Minnesota Opera's Tosca by Minnesota Opera

MARCH 12 – 26, 2016

2015–2016 Season

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PRESENTS

FOUR SAINTS IN THREE ACTS

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AT THE COWLES CENTER

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Bryn Terfel, bass-baritone Natalia Katyukova, piano Wednesday, April 20, 2016 • 7:30 PM Ordway Music Theater He can roar—with pain, with pleasure, with fierce indignation, filling the hall with full, strong tone. But he can also coo and purr at an extreme pianissimo, making a sound that stays audible only because there is so much in it to feel, as well as to hear.” —The New York Times

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WELCOME LETTER

Welcome to Minnesota Opera's

production of Puccini’s Tosca, a magnificent tale of love, deceit, and honor. This is surely one of the most beloved works by a composer whose memorable melodies have thrilled audiences for generations. Puccini biographer Julian Budden wrote, “No composer communicates more directly with an audience than Puccini.” Speaking personally, I think Tosca’s aria “Vissi d’arte,” (“I live for art”) expresses the essence of the composer’s gift, in both word and song. Whether you are new to opera or a longtime opera lover, sit back and enjoy a great night of music. My time at Minnesota Opera is coming to a close. Having assumed the General Director position on an interim basis in November 2014, it has been my sincere pleasure to work with this wonderful Board of Directors and dedicated staff for the past 17 months. This has been a period of exciting transition for Minnesota Opera, as we’ve set the stage for the continuing success of one of the nation’s premier opera companies. It is with great anticipation that I prepare to welcome Ryan Taylor, our next President and General Director, who will begin on May 1. Ryan is currently General Director of Arizona Opera, which performs for audiences in both Phoenix and Tucson. He is no stranger to Minnesota Opera, however, having been part of our Resident Artist Program during the 2000–2001 season, and having returned in 2004 to sing the role of Sharpless in Madame Butterfly. Prior to assuming leadership of Arizona Opera, Ryan sang baritone roles for more than a decade with opera companies around the country, and is now an accomplished leader in our field. Please join me in welcoming Ryan back to Minnesota Opera, and to the Twin Cities.

Contents 8 Synopsis

9 Tosca

10 About the Opera 13 Giacomo Puccini 14 Cabaret: Misbehavin’ at the Met 14 Tempo 15 The Artists 19 Meet the Artists: Csilla Boross and Alexandra LoBianco 20 Upcoming Events 20 Social Media

You will hear from Ryan during the world premiere of our new opera The Shining with music by Paul Moravec and libretto by Mark Campbell, based on the iconic Stephen King novel. The Shining will be on the Ordway stage from May 7–15. We’ve also just announced an incredible 2016–2017 season, and I encourage you to learn more and become a subscriber by turning to page 23 in this program.

21 Opera Education

Finally, thank you for your incredible support and patronage of Minnesota Opera. It has been a great pleasure to serve you the past year-and-a-half, and I look forward to joining you in the audience for years to come.

25 Annual Fund

22 The Shining Preview 23 2016–2017 Season 24 Minnesota Opera Board of Directors, Staff and Volunteers 28 Institutional Giving 29 Legacy Circle 29 Minnesota Opera Information

Enjoy the show!

Large-print and Braille programs are available at the Patron Services Office.

| TOSCA

Sketch by Lorenzo Cutùli

NINA M. ARCHABAL General Director

Tosca

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JULY 7, 10 GLASS GALILEO GALILEI

SYNOPSIS

Angelotti, an escaped political prisoner, seeks refuge in a family chapel — his sister, the Marchesa Attavanti, has secretly left him the key. The sacristan enters, muttering about the mess the painter Mario Cavaradossi is making. The artist soon arrives, and the sacristan observes how much the Magdalene in his painting resembles a young woman (the Marchesa) who has been visiting the chapel as of late. Cavaradossi admits that he has used her as a model, and muses over how her blue eyes compare to the dark ones of his lover, the opera singer Floria Tosca.

At his headquarters, Scarpia muses over his next move. The criminals shall soon be in his custody, and he has sent word for Tosca to meet with him after singing for the visiting Neapolitan royal family. Spoletta soon informs him that Cavaradossi has been secured, but Angelotti is nowhere to be found. Scarpia interrogates the painter, who remains obstinate to his questions. Tosca arrives presently, and Cavaradossi is led into the next room.

As the execution takes place, Tosca watches from nearby and compliments Cavaradossi on his acting skills. But she soon learns Scarpia has had the last laugh — the bullets were real and Cavaradossi is dead. Surrounded by Scarpia’s henchmen, Tosca climbs to the highest rampart and jumps to her death.

Following her lover’s instructions, Tosca first admits to know nothing of Angelotti’s whereabouts. But as Cavaradossi’s torture begins, his moans weaken her resolve, and she soon reveals that the escaped convict is hiding in the well at the villa. Cavaradossi is again brought into the room and curses Tosca’s weak resolve. Suddenly, Sciarrone enters with news that Napoleon was, in fact, victorious at Marengo, invigorating the republican Cavaradossi, to the annoyance of Scarpia. The painter may gloat only a short while, for the hangman’s noose awaits him at dawn. Tosca begs Scarpia to spare her lover, and Scarpia strikes a cruel bargain — he will be released only if she submits to one night

The chief of police, Baron Scarpia, appears and interrogates the sacristan about the escaped prisoner. He observes the unlocked chapel and finds evidence of Angelotti’s visit — Cavaradossi’s empty lunch basket and the fan of the Attavanti, part of the disguise but carelessly left behind. The painter immediately becomes suspect. When Tosca

ACT II

Just before dawn breaks, Cavaradossi prepares for his execution. He bribes the jailer with his ring to deliver a message to Tosca. As he begins to write, he wistfully recalls their love affair. Moments later, she appears and after showing him the safe conduct pass, confesses her evil deed. She then details the plan for the mock firing squad — he must fall when he hears the shots and remain lifeless until after the soldiers have left.

c a rp

Angelotti reemerges and Cavaradossi agrees to help him escape. He knows a private route to the villa, and the Marchesa has provided woman’s clothing as a disguise. The two men leave in haste. The sacristan reenters with news of Napoleon’s defeat at Marengo. He assembles the choir to sing a Te Deum in thanksgiving.

As the choir begins the Te Deum, Scarpia savors his plan — Tosca’s lover shall be sent to the gallows, while he shall have his way with her.

ACT III

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Left alone, Cavaradossi discovers Angelotti hiding and recognizes his good friend. They are interrupted by the voice of Tosca, and Angelotti takes cover once again. When the diva finally enters, it is clear she is prone to jealousy — she heard voices and suspects a rival. Cavaradossi reassures her, and they make a date later that evening at a secluded villa on the edge of Rome. Suddenly, Tosca recognizes the visage in the painting as the Marchesa Attavanti and her suspicions are renewed. The artist again pledges his heart and agrees to paint the eyes dark to match those of his lover. Tosca leaves satisfied.

returns to tell Cavaradossi that she is no longer free that evening, as she must sing in the celebratory cantata at the Farnese Palace, Scarpia decides to use her jealousy to his advantage. He shows her the fan, and Tosca again becomes agitated. As she hurriedly departs, police agents follow in quick pursuit.

Sketch by Lorenzo Cutùli

ACT I

of passion. After some hesitation, Tosca tearfully agrees to the plan and demands Cavaradossi be freed at once. Scarpia counters that the painter must be believed to be dead and a mock execution “in the manner of Count Palmieri,” he instructs Spoletta, must take place. As he writes out a safe conduct pass, Tosca spies a knife on the dinner table. When Scarpia goes to embrace her, she stabs him to death.

MUSIC BY GIACOMO PUCCINI | LIBRETTO BY GIUSEPPE GIACOSA AND LUIGI ILLICA Based on Victorien Sardou’s play La Tosca (1887) World premiere at Teatro Costanzi, Rome, January 14, 1900

MARCH 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, AND 26, 2016 | ORDWAY MUSIC THEATER Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage

Cast

in order of vocal appearance

CESARE ANGELOTTI Andrew Lovato A SACRISTAN Benjamin Sieverding MARIO CAVARADOSSI A PAINTER Leonardo Capalbo* Dominick Chenes** FLORIA TOSCA A CELEBRATED OPERA SINGER Csilla Boross* Alexandra LoBianco** BARON SCARPIA CHIEF OF POLICE Stephen Powell* Mark Walters**

SPOLETTA A POLICE AGENT David Walton SCIARRONE A GENDARME Rodolfo Nieto A SHEPHERD BOY Tori Adams▸ Clare Tichawa▸▸ A JAILER Joel Mathias Clergymen, choristers, choirboys, a judge, a scribe, an executioner, soldiers, police agents, noblemen and women, townspeople

Creative Team CONDUCTOR Anne Manson*

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Jonathan Brandani**

STAGE DIRECTOR Andrea Cigni

CHORUSMASTER Robert Ainsley

SET AND COSTUME DESIGN Lorenzo Cutùli

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER Doug Scholz-Carlson

LIGHTING DESIGN Fiammetta Baldiserri

RÉPÉTITEURS Jessica Hall Lindsay Woodward

WIG AND MAKEUP DESIGN David Zimmerman ASSISTANT DIRECTOR David Radamés Toro

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER Kerry Masek ENGLISH CAPTIONS ▴ conducts April 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21 • conducts April 20, 22 Dale Johnson

* performs March 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 ** performs March 13, 18, 20 ▸ performs March 13, 17, 19, 26 ▸▸ performs March 12, 18, 20, 24

ESTIMATED RUNNING TIME Running time is approximately 2 hours and 42 minutes, including 2 intermissions. The intermissions will occur approximately 46 and 110 minutes into the opera, respectively.

This production contains theatrical haze and simulated gunshots. The appearances of Benjamin Sieverding and David Walton, regional finalists; and Andrew Lovato, district finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, are made possible through a Minnesota Opera Endowment Fund established for Artist Enhancement by Barbara White Bemis. The appearances of the Resident Artists are made possible, in part, by the Virginia L. Stringer Endowment Fund for the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program. The Education and Outreach Program is funded, in part, by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation through gifts made to the William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Education. The scenic and costume designs for this production are made possible with the support of the Dolly Fiterman Fund for Opera Design.

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This production has been made possible in part by the generous support of Production Sponsors Leni and David Moore.

ABOUT THE OPERA

Once music publisher Giulio Ricordi learned of the proposal, he too contacted Sardou via his Parisian representative, Verdi-disciple Emanuele Muzio. But Sardou did not warm to the idea right away — he had envisioned his drama set to music by a French composer, and Puccini, soon to have the failed Edgar to his credit, was not yet an important figure in Italy. Only when prompted by a little money (5% of the box office receipts, an unusually high amount for the House of Ricordi to offer) and the suggestion that an Italian composer could truly do justice to a play set entirely in Rome, did the venerated playwright acquiesce.

men's

chorus

That was in 1893, by which time Puccini was frustrated and annoyed by Sardou’s

long silence. The composer had enjoyed considerable success with his third opera, Manon Lescaut, and was eager to adapt Henry Murger’s Bohemian tales. Ricordi still had a signed contract with Sardou to set his drama to music and had a fine story at his disposal, now drafted by librettist Luigi Illica. He therefore turned to another one of his talented young lions, Alberto Franchetti, who had had two triumphs to his credit, Asrael (1888) and Cristoforo Colombo (1892). It is at this point that the progression of events becomes unclear. The following year Franchetti and Illica traveled to Paris for talks with Sardou, a visit coinciding with the French premiere of Othello at the OpéraComique, a production supervised by the octogenarian Giuseppe Verdi. At a meeting among the four men, Verdi was highly impressed by Illica’s scenario, yet demurred to the idea of treating it himself because of his advanced age. Tosca’s value now ratcheted up a few notches in Ricordi’s eyes, and as Franchetti was soon to find difficulty putting the tale to music, the wily publisher again looked to his other protégé.

in to polish up the libretto, though he would complain that the opera was “more action than poetry.” He and Illica managed to streamline the play’s chatty, densely detailed first four acts into the opera’s veristic, swiftly moving Acts i and ii. The final act, however, proved problematic. In the original draft, Cavaradossi was to sing a stirring, republican-motivated aria as he faced his execution at dawn. There was then to be an extended duet between Tosca and Cavaradossi, and following the painter’s execution, the opera was to end with a gran scena, a primo ottocento mad scene for the title heroine. Sardou balked at the idea and insisted on his original finale, with Tosca’s suicide. Puccini, being not especially political, changed Cavaradossi’s Act iii aria to one more in line with an artist’s farewell to love and life on earth.

