A free film of Lyric Opera’s ‘The Factotum’ is coming soon to YouTube
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If you missed the Lyric Opera’s sold-out run of the world premiere of “The Factotum” at the Harris Theater, here’s some good news: the Lyric plans to release a film version of the show for free on its YouTube channel in April.
According to an announcement Tuesday, the film will be a project by Endangered Peace Productions in association with JJE Productions by Chicago filmmaker Raphael Nash. It will also include behind-the-scenes content, including interviews with the cast and the creative team.
Created by Grammy Award-winning baritone Will Liverman, DJ King Rico and Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, the opera is loosely based on Gioachino Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.” The show, which was commissioned by Lyric and the Houston Grand Opera, is set in a Black barbershop on Chicago’s South Side.
Despite some flaws, Tribune critic Chris Jones described “The Factotum” as “an extraordinary event in Chicago’s cultural history, re-imagining the definition of opera by setting the experience on so-called operatic voices (not that there is a hard and fast definition) and encompassing R&B, soul, funk, hip-hop and gospel vocal stylings.”
The Houston Grand Opera, Portland Opera and Washington National Opera are all slated to put on “The Factotum” in future seasons.
