Penelope Steiner: A Force for The Lyric Opera of Chicago

By Judy Carmack Bross

Penelope Steiner with the Carol Fox Award

“Opera is a living, breathing thing, and it never ceases to change, it always speaks to me in a language I can feel and every opera is a lesson. While everyone’s life can’t be a movie, it can be an opera. And mine would be a very happy one,” Penelope Steiner, recipient of the prestigious Carol Fox award at the annual meeting of the Lyric Opera.

Board Chair Sylvia Neil and General Director John Mangum

Sincere tributes abounded recently at the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s annual meeting when Penelope Steiner was acknowledged for “making Lyric a force in the world” as she received the Carol Fox Lifetime Achievement Award and was described as one of the opera company’s legendary women leaders.

Sylvia Neil, Chair of Lyric’s Board of Directors, told the annual meeting audience that “in a very short time, Penelope Steiner has become the soul of our Lyric family,” continuing:

“Lyric’s history is filled with remarkable strong women. Lyric was founded by Carol Fox who engineered the U.S. debut of legendary soprano Maria Callas on our stage. Lyric’s second General Director was Ardis Krainik, a force of nature in the 80s and 90s. Renee Fleming began her foray into opera administration and production at Lyric. Shirley Ryan has been the leading lady of Lyric for many years, and I was honored to become Lyric’s first female Board Chair in the history of the company. And now Penelope Steiner, a remarkable woman, joins Lyric’s history of remarkable women who have made Lyric remarkable, a cultural jewel in Chicago, and a force in the world, just like Penelope is — a force in the world.”

Neil noted:

“Penelope is experienced in civic life, and her major commitment of an unprecedented $25 Million gift to Lyric reflects her enthusiasm for what we have accomplished these past few years and her support of where we are going, a true gift of vanguard philanthropy. Penelope’s deep belief in opera’s power has led her to make an investment that will resonate for many, many years to come. I know she would want me to recognize the support of her family and foundation in making this extraordinary gift as well.”

Lyric’s General Director John Mangum who just completed his first seven months at Lyric, told us that he can’t help but catch the bustling energy of Chicago as he looks out his Lyric window on the skyline. “There is such energy at the Lyric which turns into creativity in one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world.”

Mangum described Steiner as a “savvy philanthropist who lifts up the whole operatic field and creates ripples that reach to American artists and their work. It allows us to affirm the Lyric as one of the leaders of opera around the world. Penelope’s inspiring generosity empowers us to expand our artistic vision, deepen our service to our community, expose more new audiences to opera, and create innovative productions that promote the vibrancy of our art form.”

Penelope Steiner Receives the 2025 Carol Fox Award for Lifetime Achievement

Penelope Steiner and John Mangum

We caught up with philanthropist and opera world transformer recently, recalling that Steiner’s Elizabeth Taylor glamor belied the hard work she had shown as a Junior League of Chicago and Latin School volunteer. She had just returned from a week in Tokyo with the Lyric Opera’s Elizabeth Hurley and Lawrence DelPilar viewing the opening night of Music Director Enrique Mazzola’s performance of Madame Butterfly at the New National Theater Tokyo “The Japanese company had chosen this production to be performed and the it received eight curtain calls.”

Penelope Steiner with Lyric Company Members

Born and raised in Chicago, Penelope Steiner’s lifelong connection to the arts began with studies at Mundelein College and an influential year abroad at Loyola University in Rome, where she first fell in love with opera when she attended a performance of Puccini’s La Bohème. She still considers La Bohème one of her favorite operas.

“I was about 18 or 19 and sort of like the heroine on the movie Pretty Woman, I knew I had to go to the opera. The Roman taxi drivers could sing all the arias, and it was an instant addiction for me,” she remembered.

Steiner also chaired the Chicago International Film Festival board and was noted for the movie review blog that she wrote before anyone thought of that model. “Movies will always be my second passion,” she said. “I don’t do anything half-heartedly and I don’t need to see my name in lights.”

The Steiner family

Steiner told the large annual meeting audience:

“Opera demands from viewers dedicated, unwavering absorption. For me, the Lyric Opera of Chicago is my life. It informs, invigorates and is the greatest fodder for growth and development. From my first encounter in Rome as a student, its enchanting tentacles wrapped around my soul and spirit, gloriously imprisoning for life, my life. I have a dimensionless admiration for the attributes it’s gifted me throughout my existence. The genre is unique, exceptional in touching every aspect of the human condition.”

Ryan Opera Center Ensemble Member, Tenor Daniel Luis Espinal performs that night

“Theatre and movies have become a vacuum yearning to disappear, inviting the audience to forget where they are and lose themselves in a fictional universe. Not everyone’s life can be a movie but everyone’s life can be an opera.

“Opera is breath, depth, heart, wisdom, health. It is pain, expectations and inimitable joy. There is an unmistakable, unimagined satisfaction in opera, answering daunting questions, percolating in our dreams, unveiling the ‘whys’ we never dared or were afraid to address. It offers contentment, humanity, humility, redemption, salvation. Its power is a salve, enabling the soul ad spirit to rise about the benign and grasp, even fleetingly the lavishness and sublimity of the divine.”

Sylvia Neil told the annual meeting audience:

“She and her extraordinary husband Bob were Lyric subscribers and patrons going back to the 1980s. But she just recently became more deeply involved, supporting Lyric Unlimited and then joining the Board in 2021. She has become a huge force in a short time, and her presence at Lyric has become foundational. She immediately joined the Enrique Circle, acting as chair, soliciting others to join this special significant Lyric commitment. She chaired Lyric trips, adopted Lyric artists, attended everything and embraced the Lyric family as her family. She developed special relationships with our Maestro, Elizabeth Hurley, and Lawrence DelPilar, and took our new General Director and his family under her wing. She became Lyrics number one ambassador. And she honored us by agreeing to become a vice chair of the company.”

Ryan Opera Center Ensemble Pianist Michael Banwarth and Emily Richter that evening

“Opera, more than any art form, embraces all artistic disciplines, spreading its light through the universe and touching all with its iconic aura. Lyric has the power to galvanize, challenge, and unite individuals and cultures unlike any other artistic endeavor,” Steiner said. “Lyric’s magic will be a motivating factor for generations to come; how privileged I have been to have recognized its divination and contribute to its legacy.”

Since joining Lyric’s Board of Directors in 2021, she has served on the Executive Committee, helping to shape the company’s future. She was recently elected Vice Chair. As President of the Robert and Penelope Steiner Foundation, her generosity extends across the city, supporting organizations.

Sara Anstoetter, Robert Steiner Jr., Nicole Steiner, and Penelope Steiner

“I have been very blessed in my life. I always knew I wanted to be a person of largesse in the right way. My husband felt the same way and encouraged me. I am grateful to have lived a very blessed life, and mine would be a very happy opera,” Steiner said.

In the recently announced 2025/26 season, John Mangum shared plans for an increased level of artistic activity including innovative and dynamic presentations of core operatic classics plus concerts, movies, and a groundbreaking collaboration with Smashing Pumpkins founder Billy Corgan to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the seminal alt-rock classic Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. “Corgan reached out to us after attending the Lyric’s Mozart Requiem, and in November you will be able to see the fruits of this partnership. It is very cool,” Mangum said.

Women’s Board President Karen Gray-Krehbiel