Politics still seemed to enter the picture on Tosca’s opening night in January 1900. Italy was enduring the pains of unification, and its capital city was again in civil unrest. Just two years prior, there had been an uprising in Milan during which 80 civilians had been massacred by government troops, and King Umberto i already had been the Puccini’s interest was also rekindled. The target of at least two assassination attempts. composer was not shy about appropriating Rumors of a bomb threat had reached the other composers’ subjects, and it is believed theater, and in the event of an explosion, that when Franchetti came into conflict with conductor Leopoldo Mugnone had been Illica over setting the libretto, Puccini and instructed to strike up the Italian National Ricordi conspired to trick him out of his Anthem. Mugnone was skittish, as he had rights, claiming that the story was too racy witnessed such an attack seven years earlier and too violent for Italy’s conservative, opera- in Barcelona during a performance of going audiences. Coincidentally, Fontana Rossini’s Guillaume Tell — 15 people had reappeared with a new distraction, Zoroastro, died as a result. Shortly after the curtain for Franchetti to pursue (likely Puccini’s went up, there was indeed a disturbance at former librettist still hoped to share in the Teatro Costanzi, causing Mugnone to the Tosca spoils). Yet, according to recent rush backstage in fear of his life, but he had scholarship, Franchetti is believed to have overreacted — it was only rude latecomers. given up Tosca willingly because he found it unmusical. There is a several-month Critical reviews were initially harsh, and gap in the written correspondence Tosca has always carried a tawdry reputation between Puccini and Ricordi before as a sadistic melodrama, but the opera has there is any mention of the former nonetheless been a crowd-pleaser from working on the project. In 1892, the very beginning. In many ways, Tosca is however, during a revival of Cristoforo quintessential Puccini, reflecting all that is Colombo, Franchetti’s son Arnold good about his style. In addition to producing disclosed that his father had always finely wrought melodies, economical writing, maintained Puccini stole the rights. and innovative orchestration, the composer Regardless of what happened, by July 1895, Tosca was safely in Puccini’s hands. Giuseppe Giacosa was brought

took special care to include authentic elements in his works. For Tosca, he obtained the exact pitch of St. Peter’s great campanello and observed the breaking of dawn from

Sketches by Lorenzo Cutùli

ne of the more intriguing tales in the annals of opera is exactly how Tosca came into Giacomo Puccini’s hands. At the suggestion of Ferdinando Fontana, librettist of his first two operas, the composer became interested in the original French play as early as 1889. Puccini indeed may have seen the drama performed by the legendary actress, Sarah Bernhardt (for whom the title role was created), when she played at Milan’s Teatro dei Filodrammatici or later when the play moved to Turin. For his part, Fontana had already been in touch with its French author, Victorien Sardou, to seek permission to adapt his play.

ABOUT THE OPERA

historical detail, each act ending in a stunning climax designed to excite and entertain his audience. He respected the Aristotelian unities and hated for his plays to be discarded as mere melodramas in the tradition of boulevard theaters. Sardou’s La Tosca is written in five acts, all of which occur over a 24-hour period. In the tradition of classical bienséance, most of the violence takes place offstage — Cavaradossi’s torture and execution, Angelotti’s suicide, Tosca’s impact beneath the walls of the Castel — with the glaring exception of Scarpia’s murder, a moment too gripping Also part of Tosca’s naturalist allure is its to waste behind a screen. The plot is driven setting in existing Roman monuments. The by Tosca’s fatal human flaw, her innate Church of Sant’Andrea dates from the 17th jealousy, as the dramatist tips his hat to century and boasts one of the city's largest William Shakespeare — Scarpia compares domes, second only to that of St. Peter’s his cunning, yet mostly improvised plotting Basilica. It is just around the corner from the to the more carefully thought-out plan of Teatro Argentina where Tosca would likely Othello’s Iago. His credo is the same, though be rehearsing. The Palazzo Farnese is not too Scarpia’s goal is simply to satisfy his libido far away, and became the Roman home of rather than to achieve power. He has found the Neapolitan Bourbons when Ferdinand that women are more vulnerable to his iv’s grandfather Philip v of Spain married advances when their male companions fall Elisabetta Farnese. The Castel Sant’Angelo under political scrutiny. All powerful and is also in the neighborhood. Once intended omnipotent, the corrupt chief of police is to be the mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian able to control the subsequent action of the (76–138 a.d.), it was later modified to become opera even from the grave. the fortress of the popes and a jail for noble prisoners (who, because of the castle’s lax In creating the quasi-historical drama, security, could easily escape). It earned its title the playwright supplies many additional in 590 when Saint Gregory the Great allegedly characters, who Puccini and his collaborators spotted the Archangel Michael unsheathing would either conflate or excise. Act i includes his sword, thus ending a devastating plague. In Cavaradossi’s student Gennarino and Tosca’s accordance with Sardou’s original instructions, maid Luciana (and plays out much like the many productions incorporate the statue opera up to Scarpia’s initial investigation), that commemorates this moment (as well as but most of the additional cast appear as the dome of St. Peter’s in the background), poseurs in the play’s Act ii party scene. It is forgetting that if Tosca were to leap from at this point Scarpia uses the Attavanti fan that particular parapet, she would land on to his best advantage, for Tosca’s jealousy in a terrace below (rather than the Tiber river, Act i is merely fleeting, almost playful, as as commonly believed) and could possibly Cavaradossi’s painting is not a single portrait survive the fall. but a group scene depicting The Resurrection of St. Lazarus, with the Attavanti likeness Sardou and La Tosca only one among many onlookers. Amid the party’s endless chit-chat, the Marchese Underlying Tosca’s everlasting appeal is the Attavanti and other courtiers note the drama behind the opera. Though virtually absence of his wife. So does Neapolitan forgotten today, Victorien Sardou (1831– Queen Maria Carolina, who threatens 1908) was a celebrated playwright by the Scarpia’s life should he not successfully end of the 19th century, inheriting the title find the Marchesa’s brother Angelotti. The from Eugène Scribe as master of the pièce queen is personally motivated by the rebel’s bien faite, the well-made play. His 70-odd role in the French-driven Parthenopean dramas, many of which have been treated Republic that briefly ousted the royal couple operatically, were meticulously constructed, from Naples just a year before. She is also chess-like, and laboriously weighted with

“

Underlying Tosca’s everlasting appeal is the drama behind the opera.” obtaining some petty payback for her best girlfriend, Emma, Lady Hamilton, currently the wife of the English ambassador, who we learned in Act i had a youthful indiscretion with Angelotti back when she was a “questionable woman” operating in England’s Vauxhall Gardens. For her part, Tosca is impatiently awaiting the start of Giovanni Paisiello’s cantata, venting her spleen at the dilatory composer, for at its conclusion she plans to race to Cavaradossi’s secret villa to catch him with L’Attavanti. The overture begins, but just as the celebrated diva is about to open her mouth (and thus saving Sarah Bernhardt from displaying a talent she did not possess), news arrives from Marengo. Upon reading that the French have actually won the day, Maria Carolina faints. The soirée ends abruptly. Act iii takes place at an additional setting, Cavaradossi’s villa. We see Tosca’s confrontation with her lover as she learns the truth about the man concealed in the well. It is at this point the diva realizes she has been deceived and that her jealousy has driven Scarpia to the hiding place, with the Marchese Attavanti in tow, supposedly to witness his wife’s infidelity. Satisfied that the Marchesa is not there, he promptly leaves, and Cavaradossi’s offstage torture begins as an anguished Tosca is put to the test. The play reaches its climax and exact midpoint when she gives in, tearfully confessing everything, and both she and Cavaradossi are arrested and packed off to the Castel Sant’Angelo. Acts iv and v both take place at the grim fortress, though in different parts. Here is the seat of Scarpia’s power (a little more plausible than the palace of the Neapolitan Bourbons), and the rest of the action plays out as in the opera, first with Scarpia’s cruel bargain and then with his murder and Cavaradossi’s “fake” execution, Palmieri-style.

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the ramparts of the Castel Sant’Angelo, realistically recreating the ringing of the morning church bells for the opening of Act iii. For the shepherd’s song he obtained verses from Giggi Zanazzo, a leading folklorist, and set them in a vaguely distant Lydian mode. In the Act i Te Deum, however, he improvised somewhat, still consulting ecclesiastical experts, but adjusting the traditional prayer of thanksgiving to his own taste — the quiet chanting of the chorus underlying Scarpia’s diabolical tirade spun into one of the operatic genre’s most powerful scenes.

ABOUT THE OPERA

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Sardou endows his characters with rich pedigrees, also connected to history. Floria Tosca has the most colorful past — she was discovered as a wild child of nature and claimed by nuns. Her singing ability brought her to the attention of Domenico Cimarosa, who insisted she pursue a career in opera. Of course, the nuns would have none of that — their chaste little girl could not be subjected to a wanton theatrical lifestyle — and the issue was brought before the pope. He ruled in favor of art, and Floria launched her brilliant career. Thus we have the complicated personality of the diva, at once full of piety and devotion to God, yet willing to spend the night with her unmarried lover. Several attempts have been made to trace her to an actual opera singer, from the soprano who premiered Paisiello’s opera Nina in 1789 (as noted in the play) to another singer, who sang La Lodoiska by Giovanni Simone Mayr — the title sounds somewhat like “La Tosca” when pronounced in French.

Again, attempts have been made to track down Cavaradossi’s true identity, but no patrician name appears to exist in Roman records of that period. Likely Sardou was inspired by the pseudonym Caravaggio, even though that painter belongs to an earlier epoch. Cesare Angelotti, however, has a clear antecedent in history to the Jacobin/ republican Liborio Angelucci. Angelucci came into disfavor when he tried to assassinate the pope in 1794, a crime for which he was briefly imprisoned at the Castel Sant’Angelo. He later became a consul for the Roman Republic during its brief existence. There is no evidence to support a liaison with Emma, Lady Hamilton, though her reputation is hardly without taint. Before marrying the English Ambassador to Naples, she led a dubious life as a showgirl and a trollop, and while in Naples, enjoyed a longstanding extramarital affair with Lord Horatio Nelson, admiral of the British fleet at that time protecting Naples against French aggression.

Argentina, the very Roman theater at which Tosca is performing). Paisiello’s other link is to the grandfather of Tosca’s composer — Domenico Puccini was a student of Paisiello and was residing in Naples in 1799 during the tumultuous Parthenopean Republic that immediately preceded the events of the play and opera. Domenico later went to Lucca as maestro di cappella to Napoleon’s sister, Elisa Baciocchi. Rather coincidentally, he composed a Te Deum dedicated to the Battle of Genoa, which occurred about two weeks before the one at Marengo, as well as hymns dedicated to other military victories. Perhaps Puccini had these in mind when it came time to compose his own Act i Te Deum and Act ii celebratory cantata.

And, of course, what would a Sardou drama be without the guest appearance of royalty itself ? In fact, the author had to take a little dramatic license — Maria Carolina of Naples was not in Rome on June 17, 1800, the date of the play’s setting. On her way to Vienna And finally, who is the real-life Scarpia? to visit some Hapsburg relatives, she was Cavaradossi’s history is even more complex. Again, evidence points to several people: detained at Leghorn as a result of recent His father was a Italian expatriate in Paris who Gherardo Curei, an especially cruel countermilitary offensives. It was there she received regularly took coffee with Enlightenment revolutionary who went by the name of the first encouraging, then devastating news thinkers Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau (the Sciarpa; another, Vincenzo Speziale, who of Marengo. Daughter of Austrian empress author actually gave him a personal copy of shares his initials with the Christian-named Maria Theresa and sister to Mozart-era his Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse, subsequently Vittelio; and even Don Diego Naselli, emperors Joseph and Leopold, Maria Carolina lent by the painter to Tosca in the play, to the governor of Rome during the Neapolitan horror of her father confessor; Tosca finds occupation, who officed at the Farnese Palace. never forgave the French revolutionaries for murdering her sister Queen Marieit dull — too much talk and not enough Fresh from Sicily, Scarpia embodies both his love-making). Cavaradossi’s father cemented ruthlessness and his barbarous reputation for Antoinette. Married herself to the withdrawn and capricious Ferdinand iv, the Queen of his enlightened alliances with a marriage to subduing rebellion in that remote, untamed Naples virtually ruled the country during its a grandniece of Claude-Adrien Helvétius. part of the Kingdom of Naples. darkest hours while managing a large family. All of this godless, free-thought dove-tailed After Napoleon became emperor, she tried Sardou is careful to include three important with the ideals of revolutionary Jacobinisme, tirelessly to keep him at bay, even to the thereby making Cavaradossi an enemy of both real people in his drama, none of whom extent of writing him scathing letters — to ever make it into the opera. The first is the the Church and the royalist governments. It which he responded — denouncing his lust doesn’t help that the artist attires himself as a aforementioned Diego Naselli, who provides for world conquest. It was all for naught, as sans-culottes, wearing long pants, no wig, and window-dressing for the Act ii party and who later approves the order for Cavaradossi’s French armies eventually vanquished the a mustache, or that he studied with French Neapolitans in 1806, forcing the royal couple painter Jacques-Louis David, the chameleon- execution. Secondly, there is the composer Paisiello, haplessly trying to reenter the queen’s to seek refuge in Sicily. How it must have like artist of the former ancien régime, now good graces after his two-faced affiliation with galled her when she learned that, as part of of the revolution (and later, the empire). the republicans (Cimarosa, only referenced in a peace accord, her granddaughter MarieCavaradossi’s stay in Rome is intended to be the drama, shared this gaff with his colleague, Louise, the offspring of her nephew Emperor brief, only long enough to put his recently Francis ii and her daughter, Maria Theresa, though he received a four-month prison deceased father’s affairs in order, but he is sentence, again imposed by Governor Naselli). became Napoleon i’s second wife, a union detained by a budding romance with an opera singer. Instead of residing at his official Paisiello’s more notable contribution to music that produced an heir, Napoleon ii, Maria Carolina’s great-grandson. History is full history is his Barber of Seville, written for St. ancestral palazzo downtown, he rents the of surprises. family’s former country estate in order to keep Petersburg in 1782, inspiring both a sequel (Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro) a low profile. Indeed, his pro bono painting and a remake (Rossini’s opera by the same of St. Lazarus is an attempt to mask his – David Sander name, which premiered at the Teatro subterfuge from agents of the establishment.

