icons and elders: Germaine Acogny performing common ground[s] as a duet with Malou Airaudo in a double bill with École des Sables performing Pina Bausch's The Rite of Spring, marking the first time Pina Bausch Foundation has granted performance rights to an African company and the first time Bausch's Rite has been performed in Chicago; the return of Hamburg Ballet in Milwaukee native John Neumeier's final season with the company, with The Glass Menagerie, created for Alina Cojocaru who will dance the principal role; and Alonzo King LINES Ballet with Lisa Fischer and Jason Moran performing live onstage. The series opens with It Starts Now, the first independent project by Alejandro Cerrudo, returning to the Harris for the first time since his choreographic residency with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

HTP Mainstage music engagements include Osvaldo Golijov's first significant work in a decade: Falling Out of Time, an 80-minute song cycle based on the book by David Grossman and performed by an international roster of musicians drawn from the celebrated Silkroad Ensemble. Patricia Racette returns to the Harris with an evening celebrating the great chanteuse Edith Piaf, and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard and Spanish guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas will perform an intimate program following the success of their first collaboration broadcast live from Versailles.

The Mix at Six series will feature a diverse range of artists and genres: Indian classical violinist Ambi Subramaniam; the UK's Kingdom Choir; singer-songwriter Meklit's electric stage presence and innovative, deeply personal Ethio-Jazz songs; jazz drummer Nate Smith + KINFOLK; and cellist and composer Seth Parker Woods in a new multidisciplinary work entitled Difficult Grace. 

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will embark on its 12th year of partnership with the Harris with four concerts including the complete Brandenburg Concertos — an annual tradition at the Harris — and a slate of HT Virtual Stage offerings to complement the live concert programs. The popular Family Series will comprise three Saturday afternoon events for children and families to experience the arts together in an inviting and accessible atmosphere. Beyond the Aria, produced in association with Lyric Opera of Chicago, will return with four performances, artists and dates to be announced in late summer.

Support for the 2022-23 Harris Theater Presents season is provided by the Irving Harris Foundation and Joan W. Harris.

SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 2022-23 HTP MAINSTAGE, MIX AT SIX, FAMILY SERIES, 

AND CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES ON SALE NOW

Subscriptions are on sale now, available online or through the Harris Theater Box Office. Subscribers save 40% on tickets and receive benefits including free exchanges. During the 2022-23 season, subscribers may request a refund at any time prior to the performance if they are unable to attend.

The Harris Theater Box Office is open for phone support 12–5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and on performance days. To reach the Box Office, call 312.334.7777 or email info@harristheaterchicago.org.

2022-23 AT A GLANCE:

Alejandro Cerrudo + Artists

It Starts Now

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, September 8, 2022 / 7:30PM

Ambi Subramaniam

Mix at Six

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 / 6:00PM

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Reflections

Chamber Music Series

Thursday, October 6, 2022 / 7:30PM

A Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables, and Sadler's Wells Production

Pina Bausch: The Rite of Spring 

Germaine Acogny + Malou Airaudo: common ground[s]

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, October 27, 2022 / 7:30PM

Friday, October 28, 2022 / 7:30PM

Osvaldo Golijov

Falling Out of Time: A Tone Poem in Voices

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, November 3, 2022 / 7:30PM

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Meet the Music: Leaping Leopold!

Family Series

Saturday, December 3, 2022 / 2:00PM

Patricia Racette

Patricia Sings Piaf

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, December 8, 2022 / 7:30PM

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Brandenburg Concertos

Chamber Music Series

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 / 7:30PM

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Youthful Genius

Chamber Music Series

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 / 7:30PM

Hamburg Ballet/John Neumeier

The Glass Menagerie

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, February 23, 2023 / 7:30PM

