South Bend Lyric brings opera 'close to the people' thanks to this Romanian tenor
Article Written by: Joseph Dits
South Bend Tribune
Emanuel-Cristian Caraman, the Founding Artistic Director of South Bend Lyric Opera, poses for a portrait in Langlab on Thursday, Aug. 21st 2025, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE
Why Is Opera Important?
“Sometimes we get lost in thinking, ‘Oh, opera is an art form for the elite,’ and it’s not,” Caraman said.
Opera, he said, is much more personal.
It involves plots that weave between a tangle of characters and their emotions. Take, for example, the love triangle of a singer, painter and police chief in Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” set in Rome in 1800, at a time of intense political upheaval while Napoleon’s invasion threatened the Kingdom of Naples’ grip on the city.
South Bend Lyric performed "Tosca” in March with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra and South Bend Chamber Singers at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.
In such emotional stories, Caraman said, opera becomes “an out-loud expression of the human brain” and its memories. It’s a “three-dimensional art form that surrounds us.”
“Music touches our brain and emotions more than spoken words,” he said.