COMPOSER

The composer’s first work for the stage, Le villi (1884), originally was submitted to a contest sponsored by the music publisher Edoardo Sonzogno. The one-act opera received not even honorable mention, but Puccini was certain of its merit. He and librettist Ferdinando Fontana began to canvass the opera to the broader circle of the Italian intelligentsia. One of these individuals was the highly influential Arrigo Boito (at that time in correspondence with Verdi about the preparation of the libretto for Otello), who was instrumental in getting Le villi staged.

BIRTH

Giacomo Puccini as painted by L. Duranti | Puccini House, Torre del Lago | Alfredo Dagli Orti / The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY

DEATH

Lucca, Dec. 22, 1858 Brussels, Nov. 29, 1924

GIACOMO PUCCINI

The reception to the new work was mixed, but the revised two-act version was staged in a number of cities outside of Italy (a remarkable feat for a virtually unknown composer). Puccini’s next opera, Edgar (1889), however, was a resounding critical failure, yet the astute publisher, Giulio Ricordi, found fault in the libretto only and promise in the music. He pitted himself against the shareholders of his publishing house who demanded that Puccini be released from retainer. Ricordi’s confidence was rewarded with Manon Lescaut (1893), Puccini’s first true success.

iacomo Puccini was born into a family of court composers and organists in the historic city of Lucca, Italy. With a strong sense of tradition in the Puccini family, it was expected that Giacomo would assume his deceased father’s position as maestro di cappella when he came of age — by 14 he was already playing organ in a number of the town’s churches. But at age 18, a performance of Verdi’s Aida inspired him to devote his life to opera. In 1880, Puccini began composition studies with Amilcare Ponchielli at the Milan Conservatory of Music. He was introduced into the professional artists’ circle, to which he would belong for the rest of his life.

During the 1890s, Puccini began working with Luigi Illica, who worked out the scheme and drafted the dialogue, and with the poet and playwright Giuseppe Giacosa, who put Illica’s lines into verse. Although they had participated in Manon Lescaut (as part of a string of several librettists), their first real collaboration was La bohème (1896), followed by Tosca (1900) and then Madame Butterfly (1904). Giacosa died in 1906, putting an end to the successful team that produced three of Puccini’s most enduring works.

Puccini was not a prolific composer. Unlike most of his contemporaries, there were long intervals between his operas, partly because

Puccini’s later operas were quite varied in their styles and subjects. La fanciulla del West (1910), set in the American West,

“

Puccini has been much maligned for his flirtation with popular music, but he had an uncanny feel for a good story and a talent for composing enthralling yet economical tunes.” is notable for its advanced impressionistic orchestration and composition. La rondine (1917) was designed to be a sentimental musical comedy in the Viennese style. Il trittico (1918) was a mixed bag of one-act operas: Il tabarro, a tip-of-the-hat to Italian verismo; Suor Angelica, a nun embroiled in a battle for the future of her illegitimate child; and, most popular of the three, Gianni Schicchi, a comic masterpiece that features Puccini at his most exuberant. Turandot (1926) was Puccini’s last (and arguably his greatest) opera. He died before completing it, and although another composer finished the job, at the premiere Arturo Toscanini set down his baton and refused to continue past Puccini’s last note. Puccini has been much maligned for his flirtation with popular music, but he had an uncanny feel for a good story and a talent for composing enthralling yet economical tunes. Though like many of his contemporaries, Puccini was constantly experimenting with tonality and form, yet was always subtle and without controversy. Having produced only 12 operas, the composer’s personal life was plagued with self-doubt and laborious perfectionism, yet he profoundly influenced the world of opera with a deep understanding of music, drama and humanity.

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of his fastidiousness in choosing subjects, several of which he took up only to abandon after several months, and partly because of his constant demands for modifications of the texts. Much of his time, too, was spent hunting in the marshes around his home and travelling abroad to supervise revivals of his works.

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THE ARTISTS

lighting design Born in Cesena, Italy, Fiammetta Baldiserri has worked with directors including Pierfrancesco Maestrini – Nabucco for the Ravenna Festival; I pescatori di perle for the Bilbao Theater, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Il trovatore, and Manon Lescaut for the Teatro Massimo Bellini; and Otello for Teatro San Carlo; Beppe De Tomasi – Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Ifigenia in Aulide, La traviata, and Carmen; Stefano Simone Pintor – Il flauto magico at the Teatro Sociale di Como; Il progetto for Opera Domani and for Royal Opera House Muscat; Jacopo Spirei – Così fan tutte at the Teatro di Sassari; Damiano Michieletto – Il barbiere di Siviglia for Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; Fabio Ceresa – Madama Butterfy; Simone Toni – Le cosmicomiche, Hamelin, Progetto 84, Un cuore infranto, and Officina 24 for “Gli Incauti Company.”

With Andrea Cigni, she designed – Orfeo, The Medium/Gianni Schicchi, Ernani, and Nabucco at the Teatro Ponchielli; Paride ed Elena and Roméo et Juliette for the Teatro Verdi Pisa and at Opéra Royal Wallonie; La figlia del reggimento for as.li.co.; La traviata for Teatro Fraschini Pavia; Don Pasquale for the Centre Lyrique de France; La cambiale di matrimonio for Teatro Regio Parma; Abay for the National Theater of Almaty; and Carmen for Teatro di Sassari.

Leonardo Capalbo

mario cavaradossi Tenor Leonardo Capalbo returns to Minnesota Opera after two significant roles last season – Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore and Ben Marco in The Manchurian Candidate. During the 2015–2016 season, he also makes house debuts at Brussels’ La Monnaie in Powder Her Face, at Royal Opera House – Covent Garden as Ismaele (Nabucco), sings Don José in Carmen at Palm Beach Opera, and Arturo in La straniera. He also returns to Semperoper Dresden as Macduff in Macbeth.

In 2014–2015, Capalbo returned as Candide at Berlin Staatsoper, debuted at Teatro del Liceu as Alfredo in La traviata, sang in a new production by Mariusz Trelinski of Powder Her Face in Warsaw, and performed Jacopo in I due Foscari at St. Gallen Festspiele. Recent highlights include Roberto Devereux with Canadian Opera Company and at Welsh National Opera; the title role in Les contes de Hoffmann for Opéra de Lyon and on tour in Japan; Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress at the Teatro Regio (Turin); the Spanish premiere of Catán’s Il postino at Teatro Real (Madrid); Nemorino at Berlin Staatsoper and the Glyndebourne Festival; Arturo in La straniera for the Concertgebouw Amesterdam; and Alfredo for Welsh National Opera and Le Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Csilla Boross

floria tosca Csilla Boross first graduated as a pianist before becoming a celebrated soprano. Since then, she has received a number of prestigious awards, including the Thaile 2009 Award for her outstanding performance of Madama Butterfly and Australia’s Green Room in 2014 for her Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. Chosen by Riccardo Muti to sing Abigaille in Nabucco at the Rome Opera in 2011, she also sang the role at a gala for the 150th anniversary of Italy.

Ms. Boross has sung with opera companies in Europe and across the world, including venues in Budapest, Brno, Prague, Rome, Geneva, Lyon, Montpellier, Trieste, Modena, Ravenna, Savolinna, Peralada, Melbourne, Shanghai, Muscat, Tokyo, Washington, Philadelphia, Palm Beach, and Pittsburgh. Her many roles include Tatiana, Fiordiligi, Donna Anna, Norma, Lady Macbeth, Violetta, Aida, Butterfly, Tosca, and Manon Lescaut; Sancta Susanna and Lucrezia (I due Foscari), both conducted by Muti; Elettra (Idomeneo); Odabella (Attila); Amelia (Simon Boccanegra); Leonora (La forza del destino); Elisabetta (Don Carlo); both Venus and Elisabeth (Tannhäuser); Suor Angelica and Giorgetta (Il trittico); and Maddaléna (Andrea Chénier).

Dominick Chenes

mario cavaradossi Recently reviewed in the Huffington Post as a “breakout star” and “powerhouse lyric tenor,” Dominick Chenes was most recently seen as Don José in Carmen with Palm Beach Opera, Iopas in Les Troyens at Le Grand Théâtre de Genève, and Alfredo in La traviata at the Pa Skaret Opera Festival. In 2016–2017, he returns to Austin Opera as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Don José with Utah Opera, and Rodolfo in La bohème in Geneva and for Welsh National Opera.

Currently in his fourth year at the Academy of Vocal Arts, he has performed Rodolfo in La bohème, Alfredo in La traviata, Gherman in Pique Dame, and Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera, a role in which he also made his professional debut with Austin Opera. In 2013, he made his Alice Tully hall debut with the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation as well as a concert for the Gerda Lissner Foundation. Mr. Chenes is a graduate of the University of Las Vegas, where he performed Don José, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, and Rodolfo in La bohème.

Jonathan Brandani

assistant conductor Jonathan Brandani has been appreciated for his “fine regard for the score’s details, his clear, purposeful indications, and his enthusiasm” (Seen and Heard International). He has worked as associate conductor of Des Moines Metro Opera in 2015 and as assistant conductor of the Yale Philharmonia (2012–2014), collaborating with James Conlon, Peter Oundjian, Helmut Rilling, and Shinik Hahm. Mr. Brandani has conducted the Wiener Kammer Orchester, Russian National Orchestra, Maribor International Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica Puccini, Webern Symphonie Orchester, and the Royal Camerata Bucharest. As the music director of Lucca Opera Festival, he conducted Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Don Pasquale, L’elisir d’amore, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and L’italiana in Algeri. He also conducted Le nozze di Figaro and Ariodante at the Schönbrunn Palace and Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Sommertraum Festival Semmering. A graduate of Yale University and of the University of Music in Vienna, he will be an incoming artist of the Merola Opera Program this summer at San Francisco Opera.

Andrea Cigni

stage director Andrea Cigni is a graduate of the University of Bologna, and later made several important debuts in drama, mimics, dance, and movement. As actor and mimic, he has collaborated with international directors such as Pier Luigi Pizzi, Giancarlo Cobelli, Yannis Kokkos, Alberto Fassini, Beni Montresor, and Henning Brockhaus.

Past productions include Aida, La figlia del reggimento, and Il cappello di paglia di Firenze (Florence, Wexford); La traviata (Pavia, Como, Cremona, Brescia); Roméo et Juliette, and Norma (Sassari); Ernani and Madama Butterfly (Palermo); Don Pasquale (Clermont-Ferrand, Reims, Vichy, Limoges, Saint Étienne, Rouen, Massy, Avignon, Jesi, Piacenza); and La cambiale di matrimonio (Parma, Reggio Emilia). Recently, he staged Abay at Almaty Opera House (Kazakistan), Carmen at the Teatro Comunale (Sassari), and Nabucco for the Teatro Ponchielli. Future engagements include Fedra for the Teatro Massimo Bellini; Don Pasquale for Opera Lombardia, Teatro di Jesi, and the Donizetti Festival; L’occasione fa il ladro for Parma; and Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali for Florence. He is currently the director of the Conservatory of Music in Cermona.

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Fiammetta Baldiserri

THE ARTISTS Lorenzo Cutùli

set and costume design Born in Ferrara, Italy, Lorenzo Cutùli has had many important collaborations with Jonathan Miller, Hugo De Ana, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Luca Ronconi, Peter Greenaway, Lindsay Kemp, Emanuele Luzzati, and Robert Wilson.

He made his debut as a set and costume designer with Simon Boccanegra in 2001, with Claudio Abbado conducting. Other credits include The Medium and Gianni Schicchi in Cremona, Brescia, Como, and Pavia; Une éducation manquée and La cambiale di matrimonio for the Wexford Festival Opera; The Fairy Queen for several houses in Spain; I Lombardi for the Teatro Colón Buenos Aires; Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and in Wexford; Acis and Galatea with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in Macau, China; Viviani Varietà; Svevo’s La coscienza di Zeno at the Teatro Carcano Milano; Richard the Third at Teatro Romano Verona; Don Pasquale at Le Centre Lyrique Auvergne, and in Avignon, Limoges, Massy, Reims, Rouen, Jesi, Saint-Étienne, Vichy, Bergamo, Como, Cremona, Jesi, and Pavia. In 2014, he received Qatar’s International Opera Award as the best set designer.

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Anne Manson

conductor Hailed by The New York Times as “the conductor of choice for opera” and singled out by Opera News as part of “Opera’s Next Wave,” Anne Manson has come to the forefront as one of the most exciting interpreters of opera in America today. Of her recent performance in Dialogues des Carmélites, the New York Daily News reported that Manson’s “magnificent” conducting delivered “one of the most thrilling musical experiences I’ve ever had.” Manson’s recent performances include Hansel and Gretel, Maria Stuarda, Pinocchio (Minnesota Opera), Madama Butterfly, Kát’a Kabanová, The Cunning Little Vixen, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Così fan tutte, Vanessa, and Orphée aux enfers. New operas include Philip Glass’ Orphée and Galileo Galilei (both recorded for Orange Mountain Music), and U.S. premieres of Kommilitonen! and Our Town.

Manson is the Music Director of Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. Her recording of Glass’ Symphony No. 3 and The Hours was praised by Gramophone magazine as “an absorbing and impressive performance [of ] brilliant ease and assurance.” Her newest recording, Troubadour and the Nightingale with soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, was nominated for a Juno award.

