Minnesota Opera's Manon Lescaut Program by Minnesota Opera

2013 – 2014 Season Minnesota Opera Ticket Oﬃce 620 North First Street Minneapolis, MN 55401 612-333-6669

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Manon Lescaut

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Synopsis

Manon Lescaut: Puccini’s First True Success

Giacomo Puccini

Director’s Notes

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2013 – 2014 Season

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Kevin Ramach

Opera under the Stars 2013 © Corinne Standish for Minnesota Opera

Welcome

ear friends, Summer at the Opera is spent preparing for the season ahead. About the time the State Fair arrives, we are welcoming the artists, preparing the chorus and working on scenery and costumes in our workshops. The excitement builds over a few weeks, and it’s wonderful to wander into the rehearsal hall to see the director and conductor working with talented singers to build characters and refine their artistry. It all leads to now, the big performance, and to you, the audience. Welcome to the 2013–2014 season! Of course, our summer was a bit shorter this year. On June 14, 15 and 16, Minnesota Opera presented three free concert performances of La bohème as an encore to our 50th anniversary season. The concerts took place at Harriet Island in Saint Paul, the Lake Harriet Band Shell in Minneapolis and at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault. These concerts were attended by more than 10,000 people who enjoyed, thankfully, beautiful Minnesota weather and even more beautiful performances by our principal singers, the

Minnesota Opera Orchestra and Chorus, and youngsters from Minnesota Opera’s summer camp. The performances wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of Target, the Saint Paul Cultural star Program, the Minnesota State Arts Board and iatse Local 13. These concerts – and other public events to come – grow out of our new strategic plan that has Minnesota Opera reaching into the community with new and exciting programs and activities. Thank you to the audience, donors and other supporters of our Minnesota Opera. Enjoy the show!

President and General Director

| MANON LESCAUT

Music by Giacomo Puccini Libretto by Domenico Oliva and Luigi Illica after the novel L’histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by Antoine-François Prévost d’Exiles (1731)

cast (characters listed in order of vocal appearance)

Edmondo, a student

John Robert Lindsey

The Chevalier des Grieux

Dinyar Vania

Lescaut, Manon’s brother Geronte de Ravoir, Treasurer General

Matthew Opitz

The Innkeeper Manon Lescaut A singer Madrigal singers

The Dancing Master Sergeant of the Royal Archers A lamplighter A naval captain

Andrew Wilkowske Christian Zaremba Kelly Kaduce Victoria Vargas Cecile Crozat-Zawisza, Elizabeth Kohl, Rebecca Krynski, Shannon Prickett Robb Asklof Christian Zaremba John Robert Lindsey Steven Marking

The appearances of Kelly Kaduce, grand prize winner; Rebecca Krynski, John Robert Lindsey, Victoria Vargas and Andrew Wilkowske, regional finalists; and Robb Asklof, Matthew Opitz and Shannon Prickett, district finalists 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.

World premiere at the Teatro Regio, Turin, February 1, 1893 September 21, 24, 26, 28 and 29, 2013, Ordway, Saint Paul Sung in Italian with English translations

creative team Conductor

Michael Christie

Stage Director

Michael Cavanagh

Choreographer

Heidi Spesard-Noble

Set and Costume Designer Lighting Designer

John Pascoe Wm. P. Healey

Wig and Makeup Designer

Jason Allen

Assistant Director

Daniel Ellis

Assistant Conductor

Aaron Breid

Répétiteurs Production Stage Manager English Captions

Geoﬀrey Loﬀ, Sheldon Miller Kerry Masek Michael Cavanagh

Original production by John Pascoe. Production owned by Washington National Opera. Kelly Kaduce’s appearance is generously sponsored by Dr. Tracy and Mr. Eric Aanenson. Dinyar Vania’s appearance is generously sponsored by Kay Ness and Chris Wolohan.

The Minnesota Opera season and Manon Lescaut are sponsored by

Manon Lescaut

Synopsis

Act I

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A public square in Amiens

Students enjoy the summer evening in the town square. One of them, Edmondo, sings a madrigal of youthful pleasure, hoping to attract the young village women. They ask a brooding Des Grieux to join them, and to prove he is not cynical about love, he gallantly flirts with a group of girls with mock courtesy. As they all celebrate in the street, a carriage arrives at the inn carrying Geronte, Lescaut and his sister Manon. Des Grieux is struck by Manon’s beauty and shyly approaches her. She is called inside by her brother, but has been won over by Des Grieux’s words, and they make plans to meet later. Geronte discusses Manon’s future with Lescaut. The family wants her to take the veil, but Lescaut has other ideas for her future – perhaps a match with the older Geronte (along with whatever benefits he may glean from the rich treasury official). The two men agree to meet for dinner, and Lescaut then joins a card game with the students. Edmondo overhears Geronte making plans to take Manon to Paris. He tells Des Grieux and agrees to help prevent her capture. Manon and Des Grieux meet as agreed and express their mutual attraction. He warns of Geronte’s plan to abduct her, so they run away together. Geronte is affronted, but Lescaut advises him to be patient, for he knows his sister’s expensive tastes will soon exhaust a student’s income.

intermission

Act II An elegant room in Geronte’s house in Paris As Lescaut predicted, Manon is now Geronte’s mistress and prepares for the day, aided by her entourage. When Lescaut arrives, she asks about Des Grieux, recalling their once-passionate affair. When speaking to Des Grieux, Lescaut has been vague about Manon’s whereabouts, but encouraged him to become a cardsharp so that he may acquire enough wealth to keep his sister in the style she requires. Geronte has arranged a reception with musicians, who sing a song in Manon’s honor. A dancing master teaches the minuet, but in spite of all the finery, Manon is bored with her new life. Realizing that she is unhappy, Lescaut privately decides to fetch Des Grieux. The guests depart for a stroll down the esplanade, and Manon promises to join them later. Des Grieux appears at the door. He berates her lack of fidelity, but in begging forgiveness, she softens his resolve. Geronte returns and is shocked to find them in each other’s arms. Manon counters his deriding remarks by holding a mirror to his face,

