2021 Winter Impact Report

2021 IMPACT REPORT: BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR CHANGE

MN Opera patrons enjoy Opera in the Outfield at CHS Field in September 2020.

Photo © Tim Rummelhoff

What you make possible.

E

verything that Minnesota Opera achieves as a company hinges on our ability to connect with our community and bring people together.

When the pandemic turned our world on its head last year, we were faced with myriad challenges we weren't immediately sure how to overcome. Figuring out how to sustain our artists and engage with our audience without being able to meet at the Ordway seemed like an impossible feat.

But change often leads to growth. This year has given us the opportunity to hone our skills around digital media. It’s helped us think critically about how to introduce opera as an artform to people we otherwise might not reach. And it's provided the space for us to take meaningful action in our approach to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

These growth opportunities have helped Minnesota Opera as an organization build for a better future—one where we can eventually gather together in person.

Our Mission Minnesota Opera changes lives by bringing together artists, audiences, and community, advancing the art of opera for today and for future generations.

Our Vision Minnesota Opera will sing every story.

Our Values Innovation, Inclusivity, Collaboration, Purpose.

Wuthering Heights, 2011 © Michal Daniel

2021 IMPACT REPORT: BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR CHANGE

4 Making an Impact

Lee Bynum outlines his vision for MN Opera’s newly created Impact Department

6 Opera in the Outfield

Embracing different circumstances to engage new and existing audiences

8 MNiatures: Tiny Operas, Big Ideas Offering a platform and resources to underrepresented artists

9 The Art vs. The Artist

Grappling with the controversial lives behind some classic works of art

10 Supporting Artists and Engaging Audiences from a Distance Pursuing art during a pandemic

12 Students of Opera Adjust to Online Learning

Re-imagining creative instruction in a virtual world

14 Singing Every Story

Connecting with audiences in different languages

15 Diversity Charter

Introducing MN Opera’s Diversity Charter

2021 IMPACT REPORT | 3

AREA OF IMPACT: BROADENED PERSPECTIVES

Making an Impact

Lee Bynum outlines his vision for MN Opera’s newly created Impact Department

Dear friends, Four years ago, Minnesota Opera embarked on a serious probing of its values and practices relative to diversity and inclusion. In the intervening period, the ground under our feet has shifted mightily.

The last nine months have been particularly unnerving, with an incalculably devastating airborne pandemic and the exposure of levels of political fissures unseen in decades. Further challenging our efforts to produce world-class opera are changing demographics, a declining familiarity with classical music, and an increasingly unsteady funding landscape.

For nearly six decades, Minnesota Opera has been an anchor in the Twin Cities, and consequently, we have a responsibility to respond artistically and materially to that which is happening here. We are learning to recognize these inflection points as opportunities to open our arms to greater portions of the community.

The future of our craft is tied to forging genuine connections with a much wider range of communities, such that they are represented in the audience, behind the scenes, and in the art itself. Accordingly, we are mobilizing our resources to be intentional about investment, engagement, and representation.

The next phase of the company’s equity work will be led by the newly created Impact department. In addition to offering high-quality training in opera’s constituent disciplines, our mandate is to actuate key aspects of the Diversity Charter, identifying tangible, measurable goals and ameliorating internal and external practices. The Charter represents the beginnings of a critical dialogue with the community on the myriad ways that systemic injustice has affected the organization and artform, as well as provides the fundaments of a roadmap for overcoming them. The Impact team will endeavor to inspire a passion for exploring, ideating, and learning through empowering equitable, person-centered programs that foster socioemotional growth, civic engagement, and musical skill-building.

It bears repeating that the most powerful tool for social change that reposes with Minnesota Opera is the music itself, and the Impact department’s work concerns the ways the performance, teaching, creation, and enjoyment of opera can illuminate previously untold stories, amplify the artistic voices of those commenting constructively on social issues, and broaden considerably the canonical representation of populations underrepresented because of ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, linguistic background, and socioeconomic circumstance. Rocky, Mitra, Pablo, Paige, Rebecca, Sara, and I look forward to sharing this work with you.