Alexandra LoBianco

floria tosca Soprano Alexandra LoBianco has been hailed as possessing “a true Verdian voice of velvet-covered steel,” capable of “effortlessly tossing off trills and roulades” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). She has been awarded first prizes in the 2013 Altamura International Vocal Competition, the William Sullivan Foundation 2013 Awards, the 2011 Liederkranz Vocal Competition, and the first prize and “audience favorite” at the 2011 Irene Dalis Competition. She has continued to win praise whenever she performs. San Francisco Classical Voice noted her “lyrical-to-heroic range,” calling to mind “the ease and magnetism of a young Montserrat Caballé.” In summer 2015, she sang the title role in Tosca with portopera in Maine. In 2015–2016, she sings the title role in Aida with Opera Colorado and joins the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for its production of Il trovatore.

Ms. LoBianco’s engagements in the 2014–2015 season included Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera, Leonore in Fidelio for Madison Opera, Minnie in La fanciulla del West for Des Moines Metro Opera, and title role of Tosca with Opera Grand Rapids.

Rodolfo Nieto

sciarrone Bass-baritone Rodolfo Nieto is quickly establishing himself as a prominent and exciting emerging artist. On the operatic stage, he has been featured frequently with Minnesota Opera in various roles including Castro in La fanciulla del West, Horatio in Hamlet, Johann in Werther, Scottish Soldier #1 in the world premiere of Silent Night, Joseph in Wuthering Heights, and Colline in La bohème. Other roles include Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Lyric Opera of the North, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Alidoro in La Cenerentola with Lakes Area Music Festival, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Green Mountain Opera Festival, and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Cedar Rapids Opera Theater. In the concert setting, Rodolfo reprised the role of Colline with Minnesota Opera’s outdoor production of La bohème, the soloist in the Messiah at Avery Fisher Hall with Manhattan Concert Productions, Valton in I puritani with Minnesota Concert Opera, and Escamillo in Carmen with Mankato Symphony.

Andrew Lovato

cesare angelotti The New York Times labeled Mr. Lovato, “the winning baritone” and has been described by Ricky Ian Gordon as, “One of the most connected and beautiful voices I have ever heard.” Mr. Lovato premiered the role of Harry Engel in Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star in his Cincinnati Opera debut. He recently sang the role of Slim in Of Mice and Men with Austin Opera and will return as Young Raymond and the Nominee in its production of The Manchurian Candidate. Earlier this season, he sang Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos and Papageno in The Magic Flute in Duluth for Minnesota Opera and will cover Jack Torrance in The Shining this spring. Mr. Lovato made his Minnesota Opera debut as the role of Sonora in La fanciulla del West and subsequently performed Young Raymond in the world premiere of The Manchurian Candidate by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell as well as Le Dancaïre in Carmen. He is the winner of the George L. Hackett Prize in the Livingston Mather Competition. For more information, please visit AndrewLovato.com.

Stephen Powell

baron scarpia The dynamic American baritone Stephen Powell is lauded for his “rich, lyric baritone, commanding presence, and thoughtful musicianship” (Wall Street Journal). Opera magazine has hailed him, writing “the big news was Stephen Powell’s gorgeously sung Onegin: rock solid, with creamy legato from top to bottom and dynamics smoothly tapered but never exaggerated.”

In 2015–2016 Stephen Powell returns to Opera Philadelphia as Germont in La traviata, and to Michigan Opera Theatre in the title role in Macbeth. He also sings Iago in Otello with Minnesota Orchestra; Carmina burana at Tanglewood and with Philadelphia Orchestra; and Prus in The Makropulus Case for San Francisco Opera. His 2014–2015 season highlights included di Luna in Il trovatore for Cincinnati Opera; the baritone soloist in Carmina burana for Cleveland Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart’s Requiem for Chicago’s Music of the Baroque; Scarpia in Tosca with Colorado Symphony Orchestra; the title role in Sweeney Todd for Virginia Opera; Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for Minnesota Orchestra; and Alphonse in La favorite for the Caramoor Festival.

THE ARTISTS Benjamin Sieverding

a sacristan Bass Benjamin Sieverding has been recognized by critics nationwide for his “surprising depth” (Boulder Daily Camera), "natural gift for comedy” and “full, rich sound” (Ann Arbor Observer). This season he joins Minnesota Opera, appearing as Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, and the Ranger and the Man-in-dog-mask in The Shining. Most recently, Sieverding reprised the roles he created in Theodore Morrison’s Oscar with Opera Philadelphia and made his role debut as Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni, performing as a guest artist with the University of Alabama Opera Theatre.

An Apprentice Artist with The Santa Fe Opera for two seasons, Sieverding made his company debut in three roles for the world premiere of Oscar. As one of the infirmary patients, Sieverding “lent heart-choking realism” to the role (Bay Area Reporter), and the Huffington Post called it “the single most moving scene in the opera.” Also with Santa Fe, he covered the title role in Don Pasquale, Herr Puff in The Impresario, and the Chamberlain in Le Rossignol..

Mark Walters

baron scarpia Being touted as one of the next great American Verdi baritones, Opera News describes Mark Walters as “a force to be reckoned with.” This season, Walters makes a company debut as Scarpia in Tosca with Minnesota Opera and also returns for its world premiere of The Shining as Mark Torrance. He also makes company debuts as Don Giovanni with Opera Santa Barbara and as Germont in La traviata with the Finger Lakes Opera. He returns as Scarpia with Sarasota Opera and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Florentine Opera.

Recent engagements include the title role in Rigoletto with Florida Grand Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni with Seattle Opera; Germont with Arizona Opera and Florentine Opera; Don Pizarro in Fidelio with Kentucky Opera and Opera Omaha; Marcello in La bohème with Florida Grand Opera; Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles with Opera Carolina; Renato in Un ballo in maschera with Opera Tampa; Valentin in Faust and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Arizona Opera; Peter Grimes with Canadian Opera; Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West with Mobile Opera; and El niño with the Spoleto Festival usa.

Nabucco, 2012 © Michal Daniel for Minnesota Opera

Chorus Auditions

For more information, visit mnopera.org/auditions

David Walton

spoletta Tenor David Walton returns to Minnesota Opera for the 2015–2016 season, most recently as Brighella in Ariadne auf Naxos, Tamino in The Magic Flute in Duluth, the Hunter in Rusalka, Il Postiglione in La fanciulla del West, and Ed Mavole in the world premiere of The Manchurian Candidate. Later this season, he returns as Delbert Grady in the world premiere of The Shining. Mr. Walton has also appeared as Tamino and Ernesto (Don Pasquale) with Atlantic Music Festival. He spent three years with the Cantus Vocal Ensemble in Minneapolis and was a Gerdine Young Artist this past summer with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, covering Matthew Gurney in Emmeline. Mr. Walton recently toured Azor in Grétry’s Zemire et Azor with Opera for the Young and was a regional finalist in the Upper Midwest Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He will participate as a Young Artist this summer with the Glimmerglass Festival, performing Parpignol in its production of La bohème and covering Reverend Parris in The Crucible.

March 14–19, 2016

Minnesota Opera Chorus

Minnesota Opera Orchestra

Matthew Abbas

Kenneth Lauer

Violin I

Bass

Horn

Alex Barnett

Laura LeVoir

John Michael Smith

Matthew Wilson

Karen Bushby

Maggie Lofboom

Allison Ostrander Concertmaster

Constance Martin

Charles Hodgson

Natalia Moiseeva Assistant Concertmaster

Jason C. Hagelie

Timothy Bradley

Carolyn Cavadini

Elizabeth Longhurst

Ben Crickenberger

Joel Mathias

Cecile Crozat-Zawisza

Michael Mayer

David Mickens

Stephen Cunningham

Chandler Molbert

Angela Waterman Hanson

John DeCausmeaker

Jessica Nesbit

Heidi Amundson

Benjamin Dutcher

Phong Nguyen

Conor O’Brien

Lawrence Barnhart

Julia Persitz

Flute Michele Frisch

Trumpet

Amy Morris double piccolo

John G. Koopmann

Maisie Block

Bethany Gonella double piccolo

Martin Hodel

Colin McGuire

Sara Fanucchi

Sandra Partridge

Brian Goldenman

Grant Scherzer

Michelle Hayes

Cathryn Schmidt

Jason Hernandez

Justin Spenner

Violin II

Cresta Hubert

Lauren Stepka

Oboe

Laurie Petruconis

Michael Dayton

Timothy James

Kristie Tigges

Elizabeth Decker

Robert McManus

Ben Johnson

Colyn Tvete

Stephan Orsak

Patricia Kent

Eryn Tvete

Melinda Marshall

Elizabeth Kohl

Lola Watson

Margaret Humphrey

English Horn

Elise Parker

Jeffrey Marshak

Huldah Niles

Project Opera Children’s Chorus Maddie Anderson

Alice O’Brien

Eilif Dregni

Rebekah Sheih

Natalie Harrison

Kadie Steiner

Maggie Hayes

Clarinet Karrin Meffert-Nelson

Viola

Jennifer Gerth

Susan Janda

Kristian Stordalen

Coca Bochonko

Madeline Johnson

Clare Tichawa

Nina Olsen

Valerie Little

Cassie Klinga

Zel Weilandgruber

Justin Knoepfel

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Bassoon

Cello

Tom Ringberg

Teresa Richardson

Joe Hendren

John Sandgren

Sally Dorer

Joe Johnson

David Schneider

Ken Johnson

Brian Stendahl

Kevin Klein

Norm Tiedemann

Derek Meyer

Coreen Nordling Laurie Hatcher Merz

Jim Jacobson

Thomas Basting

Maxwell Savage

Phillip Ostrander John Tranter David Stevens

Cimbasso Itai Agmon

Timpani Kory Andry

Emily Hagen

Bass Clarinet

Dylan Howell

Trombone

David Block

Laurel Browne

Supernumeraries

Christopher Volpe

Rebecca Arons Kirsten Whitson

Contrabassoon Cheryl Kelley

Percussion Steve Kimball Jay Johnson

Harp Nikki Lemire

MEET THE ARTISTS

CSILLA BOROSS AND ALEXANDRA LOBIANCO

CB I think that I was 12 years old when I fell in love with the role of Tosca. Around then, I went to a music school, but as a pianist. It didn’t stop me from singing all day long, though! As a pianist, I could easily play through the whole score, and many years later in 2009, I was asked to sing the role of Tosca with just 10 days’ notice. It was love at first sight, and second sight, too! What are the underlying elements of this story that audiences can relate to today? AL Tosca is an opera that I would use to talk to middle schoolers when I was a teaching artist. It’s easy to see versions of the different characters in Tosca all around us. While the circumstances of Tosca, Cavaradossi, and Scarpia are larger than life, anyone can identify with the challenges they are dealing with. Even the secondary characters are identifiable! This story is truly genius and universal.

Why did you fall in love with this Puccini opera?

What’s your most memorable moment on stage?

CB It was so easy to fall in love with this opera. Tosca is passionate, strong, and fights for everything she believes in, just like I do. Additionally, the music of Maestro Puccini touches your heart directly. Each time I turn to this awesome piece, I become somehow “more.”

AL It was my freshman year of high school, the eve of my birthday, and I was performing in our final performance of Hello, Dolly! I’m in the middle of “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” and I tripped on a bar at the front of the stage and fell right into the front row! Yes — I have lived everyone’s nightmare. I broke my toe, but I only missed one scene and was back out on stage. I will never forget the cast party where we watched the night’s performance and spent the evening laughing hysterically at my fall in slow motion.

What did you want to be when you grew up? AL There was a point in my life when I made a choice between music and horses. I had a far too lofty dream of being part of the Olympic Equestrian Team riding dressage. Trust me, I made the right choice in choosing to be an opera singer. I still love riding and being around horses, but I’m just more interested in music! Tell us about the first time you heard or saw an opera. CB I can’t remember! I started to play piano when I was two, and music was just always a part of my life thanks to my wonderful parents. My schoolmates and I regularly attended opera productions and had subscriptions growing up.

Ms. Boross’ (left) biography appears on page 15. Ms. LoBianco’s (right) biography appears on page 16.

List five things that you can’t live without when you’re away from home. AL A good knife and spices, a bottle of wine or bourbon, a teddy bear, a coloring book, and my iPad. What’s next for you? CB When I return home, I will sing two productions as Lady Macbeth, one in the Czech Republic and one in France. After those, I will perform in Verdi’s Nabucco in Rome.

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You’re making your Minnesota Opera debut in Tosca. Why were you interested in this role?

UPCOMING EVENTS Cabaret: Misbehavin’ at the Met APRIL 2, 5 pm

Join Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artists for an evening of song set in a 1930s nightclub at the Metropolitan in Golden Valley. See page 14 or call 612-342-9550 for more details.

The Manchurian Candidate Broadcast

Opera Insights

MAY 7–15, ONE HOUR PRIOR TO CURTAIN

Minnesota Public Radio broadcasts Minnesota Opera’s production of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s The Manchurian Candidate, based on the novel by Richard Condon. The production features Matthew Worth, Brenda Harris, Leonardo Capalbo, and Daniel Sumegi. Michael Christie conducts.

Come early and enjoy free, fun, and informative half-hour sessions, hosted by Minnesota Opera artistic staff in Ordway’s mezzanine lobby one hour prior to each performance. Join us for Opera Insights and get an overview of the characters and music, historical, and cultural context for the opera and highlights to watch for during the show.

APRIL 6, 5 pm

MNOPERA.ORG/LISTEN

MNOPERA.ORG/OPERA-INSIGHTS

Meet up at Red Cow, a North Loop neighborhood hot spot, for cocktails and nosh before Behind the Curtain: The Shining.

