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