Uploaded October 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

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Joffrey co-founder Gerald Arpino used music by Giuseppe Verdi for a commission by Becky D’Angelo in 1986 as a birthday present to her husband Dino, who owned Chicago’s Civic Opera House (now Lyric Opera House) and loved Verdi’s music.

See “Birthday Variations” October 13–24 during our upcoming program Home: A Celebration.

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