Social Media Preview Night

Summer Opera Camp and Opera Artist +

MNOPERA.ORG/CABARET

Tempo Happy Hour

Behind the Curtain: The Shining APRIL 6, 7 pm

At the historic Minnesota Opera Center, get the inside scoop on The Shining as opera experts and members of the cast and creative team lead discussions exploring the music, history, and design of opera. MNOPERA.ORG/BTC

Community Book Club Conversation APRIL 25, 7 pm

Community book clubs ranging from teens to adults are encouraged to attend an in-depth conversation of Stephen King’s novel, The Shining, held at the Minnesota Opera Center in downtown Minneapolis.

Bringing a Book to the Stage APRIL 26, 7 pm

Join us at the Plymouth Library, as Minnesota Opera staff and creative team members share insights on how the novel The Shining was transformed for the stage.

MAY 4, 8 pm

MAY 5, 6:30 pm

Minnesota Opera welcomes a pre-screened group of press members, bloggers, and social media influencers to attend The Shining final dress rehearsal at the Ordway. We encourage live tweeting, blogging, note taking, and illustrating. MNOPERA.ORG/PREVIEW

The Shining

JUNE 12–17

Young singers and college graduates can learn more about opera in this intensive residential summer camp on the campus of Shattuck–St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minnesota. Classes include vocal coaching, diction, movement, and audition strategies, held by professional artists working in the operatic discipline. MNOPERA.ORG/CAMPS

MAY 7–15

Stephen King’s best-selling novel comes to life in this suspenseful new opera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell (Silent Night and The Manchurian Candidate). As the Torrance family settles in at the infamous Overlook Hotel, Jack comes face to face with his own demons — real and imagined. Will he be able to protect his wife and son from the evil forces within the hotel? This dramatic thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat with a dynamic musical score befitting King’s page-turner. Brian Mulligan, who delivered a riveting performance as Hamlet in 2013, returns to the Minnesota Opera stage as Jack Torrance.

Create an Opera Day Camp JULY 11–15

Create an Opera Day Camp is an incredible opportunity to experience what it takes to write, design, build, and perform an opera by creating their own masterpiece. Campers will learn about opera through hands-on creation and will get a sneak-peek at how Minnesota Opera puts together an opera. This camp is intended for boys and girls in grades 3–6 and will be held at the Minnesota Opera Center in Minneapolis. MNOPERA.ORG/CAMPS

MNOPERA.ORG/THE-SHINING

SOCIAL MEDIA PREVIEW NIGHT Do you tweet? Post on Facebook? Instagram your entire life? Join us on THURSDAY, MAY 5, 6:30 pm for THE SHINING SOCIAL MEDIA PREVIEW NIGHT Get a behind-the-scenes look at the final dress rehearsal for The Shining. Inside the theater, using your phone, taking photos and sketching is encouraged! Event is free, but please apply at mnopera.org/preview. SHOW US YOUR MN OPERA STYLE

#SHINING@MNOPERA

F L X : I I

OPERA EDUCATION

Stephanie Sedarski sings Mozart.

A scene from The Magic Flute.

Summer Opera Camp

Opera Artist +

Create An Opera Camp

Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, Faribault, MN

Minnesota Opera Center, Minneapolis, MN

A residential camp for young adults in grades 9–12, Summer Opera Camp focuses on developing the individual voice and features daily vocal coaching, diction, master classes, and movement. Participants gain valuable experience working in a professional environment, performing alongside other advanced musicians.

For college undergraduates, this week-long residential camp will explore what it means to be an opera artist in the 21st century. Sessions include vocal coaching, movement, round-table discussions with professional artists, and a mock audition. We will also look at the increasing important and diverse role of Teaching Artistry and the growing field of Creative Aging.

A joyful and exciting summer music-making experience for young people who like to sing! Create an Opera Camp is an incredible opportunity to experience what it takes to write, design, build, and perform an opera by creating their own masterpiece. Campers will learn about opera through hands on creation and get a sneak-peek at how Minnesota Opera puts together an opera.

JUNE 12–17, 2016

JULY 11 –15, 2016

AUDITIONS REQUIRED FOR ALL CAMPS | LIVE AUDITIONS: MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2016 (6 – 8:30 pm) Send in a recorded audition at mnopera.org/camps Contact Jamie Andrews at andrews@mnopera.org for more information and to sign up.

Minnesota Opera in the schools

Students at Clearview Elementary eagerly participate in Alisa’s lessons on The Magic Flute. (above and above right)

Hermantown High School students proudly gather after a Through the Eyes and Ears of Mozart school performance with Alisa Magallón.

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Top photos by Sigrid Redpath

Alisa Magallón, Teaching Artist, has been busy this year meeting with people from toddlers to adults around the state, bringing them the beauty and excitement of opera.

THE SHINING PREVIEW

he Minnesota Opera’s 2016–2017 season ends with an exciting world premiere. It’s not unexpected for Minnesota Opera to create something new — in fact, we are one of the top companies in the country for contemporary works. Since its inception as a part of the Walker Art Center in 1963, Minnesota Opera has produced 43 world premieres with The Shining being the 44th. We have also been a great presenter of American premieres such as Transatlantic, The Handmaid’s Tale, and The Adventures of Pinocchio, among others. What is unusual about this new composition is the subject matter. The Shining is, of course, an opera based on perhaps the most famous novel by one of America’s iconic authors, Stephen King.

works that in many ways improve upon the source material — or at the very least, bring new insight into the telling of the story.

The Shining has been a gratifying endeavor. Director Eric Simonson and I were sitting at a restaurant on the Upper West Side in New York City throwing back and forth ideas for a new opera. I made the comment about reviving a genre that was popular in the 19th century — the Gothic horror-thriller opera, exemplified by Der Vampyr by Heinrich August Marschner or The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner. These were pieces that relied on the supernatural for their strength and compelling drama. I am also very fond of The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten, a chilling ghost story of possession and murder that we presented in 1999. Immediately Eric Over the years, our art form has often used as said “What about The Shining.” My jaw its source material stories that were part of the dropped as I thought about the combination of opera and this tale of madness high in the popular culture. Legends and myths, books Colorado Rockies. At that moment, I vowed and plays all were often adapted into operas. We only have to think of Orfeo ed Euridice, Le to go home and reread the book. Like most nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto, and Otello to realize of us, I had been engrossed by the novel when it was first released in the 1970s, and now I that such adaptions can create powerful

came to the book with the intent to discover whether the characters of Jack and Wendy Torrance could actually “sing.” Indeed they can, and in May you will hear the results of almost six years of hard work — discovering who had the rights to the book, negotiating a contract with the amazing Stephen King, finding the right person to adapt the story, and choosing the right composer who could musically conjure up the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel. The process has been well worth it. Composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell have created an impressive, dramatic opera that harnesses the power of the story with gorgeous music and vivid storytelling. Eric Simonson and his design team will blow the walls off the Ordway with this amazing new piece. It proves to be an exciting new addition to the operatic repertoire.

DALE JOHNSON Artistic Director

WORLD PREMIERE

May 7–15 | MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Music by Paul Moravec

Libretto by Mark Campbell Based on the novel by Stephen King

mnopera.org 612-333-6669

The

2016–17 season Romeo & Juliet Das Rheingold GOUNOD / Sept. 24–Oct. 2, 2016

WAGNER / Nov. 12–20, 2016 AMERICAN PREMIERE

Diana‘s Garden SOLER / Jan. 21–29, 2017

See 3 or more operas, save up to 25%, and get the best seats!

WORLD PREMIERE

Dinner at Eight Mar. 11–19, 2017

Music by WILLIAM BOLCOM Libretto by MARK CAMPBELL Based on the play by

GEORGE S. KAUFMAN and EDNA FERBER

La Bohème mnopera.org

PUCCINI / May 6–21, 2017

612-333-6669 Ticket Office: M–F, 10am–5pm

Season Sponsor

STAFF, BOARD AND VOLUNTEERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MINNESOTA OPERA STAFF

OFFICERS

General Director | Nina M. Archabal

DIRECTORS Cynthia Y. Lee Robert Lee Leni Moore Albin “Jim” Nelson Kay Ness Jose Peris Elizabeth Redleaf Connie Remele Don Romanaggi Christopher Romans Mary H. Schrock Linda Roberts Singh Nadege Souvenir David Strauss Virginia Stringer H. Bernt von Ohlen Margaret Wurtele

Karen Bachman

Julia W. Dayton

John A. Blanchard III

Mary W. Vaughan

Burton Cohen

ARTISTIC

Assistant to the Production Director | Julia Gallagher

Artistic Administrator | Roxanne Stouffer

Production Assistant | Lorely Dedrick

Artist Relations and Planning Director | Floyd Anderson

Child Supervisor | Lauren Wills

ADMINISTRATION

Head of Music | Robert Ainsley

Finance Director | Jeff Couture

Resident Artists | Jonathan Brandani, Siena Forest, Jessica Hall, Jeni Houser, Andrew Lovato, Shannon Prickett, Nickolas Sanches, Benjamin Sieverding, David Radamés Toro, David Walton, Lindsay Woodward

Operations/Systems Manager | Steve Mittelholtz

Master Coaches | Lara Bolton, Mary Jo Gothmann, Eric McEnaney

HR/Accounting Manager | Jen Thill Director of Board Relations | Theresa Murray Finance Associate | Dylan Howell

DEVELOPMENT Chief Development Director | Carley Stuber

Wardrobe Supervisor | Jessica Minczeski Wig/Makeup Supervisors | Priscilla Bruce, Manuel Jacobo Wig/Makeup Crew | Dominick Veldman

HONORARY DIRECTORS

SCENERY

Dominick Argento

Norton M. Hintz*

Technical Director | Mike McQuiston

MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS

Philip Brunelle

Liz Kochiras

Properties Master | Jenn Maatman

Marketing Director | Katherine L. Castille

Dolly Fiterman

Patricia H. Sheppard

Properties Assistant | Michael C. Long

Marketing Assistant | Kate Saumur

Lighting and Video Coordinator | Raymond W. Steveson Jr.

Program Manager, Marketing and Communications | Kristin Matejcek

LEGAL COUNSEL Moss & Barnett

TEMPO BOARD MEMBERS

MEMBERS

* Deceased

Design Manager | Kristin Backman Communications Specialist | Eric Broker

Master Carpenters | Nate Kulenkamp, Eric Veldey

Ticket Office Manager | Kevin Beckey

Projections Technician | Tom Mays

Ticket Office Assistants | Carol Corich, Brian Johnson-Weyl, Johanna Owen, Delaney Ryden, Trevor Schaeffer

Sculptor | Nancy A. Stiefeld

Associate Ticket Office Manager | Karl Annable

Scenic Artist | Sydney Achler

Chair | Jennifer Engel

Brad Benoit Kamruz Darabi Melissa Daul Kara Eliason Mark Giga

Production Carpenter | JC Amel Scene Shop Foreman | Larry Kline

Scenic Charge Artist | Angelique Powers

OFFICERS

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Production Stage Manager | Kerry Masek

Music Director | Michael Christie

Stitchers | Frances Emberley, Ann Habermann, Sara Huebschen, Rachel Skudlarek

EMERITI

Production Director | Karen Quisenberry Assistant Stage Managers | Jamie K. Fuller, Hannah Holthaus

Dramaturg | David Sander

Richard Allendorf Nina M. Archabal Patricia Beithon Karen Brooks Bernard J. Brunsman Jane M. Confer Sara Donaldson Sidney W. Emery Maureen Harms Sharon Hawkins Ruth S. Huss Mary IngebrandPohlad Philip Isaacson James E. Johnson Patricia Johnson John C. Junek Christine Larsen

Artistic Director | Dale Johnson

PRODUCTION

Laura Green Brian Halaas Rhonda Skoby Aimee Tritt

Carpenters | Max Gilbert, Rose King

MINNESOTA OPERA VOLUNTEERS The following volunteers contribute their time and talent to support key activities of the company. Get involved with Bravo! Volunteer Corps at mnopera.org/volunteer, or email volunteering@mnopera.org for more information. Lynne Beck Gerald Benson Debra Brooks Jerry Cassidy Judith Duncan Jane Fuller Joan Gacki

Merle Hanson Robin Keck Mary Lach Jerry Lillquist Joyce Lillquist Melanie Locke Suzan Lynnes

Mary McDiarmid Barbara Moore Douglas Myhra Candyce Osterkamp Pat Panshin Sydney Phillips Kari Schutz

Janet Skidmore Wendi Sott Stephanie Van D’Elden Barbara Willis

Minnesota Opera is a proud member of The Arts Partnership with Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and The Schubert Club.