Manon Lescaut 2013 © Scott Suchman for Washington National Opera

intermission Act III A square near the harbor in Le Havre Manon is being held in the barracks, awaiting deportation to America with a group of prostitutes. Lescaut has bribed one of her jailors, and he and Lescaut wait for the changing of the guard to effect her escape. She is made aware of the plan while sharing a brief moment with Des Grieux.

A shot betrays their scheme. Manon and the other prisoners are then led one-by-one to a ship while the onlooking townspeople make wicked comments as each one passes by. Des Grieux begs the captain to be hired as a deckhand, and he agrees to take the infatuated young man on the voyage to the New World.

Act IV A wilderness on the edges of the Louisiana Territory After troubles with the colonial governor, the two lovers are forced to make an escape. Manon is destitute and very weak. She sends Des Grieux ahead to look for water and shelter. When he returns it is too late. She dies believing that time will cleanse her of any sin, and he is left with nothing but memories of their too brief time together. T

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cruelly confronting him with his advanced age. Indignantly, he leaves the couple alone. Lescaut soon enters, breathless. Geronte has summoned the authorities, denouncing Manon’s lack of morality. Before fleeing with Des Grieux, she gathers her expensive jewelry, but the delay proves costly – the guards arrive and arrest her for thievery.

David Sander

Manon Lescaut: Puccini’s First True Success

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fter the failure of his second opera Edgar on April 21, 1889, Giacomo Puccini came perilously close to ending his career. The financially precarious Casa Ricordi was ready to pull the plug on the young composer, but its president, Giulio Ricordi, had hand-picked him from among the pool of opera’s promising young lions (which included Pietro Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo, whose Cavalleria rusticana and I pagliacci would soon create a sensation). He was convinced he had discovered Giuseppe Verdi’s successor and was determined to give Puccini another chance. Even before the premiere of Edgar, with tremendous faith, Ricordi had sent Puccini to Bayreuth (his publishing firm had acquired the Italian rights to Richard Wagner’s operas with a loan of 200,000 lire from Verdi for this purchase, a debt that may have never been extinguished). After a second visit in July 1889, Puccini was given the overwhelming and unenviable task of cutting Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg down to size so it could be more digestible for Italian audiences. He was also given written access to Verdi and promoted the works of others (most notably, his former roommate Mascagni). At this time Puccini was not financially stable. In spite of his spiritual generosity, Ricordi paid the composer’s salary with advances on future royalties. Puccini was supporting his mistress Elvira, her daughter Fosca and their young son Antonio. Because of the scandalous relationship with a married woman — she had been forced to leave her son Renato with her husband Narciso Gemignani — Puccini’s uncle, Nicolao Cerù, a generous benefactor who had supported the budding composer during his early student

days, called in his loan. Yet, by July 1889, Puccini thought he had found the perfect topic for his next opera and was certain it would bring fame and fortune. Ricordi was hardly thrilled when he learned of the composer’s chosen subject matter for his third opus. Puccini turned to Manon Lescaut (1731), a novel by the Abbé Prévost that had already been set by Frenchman Jules Massenet in 1884. That opera had yet to premiere in Italy (although Massenet’s Erodiade had already reached the Milanese stage in 1882; his Manon would receive its Italian premiere in October 1893, eight months after Puccini’s work), but Puccini was probably familiar with the score. In spite of his publisher’s protestations, the composer was determined to infuse some Italian “desperate passion” into Massenet’s staid, Frenchified rendition, which was steeped in “powder and minuets.” p Puccini in Manon Lescaut also put h his his verismo ver eris ismo mo ccompetitors. ompe om peti tito tors rs. Hi Hiss contest with Le first opera, Le ), villi (1884), n was based on d the legend liss li of the Willis (realized in ell llee ballet as Giselle and again Ruusalka), about abo bout ut the the in opera as Rusalka), ted young young woman wom man spirit of a jilted aboutt the death th who brings about rmer lover. l ve lo ver. r. of her former waas set set in Edgar (1889)) was -century -cen entu tury ry knightly 14thh-c Though gh Flanders. Th scau autt Manon Lescaut traditionally

Vacallo, Leoncavallo adorning his front door with a clown (a pagliaccio) and Puccini decorating his with the drawing of a hand (mano in Italian]. Anxious to get the situation resolved, Ricordi next turned to Giuseppe Giacosa, an experienced dramatist and poet who offered some slight assistance, then suggested Luigi Illica, who really turned things around. A good portion of the opera had already been composed, but the new librettist managed to expand the scenes in Geronte’s home and the Le Havre harbor. It is commonly believed both Puccini and Ricordi contributed a few verses of their own, bringing the total count of literary collaborators to seven. As a consequence, no librettist was credited on opening night. Puccini completed Manon Lescaut in October 1892. The astute Ricordi had to be especially careful in setting the premiere – it couldn’t be presented in Milan, where Edgar had been so easily dismissed. Instead, he sought out the Teatro Regio in Turin, strategically setting the date to be February 1, 1892, just eight days before the momentous premiere of Verdi’s Falstaff at La Scala. The subtlety of the connection made between the two composers was fairly transparent, and yet Ricordi would further link the two works by offering a discount for companies who presented both operas in a single season. In three years, Manon Lescaut would be seen in 15 countries, and oddly, would enjoy more immediate success than any of his later, more familiar works. In 1923, Arturo Toscanini organized a significant 30th-anniversary revival at La Scala. Next to La bohème it was one of the conductor’s favorite Puccini masterpieces. CONTINUED on next page

