Matthew Epstein’s departure from Chicago Lyric Opera won’t affect the company’s day-to-day operations much. But the experienced administrator brought a forward-thinking style that set the company apart. “Epstein’s departure at Lyric leaves no leading American opera company except David Gockley’s Houston Grand Opera with a bold artistic visionary among its top administrators. Everybody else is taking a cautious line and blaming artistic reticence on a sputtering economy.”