INDIVIDUAL GIVING

ANNUAL FUND

It is with deep appreciation that Minnesota Opera recognizes and thanks all of the individual donors whose annual support helps bring great opera to life. It is our pleasure to give special recognition to the following individuals whose leadership support provides the ﬁnancial foundation which makes the Opera’s artistic excellence possible. Platinum $50,000 and above Julia W. Dayton Vicki and Chip Emery Ester and John* Fesler Ruth and John Huss Lucy Rosenberry Jones and James E. Johnson Elizabeth Redleaf Mary Vaughan C. Angus and Margaret Wurtele Wayne Zink

Platinum $20,000 – $49,999 Anonymous* Dr. Tracy and Mr. Eric Aanenson Patricia Beithon

camerata circle Platinum $7,500 – $9,999

Anonymous Allegro Fund of the Saint Paul Foundation Karen Bachman Daniel and Adriana Blanco Barry and Wendy Brunsman Peter and Theresa Carter Maureen Harms Miriam and Erwin Kelen Cynthia and Lawrence Lee Steven Mahon and Judy Mortrude Ken and Nina Rothchild

Gold $5,000 – $7,499

Anonymous Nina and John Archabal Martha and Bruce Atwater Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation William Biermaier and David Hanson Ken and Peggy Bonneville Dr. Lee A. Borah Jr. Estate of Robin J. Carpenter Peter Davis and Pamela Webster Mary Dearing and Barry Lazarus Dorothy Horns and James Richardson Jay and Cynthia Ihlenfeld Robert and Sandy Klas Robert Kriel and Linda Krach Ilo and Margaret Leppik

artist circle $1,000 – $2,499

Anonymous Mark W. Addicks Charles and Mary Anderson Eric S. Anderson and Janalee R. Aurelia Floyd Anderson Jamie Andrews and Jane Kolp-Andrews Rebecca D. Arons and Thomas J. Basting Jr. Ruth and Dale Bachman Thomas and Ann Bagnoli Jo and Gordon Bailey Family Fund of the Catholic Community Foundation Carl and Joan Behr Barbara S. Belk Karen and John Blank Mrs. Paul G. Boening Ed and Mimi Bohrer Allan Bradley Drs. Eli and Jan Briones Keith and Carolyn Campbell Joan and George Carlson Kyle Clausen and Bethany Moritz Steve Coleman Barb and Jeff Couture Mike and Stacey Crosby – The Longview Foundation

Mary and Gus Blanchard Sara and Jock Donaldson Sharon Hawkins Heinz Hutter* Mary Ingebrand-Pohlad Mr. and Mrs. Philip Isaacson John and Kathleen Junek The Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of HRK Foundation Helen L. Kuehn* Chris Larsen and Scott Peterson Mrs. Walter Meyers Estate Albin and Susan Nelson H. Bernt von Ohlen and W. Thomas Nichol William White

Gold $15,000–$19,999

Diana Lee Lucker Margery Martin and Dan Feidt Kendrick B. Melrose Donor Advised Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Velia R. Melrose Karla Miller Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Moore Sarah and Rolf Peters Lois and John Rogers Dr. Donald V. Romanaggi Sr. Nadege J. Souvenir and Joshua A. Dorothy Stephanie C. Van D’Elden Charles Allen Ward Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation Nancy and Ted Weyerhaeuser

Rusty and Burt Cohen Jill Irvine Crow Ruth and Bruce* Dayton Jay and Rebecca Debertin Thomas and Mary Lou Detwiler Mary Dolan Restricted Family Fund of The Longview Foundation Ralph D. Ebbott Dr. Mary Anne Ebert and Paul Stembler Joyce and Hugh Edmondson Nancy and Rolf Engh Ann Fankhanel Bruce and Melanie Flessner Patricia R. Freeburg Woessner Freeman Family Foundation Friborg Family Charitable Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Judith Garcia Galiana and Alberto Castillo Meg and Wayne Gisslen Dr. Richard Gregory Mrs. Myrtle Grette Susanne Haas and Ross Formell Michele Harris and Peter Tanghe Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison Stefan and Lonnie Helgeson Linda and Jack Hoeschler Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Horowitz Bill and Hella Mears Hueg Thomas Hunt and John Wheelihan

Diane and Paul Jacobson Dale A. Johnson Janet N. Jones Robert and Susan Josselson Lyndel and Blaine King Stefanie Lenway and Tom Murtha From the Family of Richard C. and Elizabeth B. Longfellow David MacMillan and Judy Krow Dorothy and Roy Mayeske Barbara McBurney Mary Bigelow McMillan Sandy and Bob Morris Richard and Nancy Nicholson Fund Kelly and Michael Palmer Jose Peris and Diana Gulden Marge and Dwight Peterson Mrs. William S. Phillips The Redleaf Family Foundation John and Sandra Roe Foundation Thomas D. and Nancy J. Rohde James and Andrea Rubenstein Fred and Gloria Sewell Frank and Lynda Sharbrough Julie Steiner Dr. Andrew J. Thomas Dr. Craig S. and Stephanie Walvatne Jerry Wenger Patricia C. Williams*

Sharon and Fredrik Johnson Nancy and Donald Kapps Margaret V. Kinney Sally and Bill Kling Gerard Knight Mrs. James S. Kochiras Krystal Kohler and Dan Norris Anna Kokayeff Kyle Kossol and Tom Becker Constance and Daniel Kunin Christl and Andrew Larson Kent Larson and Christine Podas-Larson Mr. Bryan Lechner Laurence and Jean LeJeune Sy and Ginny Levy Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Diane and David Lilly William F. Long Leland T. Lynch and Terry Saario Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Reid MacDonald Tom and Marsha Mann Carolyn and Charles Mayo Laura McCarten Helen and Charles McCrossan Deb and Jon McTaggart Mary M. McVay

Eileen and Lester Meltzer David and LaVonne Middleton Jennifer and David Miller Mary M. Montgomery Diana and Joe* Murphy Betty Myers David E. and Judy L. Myers Joan and Richard Newmark Jane and Robert Oberrender Ruth and Ahmad Orandi Derrill M. Pankow Paula Patineau Suzanne and William Payne Bill and Barbara Pearce Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Kay Phillips and Jill Mortensen Mary and Robert Price George M. Reid Sampson Family Charitable Foundation John Sandbo and Jean Thomson Morris and Judith Sherman Cherie and Robert Shreck Kevin and Lynn Smith Matthew Spanjers and Annie Carvalho Mark and Kristi Specker Daniel J. Spiegel Family Foundation

Silver $2,500 – $4,999

Anonymous Dan and Martha Goldberg Aronson Annette Atkins and Tom Joyce Michael Birt Alexandra O. Bjorklund Shari and David Boehnen Margee and Will Bracken Ann and Glenn Buttermann Laurie Carlson and William Voedisch Nicky B. Carpenter Darlene J. and Richard P. Carroll Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Helen and John Crosson Shana Crosson and John Gisselquist Jeff and Wendy Dankey Vanessa Dayton Charles M. Denny Jr. and Carol E. Denny Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Susan DeNuccio Elise Donohue* Joan Duddingston Rondi Erickson and Sandy Lewis Gail Fiskewold Salvatore Silvestri Franco Terence Fruth and Mary McEvoy Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Joan and Bill Gacki James and Teddy Gesell Heidi and Howard Gilbert Goodale Family Foundation Roger and Karen Hale Marion and Donald Hall Tom and Susan Handley Don Helgeson and Sue Shepard Elfrieda Hintze Jean McGough Holten Chuck Jakway and Teresa Williams Barbara Jenkins Bryce and Paula Johnson

Anonymous Donald E. Benson Rachelle Dockman Chase Jane M. and Ogden W. Confer Ellie Crosby – The Longview Foundation William I. and Bianca M. Fine Charitable Trust Patricia Johnson and Kai Bjerkness Robert L. Lee and Mary E. Schaffner Harvey T. McLain Kay Ness and Chris Wolohan Virginia L. and Edward C. Stringer

Silver $10,000–$14,999 Anonymous Susan Boren and Steve King Michael and Alexis Christie

Cy and Paula DeCosse Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Dolly J. Fiterman Mr. and Mrs. William Frels Beverly N. Grossman Warren and Patricia Kelly Leni and David Moore Jr./Moore Family Fund for the Arts of The Minneapolis Foundation Luis Pagan-Carlo and Joseph Sammartino Connie and Lew Remele Paul and Mary Reyelts Don and Patricia Romanaggi Jennifer and Chris Romans Mahlon and Karen Schneider Mary H. and Christian G. Schrock Linda and Jesse Singh

| TOSCA

bel canto circle

ANNUAL FUND artist circle (continued) Donna Stephenson Dana and Stephen Strand Carley and Bill Stuber

patron circle Gold $750 – $999

Anonymous Laurie Anderson and Jon Hanson Gerald and Phyllis Benson Robert and Venetia Kudrle Ruth W. Lyons The Mahley Family Foundation Lucia Newell and Steven Wiese David E. Sander Warren Stortroen Michael P. Tierney Cindy and Steven Vilks James Wire

Silver $500 – $749

Anonymous (2) Meredith B. Alden* Thomas O. Allen Arlene and Tom Alm John and Ashley Anderson Katherine Anderson August J. Aquila and Emily Haliziw Dr. Thomas Arlander Dr. and Mrs. Orn Arnar Kay C. Bach Chuck and Estelle Bennett Anthony Benz Martin and Patricia Blumenreich

associate circle

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

$250 – $499

Anonymous (3) Paul and Val Ackerman Carolyn M. Adams Jerry Artz Dan Avchen and David Johnson James and Gail Bakkom Bender Vocal Studio Kenneth J. Berglund John and Cindy Beukema Beth Bird Mitch and Michele Blatt Allen Brookins-Brown Debra Brooks and James Meunier Roger and Ronnie Brooks Renee Campion and David Walsh Jean and Bruce Carlson Alan E. and Ruth Carp Kyle and Shelley Carpenter Dr. Mark and Denise Carter Katherine L. Castille Laura Green Chaffee and Matthew Chaffee Margaret Clouthier Kay Constantine Jeanne E. Corwin Catherine Coult and Robert Benjamin Mary T. Cummings Mr. Andrew Dahlen Virginia Dudley and William Myers Holli and Stefan Egerstrom Candace and Dan Ellis Charlie and Anne Ferrell Mina Fisher and Fritz Nelson

friend circle $100 – $249

Anonymous (5) Vanessa Abbe Ryan Ahlberg Mark and Ranae Alcorn James and Sharon Allen Roland C. Amundson Beverly Anderson Rolf T. Anderson

I N D I V I D UA L G I V I N G Vern Sutton Lester Temple Jill and John Thompson Bryn and Schelly Vaaler

Mrs. Joanne Von Blon David L. Ward John W. Windhorst Jr.

Carolyn, Sharon and Clark Winslow Rory and Diane Yanchek

Thomas and Joyce Bruckner Philip and Carolyn Brunelle Scott Cabalka Elwood and Florence* Caldwell Brenda Colwill Page and Jay Cowles Amos and Sue Deinard Lois Dirksen Barry Divine Ellen Doll and Jay Swanson Leah and Ian Evison Brian M. Finstad Christine Fleming David Francis Bradley Fuller and Elizabeth Lincoln Carol and Mike Garbisch David and Terry Gilberstadt Jennifer Gross and Jerry LeFevre Rehael Fund – Roger Hale/Nor Hall of The Minneapolis Foundation Russell and Priscilla Hankins Alfred E. Hauwiller Norton Hintz* and Mary Abbe John Hogie Steve Horan Mark and Jeanne Jacobson Chris and Nick Jermihov Charles and Sally Jorgensen Erika and Herb Kahler

Carole and Joseph Killpatrick Jennifer Konz-Alt and Aaron Alt James and Gail LaFave Judy Lebedoff and Hugh Klein Tim and Susanna Lodge Dr. Caliann Lum Stuart MacGibbon Donald and Rhoda Mains Bridget Manahan and Joe Alexander Kristin and Jim Matejcek Frank Mayers Carla K. McGrath Kris and Bill McGrath Judith and James Mellinger Anne W. Miller Steven J. Mittelholtz Kathleen and Donald Park Ilya Perepelitsyn and Lioudmila Sitnikova Carol Peterson Corine and John Petraborg Walter Pickhardt and Sandra Resnick Christina and Dwight Porter Lawrence M. Redmond William and Sue Roberts Ann M. Rock Bob and Donna Rose Ruth Rose Liane A. Rosel Enrique and Clara Rotstein

Fred Sandal Jon L. Schasker and Debbie Carlson Paul L. Schroeder Schwarzmann Family Doris Jean Seely Gale Sharpe Madeline Simon Rhonda Skoby Stanislaw Skrowaczewski Dr. Leslie W. Smith Jim Snustad Clifford C. and Virginia G. Sorensen Charitable Trust of The Saint Paul Foundation Jon Spoerri and Debra Christgau Michael Steffes Thomas and Sharon Stoffel Craig and Janet Swan Michael Symeonides and Mary Pierce Dan and Erika Tallman Dr. Anthony Thein Marie J. Thomas Andrejs Vape Olga Viso and Cameron Gainer Elizabeth Wexler Barbara White Frank and Frances Wilkinson John M. Williams

C.D.F. Foundation Rick and Nancy Foss Jane Fuller Greta and Paul Garmers Randy Goetz Stanley and Luella Goldberg Marsha and Richard Gould Stephanie Haack Jaden Hansen and Kathryn Louis Laurie Hansen Douglas and Doris Happe Patrick and Susan Haub Rosmarie and John Helling Holly C. Hickman Mary K. Hicks Clifton and Sharon Hill Andrew and Gary Whitford Holey Stuart Holland Burton and Sandra Hoverson Worth L. Hudspeth Mark and Kathleen Humphrey Thomas and Vicki Hurwitz Mr. Rob Hutter Ray Jacobsen Charlie Johnson Samuel L. Kaplan and Sylvia Chessen Kaplan Jim and Kathleen Karges Richard and Linda Kerber Janice Kimes Andrea M. Kircher Tara and Peter Klatt John Krenzke and Michelle Davis Nathan Kulenkamp