With warm regards,

Lee Bynum Vice President, Impact

4 | 2021 IMPACT REPORT

MN Opera Impact Department

MITRA SADEGHPOUR

ROCKY JONES

PABLO SIQUEIROS

Education Director

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Director

Public Programs Associate Director

Mitra directs Project Opera, the

Rocky directs the Company’s internal

Pablo directs creative aging and

summer camps, and other initiatives

efforts to infuse principles of equity,

public programs, and guides the

for high school and college students.

diversity, and inclusion into its policies and

Company’s efforts to improve access

She also liaises with various field-wide

operations, as well as communications

for patrons, staff members, artists,

organizations on the Company’s behalf.

efforts for the Impact unit. He also chairs

and the community.

the staff Diversity Council.

PAIGE REYNOLDS

REBECCA BLACKWELL

SARA SAWYER

Civic Engagement Manager

Creative Development Manager

School Programs Associate Manager

Paige manages internal and

Rebecca designs, manages, and

Sara co-manages Music Out Loud,

external community engagement

teaches youth development

and more generally, serves as a vocal

initiatives, liaises with the Tempo

programming, including Music

pedagogist for our programs.

Council, and serves as a facilitator

Out Loud and Stories Sing!

for various programs.

2021 IMPACT REPORT | 5

AREA OF IMPACT: AUDIENCE STEWARDSHIP

Opera in the Outfield: Different Circumstances, New Opportunities In the midst of challenging circumstances and new programming, MN Opera managed to reach new audiences.

T

o say that 2020 was a year full of surprises might just be the understatement of the century.

to take the proper precautions and abide by the guidelines established by the Minnesota Department of Health.

With theaters closed and people stuck at

Quisenberry and the MN Opera team then

home, opera as we know it has ostensibly

worked closely with the staff at CHS Field

been put on an indefinite pause. But

to ensure the right policies and procedures

thanks to some careful planning and

were in place, prioritizing the safety of

meticulous organizing, 2020 revealed

every individual without sacrificing the

yet another surprise with an unlikely

experiential nature of the event itself.

collaboration that combined two classic pastimes: baseball and opera.

In partnership with CHS Field on

Meanwhile Stage Director David Radamés Toro and Video Designer David Murakami put together an entirely unique

September 24 and September 26,

program featuring selections from classics

Minnesota Opera put on its first live

like La Traviata, The Marriage of Figaro,

event in seven months with Opera in

Romeo & Juliet, and Don Pasquale.

the Outfield, a one-of-a-kind twist on favorites new and old in a safe, physically distanced atmosphere.

MN Opera Vice President of Production Karen Quisenberry worked diligently 6 | 2021 IMPACT REPORT

The event also featured music from newer works like Blue—an opera that focuses on racial inequity that MN Opera had to postpone from its 2020–2021 season—and The Fix, a recent addition to

MN Opera’s New Works Initiative that further brought the event’s baseball theme to life.

The video element of Opera Stage Director—and in the Outfield was Resident Artist then projected Program Alum—David onto CHS Field’s Radamés Toro. jumbotron, making for an immersive all-around experience, visually akin to the aesthetic throughout Fantasia in terms of colors, shapes, and feel.

The overall result was an experience unlike any other, featuring operatic hits new and old while bringing the community together in a smart and safe way—at a time when many needed it most. Even though it was unlike anything MN Opera has ever produced in the past, Opera in the Outfield went on to exceed its patron attendance goals. What’s more, 39% of the event’s audience was new, which means MN Opera managed to extend its reach even during these peculiar circumstances. All in all, Opera in the Outfield was a home run.

1,450 ATTENDEES at CHS Field over two nights.

324 HOUSEHOLDS

The event was so well put together and such fun integrating it with baseball themes, games, etc. So creative.”

chose the digital experience.

39% NEW AUDIENCES to Minnesota Opera.

Everything was easy, the program was fun, the music was great.”