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Patricia Racette in Manon Lescaut 2013 © Scott Suchman for Washington Opera

takes place in the early 1700s, there is a sense of youth, truth and reality to the events and decisions that take place in Puccini’s version of the story, a mood that would be fully realized in his next opera, La bohème. Ferdinando Fontana, the composer’s librettist for his first two works, naturally thought he would be employed to work on the next opera and was quite vexed when someone else was selected — he had, after all, once suggested to Puccini the subject of Manon (and would again with Tosca). Puccini turned to Marco Praga (son of scapigliatura poet Emilio) and Domenico Oliva, relatively untested talent in the operatic genre. Praga worked out a four-act scenario: Act i had the young couple first meet, Act ii would be set in their affectionate domicile, Act iii would take place in Geronte’s elegant home p would end in the “desert” of and the opera th e Louisiana Loui Lo uisi sian anaa T the Territory. Puccini began comp co mpos osin ingg wi with thin in this framework, but was composing within consis iste tent n ly dissatisfi nt dis issa satt ed with Act ii, and the consistently proc pr oces esss began bega be gan to bbreak down. Praga used this process an ex excu cuse se ttoo re as an excuse retreat while the composer and Oliva Oliv Ol iva (who (who h would w and eventually bow out wel ell) l) hashed has ash h out the Le Havre scene, as well) now Act Act ii iiii. i It is believed Leoncavallo now involv lved ed d in the project, either at was involved th he very beginning beg egii the (reportedly to have draf dr afte ted d a scen drafted scenario) or at some point in mid mi ddle (to o thee middle (touching up Oliva’s verses). had bbeen een associated with Ricordi ee He had the ttime, ime, but was valued more as a im at the lilibr bret etti t st than ti t librettist a composer. Amicably, and Puccini would work on he and thei th eiir respective operas in close their prox pr oxx proximity while vacationing in

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Grappling with Prévost Puccini wasn’t the only one guilty of stealing someone else’s idea (though he would again for La bohème, Tosca and Turandot) – Massenet, too, had lifted the subject of Manon Lescaut from another composer. In 1856, Daniel-François-Esprit Auber had premiered an opera drawn from the same source for the Opéra-Comique. The director of the Paris Conservatoire at the time, Auber was one of the fathers of the French Grand Opera style. His La muette de Portici, which premiered at the Salle La Peletier in 1828, set the bar to be fully realized by Giacomo Meyerbeer in the decades to come. Auber’s Manon Lescaut was also allegedly the first work to end tragically at the Opéra-Comique, a venue better known for its comedies and family fare. The composer, facing the same difficulties as Puccini when adapting Prévost’s account, is some ways even less true to the original, as his librettist Eugène Scribe did his best to disguise the immorality of the overall plot. Unlike Puccini, whose untidy score leaves major gaps between acts, Massenet is closer to Prévost in many respects. His Act ii has Manon and Des Grieux living together (as Praga intended) with the latter writing a letter to his father for permission to marry. It ends, however, with Manon’s eventual discovery of the Comte des Grieux’s plan to abduct his son, and the open offer for the young woman to become the much older Brétigny’s mistress (as in Puccini, her three opposing protectors are distilled into one, although she does receive attention from others). Act iii is divided into two tableaux, first showing the ladies of the demimonde at the Coursla-Reine, where the newly affixed Manon is thinly disguised as a Belle Époque courtesan in the era’s golden age (“Manon” is in fact slang for a fille de joie). When she discovers

Des Grieux is taking holy orders at St. Sulpice, in the next scene at the church she manages to dissuade him, and the two lovers are reunited. Massenet and his librettists chose to set the following act at the Hôtel de Transylvanie, an actual residence of the era infamous for gambling and cardsharping. Des Grieux is trying to win back his inheritance but is arrested for cheating along with Manon, his assumed accomplice. She never makes it to the New World, instead dying in Le Havre. Like Massenet, Puccini’s treatment of the same plot is not ideal. His omission of the couple’s happy idyll together is an artless solution (though the scene in Geronte’s mansion does fulfill Lescaut’s prediction), but they are afforded a reconciliation at the end of Act ii. To get to Act iii, the composer included an intermezzo (by then a standard feature) that seamlessly transports the action to Le Havre (in this production the instrumental piece has been inserted between Acts iii and iv, still serving its purpose, but in this case for the journey to the New World). The last scene is hurried but necessary. It omits the intrigue with the territorial governor and his nephew and a subsequent duel, requiring Manon and Des Grieux to leave the settlement. For many years, Puccini oddly chose to omit Manon’s final aria, “Sola perduta abbandonata,” which would have made for an especially hasty conclusion indeed. With the disconnects among the four major scenes, in many ways he anticipates La bohème by illustrating a world rather than keeping to a linear reportage. Prevost’s narrative poses a challenge for any creative team. It is a rarer example of Life imitating Art rather than the more common reverse. Born on April Fool’s Day in 1697, the author seemed destined to be wayward in his pursuits. The career choices for a second son were usually either the army or the clergy. He was educated by Jesuits, then enlisted

where his epic Mémoires et aventures d’un homme de qualité was completed and the final part printed in 1731 (the story devoted to Manon is the seventh and last volume in the series). Soon after, another ill-fated match, with one Lenki Eckhardt, left Prévost ruined after he tried to maintain her extravagant tastes (he obviously hadn’t learned anything from his own book). Now back in England, Prévost was briefly jailed for forgery, but was permitted to return to Paris by papal order in 1734, and two years later, became the chaplain for the king’s cousin, the Prince de Conti. L’histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut is a story-withina-story, told by the chevalier to a “Man of