Alexandra Kulijewicz Beatrice H. Langford Kenyon S. Latham John and Marilyn Lieske William Lough Rebecca A. Lowe Elizabeth and Whitney MacMillan Dr. Joan E. Madden Dusty Mairs Diane Malfeld Walt McCarthy and Clara Ueland Orpha McDiarmid Family Fund Laurie and David Mech Adele Mehta Curtis and Verne Melberg Robert and Marlys Melius John L. Michel and H. Berit Midelfort Sonny Miller Virginia Miller Michael J. and Judith Mollerus Brad Momsen and Rick Buchholz Myers Foundation Merritt C. Nequette and Nancy Hartung William and Sharon Nichols Patricia A. O’Gorman Dennis R. Olson Donna and Marvin Ortquist Julia and Brian Palmer James A. Payne Lana K. Pemberton Jane M. Persoon Charles Petersen John and Norma Pierson Anne and John Polta

Nicole and Charles Prescott Dennis M. Ready Christina Reimer Robert E. Rocknem Dr. Pringle and Nancy W. Rodman Tamara and Michael Root Daniel Roth Patricia and Stephen Rowley Dan Sassenberg Kate Saumur Mary Savina Beth and Steve Schneider Jamie Schultz and Keith Beveridge Alan E. Shapiro Glenn Shifflet Marianne Settano Shumaker and Gordon Shumaker Juliana Simmons Bonnie and Peter Sipkins Debra Sit* and Peter Berge Arthur and Marilynn Skantz Linda Soranno and Howard Bolter Danielle St. Germain-Gordon Barbara Stoll Mark Stutrud Lori Sundman Katharine E. Thomas Susan Truman John Vilandre John and Sandra White Jeff Wiemiller Barb Wildes Wendy Wildung Ruth Wood

Howard J. Ansel Patrice Arseneault Thomas Bailey Trevor A. Bailey and Pari R. Bailey Michael and Mildred Baker Susanne and Johan Bakken Ralph and Lois Ballinger Jill and Thomas Barland Aimee and Thomas Baxter Carolyn Beatty

Christopher Beaudet Longine Beck John and Julie Beckmann Sharla and Mark Beithon Bonnie Benson Judith Berge Dennis and Judy Berkowitz Sharon Bigot Pam and Cory Biladeau Robert F. Bishaw

David and Diane Blake Joann Boeyink George E. and Joan M. Bohlig Christine and John Bonnes Elizabeth Borg and David Stevens Jack Boyer Judith and Paul Brandon Joan Broughton Sally Brown Judith Brown-Wescott

Philip and Ellen Bruner Noreen Decker Busdicker Stephen Bubul Matthew Bulisco Michael Bullard Robert and Gerry Bullard Charles G. Calhoun Barbara and Bill Camm Jerome and Linda Carlson Monica Carlson Julien Chase Paul Chase James and Mary Chastek Josephine Chervenak John Chrisney Beverly Christensen Jean and Malcolm Clark George and Louise Clitty Gary B. Cohen Thomas and Debra Coleman Herbert and Janice Colwill Joanna and Richard Cortright Susan G. Crawford Bill and Kate Cullen Angela Dahl Mark F. Dahlberg Stephanie Daily and James Hughes Meredith Danielson Melissa Daul Mary Davidson Roger and Betty Davis Karl Dedenbach and Chris Leisz Richard and Lois Demers Pamela Desnick Pamela Dickson Ann Dieperink Margaret K. Dittloff Eugenia and Joseph Dixon Kate and Doug Donaldson John and Maureen Drewitz Thalia Duffield John M. Duffy Dr. Donald A. Duncan Alexis DuPlessis Margaret E. Durham James and Beverly Dusso Sheryl Ebert Andrea Een Maria Eggemeyer George Ehrenberg Katherine Eiser Marlys and Charles Elliott Jerry and Teresa Elsbernd Ron Erhardt Cecelia and Peter Erickson Marvin and Margaret Fabyanske Craig Feathers and Amy Kolan Ormond Fennell Jim and Crissy Field Dennis Findley John J. Flynn and Deborah Pile Delores Fohlmeister Karen Folden Gerald Foley Rosemary A. Frazel and Roger Howley Daniel E. Freeman Akiko and Tatsuo Fukushi Anne Gandrud and Brian Daunheimer Howard and Ann Garton Cecilie and Emanuel Gaziano Emanuel and Ceciliel Gaziano Robin Gehl Leland and Beverly Gehrke Richard Geise

Lois and Larry Gibson Dan and Ann Gifford Nancy J. Gilliland Walt and Raeanna Gislason James and Jo Glasser Marcia Glick Barbara Golden Eileen and Edward Gordon Charlotte L. Grantier Joseph T. Green Carol and Walter Griffin Brian and Jane Grivna Roger Gross and Mary Dunnavan Thomas and Jacqueline Guglielmi Judith Hadler Jerold and Kathleen Hahn William and Marilyn Halloran Craig and Monica Hamer Anne Hanley and George Skinner Kathleen Hannon Virginia R. Harris John and Kay Hawksford Stephen and Patricia Haynes Linda Hersom Arthur and Joan Higinbotham Jonathan E. Hill Julie and Harry Hoffman Brian and Karen Hopps Clayton and Judith Hovda Robert Howard Richard and Ingrid Hoyt Linda Hulbert and Alan Rissman Ela Iwanczuk and Gerry Rothen Deborah and Ronald Jans Linda Jergenson Margaret and Allan Johnson Margaret and Philip Johnson Paul Johnson and Joan Eckberg Mr. Robert Johnson Robert Johnson Robert W. Johnson Nancy Jones Kyong and Young Juhn Kristine Kaplan Angela and Seth Keeton Scott Kegler Vernon and Gail Kenney Judith Allen Kim Donald W. Klass Arthur C. and Milly D. Klassen Thomas Kleinschmit Kartra and Glenn Kohl Janis I. Konke Shirley Kulevsky Scott and Karla Lalim Dean and Kristen Lambert John F. Leddy David and Darlene Lee David and Luba Lehman Frank Lerman Gene and Phyllis Letendre Natalie Levin and Stephen Gilberstadt John and Rachel Levitt E. and A. Leyasmeyer Robert P. Libera Roger and Ellen Lillemoen Brenda Lindell James Lindell Janet Lindquist Tom and Hinda Litman Melanie Locke Elizabeth Longhurst and Kim Chapman

Juanita B. Luis Gerold Luss Beth N. MacDonald Holly MacDonald and John Orbison James and Janice MacGibbon Mrs. Joan Macheledt Lorretta Magnuson William Mahlum and Donna Allan Marsha L. Mansur Diane L. Marti and Guglielmo Izzi Christine Martin William and Carole Martino Jeffrey Masco David Mayo John McAleer Denise McClain Betty L McConnell Patricia N. and Samuel D. McCullough Robert and Catherine McGeachie Iris McGinnis Anne McInerney Maryann and Kevin McKenna Sam Meals Mary Ann Mecom Robert and Roberta Megard Megan and Adam Mehl Leslie and John Mercer Mikhailenko Family John Miller Laurie Miller Robert and Sharon Moeller Jacqueline Moen and Steven Bailey Karen Moline Anne Mollerus IvaNell Monson Margot and Bjorn Monson Keith Montgomery Linda Morey Sheila C. Morgan Monica Morin Hilda Mork Lynda and Fritz Morlock Maria Moscandrew Steven R. Mosow David and Kim Motes Imelda and William Muggli Bill and Jennifer Mullin Elizabeth Murray Grace Musilek Richard and Janet Myers Tracy Napp Ronald and Marlene Nauman Douglas and KK Neimann Imogene and Allan Nelson Ingrid Nelson John and Sue Nelson Kathryn E. Nettleman Jay and Helen Newlin Margaret J. Nimmo Paula Nordhem and James Calkins Elizabeth and Neal Nordling Im Memory of Alice Northwick Brandon Novy Charlotte and Irving Nudell Andrew Odlyzko Douglas Olchefske Erin O’Leary Robert and Dorothy Ollmann Robert and Tamara Olsen Douglas Olson and Charlene McEvoy Robert and Patricia Olson Vivian Orey

ANNUAL FUND

Steven and Karen Ostovich Eduardo and Susanne Padilla Mrs. Patricia Panshin Lisa Pasquale Jannette Paulu Reverend and Mrs. Daniel Pearson Mischa and Barbara Penn Rick and Sandy Penning Silvia Perez John and Margaret Perry Barbara and Gary Petersen Dorothy L. Peterson Douglas and Barbara Peterson Jim and Kirsten Peterson Lisa Peterson Patricia M. Peterson Sharon and Gregory Peterson Joan and John Petroff Judith Pettit Hans-Olaf Pfannkuch Kathleen M. Philipp Ann and Felix Phillips Wayne and Ona Pinsonneault Joan L Piorkowski Ann Piotrowski Linda Platt Fred and Barbara Pollman Lawrence Poston Lorraine Potuzak Nylce Prada Myers Julie and Les Prahl Robert and Ruth Premer Daniel and Margaret Preska Susie and Chris Preston Ronald and Phyllis Price Karen Quisenberry Faris and Ashley Rashid Margaret Redmond Sigrid and Dave Redpath Patricia and Gregory Reese Herbert and Jane Reiman John Renwick Gene Rerat Ann Richter Jack Richter Sings LLC Genevieve and John Ries Jim and Theresa Rife Patrick Riley and Natalie Roholt David Robertson J. Susan Robertson Ronald Roed Patricia Rogin-Pearson Robert Rollin David and Kathleen Rothenberger Mr. and Mrs. Steven Rothschild Gregg Rotvold John and Bonnie Rowell Jana Sackmeister Irene and Mel Sahyun James Salutz and Margaret Brandl Sylvia and Richard Salvati David M. Sandoz Karen and Steve Sanger Paula Santrach George Sarosi Georgie and James Saumweber Sally and Tim Sawyer Gaynell Schandel Mary Schertler Sue and Charles Schiess Joyce and Robert Schmidt Loren Schumacher Jack and Pamela Schwandt A. Truman and Beverly Schwartz Martin and Susan Segal Jay and Kathryn Severance

Wendy Shaler Jerald and Leona Shannon Craig and Maureen Shaver Bob and Joan Shearer Eva Shipley Aaron Shipp Rebecca Shockley Laura A. Silver Dale and Marilyn Simmons Kathleen K. Simo David and Mary Sipfle Roy and Lana Sjoberg Richard and Mary Jo Skaggs Emily Skoblik Beth Skwira John M. Smith Linnea Sodergren Annemarie and Jan Solon George and Margaret Sparks Lorraine C. Spies Biruta and Andris Spruds Mr. David Stevens and Ms. Elizabeth Borg Mary Beth Stevens Roxanne Stouffer Ralph and Grace Sulerud Susan and Oakley Surine Craig Swaggert and Tanna Moore Richard and Barbara Swanson Maryann Swayze Curtis L. Swenson Charles O. and Marlys R. Taflin Charles and Joan Tanger Keith Tate Charlott Taylor John J. and Mary M. Taylor Joyce Thielen Irma Thies Robert and Barbara Thomasson Tilmer Thompson Valerie Thompson Leslie Thomsen John Tillotson Susan Travis Kenneth and Kathryn Valentas Reverend Robert Valit Victoria and Lindsay Vargas Catherine and Donald Vesley Vilis and Aija Vikmanis Ginny and Ed Vizard Randall Volk Joanne Wang Wesley Wang Cindy Weathers Edward and Elizabeth Weir Rahn Westby Deborah Wheeler Mr. and Mrs. Donald White Kim Wiese Paul and Carolynn Wiggin Peter and Anne Wildenborg Andrea Wilkerson Rosemary Willett David and Rachelle Willey Laurel and Frank Winsor Ray and Jean Witter Jenna Wolf Marvin and Pamela Wolfmeyer Sharon Woods George Wright Kirsten Zerhusen Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Zetah Paul Zorn and Janet Petri * Deceased

These lists are current as of February 2, 2016, and include donors who gave a gift of $100 or more during Minnesota Opera’s Annual Fund Campaign. If your name is not listed appropriately, please accept our apologies and contact Dan Sassenberg, Associate Development Director, at dsassenberg@mnopera.org or 612-342-9574.

become a donor Bring innovative opera productions to life with your charitable gift, and join Minnesota Opera’s family of donors today. Visit mnopera.org/support to give online. THANK YOU!

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INDIVIDUAL GIVING

INSTITUTIONAL GIVING Minnesota Opera gratefully acknowledges its major institutional supporters: $100,000 +

minnesota opera sponsors Production Innovation System General Mills

Tempo After Parties Sakura

Tempo Print Sponsor

Behind the Curtain

Press Sure Print

Official Make-Up Partner Resident Artist Program Wenger Foundation

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

$50,000 – $99,999

$25,000 – $49,999

corporations, foundations and government Sponsors $25,000+

3M Foundation Ameriprise Financial Inc. Aroha Philanthropies f.r. Bigelow Foundation Cargill Foundation The Ruth Easton Fund General Mills Foundation Hearst Foundations Knight Foundation The McKnight Foundation Medtronic Philanthropy through Medtronic Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Minnesota State Arts Board National Endowment for the Arts The Saint Paul Foundation Somerset Foundation Target United Health Foundation Wenger Foundation

Platinum $10,000 – $24,999

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

$10,000 – $24,999

Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation Faegre Baker Daniels Dorsey & Whitney Foundation Ecolab Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation MAHADH Fund of HRK Foundation The Opera Fund, a program of OPERA America Pine River Capital Management l.p. Rahr Foundation Securian Foundation Travelers Foundation U.S. Bank Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Foundation

Gold $5,000 – $9,999

The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Inc. Best Buy Children’s Foundation

Boss Foundation Briggs & Morgan p.a. Dellwood Foundation Ernst & Young Hardenbergh Foundation Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts Anna M. Heilmaier Charitable Foundation r.c. Lilly Foundation Mayo Clinic Maslon llp RBC Wealth Management Rothschild Capital Partners James Rubenstein, Moss & Barnett Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner p.a.

