On September 1, 2011, the New Millennium Orchestra performed their Orchestra Hall debut with internationally acclaimed tenor Yonghoon Lee, to rapturous applause. The orchestra performed overtures to La Forza del Destino and Nabucco by Verdi, Bizet’s ever popular Prelude to Carmen, as well as the intimate Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana and the Meditation from Thais. The NMO also accompanied Lee as he performed a range of arias, from “La Fleur” from Carmen, “Ah! La paterna mano” from Verdi’s Macbeth, and “Addio alla madre” from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, to “Forse la soglia attinse” from Verdi’s Ballo in Maschera. Overall, the performance prompted raves from concertgoers, including the blog Wander Chicago Arts:http://wanderchicagoarts.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-millennium-orchestra-opera.html

Yonghoon Lee, whose upcoming schedule includes a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Ismaele in Nabucco in 2012, closed the program with several encores, including a rousing Korean folk song and a heartfelt rendition of “Amazing Grace.”