Quality,” the Marquis de Renoncour. It was appended to the Mémoires as a moral example of how not to lead one’s life. The marquis first encounters Des Grieux at Le Havre, where he is captivated by Manon’s beauty. At that juncture she is destitute and caged for deportation (women of a dubious nature were expatriated in the late 1710s without a trial to the Louisiana Territory for the purposes of populating the isolated colony). Des Grieux relays his history as a flashback, with a second meeting near the end detailing Manon’s final days. Cyclic in nature, the novel unfolds in three abandonments of the starry-eyed chevalier – first for a greedy landlord, M. de B— (full names were not used in order to give novels of the period a sense of reality as they generally could infer a real person). Two further “arrangements,” one between Manon and the older M. de G— and then another with his son would lead to various risky endeavors resulting in imprisonment, escape, murder (in the case of one jailor), poverty, theft and finally exile. Manon attracts the attention of two other gentlemen, an Italian prince, whom she outright rejects to prove her devotion to Des Grieux, and the Louisiana governor’s son, whose unwanted attention ultimately requires their flight, and in due course, Manon’s death. Prévost’s Manon is one of the first in a line of operatic femme fatales, followed by Prosper Mérimée’s Carmen, Alexandre Dumas fils’ Marguerite and Frank CONTINUED on next page

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Manon Lescaut 2013 © Scott Suchman for Washington National Opera

to fight in the War of Spanish Succession, returned to his training as a novice, joined the army again as an officer, then became part of a Benedictine monastery and was ordained in 1725. A hermitical life didn’t really agree with a man of passionate temperament, so he transferred to a more permissive order, but without proper authorization from his superiors to do so. A warrant was issued for his arrest, and as a result, he fled to Holland and then to England. A disastrous affair of the heart effected his return to Amsterdam,

Composer

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Wedekind’s Lulu. Dismissed by 18 thcentury rationalism, she was embraced and glamorized during the Romantic Age. Throughout the novel, she is barely sympathetic – her cold pursuit of riches over tenderness is repeated several times. But her actions cannot be taken at face value. Socially and sexually naïve, the aristocratic Des Grieux relays his experiences through his own eyes and the prism of his memories. Is his recollection truly a credible one? He is, after all, seen capable of deceit, thievery and homicide (and is quick to blame others for his errors). We don’t get a close physical description of Manon, other than having exceptional beauty, but rather the passions she elicits. Nor do we hear her voice directly, only what Des Grieux has chosen to tell us. Her more humble origins are also unclear, but the selfish conduct of her brother (and indeed herself) indicate that they must live by their wits and generate income by whatever means available. Des Grieux always seems to have associates ready to bail him out financially (in particular, Manon’s foil, his pious friend Tiberge), loans never to be repaid. Manon’s social position is less secure. Her existence is moment-to-moment, and her only assets are youth and beauty. In no way hypocritical in her genuine affection for Des Grieux, Manon’s fatal flaw is a lack of contentment and an unending search for something better. Only when the two lovers get to Louisiana can they exist for one another without concern, yet the journey does proves costly. Nonetheless, amid a progression of agonizing missteps, notorious misadventures and fatal attractions, there is value imparted by Manon’s plight: the eternal message to live in – and appreciate – the present moment. T

Giacomo Puccini b Lucca, December 22, 1858; d Brussels, November 29, 1924

iacomo Puccini was born into a family of court composers and organists in the historic city of Lucca, Italy. With a strong feeling 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 already was 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. There he was introduced into the professional artists’ circle, to which he would belong for the rest of his life. Puccini was not a prolific composer. Unlike most of his contemporaries, there were long intervals between his operas, partly because 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 in hunting in the marshes around his home and in trips abroad to supervise revivals of his works. 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

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Verdi about the preparation of the libretto notable for its advanced impressionistic for Otello), who was instrumental in getting orchestration and composition. La rondine Le villi staged. (1917) was designed to be a sentimental The reception to the new work was musical comedy in the Viennese style. Il mixed, but the revised two-act version trittico (1918) was a mixed bag of one-act was staged in a number of cities outside operas: Il tabarro, a tip-of-the-hat to Italian of Italy (a remarkable feat for a virtually verismo; Suor Angelica, a nun embroiled unknown composer). Puccini’s next opera, in a battle for the future of her illegitimate Edgar (1889), however, was a resounding child; and, most popular of the three, Gianni critical failure, yet the astute publisher, Schicchi, a comic masterpiece that features Giulio Ricordi, Puccini at his most found fault in the exuberant. libretto only and Turandot (1926) promise in the music. was Puccini’s last (and His confidence arguably his greatest) was rewarded with opera. He died before Manon Lescaut completing it, and (1893), Puccini’s first although another true success. composer finished the During the job, at the premiere 1890s Puccini began Arturo Toscanini set working with Luigi down his baton and Illica, who worked refused to continue out the scheme and past Puccini’s last note. drafted the dialogue, Puccini has been and with the poet and much maligned for playwright Giuseppe his flirtation with Giacomo Puccini. Italian composer. Giacosa, who put popular music, but he Arturo Rietti (1863–1943) Puccini House Torre del Lago Illica’s lines into had an uncanny feel Photo credit: Alfredo Dagli Orti/ verse. Although they for a good story and a The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY had participated in talent for composing Manon Lescaut (as part of a string of several enthralling yet economical music. Like many librettists), their first real collaboration was of his contemporaries, Puccini was constantly La bohème (1896), followed by Tosca (1900) tinkering with form and tonality, but his and then Madame Butterfly (1904). Giacosa experiments were always subtle and without died in 1906, putting an end to the successful controversy. Having produced only 12 operas, team that produced three of Puccini’s most the composer’s personal life was plagued with enduring works. self doubt and laborious perfectionism, yet Puccini’s later operas were quite varied he profoundly influenced the world of opera in their styles and subjects. La fanciulla del with a deep understanding of music, drama West (1910), set in the American West, is and humanity. T