Silver $2,500 – $4,999

Anonymous Fredrikson & Byron Foundation Hutter Family Foundation Margaret Rivers Fund Morgan Family Foundation Maurices Minnesota Power National Bank of Commerce Peravid Foundation The Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation Robins Kaplan llc Squam Lake Foundation Tennant Foundation Thomson Reuters Wells Fargo Advisors

Bronze $250 – $2,499

Carlson Family Foundation Enterprise Holdings Foundation Hammel, Green and Abrahamson Inc. Longview Foundation McVay Foundation Onan Family Foundation Sit Investment Foundation Wells Fargo Insurance Services

In-Kind Donations Dunn Bros. Coffee Jefferson Lines

production multimedia Publicity Photographer | Brent Dundore

For information on making a corporate or foundation contribution to Minnesota Opera, please contact Jaden Hansen, Institutional Gifts Manager, at 612-342-9566 or email him at jhansen@mnopera.org.

Production Photographer | Dan Norman Videographer | Flight Creative Media Broadcast Recording

Event Photographer | CJ Standish

LEGACY CIRCLE

MINNESOTA OPERA INFO

MINNESOTA OPERA THANKS the following donors who, their wills or estate plans. We invite you to join other opera lovers by leaving a legacy gift to Minnesota Opera. If you have already made such a provision, we encourage you to notify us so that we may appropriately recognize your generosity. Anonymous (4)

Margaret Kilroe Trust*

Paul and Val Ackerman

Lyndel and Blaine King

Thomas O. Allen

Gretchen Klein*

Dr. and Mrs. Rolf Andreassen*

Sally and William Kling

Mary A. Andres

Gisela Knoblauch*

Karen Bachman

Liz and Jim Krezowski

Randolph G. Baier*

Robert Kriel and Linda Krach

Patricia and Mark Bauer Mrs. Harvey O. Beek* Barbara and Judson Bemis Sr.*

Robert and Venetia Kudrle Helen L. Kuehn* Robert J. Lawser Jr.

Dr. Lee Borah Jr.

Jean Lemberg*

Allan Bradley

Joyce and Jerry Lillquist

C.T. Bundy II

Patricia Ruth Lund*

Margaret M. Carasik

David Mayo

Joan and George Carlson

Barbara and Thomas* McBurney

Darlene J. and Richard P. Carroll

Mary McDiarmid

Julia and Dan Cross Julia and Kenneth* Dayton Charles M. Denny George and Susan Doty Rudolph Driscoll* Anne P. Ducharme Ester and John* Fesler Dr. Paul Froeschl Katy Gaynor Nettie Grabscheid* Robert and Ellen Green Dr. Ieva M. Grundmanis*

Mildred McGonagle* Sheila McNally* Mrs. Walter Meyers John L. Michel and H. Berit Midelfort Susan Molder* Edith Mueller* Kay Ness Joan and Richard Newmark Philip Oxman and Harvey Zuckman Scott J. Pakudaitis Lana K. Pemberton Sydney M. and William S.* Phillips

Julia Hanna*

Richard G.* and Liane A. Rosel

Ruth Hanold*

Ken and Nina Rothchild

Frederick J. Hey Jr.*

Berneen Rudolph

Norton M. Hintz Trust*

Mary Savina

Elfrieda Hintze

Frank and Lynda Sharbrough

Jean McGough Holten

Drew Stewart

Charles J. Hudgins*

James and Susan Sullivan

Dale and Pat Johnson

Gregory C. Swinehart

Ruth Jones*

Stephanie C. Van D’Elden

Charles and Sally Jorgensen

Mary W. Vaughan

Robert and Susan Josselson

Bernt von Ohlen

Charlotte* and Markle Karlen Mary H. Keithahn Warren and Patricia Kelly

Sandra and Dale Wick Richard Zgodava* Daniel Richard Zillmann * In remembrance

For more information on making planned giving arrangements, please contact Dan Sassenberg, Associate Development Director, at dsassenberg@mnopera.org or 612-342-9574. Your attorney or ﬁnancial advisor can then help determine which methods are most appropriate for you.

Minnesota Opera Ticket Office 620 North First Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401 612-333-6669 Regular Hours: Monday – Friday, 10am – 5pm. Performances: Weekdays — phones open until curtain. Weekends — phones open at 2pm for evening performances and at 10:30am for matinee performances. Minnesota Opera staff will be available at the Ordway’s Box Office 90 minutes prior to curtain. mnopera.org Visit mnopera.org to watch behind-the-scenes videos, read synopses, browse digital programs and more. Join our e-club to receive special offers and opera news. Ticket Policies Tickets are not refundable. Subscribers may make exchanges for a different performance or opera up to one hour prior to curtain. Any ticket may be turned back for a tax deductible donation up until curtain. Call the Minnesota Opera Ticket Office at 612-333-6669. Parking Prepaid parking is available for opera patrons at the Lawson Commons Ramp. Call 612-333-6669 to purchase passes, or online at mnopera.org. Subject to availability. Opera Insights Come early for Opera Insights — free, fun and informative half-hour sessions held in the lobby one hour before curtain. Accessibility For patrons with disabilities, wheelchair-accessible seats are available. Audio description will be available for select performances. Please call 612-333-6669 for details and indicate any special needs when ordering tickets. At Ordway, accessible restrooms and other facilities are available, as well as Braille or large-print programs and infrared listening systems. At the Ordway Ordway is a smoke-free facility. Latecomers will be seated at an appropriate break. Please have all cell phones and pagers turned to the silent mode. Children under six are not permitted in the hall. Cameras and recording equipment are strictly prohibited in the theater. Please check these items with an usher. Food and beverages are available for purchase prior to the show and during intermission. Water and other beverages are allowed in the theater (hot beverages require lids), but food is strictly prohibited. The phone number for emergencies is 651-224-4222. Please leave seat locations with the calling party. Lost and Found is located at the Stage Door. Call 651-282-3070 for assistance.

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through their foresight and generosity, have included the Opera in

IT’S ABOUT DOING

EVERYTHING

WITH PASSION. SHATTUCK ST. MARY’S VOCAL PERFORMANCE

www.s-sm.org admissions@s-sm.org

S T. P A U L J C C S Y M P H O N Y P R O U D LY P R E S E N T S

Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot Experience one of the greatest cantors and musicians of our time in his Minnesota debut concert featuring classical and traditional Jewish music.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 • 7:30 PM • FREE ST. PAUL JCC • 1375 ST. PAUL AVENUE This premiere concert is sponsored by the Mary & Julius Pertzik Jewish Cultural Arts Fund of the St. Paul JCC Endowment Funds.

stpauljcc.org • 651 + 698 0751

ASL interpreted performance

• Saturday • April 2, 2016 • 8pm

Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus has been proudly fulfilling its mission of Gay Men Building Community Through Music for the past 35 years! Celebrate our history and on-going legacy on this special one night only musical fête in the newly remodeled Northrop. We’ll feature highlights from seasons past, premiere several new commissions and reveal a few surprises up our cufflinked sleeves. Join us for a gala night to remember – A Night at Northrop!

If you haven’t heard us, it’s time you came out!

U of M Tickets and Events: 612-624-2345 or tickets.umn.edu JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Chorus: 612-339-7664 or tcgmc.org

DESIGNERS & BUILDERS OF:

Fine Custom Kitchens, Baths, Furniture and Cabinetry www.thirdstreetstudios.com 651 • 917 • 9296

Our Retail Gallery features furniture by Third Street Studios as well as work by local artists, including paintings, photographs, sculpture, ceramics and other craft. Perfect gifts for family and friends or a treat for yourself! Like SPATIAL EFFECTS GALLERY on Facebook 651 • 757 • 3365

GRE GIFTSAT !

Third Street Studios and Spatial Effects Gallery are both located at 1759 Selby Avenue, Saint Paul.

presents its 2016 Festival featuring The award-winning romp the NYT calls “ridiculously sublime”:

On the 20th Century

The unparalleled sophistication and wit of one of the master songwriters of the 20th century in Oh, Coward!

Don’t delay! Buy your tickets now!

www.ticketworks.com

2015 // 16

NORTHROP SEASON

MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP Wed, Mar 30, 7:30 pm Dido and Aeneas

with live orchestra, soloists, and chorus conducted by Mark Morris This timeless story of love and betrayal combines the Baroque music of Henry Purcell’s hourlong opera with Morris’ highlydetailed, signature dance vocabulary.

presents

Peter Wiley April 3rd Peter Wiley, eminent cellist of Guarneri String Quartet and Beaux Arts Trio, in a program of the Kodaly Duo for violin and cello, the Brahms String Sextet in G major, and the Haydn String Trio in G major.

Joe Lovano June 5th An afternoon of jazz and classical works with Jazz saxophone great, Joe Lovano, in tribute to Gunther Schuller. Featuring Peter Child’s Moon Sculptures, written expressly for Lovano and violinist Young-Nam Kim.

Sundays at 4pm • Sundin Music Hall • 1541 Hewitt Ave. St. Paul

Buy Tickets Today! • chambermusicmn.org • 651.450.0527

a creative agency for the arts

Becketwood Pastoral ®

Setting & Metropolitan Attitude... …a spirited, open and affirming community of cooperative living for active independent owners starting at age 55.

artsink.org

We’re near the heart of the city, yet tucked away on 12 quiet, wooded acres overlooking the Mississippi.

For advertising opportunities: emily@artsink.org 612.791.3629

Call today! 612-746-1002

Proud to partner with Minnesota Opera

www.becketwood.com

4300 West River Parkway South Minneapolis, MN 55406-3696

Osmo Vänskä /// Music Director

M AY C O N C E R T S RACHMANINOFF’S FIRST PIANO CONCERTO VASILY PETRENKO

Thu May 5 11am / Fri May 6 8pm Sat May 7 6pm Early start time!

Vasily Petrenko, conductor / Inon Barnatan, piano RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 1 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 8 The young, critically-acclaimed Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan debuts at Orchestra Hall, and Vasily Petrenko conducts a signature work by Shostakovich.

STRAUSS’ MERRY PRANKS

Thu May 12 11am / Fri May 13 8pm Asher Fisch, conductor / Amber Wagner, soprano ASHER FISCH

WAGNER Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde STRAUSS Interludes from Die Frau ohne Schatten Til Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks Hear Wagner’s heavenly Liebestod with young American soprano Amber Wagner, plus musical gems by Richard Strauss.

INSIDE THE CLASSICS*

THE EVOLUTION OF OPERA Fri May 20 8pm

Sarah Hicks, conductor / Sam Bergman, host and violist Join Sam and Sarah as they explore the history of opera: lifting the curtain on the dramatic combination of singers, players, stage and story. Tickets $29 / $20 for patrons age 40 and under!

CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE SARAH HICKS

WITH THE MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA

Sat May 21 8pm / Sun May 22 2pm Sarah Hicks, conductor Watch the Orchestra perform while all around them (and flying over their heads!) the internationally acclaimed artists of Cirque de la Symphonie bring the Big Top to Orchestra Hall.

ERIN KEEFE PLAYS BRAHMS Fri May 27 & Sat May 28 8pm

Osmo Vänskä, conductor / Erin Keefe, violin PUTS NIELSEN BRAHMS

Hear one of the most beloved works for violin, performed by Concertmaster Erin Keefe.

SYMPHONY IN 60

Thu May 26 8pm Enjoy this one-hour performance of Brahms followed by post-concert cocktails onstage with the musicians. Tickets $29 / $20 for patrons age 40 and under!

ERIN KEEFE, CONCERTMASTER

CIRQUE DE LA SYMPHONIE

Two Mountain Scenes Symphony No. 6, Sinfonia semplice Violin Concerto

612.371.5656 / minnesotaorchestra.org / Orchestra Hall *Please note: first half is conversation and orchestral excerpts, second half is a full performance.

OSMO VÄNSKÄ

PHOTOS Petrenko: Mark McNulty; Fisch: Chris Gonz; Keefe, Vänskä: Joel Larson Photography; Hicks: Josh Kohanek Photography

Creative Partner:

Photo by Michael Haug Photography

20 Season Celebration th

A May Day “Crowning” Performance Our 20th season comes to a truly regal close on May Day with an elegant spring brunch, our debut in the new Ordway Concert Hall, and a post-show soirée with plenty of bubbly. Themes of coronation and majesty adorn our concert program, highlighted by the glorious music of Handel, Monteverdi, Purcell and Byrd.

MAY 1, 2016 SUNDAY AFTERNOON

Ordway Concert Hall

345 Washington Street, Saint Paul

CAROL BARNETT

Join our full ensemble of singers and a special period chamber orchestra, and witness the world premiere of a new work by legendary composer Carol Barnett. What a way to toast 20 years!

TICKETS $150: BRUNCH | CONCERT | PARTY (WITH PRIORITY SEATING) $30 and $50: CONCERT AND PARTY ONLY

PRESENTING SPONSOR

TICKETS AT ORDWAY BOX OFFICE

651.224.4222 | ordway.org / the-rose-ensemble

ROSEENSEMBLE.ORG | 651.225.4340 | 314 LANDMARK CENTER 75 W. 5TH STREET, SAINT PAUL, MN