Friday, February 24, 2023 / 7:30PM

Saturday, February 25, 2023 / 7:30PM

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Great Sonatas

Chamber Music Series

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 / 7:30PM

The Kingdom Choir

Mix at Six

Friday, March 3, 2023 / 6:00PM

The Kingdom Choir

Family Series

Saturday, March 4, 2023 / 2:00PM

Meklit

Mix at Six

Wednesday, March 8, 2023 / 6:00PM

Nate Smith + KINFOLK

Mix at Six

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 / 6:00PM

Seth Parker Woods: Difficult Grace

Mix at Six

Thursday, April 20, 2023 / 6:00PM

Alonzo King LINES Ballet

With Jason Moran and Lisa Fischer 

HTP Mainstage

Friday, May 5, 2023 / 7:30PM

Saturday, May 6, 2023 / 7:30PM

Alonzo King LINES Ballet

Family Series

Saturday, May 6, 2023 / 2:00PM

Isabel Leonard and Pablo Sáinz-Villegas

HTP Mainstage

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / 7:30PM

2022-23 HARRIS THEATER PRESENTS: SERIES AND ARTISTS 

HTP Mainstage

Alejandro Cerrudo + Artists

It Starts Now

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, September 8, 2022 / 7:30PM

Newly appointed Charlotte Ballet Artistic Director and Pacific Northwest Ballet's first Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo brings It Starts Now, a silky, cerebral, and spell-binding work to the Harris stage. It Starts Now is an invitation to be fully engaged in the present and a contemplation of the nonlinear nature of time. Eight dancers deconstruct the space of the theater in this dramatic, mind-bending work, Cerrudo's first independent project, co-produced with the Joyce Theater Foundation.

A Pina Bausch Foundation, École des Sables + Sadler's Wells Production

Pina Bausch: The Rite of Spring 

Germaine Acogny + Malou Airaudo: common ground[s]

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, October 27, 2022 / 7:30PM

Friday, October 28, 2022 / 7:30PM

Bausch's (1975) The Rite of Spring will be danced by a specially assembled company of dancers from African countries. Faithful to Stravinsky's composition, this seminal work examines unyielding ritual, with the sacrifice of a 'chosen one' changing the season from winter to spring. For the second work, Germaine Acogny, "the mother of contemporary African dance" and founder of École des Sables, unites with Malou Airaudo, a former member of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch who has performed central roles in many of Bausch's pieces. This work, created and performed by these remarkable women – both choreographers, professors, and mothers – reflects their histories, emotional experiences, and common ground. This two-part program marks the first collaboration between the Pina Bausch Foundation (Germany), École des Sables (Senegal), the international center for traditional and contemporary African dances, and Sadler's Wells (UK). 

Osvaldo Golijov

Falling Out of Time: A Tone Poem in Voices

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, November 3, 2022 / 7:30PM

Falling Out of Time is a new work from GRAMMY-winning composer Osvaldo Golijov. Rooted in David Grossman's novel of the same name, this infinitely nuanced story in voices narrates a profound journey of grief and solace, a journey "out of time" as parents grieve the death of a child, a quest to comprehend a loss with no name. The touring ensemble for Falling Out of Time brings together 13 performers and five technical/production staff members from Europe, North America, the Middle East, and South America. "Harrowing and hallucinogenic, this song cycle about bereavement and isolation has unintended resonance in a year that has familiarized so many with trauma and loss" (The New York Times).

Patricia Racette

Patricia Sings Piaf

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, December 8, 2022 / 7:30PM

Patricia Racette, one of the premier American sopranos of her generation, makes her long-awaited HTP Mainstage debut with an evening of songs by French chanteuse Edith Piaf, accompanied by pianist Craig Terry. Piaf's songs of love, loss, and sorrow made her a national icon of France and one of the country's most widely known and loved artists. In Racette's own words, "I find myself continually coming back to the songs of Piaf ... because of the raw, visceral nature of her delivery, the kind of drive that melded its way into all aspects of my own artistic identity over the years. Trying to emulate Piaf is not the goal – that has been done. This evening is my chance to put my voice on songs that create windows into the soul of her tragic and triumphant life."