$46,235 combined revenue from in-person event and digital experience.

I LOVED IT.”

Photos © Tim Rummelhoff

AREA OF IMPACT: PROVIDING A PLATFORM

MNiatures: Tiny Operas, Big Ideas MN Opera offers its platform and resources to new and diverse artists of Minnesota

T

Kashimana Ahua & Khary Jackson

his past December, Minnesota Opera introduced MNiatures, a new program intended to make space

for new and diverse voices in and around the opera world by offering them a platform to create and share their stories.

As part of its overall mission, MN Opera strives to advance the art of opera for future generations, and with

Ritika Ganguly & Roshan Ganu

the creation of MNiatures, we hope to provide an opportunity for new voices, genres, and stories to take center stage. This program supports teams of creators who have developed and recorded a brief, fully original piece of work—with the intention that the result might challenge traditional connotations associated with opera.

"A big focus for Minnesota Opera

Asako Hirabayashi & Rebecca Nichloson

as an organization has been to better understand the barriers that surround opera as an artform,” said Ryan Taylor.

“One of the ways we want to tackle those barriers is by actively making space for new stories to be told, from artists with varying backgrounds and expertise.

We’re also using this as an opportunity to be intentional about promoting diversity among opera creators. Opera is a discipline that has historically neither promoted nor celebrated the work of composers who are women and people

Charlie McCarron & Oanh Vu

of color, and that reality has informed the creation and structure of this program.”

MNiatures features composers, lyricists, librettists, songwriters, visual artists, and others interested in the operatic creative process—from those with traditional operatic training to those with experience outside the classical artform.

“Our goal with this program is to reach creative thinkers who we might not have otherwise reached, and to give them the space and resources they need to freely create something entirely of their own,” Vice President of Artistic Priti Gandhi said.

8 | 2021 IMPACT REPORT

Creators who are participating in the program have worked in teams of two or

of their performances, both musically and visually. Each team will receive a $3,500

more, developing a composition between 10 and 12 minutes in length that features a narrative element written primarily for

stipend, along with additional funding and support for singers and instrumentalists for the final presentation.

the voice. During this time, MN Opera has facilitated a series of virtual meetings and provided professional video and audio

Submissions were due by November 5 and program recipients were notified on

recordings of the final compositions.

Teams also have had the opportunity to collaborate with MN Opera artistic and production staff to support the creation

November 13. Filming and recording took place in late January, after which the rollout of the digital release of MNiatures began February 5, 2021.

AREA OF IMPACT: GROWING AWARENESS

The Art vs.

The Artist Grappling with the controversial lives behind some classic works of art

I

n the months leading up to the premiere of Das Rheingold 3D, Minnesota Opera was grappling

with a difficult question: Does Richard Wagner’s anti-Semitism negate the quality and importance of the artistic work he created—and does that work belong on stage knowing what we know about Wagner’s ideals?

It’s a question facing many pieces of classic artwork today, across all sorts of mediums. And at a time when racial and religious tensions are running high around the world, it’s a necessary question to pose, no matter the significance of the work in question.

Rather than ignore Wagner’s controversial past, MN Opera felt the need to confront this question head-on.

Public Programs Associate Director Pablo Siqueiros organized a panel discussion focused on this topic featuring MN Opera’s Vice President of Artistic Priti Gandhi; New Yorker music critic Alex Ross; producer and director Hilan Warshaw; and arts journalist Pamela Espeland.

This panel discussion explored the conflict between the controversial lives of certain composers—Wagner, in particular— and the decision to produce their work, framing the discussion around the fact that many opera companies throughout the country have recently expressed their support for more equity, diversity, and inclusion in the industry.

“Our artform can teach us so much about our own history,” Gandhi said during the discussion. “I think presenting the art should happen as long as we continue to talk about it like we are now.

I think it has so much to teach us about how far we still have to go.”

Should the artists and their work reflect the values of its audience? Should certain composers and their operas be left for the history books?

