Triggered Warning | Standing at the Intersection of Gun Violence, Terrorism, and Creative Expression

I walked out of Bel Canto at the Lyric Opera of Chicago last night.

I’ve read Ann Patchett’s awesome fictional account of the 1996-1997 Lima Crisis. I’ve read it twice. I knew exactly what I was in store for with this original opera version of the 2001 award-winning novel. I knew there would be terror, and hostages, and singing, and politics, and art. Creative expression. Smoke and mirrors.

A letter from Lyric’s general director, Anthony Freud, was placed inside the front cover of the progr...