Michael Cavanagh

Director’s Notes

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was delighted when, in 2011, I was invited to in Opera Philadelphia’s revisiting of Washington National Opera’s wonderful presentation of Manon Lescaut. John Pascoe’s original production is quite stunning and I was very excited to add my own interpretive layer to it. Now that Minnesota Opera has chosen it as the company debut of this great opera, I’m very grateful for the fantastic opportunity to present a beautiful, multi-faceted treatment of a rarely-seen jewel. In mounting any production, especially an opera that is new to an audience, as Manon Lescaut is to the Twin Cities, I like to take a completely fresh approach, as though the opera was only just written. The sets, wardrobe, and other physical elements of the show are like a sand box, one in which I get to help build a whole world of makebelieve for one evening. In this case, the sand is smooth, shiny and pristine, full of sparkling toys awaiting playtime. And what a cast I’ve been given to play with! While I’ve never been a director to act as a puppeteer, one to say, “My Manon always moves from stage right to stage left at this certain point,” the act of collaboration doesn’t always come easily. This group of performers, though, has made the task of building the many small moments into a cohesive whole a complete joy. Ideally, directing an opera (or any piece of theater) should be a happy combination of give-and-

take, a free and generous exchange of ideas with all participants unified by the same goal; the presentation of the best version of the work, the best work by the artists, the best evening of drama and music for a deserving audience. Luckily for me (and you!) that ideal has been well met, and we all can set out to meet the best of Puccini together. Giacomo Puccini was to become not only a musical genius but a theatrical one as well, and Manon Lescaut shows him on the cusp of that greatness. This story has all the great Puccini elements; I can only imagine the thematic material must have been irresistible to him. He knew all about the Massenet treatment of the story, of course, which had been a big success earlier on, but was undeterred. He famously said, “Manon is a heroine I believe in and therefore she cannot fail to win the hearts of the public. Why shouldn’t there be two operas about Manon? A woman like Manon can have more than one lover. Massenet feels it as a Frenchman with powder and minuets. I shall feel it as an Italian, with a desperate passion.” This opera is suffused with passion, and not just the characters’ passion for each other. At the heart of every musical phrase, every sweeping sequence of orchestration, every soaring expression of heightened emotion, lies Puccini’s passion for the subject matter. He was inexorably drawn to women who suffered, who were marginalized,

Let’s put an end to this myth right here; in the original source material, the novel published in 1731, the lovers’ story ends after many days traveling in the wilderness. They were trying to make an escape from New Orleans to an unnamed English settlement somewhere far to the north. The point is that they are on their own and they are lost and alone. This production does right by that idea. It treats the final scene as “no place.” The ending, then, doesn’t become a cliché that the librettist and composer got wrong, rather it becomes an important parallel to the way we sometimes disappear into our own personal wilderness. If we mishandle our opportunities for happiness and true love we can find ourselves trapped or lost in our own imaginations. This is the real tragedy of Manon Lescaut, and it links it forever with Puccini’s other great works. It’s a cautionary tale, warning us not to ignore or dismiss our few chances at real happiness. Yes, it’s sad when these heroines die, as so often they do. But we really weep for them because they were cheated — or cheated themselves — of time and the rare opportunity to make the most of the only life they (we!) ever get. Don’t lie on that deathbed, these stories tell us, and wonder what might have been if you hadn’t let your pride, stubbornness or willful tendency to get in your own way ruin your one life. Don’t let your soul die of emotional exposure. T Mr. Cavanagh’s biography appears on page 24.

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2013 © Michal Daniel for Minnesota Opera

maligned or mistreated. Most often by fate or other people, like Cio-Cio-San, Tosca or Mimì, but sometimes they doom themselves, like our Manon. That she herself is the cause of so much misery does not lessen her suffering. If anything, her tendency to selfsabotage makes her suffer even more. The cycle of guilt, self-loathing and destructive behavior is a particularly toxic one. This makes Manon Lescaut one of the most complicated heroines in all of Puccini’s operas, if not all of opera itself. The superficiality that she is constantly accused of masks a complexity that makes her, ultimately, completely human. As such she is one of the hardest Puccini heroines to like — she’s so much like us that we have trouble admiring her. It’s much easier to weep for the death of the saintly Mimì or the heroic Tosca or the proud, stoic Butterfly. Maybe because of that, this opera languishes for a lack of exposure, ironically the opposite of what does in our heroine at the end. Speaking of endings, it is one of the great eye-rollers of opera that Manon Lescaut’s final scene is set in the “desert outside New Orleans.” I think this, sadly, has cost this opera a lot of its well-deserved popularity.