“We as a company have a responsibility to present all of the facets of these questions and create conversations like this,” Gandhi said.

The panel resulted in a complex discussion weighing the importance of showcasing a work such as Das Rheingold while highlighting the problematic history associated with its composer.

“It’s wonderful that we’re creating more conversations,” Gandhi said. “Because it’s all about engaging and what we will learn from our community about what they want to hear and how they want to be reflected from what we produce.”

In case you missed this conversation and would like to hear the broader discussion surrounding this topic, you can view the entire video by visiting MN Opera’s YouTube channel.

2021 IMPACT REPORT | 9

AREA OF IMPACT: CREATIVE AND ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE

Supporting Artists and Engaging Audiences from a Distance MN Opera's pursuit of art in the age of social distancing

S

ince its inception, Minnesota Opera’s mission has been focused on providing a stage for

Ticket buyers received a specialty

artists and connecting with audiences

3D glasses kit.

interested in opera as an artform. It’s right there in the mission statement: “Minnesota Opera changes lives by bringing together artists, audiences, and community, advancing the art of opera for today and for future generations.”

But how is this mission possible during a time when gathering has been replaced with social distancing?

The success of the artists MN Opera promotes depends, in large part, on the audience. And without the artists, there is no audience to begin with. Even so, MN Opera has worked tirelessly over the course of the past nine months to make it possible to continue to connect our audience with the artists they cherish— while doing our part to protect both from the perils of the pandemic.

When the pandemic struck, shuttering the Ordway’s doors and leaving artists suddenly out of work, the artistic and production teams at MN Opera put our collective heads together to brainstorm ways we could use our platform to help.

These discussions consisted of many challenging questions: How can we create unique and interesting content for our audiences when they’re stuck at home? If we want new and original

entirely new spectacle for our audience

production of Das Rheingold. Both of

while supporting two artists who have

these productions have been lauded for

contributed so much to our community.

their unique visual aesthetics and strong

Similarly, MN Opera enlisted two alumni from the Resident Artist Program and two former members of Project Opera in order to create A Holiday Special—Live!, which streamed live from the Ordway and on demand afterwards.

scores, meaning the effort to render them digitally was a daunting and audacious task.

With Wuthering Heights, MN Opera saw an opportunity to recall an opera that, at the time and perhaps even still,

performances, how can we capture that

As for brand new work, MN Opera

in a safe and responsible manner? And

co-produced the world premiere of The

production serving as a reinterpretation

what are the processes that need to be in

Trial of Susan B. Anthony, a song cycle

of an old story, this digital offering was

place in order to bring content like this to

by Steven Mark Kohn performed by Myra

yet another opportunity for MN Opera to

life and directly into people’s homes?

Huang and Adriana Zabala, who played

be the champion of great stories often

A shining example of these discussions resulted in Guns N’ Rosenkavalier, a genre-bending rock recital featuring Resident Artist Program alum Andrew Wilkowske and Lara Bolton performing everything from Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss to

multiple roles in the seven-movement piece outlining the activist’s quest for justice. This piece in particular falls in line

overlooked.

“It was an old opera we were giving

with MN Opera’s continued interest in

a second chance, which is wonderful—

telling stories that reflect the current state

there should be more of that happening

of the world or are otherwise relevant.

all over,” said Eric Simonson, the Stage

This year also saw MN Opera offer its

Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Van Halen.

first ever digital-exclusive releases by

By commissioning this recording, MN

bringing back to life 2011’s production

Opera was able to help distribute an

of Wuthering Heights and 2016’s

10 | 2021 IMPACT REPORT

was considered very obscure. With 2011’s

Director for the 2011 production of Wuthering Heights. “It was exciting to see an excellent and neglected work come to life.”

