RBG: Chicago's Lyric Opera pays tribute

The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told Lyric Opera’s Near North Chicago chapter in 2018 that opera was her favorite art form and that she dreamed of being a diva, “but my grade school music teacher rated me a sparrow, not a robin.”

Justice Ginsburg nevertheless fulfilled her dreams of appearing onstage in several turns as a “supernumerary,” which is akin to an extra in a movie. One of those appearances was with fellow Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer as the black-robed “Supremes,” or guests of the Prince Orlofsky during a ball scene in the Johann Strauss opera, “The Fledermaus” (The Bat).

She had a rare speaking role in November 2016, at age 83, with tenor Lawrence Brownlee in Washington National Opera’s production of “La Fille du Régiment” (The Daughter of the Regiment) as the Duchess of Krakenthorp. The duchess is similar to the comic dowagers in Marx Brothers movies and had been played in the past by comediennes Bea Arthur and Hermione Gingold.

The script was altered for Ginsburg so that she was able to say that the best leaders of the House of Krakenthorp had been “persons with open but not empty minds, individuals willing to listen and learn,” according to NPR.org. “Is it any wonder that the most valorous members…have been women?”

During the Near North Chapter event in September 2018, Lyric Opera of Chicago General Director, President & CEO Anthony Freud interviewed Ginsburg at the University Club after she shared remarks on the intersection of law and opera. This was the second time that Freud shared a stage with her, the first being a 2012 panel by the Advisory Board for the Arts called "Arias of Law: The Rule of Law at Work in Opera and the Supreme Court."

"It was an honor to hear Justice Ginsburg talk about the art form that we all know and love that night," Freud shared, "and to have the opportunity to ask her about her experiences with and thoughts on opera. The intersections between opera and the law are many and varied, and Justice Ginsburg was fascinating in her insights on the subject. Everyone there that evening was taken by her obvious passion for the art and for the artists she's met throughout her remarkable career."

Lyric's own Board Chair Sylvia Neil, a distinguished lawyer who has devoted her career to establishing opportunities for women and being a champion for social justice, said that Ginsburg influenced her very much. "As a young lawyer, I was privileged to be present at meetings where Justice Ginsburg was developing her strategies for fighting sex discrimination. She continued to inspire me throughout my own career as an advocate for women's rights. And as an opera lover myself, I embrace her idea that one can find peace and replenishment through performances of great music."

The 2018 program with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Anthony Freud, featuring an introduction from Jim Ginsburg, is available at Lyric’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl0Dv69uTPE

--Suzanne Hanney, from Lyric Opera of Chicago and online sources Ruth bader ginsburg Chicago's Lyric Opera pays tribute to the passionate opera fan