Hamburg Ballet/John Neumeier

The Glass Menagerie

HTP Mainstage

Thursday, February 23, 2023 / 7:30PM

Friday, February 24, 2023 / 7:30PM

Saturday, February 25, 2023 / 7:30PM

The Glass Menagerie was the foundation of Tennessee Williams's fame as one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Williams intended to project the essence of human nature by telling the story from the perspective of individual memories – as a "memory play" – an approach embraced by Hamburg Ballet Artistic Director John Neumeier in this new ballet production. Neumeier says: "I saw The Glass Menagerie when I was seventeen, and its effect has never left me. The enormity of the characters' hopes, desires and dreams – expressed but sometimes written between the lines in Tennessee Williams's brilliant dramatic poetry – is the wordless inspiration for my choreography. In the original memory play, all action and emotion are remembered. In my "memory ballet," drama and biography, past and present, exist simultaneously and interact." 

Alonzo King LINES Ballet

With Jason Moran and Lisa Fischer 

HTP Mainstage

Friday, May 5, 2023 / 7:30PM

Saturday, May 6, 2023 / 7:30PM 

Alonzo King LINES Ballet returns to the Harris stage for the first time since 2015, with a new work featuring GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Lisa Fischer and jazz pianist, composer, and MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran performing live alongside the LINES Ballet dancers. The work is set to an original score by Moran, his ninth collaboration with King, and was created as part of the company's 40th anniversary season. 

Isabel Leonard and Pablo Sáinz Villegas

HTP Mainstage

Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / 7:30PM

Praised by Billboard as "the soul of the Spanish guitar", Pablo Sáinz-Villegas has become a worldwide sensation known as today's greatest guitarist. As described by the New York Times, his "virtuosic playing characterized by irresistible exuberance" conjures the passion, playfulness, drama, and rich musical heritage of La Rioja, his homeland. Isabel Leonard is a GRAMMY Award-winning mezzo-soprano who has performed leading roles in every major opera house in the world including The Met Opera, La Scala, and Vienna State Opera. The two join forces in a special vocal-guitar program, featuring popular arias and songs beloved around the world. 

Mix at Six

Ambi Subramaniam

The New King of Indian Classical Violin 

Mix at Six

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 / 6:00PM

Ambi Subramaniam started performing on stage when he was six years old as a prodigy of his world-renown violinist father, Dr. L. Subramaniam. Ambi was recently hailed the "new king of Indian classical violin" by the Times of India, and "India's Itzhak Perlman" by Ozy Magazine. Highlights of his international tours have included: the Barbican in London and Royal Festival Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, and Theatre de la Ville in France, Lincoln Center Out of Doors in New York City, and Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago. This will be Subramaniam's first appearance at Harris Theater. 

The Kingdom Choir

Mix at Six

Friday, March 3, 2023 / 6:00PM

London's The Kingdom Choir first attracted the world's attention when they performed their show-stopping performance of "Stand By Me" in front of a world-wide television audience of over two billion at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Since that day, the Choir's infectious joy and spirit, matched only by their raw Gospel spiritual style, has taken them around the world. The Choir will make their long-awaited Harris Theater debut – postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic – with performances on both the Mix at Six and Family Series.

Meklit 

Mix at Six

Thursday, March 9, 2023 / 6:00PM

Known for her electric stage presence and galvanizing live shows, Meklit Hadero has rocked stages from London to Cairo. The Ethiopian-American vocalist and songwriter makes music that sways between cultures and continents, blending jazz, folk and East African influences. An innovator and activist, Meklit founded the Nile Project and serves as a National Geographic Explorer and a TED Fellow. "Hadero's sound is a unique blend of jazz, Ethiopia, the San Francisco art scene and visceral poetry; it paints pictures in your head as you listen" (NPR's Tell Me More).

Nate Smith + KINFOLK

Mix at Six

Wednesday, April 5, 2023 / 6:00PM

Drummer, composer, and producer Nate Smith's visceral, instinctive, and deep-rooted style of drumming has led to three GRAMMY nominations and work with esteemed artists including Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Brittany Howard, Van Hunt, The Fearless Flyers, Norah Jones, and Somi. Smith fuses his original compositions with an eclectic mix of music, including everything from jazz to R&B to hip-hop to pop. Smith makes his Harris Theater debut with music and collaborators from Kinfolk 2, the second installment in a remarkable trilogy charting Smith's continuing evolution as a musician and composer.