Guns N’ Rosenkavalier

The Trial of Susan B. Anthony

For Das Rheingold, the challenge was

MN Opera was able to reach an entirely

more about preserving the spectacle

new milestone by building out its profile

of the original production so that it

as an early adopter of new technology

translated to digital formats in a way

and innovation. At the time, the 2016

that made sense for the audience. In

production was reimagined with

partnering with digital production

innovative video and staging, making it

company Sweet Sadie to offer Das

an exceptional choice for today’s 3D or

Rheingold in 2D, 3D, and virtual reality,

virtual reality experience.

A Holiday Special—Live!

“We were very proud to be able to bring this momentous production back to life in a way that did justice to the luster of the original in-person experience,” said MN Opera President and General Director Ryan Taylor.

2021 IMPACT REPORT | 11

AREA OF IMPACT: DEVELOPING ARTISTS

Students of Opera Adjust to Online Learning Re-imagining Creative Instruction in a Virtual World

C

an you achieve the goals of a live music camp experience in a virtual format? That’s the question

leaders of Minnesota Opera’s education department pondered at the beginning of the pandemic and leading up to the annual education summer camps. Not only would education staff be teaching young students about the skill and technique

“The questions that we asked of the students were aimed at exploring important aspects of their identity, their experiences, their values, their perspectives of the world, and how art— and specifically opera—could be used as a vehicle for change,” added Creative Development Manager Rebecca Blackwell.

required of opera singers, they would

By fostering an open discussion

be tasked with doing so in an entirely

throughout, the education team was

different format.

able to keep students engaged from

In re-imagining this program to accommodate social distancing, the

afar as they learned about skills acquisition, solo and group performance,

MN Opera education team worked on

and the social interactions prevalent in

formatting the structure of summer camps

the opera community.

while reconfiguring the curriculum in a way that made it easily digestible for the students’ virtual experience.

“In order to engage in difficult conversations about things going on in the world around us, we worked to create a supportive and affirming environment,” said Education Director Mitra Sadeghpour.

And despite the virtual format, many of the students walked away with new friends and a newfound interest in opera as an artform.

“I did this camp physically two years ago, and although we were all together in the same room, the friendships I made

“Throughout these discussions around

this time around were so much stronger,”

creating the final projects, we functioned

said 15-year-old camper Alejandro. “Thank

more as facilitators, allowing the students

you for facilitating such an awesome

to speak freely.”

environment.”

12 | 2021 IMPACT REPORT

I loved learning how to be super vulnerable and open to others. I learned about the things in society and opera that I can help to change.”

—Paige, 16-year-old camper

The gifts of the camp weren’t just the music, but also the in-depth approach to understanding and

Minnesota Opera’s Education Camp was the highlight of my daughter’s COVID summer. The day was not only song-filled, but included her first experience swashbuckling, which she found to be a blast!”

taking in the art in a respectful way with an eye toward inclusivity, diversity, and empathy.”

—Parent of Summer Camp Participant

—Parent of Summer Camp Participant

Photos © Mitra Sadeghpour

AREA OF IMPACT: BUILDING DIVERSE AUDIENCES

Singing Every Story The story behind MN Opera’s effort to reach audiences that speak languages other than English

D

espite the fact that opera is an

This opera marks the first to incorporate

artform derived from countries

the Hmong language as well as traditional

all over the world often in

Kwv txhiaj (Hmong song poetry).

languages other than English, opera has gained some notoriety for its exclusive

“The adaptation of a Hmong story

nature. At Minnesota Opera, we’ve worked

into opera is something the world has

hard to understand that, while some

never seen before,” said Yang. “And in

art is inherently “for” some people, it is

the world that we live in, so fraught with

oftentimes considered not “for” others.

the dangers of war and its consequences,

In an effort to tackle this exclusionary barrier head-on, MN Opera is actively pursuing work that includes those groups of people who might have otherwise been excluded from the stories that opera has to tell.

One example of this work has been commissioning the world premiere of The Song Poet as part of Project Opera’s programming. Based on a novel by St. Paul author Kao Kalia Yang, The Song Poet is the touching true story of Yang’s

now is the time to see this happen.”