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the artists Robb Asklof DANCING MASTER

Tenor Robb Asklof has sung with companies across the United States, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Fargo Moorhead Opera, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Minnesota Opera, Minnesota Orchestra, Orlando Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Skylark Opera and Western Plains Opera. Robb has performed roles in operas/operettas including Etienne in Mademoiselle Modiste, Alfredo in La traviata, Jenik in The Bartered Bride, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Captain Richard Warrington in Naughty Marietta, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Acis in Acis and Galatea and Eric in Eric Hermanson’s Soul, to name a few. After being brought up in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Asklof moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he received a Bachelor of Music from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music. He later moved to Minneapolis, where he was awarded a Master of Music at the University of Minnesota. This season, he also appears as the First Armored Man in Minnesota Opera’s The Magic Flute.

Michael Cavanagh

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STAGE DIRECTOR

Michael Cavanagh has directed well over 100 productions at opera companies all over North America. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, Germany, apprenticed as a stage director for three years at Vancouver Opera and served as artistic director of Edmonton Opera for four seasons. He has written libretti for seven chamber operas that have been produced many times, and is noted for his role as dramaturg and original director of new works, including several for Queen of Puddings Music Theatre in Toronto. This past summer he made a successful debut at the San Francisco Opera with Nixon in China, a production he developed as Vancouver Opera’s presentation at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He has also directed at the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, Opera Philadelphia, L’Opéra de Montréal and many other companies. Upcoming productions include return engagements at the opera companies of Calgary, Austin and Vancouver, as well as a remount of his Nixon in China in Dublin, Ireland. He will also be returning to San Francisco Opera with a new production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah.

Michael Christie CONDUCTOR

Michael Christie became Music Director of the Minnesota Opera in September 2012 after eight years as the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony. Michael opened his 13th season as music director of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, Colorado this year and has been music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and chief conductor of the Queensland Orchestra (Brisbane, Australia). Recent opera engagements have included acclaimed productions with Opera Theatre of St. Louis (Alice in Wonderland, The Ghosts of Versailles and The Death of Klinghoffer), Wexford Festival Opera, Minnesota Opera (La traviata, Wuthering Heights, Silent Night, Madame Butterfly, Nabucco, Anna Bolena and Turandot) and Aspen Opera Theatre (The Ghosts of Versailles and West Side Story). In 2013, Michael helped inaugurate Opera Philadelphia’s ten-year New American Opera Project with the East Coast premiere of Silent Night and made his San Francisco Opera debut conducting the world premiere of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Michael lives with his family in Minneapolis and also conducts Arabella and Macbeth this season.

the artists Wm. P. Healey LIGHTING DESIGNER

Twin Cities credits include Humanimal and Politico (by Kevin Kling) for Open Eye Figure Theater; Gross Indecency and Compleat Female Stage Beauty (regional premiere) for Walking Shadow Theater Co.; A Life in the Theater, The Swan, Gertrude Stein and a Companion, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Journey’s End and The Lower Depths for The Jungle Theater (selected); and Bully! An Adventure with Theodore Roosevelt (local and national tour), Adventures in Love and Without Reservation for Ordway. Awards include the 2003 Emmy Award for the tpt production of spco performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Bill is the Lighting Supervisor at the University of Minnesota, Department of Theater Arts and Dance.

Kelly Kaduce MANON LESCAUT

Kelly Kaduce is a soprano with a warm and rich voice, stunning beauty and superb acting ability. For her creation of the title role in Anna Karenina, Opera News proclaimed her “an exceptional actress whose performance was as finely modulated dramatically as it was musically … and her dark, focused sound was lusty and lyrical one moment, tender and floating the next.” For her Boston Lyric Opera debut in the title role of Thaïs, Opera News observed, “Kaduce sings with bell-like purity and silvery sweetness, and she suspends her legato with an effortless, sensual spin.” Ms. Kaduce’s 2013–2014 season engagements include debuts with Houston Grand Opera as Katya in Weinberg’s Die Passagierin (The Passenger), with Utah Opera as Liù in Turandot and returns to Kansas City as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and St. Louis as Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites. Her 2012–2013 season included singing Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly with West Australian Opera, Anna Sørensen in Silent Night with Opera Philadelphia, Liù in Turandot with Minnesota Opera and Nedda in I pagliacci in St. Louis. Ms. Kaduce’s appearance is generously sponsored by Dr. Tracy and Mr. Eric Aanenson.

John Robert Lindsey Colorado native tenor John Robert Lindsey is a recent graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he earned his Master of Music in vocal performance under the tutelage of Julie Simson. Past engagements include the Tenor Soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Sam Polk in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, the Stage Manager in Ned Rorem’s Our Town and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. Mr. Lindsey has met with numerous successes in competitions recently. He was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for two years, as well as taking third place in 2010 and first place in 2011 at the prestigious Denver Lyric Opera Guild competition. For Minnesota Opera, Mr. Lindsey appeared as Jonathan Dale in Silent Night, Schmidt in Werther, Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor, Goro in Madame Butterfly, Ismaele in Nabucco, Hervey in Anna Bolena and Pang in Turandot. He also sang a concert of Carmen highlights with the Mankato Symphony. This season he returns as Edmondo in Manon Lescaut, Elemer in Arabella and Marvin Heeno in The Dream of Valentino.

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EDMONDO/LAMPLIGHTER

the artists Matthew Opitz LESCAUT

A native of Arizona, baritone Matthew Opitz recently graduated from the Indiana University School of Music with a master’s degree in voice, where he later sang Eddie Carbone as a guest artist in A View from the Bridge. Other iu Opera credits include Professor Bhaer in Little Women, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, the Priest in The Light in the Piazza and Farfarello in The Love for Three Oranges. He also appeared as a soloist in Szymanowski’s Stabat mater, Britten’s Cantata Misericordium and Don Freund’s Passion with Tropes. Mr. Opitz completed his undergraduate degree at Northern Arizona University, where his roles included Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Count Carl-Magnus Malcom in A Little Night Music, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus. Most recently, he appeared as the Imperial Commissioner in Madame Butterfly for Arizona Opera and was a Central City Young Artist. Last season as a Minnesota Opera Resident Artist, Mr. Opitz sang the First Gravedigger in Hamlet and Ping in Turandot. This season, he performs as Count Dominik in Arabella and the Second Armored Man in The Magic Flute.