Seth Parker Woods

Difficult Grace

Mix at Six

Thursday, April 20, 2023 / 6:00PM

Hailed by The Guardian as "a cellist of power and grace" who possesses "mature artistry and willingness to go to the brink," cellist Seth Parker Woods has established a reputation as a versatile artist straddling several genres. Difficult Grace is a genre-bending and theatrical multimedia concert tour de force conceived by and featuring him in the triple role of cellist, narrator/guide, and movement artist.

In Difficult Grace, Woods performs music written for and with him by Freida Abtan, Monty Adkins, Fredrick Gifford, Michael Gordon, Nathalie Joachim, and Pierre Alexandre Tremblay. Heightened by film, spoken texts, dance, and visual art by Jacob Lawrence, Barbara Earl Thomas, Zoë McLean, and Freida Abtan, Difficult Grace creates a vivid sonic and visual canvas that draws its inspiration from the Great Migration, archival research, immigration, and the poetry of Amiri Baraka and Dudley Randall.

Chamber Music Series

Through its many performance, education, recording, and broadcast activities, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center brings the exhilarating experience of great chamber music to more people than any other organization of its kind. This season marks the 12th year of partnership between CMS and the Harris, featuring four concerts including the complete Brandenburg Concertos — an annual tradition at the Harris:

Reflections

Thursday, October 6, 2022 / 7:30PM

James Lee III: Ekah for Cello and Piano 

Grazyna Bacewicz: Partita for Violin and Piano 

Györgi Ligeti: Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano, "Hommage à Brahms" 

Brahms: Trio in B major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 8

Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Stella Chen, violin; David Byrd-Marrow, horn; Sihao He, cello

Brandenburg Concertos

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 / 7:30PM

Bach's complete Brandenburg Concertos will be performed in their original instrumentation by 20 musicians from the Chamber Music Society roster.

Youthful Genius

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 / 7:30PM

Mozart: Trio in E major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, K. 542 

Saint-Saëns: Sonata No. 1 in C minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 32 

Korngold: Four Pieces for Violin and Piano from the Incidental Music to Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Op. 11 

Mendelssohn: Quartet in F minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 2 

Michael Brown, piano; Gilles Vonsattel, piano; Ani Kavafian, violin; Danbi Um, violin; Mark Holloway, viola; Paul Watkins, cello

Great Sonatas

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 / 7:30PM

Brahms: Sonata in E-flat major for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 120, No. 2

Shostakovich: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 147

Beethoven: Sonata in C minor for Violin and Piano, Op. 30, No. 2

Wu Qian, piano; Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola; Ricardo Morales, clarinet

About the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater

The Harris Theater is Chicago's home for music and dance, connecting diverse audiences with artists from across the city, the nation, and the world. Opened in 2003 in Millennium Park, the Theater was the first multi-use performance venue built in downtown Chicago since 1929, and fulfilled the city's need for a shared home for mid-size performing arts organizations. Today, the Harris features some of the most diverse arts and culture offerings of any venue in the city, and is a distinctive model for artistic quality, collaboration, and making the performing arts relevant and accessible to the widest possible audience. Founded on the principle of serving Chicago's vibrant creative community, the Theater is the home venue of more than 25 not-for-profit arts and culture organizations. The Harris Theater Presents series has featured world-renowned artists and ensembles including Laurie Anderson, Batsheva Dance, English National Ballet, Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir, Angélique Kidjo, and Paris Opéra Ballet. The Theater's community engagement initiatives build bridges between artists and community members, providing master classes, artist talks, and free tickets for more than 35 partner organizations throughout Chicago. To learn more about the Harris Theater, Chicago's state-of-the-art 1,500-seat performance venue in Millennium Park, visit harristheaterchicago.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.