In addition to adapting its programming, MN Opera is also looking to connect with students who speak languages other than English. For the past two years, Public Programs Associate Director Pablo Siqueiros has hosted a one-week residency where he taught a 2nd grade music class in Spanish at Jefferson Elementary in Minneapolis. The idea was to connect students, many of whom are

father Bee and his undying love for his

new to the country and still developing

family, as they journey as refugees from

their English language skills, with a

the mountains of Laos to start a new life

professional who is a native Spanish-

in the United States.

speaker like them.

14 | 2021 IMPACT REPORT

“The connection was very apparent in the student and teacher feedback, as well as the emotional reaction from the students when the residency was over,” Siqueiros said.

The success of this residency has incited discussions at MN Opera to offer residencies in other languages more broadly, the extent of which has yet to be determined. All in all, this residency serves as a meaningful case study in the importance of connecting with students (and, speaking more broadly, audiences) who speak other languages—and the positive impact those efforts can have.

“There is, in my mind, no question that every culture—every people—holds the stuff of great opera,” Yang said. “Beautifully poignant stories set in tumultuous times that communicate the yearning of the human heart and the adventures we go on in order to reach our possibilities against the limits of our lives.”

AREA OF IMPACT: ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Italian Straw Hat, 2019 © Cory Weaver

Expanding the Role of An Arts Organization MN Opera's new Diversity Charter

A

t Minnesota Opera, we aim to inspire hope, empower all voices, and strengthen bonds between people of all backgrounds and identities. To this end, MN Opera commits itself to continuously work to become an antiracist and anti-oppressive organization. We acknowledge that along our journey, our culture and the world around us is constantly evolving. We will inevitably make mistakes. We choose to accept that reality and will humbly begin again in order to lean into this practice.

This is the overall approach MN Opera has taken in the new implementation of the Diversity Charter, which the organization will reference as we continue to address inequity throughout the opera world.

“I think it’s so important as we carry this work forward that we have a document that articulates not only our goals but identifies the core values driving us toward them,” said Rocky Jones, Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at MN Opera. “I look at this Charter as the North

Star, a fixed point that will always serve to remind us of who we are and guide us through the wilderness and toward a brighter tomorrow.”

When MN Opera first formalized its commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, the organization’s Board of Directors passed a Charter establishing a standing Diversity Council to define, implement, review, measure, and improve diversity initiatives at the company.

The Council, comprised of both leadership and staff, met annually while work was guided by a Steering Committee. In order to improve efficiency and amplify impact, the structure was updated in the 2019–2020 season and the group unified under one Diversity Council. This group now meets monthly, comprised of both leadership and staff.

“For centuries, opera houses have been spaces of exclusion and therefore spaces that served to uphold systems

and the rest of the opera industry begin to reckon with that reality, take accountability, and do whatever possible to aid in providing measures of healing and justice to all the members our community who have been made to feel excluded in the past.”

Opera was created in order to capitalize on the collaboration of a multiplicity of creative disciplines. MN Opera recognizes that opera—the performers, the productions, and the music—has been subject to systems of oppression that restrict access and ownership over the art form. We believe that pursuing anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices enhances the beauty and power of the form itself, and amplifies the tremendous artistry cultivated in our musical storytelling.

“MN Opera is not just an arts organization,” Jones said. “We are a civic institution. And as such, it is our responsibility to provide spaces of refuge and hope for everyone.”

of oppression and inequity,” Jones continued. “It’s beyond time that we 2021 IMPACT REPORT | 15

620 North 1st St Minneapolis, MN 55401 mnopera.org

Your loyalty sustains our mission.

Minnesota Opera commissioned Resident Artist Program alum Andrew Wilkowske and Lara Bolton to record the genre-bending rock recital Guns N’ Rosenkavalier exclusively for MN Opera subscribers and donors. From Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss to Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Van Halen, this hybrid performance allowed MN Opera to showcase brand new content for its most loyal supporters while supporting the performers who make that art possible.

Photo © Tim Rummelhoff

To learn more, visit mnopera.org.

| 612-333-6669 | development@mnopera.org