The Newberry Consort Artistic Director Liza Malamut on Collaborating with Haymarket to Present Peri’s Euridice

Almost four years ago, I moved from Boston to Chicago to assume artistic directorship of The Newberry Consort. It was a tremendous, and rather unexpected, life transition. Born and raised in the Northeast, I never imagined myself moving to the Midwest. I had been embedded in the Boston early-music community for nearly 15 years, and my colleagues there had become my dear friends. But, to paraphrase Bilbo Baggins, you never know when a new road or a secret gate might open before you, and I decided to take the leap. 

Craig Trompeter and Chase Hopkins were among the first early-music folks I met when my inaugural season with the Consort began. They both attended my first concert in Chicago, “Madama Europa at the Gonzaga Court,” and they warmly greeted me afterward with kind words of welcome. Not long after, they invited me to get cocktails with them at The Violet Hour (RIP!), where we enthusiastically discussed our dreams for historical performance projects in Chicago. In fall 2023, they extended an invitation for a first “mini” collaboration: a celebration of the 17th-century composers Sophie Elisabeth of Brunswick and Francesca Caccini. These separate projects integrated Newberry and Haymarket artists in each production, creating the foundation for later collaboration. Both projects were deeply fulfilling, both artistically and collegially. I discovered that Craig and Chase embodied, through their openness, welcome, and artistic integrity, the genuine warmth inherent in Chicago’s early-music scene.  I feel so fortunate to now be a part of it. 

I knew, then, that I was all in the day Chase, Craig, and I met for lunch in Old Town and the idea of an artistic collaboration was raised. What, we asked ourselves, would be an ideal first project that would simultaneously delight our audiences and showcase our two Chicago grassroots organizations at their very best?

After many more conversations, we realized that Jacopo Peri’s Euridice was that “perfect first.” In fact, the sheer number of alignments was uncanny: Euridice was the world’s first extant opera; its American premiere was in our own city of Chicago; that premiere was directed by Howard Mayer Brown, The Newberry Consort’s co-founder; and the opera’s original print was housed by the Newberry Library. And now it would be the first artistic collaboration between The Newberry Consort and Haymarket Opera.

It was a long process to take Euridice from the ideas table to the stage, but I can’t think of two better organizations to do it. From start to finish, the collaboration was thoughtful, collegial, and generous. We agreed from the beginning that this would be a “50-50” situation—both organizations would equally contribute to every task, from ticket sales and contracting to artistic decisions. During this time, Ben David Aronson was appointed executive director of The Newberry Consort, and all four of us met on a regular basis to discuss and decide on everything from venues and organ-tuning to orchestration and casting.

Craig and I also met many times on our own to make artistic decisions about orchestration, style, and affect. We’d meet at coffee shops or Craig’s home for hours on end, poring over the score and libretto until it got dark and we either ran out of steam or the coffee shop closed. It was in these sessions that we decided, among many things, that we would use a raw score inspired by Howard Mayer Brown’s edition of the opera; that we would integrate additional sinfonias based on historical practice; that Plutone (Jonathan Woody) would always have a section of infernal trombones accompanying him; that the harp would always be present when Orfeo (Scott Brunscheen) was speaking, and many other details. We also assigned each other individual tasks: Craig was in charge of the libretto and translations (with contributions by Italian Renaissance specialist Shawn Keener, who also created our beautiful surtitles), and I researched instrumental sinfonias that we both chose from to insert at appropriate moments. I created a performance copy of the score that integrated our joint decisions, with orchestrated parts for the brass; and Craig created a painstaking list of instructions and errata for the singers, using the original print to keep us in check. Frequent emails were exchanged: What do you think of XYZ? What should we do about ABC?

Together, we planned and led rehearsals, which continued to be a truly collaborative process. We chose to not use a conductor, but to make music as a chamber ensemble and as the instrumentalists would have done in Renaissance Florence. Chase’s experience as a stage director also encouraged each artist to engage with their role and bring it to life in an individual way that was unique to each character’s role and personality. The instrumentalists also contributed their vast knowledge and experience during the rehearsal process, leading to a final overall sound that was both unique to our ensemble and deeply authentic to the music.

Meanwhile, Ben David and Chase, with our stage manager Shelby Krarup and Newberry production staff Nick DeLaurentis and Delaney Spielman, kept our very large ship running smoothly. Not many people get to see the intense behind-the-scenes process that it takes to mount a concert, but it is all-consuming: moving instruments, making sure venues are running smoothly, managing ticket sales, making sure instruments, chairs, and stands are delivered…the list goes on. This is especially true when performing in new venues, which often present last-minute surprises or unexpected circumstances. 

The process truly was a labor of love, but the results of our efforts over the past 15 months truly showed in a way that even I did not anticipate. I will remember our opening night at the Art Institute for years to come. I have been a historical performer for two decades, and it is rare that I experience the kind of intensity and electricity that I felt between the musicians and audience members in our performances of Euridice. The beautiful Sospirate chorus had me nearly in tears, and Scott’s wonderful, celebratory aria had me dancing in my (very creaky) chair. Brandon Acker, one of our lutenists and an active musician in the Chicago early-music scene, told me later that he felt like he was “at a rock concert.” I have to agree. The multiple curtain calls and screams of appreciation from the audience made me realize that our hard work had paid off. We had aimed to bring our audiences joy and delight, and we did. 

This first collaboration between The Newberry Consort and Haymarket Opera Company won’t be our last! Life takes a lot of very unexpected turns, but I cannot be gladder—or prouder! —to be in a city that is so supportive of early music. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to make art with partners who not only understand and care about every aspect of historical performance, but whose generosity and kindness provide the foundation upon which early music not only survives, but thrives.

Learn more about Haymarket Opera Company and The Newberry Consort’s 2025 performance of Peri’s Euridice.

About the author

Liza Malamut is artistic director of The Newberry Consort in Chicago. A specialist in historical trombones, she has performed with premier period ensembles all over the world. Her scholarly work includes the coedited volume Music and Jewish Culture in Early Modern Italy: New Perspectives, winner of the 2023 Ruth A. Solie Award with Rebecca Cypess and Lynette Bowring; and, most recently, the article “Europa Rossi: A Question of Identity,” published in Min-Ad: Israel Studies in Musicology. She currently teaches historical trombone at Indiana University and recently assumed the directorship of the University of Chicago Early Music Ensemble.

About The Haymarket Review: This new digital publication including thoughts about  the work produced by Haymarket is designed to deepen our connection to audiences, nurture and feed audience curiosity about historical performance, offer critical opinions and thoughtful reflections on our performances, and provide a forum for Haymarket and its audience to connect through sharing insights, opinions, learning, and expertise.