It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicol* Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma. The company was re-organized by Fox in 1956 under its present name and, after _her_ 1981 departure, it has continued to be of one of the major opera companies in the United States. <sep>, Pronoun: her <sep>, A: Carol Fox <sep>, B: Maria Callas