Lyric Opera of Chicago - Later Administrations, 1981 To The Present

Later Administrations, 1981 To The Present

Carol Fox was succeeded at the Lyric by her longtime assistant manager, Ardis Krainik (1981–1996), after whom the opera house was named, and then by William Mason (1997–2011). Mason held the position of General Director for over 15 years until Anthony Freud took over in October 2011.

Sir Andrew Davis is Lyric's music director and principal conductor, a post he has occupied since in September 2000. He led three complete cycles of Der Ring des Nibelungen in the 2004-2005 season to mark the company's 50th anniversary. Danny Newman was the company's long-time press agent from 1954 until his retirement in the 2001/02 season; Newman is largely credited as the founder of subscription-based arts marketing, the standard economic model for not-for-profit arts organizations in the United States. Philip David Morehead is head of music staff.