Conductor to miss opera’s opener

Andrew Davis, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s music director and principal conductor, will undergo leg surgery next week that will cause him to miss more than a month of performances, the Lyric announced Friday.

Davis, 62, has had pain in his left leg for some time and the surgery, a femoral popliteal artery bypass, is intended to “increase his comfort and mobility,” Lyric spokeswoman Magda Krance said.

The surgery will keep Davis from conducting the Sept. 16 opening of the Lyric’s 52nd season. Bruno Bartoletti, his predecessor at Lyric who is now Lyric’s artistic director emeritus, will replace him for six performances of the David Hockney production of Puccini’s “Turandot,” the Lyric announced.