John Pascoe SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER

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The British artist has worked as designer and/or director in most of the world’s leading opera houses since his debut in 1979 as scenery designer for Handel’s Giulio Cesare for the English National Opera – it won the Evening Standard Award, was presented in Geneva and San Francisco and was then seen in 1988 at the Metropolitan Opera and restaged at Washington Opera in 2000. Pascoe has worked as director/designer for such houses as Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Spoleto Festivals usa and Italy, Rome, Cannes, Munich, The Royal Opera House – Covent Garden and Sydney Opera House. Recent engagements include sets and costumes for Cyrano for Michigan Opera Theatre, Florida Grand Opera and Opera Philadelphia, new productions of Don Giovanni and Lucrezia Borgia for Washington National Opera as well as new productions of Fidelio and Carmen for Palm Beach Opera plus a revival of productions of Don Giovanni and Fidelio for Michigan Opera Theatre. Pascoe was recently appointed artistic director of the Accademia del Licini, which opened in July 2012 with highly successful productions of Antony and Cleopatra, and in 2013, Twelfth Night.

Dinyar Vania CHEVALIER DES GRIEUX

Dinyar Vania has recently emerged as one of the country’s most exciting young tenors. With a voice which combines both power and beauty, he has earned critical acclaim portraying several of the most beloved roles in opera. His other engagements for the 2013–2014 season include debuts with Virginia Opera as Don José in Carmen and Cavaradossi in Tosca with Lyric Opera Baltimore. Mr. Vania made his debut with Boston Lyric Opera in 2012–2013 as Pinkerton; with Spoleto Festival usa as Roberto in Puccini’s Le villi; returned to Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Pinkerton; to Pensacola Opera as Cavaradossi in Tosca; and sang as Cassio in Otello in a return to Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. In 2011–2012 he sang Rodolfo in La bohème with Dayton Opera and the Jacksonville Symphony; Pinkerton with Pensacola Opera; and Ettore in the world premiere of Kimmo Hakola’s La Fenice with the Savolinna Festival. In summer 2012 he sang in a concert of arias and ensembles with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra. Mr. Vania’s appearance is generously sponsored by Kay Ness and Chris Wolohan.

the artists Victoria Vargas SINGER

Mezzo-soprano Victoria Vargas returns to Minnesota Opera for a third season as a Resident Artist, having appeared as Tisbe in Cinderella, Anna in Mary Stuart, Flora in La traviata, Nelly in Wuthering Heights, Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Fenena in Nabucco and Smeton in Anna Bolena. This season she appears as Adelaide in Arabella, Natacha Rambova in The Dream of Valentino and the Third Lady in The Magic Flute. In 2013, she was a second place Upper Midwest regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Vargas has been a young artist at Sarasota Opera and Chautauqua Opera, where she covered the role of Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria rusticana. At Chautauqua, she returned for a second season as an Apprentice Artist, performing Laura in Luisa Miller and the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte. This past summer she was a Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, covering the role of Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance.

Andrew Wilkowske GERONTE

Andrew Wilkowske – when singing a “virile, sturdy Marcello” or a “garrulous yet endearing” Papageno – displays an engaging combination of musical talent and masterful stage presence. The baritone, whose voice has been described as “nimble,” with an “impressively open top,” is one of the most versatile performers on the stage today. His recent performance of La Rocca in Verdi’s King for a Day at the Glimmerglass Festival was “superb” according to The New York Times and “brought impressive command to the text” according to The Wall Street Journal. Wilkowske will be seen again at Minnesota Opera this season as Papageno in The Magic Flute. He will also reprise the role of Ponchel in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night with Cincinnati Opera in 2014, a role he created in 2011 with Minnesota Opera, and again in 2013 with Opera Philadelphia. A telecast of Silent Night can be seen this Christmas on pbs. Later this season he will sing Carmina burana with the Billings Symphony as well as Milwaukee’s Bel Canto Chorus.

Christian Zaremba Hailed by The New York Times as “a stage animal with a big bass voice” the 26-year-old basso cantante is quickly garnering praise from companies and critics alike. He made his debut this summer at the Glimmerglass Opera as the Bass Soloist in David Lang’s Little Match Girl Passion, appeared as Pistola in Falstaff with the Martina Arroyo Foundation and as Zuniga in Carmen and Colline in La bohème with Long Island Opera. Christian performed the speaking role of the Porter in Manon at the Metropolitan Opera, covered the principal acting role of Agamemnon in Iphigénie en Tauride at the Metropolitan Opera and appeared at Weill Hall as Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni. He has sung Sarastro in Die Zauberflote, Zuniga in Carmen and Angelotti in Tosca with New York Lyric Opera as well as Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Capitol Heights Opera. The 2013–2014 season will see Christian make his debut with Minnesota Opera as Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Lamoral (Arabella), the Innkeeper (Manon Lescaut) and cover Banquo (Macbeth).

