THE SECOND CITY GUIDE TO THE OPERA

"Although everyone can sing, Curnow and Holcomb remind us why we come to the Lyric. Their pop-up arias are stellar..." - Katy Walsh, Chicago Theater Beat "Curnow kills both vocally and comedically in both a bit where a lucky backpacker (Joey Bland) meets a charming Italian and in another where she's seducing an unwilling co-worker..." - Zach Freeman, NewCityStage.com "While the dream team of Molly Brennan, Tim Ryder, Joey Bland, Timothy Sniffen and Lili-Anne Brown are agile jesters, the stand outs are real-life opera singers, mezzo-soprano Lauren Curnow and tenor Bernard Holcomb. They are not only easy on the ears, but also have us in stitches..." - Betty Mohr, Le Bon Travel and Culture "Lauren Curnow, another Ryan Center alum, performed the Habanera from Carmen in its truest form by seducing Tim Sniffen and then stepping into the audience to flirt with two lucky men.." - Erin Cano, Examiner.com "The snippets of actual performances, from tenor Bernard Holcomb and especially mezzo-soprano Lauren Curnow, will make you want to check the Lyric's upcoming fall season..." - Tomi Obaro, Chicagomag.com "Both Curnow and Holcomb are strikingly engaging comics, with Holcomb a pleasure throughout and Curnow killing during one segment where she wraps her pipes around a decidedly questionable repertoire consisting of material made famous by Carly Rae Jepsen and the Empire Carpet company. Such moments, along with Melewski's acerbic takedowns of the public master class, are when the show is at its best: when operatic form and the improvisational art truly are integrated in a way that feels like it's pushing the envelope, formatively speaking.." - Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune