Ardis Krainik

Ardis Krainik (1929-1997) was born and bred in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Bitten by the theatrics bug, she studied music and drama at Northwestern. In 1951 she became a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Chorus but to garner extra income, Krainik also took on a job as a secretary for the opera company.  She worked her way up through the ranks becoming Assistant Manager in 1960, Artistic Administrator in 1975 and then the Lyric Opera’s General Director in 1980. At that time the Lyric Opera’s financial state was bleak but under Krainik’s leadership the opera company recovered financially and rose in musical stature internationally. Many of the opera world's biggest stars took part in Lyric’s productions during her tenure. That said, Krainik made news when she fired Luciano Pavarotti for his frequent last-minute performance cancellations.

Why this stop? The historic Quincy station in the Loop is a ten minute walk to the Lyric Opera House.

Connect — Go see the Lyric Opera of Chicago perform in the Ardis Krainik Theater at the Lyric Opera House. 

Photo courtesy of the Lyric Opera of Chicago