Three days after childbirth, she conducted an opera

This weekend, at Chicago Theater, music director Lidiya Yankovskaya conducted the end-of-run performance of Mark Adamo’s one-act opera Becoming Santa Claus. Not many realised that she had just given birth.

Here’s her account of it:

#babybump at last week’s opening, and 3-day-old #newbaby as I conduct this week’s closing!

I am so fortunate to work at Chicago Opera Theater with #bosslady Ashley Magnus, who believes in my having say over my body and trusts me to do my job, and Brittany Nelson who is always there supporting me 110% in any situation. Thank you to [assistant conductor] Eli Chen for being ready to step in beautifully for Friday’s show, and the entire cast, orchestra, and production team for their incredible performance throughout the run of #BecomingSantaClaus!

When I started conducting, multiple people told me that women shouldn’t be doing this job because of its “physical demands.” They never could explain to me what those extreme demands might be (they certainly aren’t much compared to childbirth!). When I had my first kid, multiple people told me that no one wanted to see a pregnant conductor, that you couldn’t possibly conduct while taking care of a newborn, and that-for a woman-having children and conducting are incompatible. I also realized at the time that I had virtually no role models in this endeavor, none at all in the United States (thank you to Simone Young for paving the way and her fellow Aussies Jessica Gethin and Natalie Murray Beale, along with many non-conductor performing colleagues, for your advice!). Many of you told me horror stories. But, I’ve also been so, so lucky to be surrounded by some exceptionally suportive colleagues at really great music organizations.

May this ridiculous, sexist stigma continue to disappear. Pregnancy and childbirth are a personal matter, which should not cause others to define a woman’s ability to perform on her behalf. Give women support when they need it and when they ask for it, but NEVER assume that pregnancy or parenthood would prevent a person from doing anything she did before.

I must acknowledge here that all this is possible due to the incredible Dan Schwartz, who truly sees having kids as an equal partnership and supports me every step of the way in all my endeavors. I also note that just as with anything else in life, not all women have the same level of health, privilege, and support. I feel extremely lucky.