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INNKEEPER/SERGEANT

the artists MINNESOTA OPERA ORCHESTRA VIOLIN I

VIOLA

OBOE

TRUMPET

Allison Ostrander Concertmaster Julia Persitz David Mickens Judy Thon Jones Angela Waterman Hanson Andrea Een Conor O’Brien Natalia Moiseeva Heidi Amundson Troy Gardner

Emily Hagen Susan Janda Laurel Browne Jenny Lind Nilsson James Bartsch Coca Bochonko

Jeﬀrey Marshak Merilee Klemp

John G. Koopmann Christopher Volpe Pamela Humphrey

VIOLIN II Laurie Petruconis Elizabeth Decker Stephan Orsak Melinda Marshall Margaret Humphrey Elise Parker Huldah Niles Maisie Block

CELLO James Jacobson Sally Gibson Dorer Rebecca Arons Thomas Austin Teresa Richardson Dale Newton

BASS John Michael Smith Contsance Martin Jason C. Hagelie Michael Watson

FLUTE

Orchestra from Anna Bolena 2012 © Michal Daniel for Minnesota Opera

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Michele Frisch Eun Cho Amy Morris, Double piccolo

ENGLISH HORN Robert McManus

TROMBONE

CLARINET

Phillip Ostrander John Tranter David Stevens

Karrin Meﬀert-Nelson Jennifer Gerth

TUBA BASS CLARINET

Ralph Hepola

Nina Olsen

TIMPANI BASSOON Coreen Nordling Laurie Hatcher Merz

HORN Matt Wilson Charles Hodgson Timothy Bradley Lawrence Barnhart

Matthew Barber

PERCUSSION Steve Kimball Paul Hill

HARP Min J. Kim

the artists CHORUS Missy Griﬃn Helen Hassinger Michelle Hayes Jason Hernandez Cresta Hubert John Humphrey Patricia Kent Hye Won Kim Elizabeth Kohl Becky Krynksi Evan Kusler

Michelle Liebl Steven Marking Joel Mathias Michael Mayer Monica Murray Tim Murray John Allen Nelson Phong Nguyen Mario Perez Michael Powell Shannon Prickett

Grant Scherzer Justin Spenner Lauren Stepka Mark Thomas Kelly Turpin Eryn Tvete Victoria Vargas John Verkuilen

Katie MacRunnels Amy McIntyre Megan Mehl Derek Meyer Johna Miller

Ashley Stockwell Ben Wagner Michael Walker

Chorus from Nabucco 2012 © Michal Daniel for Minnesota Opera

Matthew Abbas Kelsey Bruso Michael Burton Karen Bushby Joseph Clegg Cecile Crozat-Zawisza Steve Dahlberg Daniel Dahle John deCausmeaker Peter Frenz Thomas Glass

Christopher Bauleke Molly Boynton Stephanie Bright Noelle French Jill Galles

Stephen Hage Anna Holley Joe Johnson Thomas Lorendo Suzan Lynnes

PRODUCTION MULTIMEDIA

MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO®

A & C Publishing, Inc. – Wendy Wagner, Director of Operations

Classical MPR – Broadcast Recording

Aleutian Calabay – Publicity Photographer

QuarterTon Productions – Publicity Video

Michal Daniel – Production Photographer

Mike Reed – Production Sketch Artist

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SUPERNUMERARIES

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2013 © Aleutian Calabay for Minnesota Opera

Meet the Artist

Kelly Kaduce

Puccini’s heroines require great acting skills. Where did you learn to be such an incredible actor? I took acting classes during my undergrad at St. Olaf College, and the first time I saw an opera was at Minnesota Opera during my first years of college – The Barber of Seville and then Pelléas et Mélisande, which happens to be my favorite opera. It’s overwhelming to sit in a theater and have those voices come at you with no amplification and just vibrate through your body. That’s when I first fell in love with the art form. When I see a show, I’m always watching (not criticizing) the acting, but my mind is always playing with what I’d do with the text. The acting side of opera has always been a real interest to me and it’s something for which I have a huge passion.

What kind of personal connection have you found to Manon? I’ve been asked a lot how you relate to character A, B and C, and sometimes these characters really aren’t like you in real life, but this is the joy of being an actor. It doesn’t take much effort to sit down, read the score and spend a little time digging for what it would feel like to be in a given situation. If you were to read a synopsis of the libretto of Manon Lescaut, you’d probably see my character as flakey but it was important for me to find something more in it. She’s just a young girl who hasn’t achieved the worldly knowledge that happiness is not found in fancy clothes, jewelry, living the high life and having lots of money. She discovers that there’s much more to it.

How does Manon compare with the other Puccini roles you have sung? I’ve sung a lot of Puccini’s heroines and this role has been mentioned to me a lot. When this opportunity came at Minnesota Opera, I jumped at it. It’s very different than the other roles I’ve learned. I just sang the role of Liù here for the first time last year in Turandot and I’ve developed such a grasp of Puccini’s musical language, so I have some expectations and an idea of how it’s going to go. When I sat down with the role of Manon, I was taken aback, especially by the second act love duet. It is very unlike the Puccini that I’ve done in the past. For me, Puccini has consisted of very lyric lines – not much jumping around, fluid, melodic and very lush on the voice. When I got to the duet, it was very verismo – the

harmonies change every two measures and the vocal line tends to have more leaps in it. It kind of stopped me in my tracks. I was expecting to breeze through it and learn it very quickly. With Manon, I had to learn another “language” of Puccini. I think if you look at the life of a painter, you can see their work from their beginning to the end of what we know of them. It’s the same with Puccini. We can see the influence as he’s trying to find his language. I think in his later operas, specifically La bohème and Madame Butterfly, he kind of simplified things. He realized that he could go back to a simpler melody and leave with some tunes to sing. With his earlier operas, it wasn’t the trend of the time, but he still embraced what he loved and what he knew. T

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L-R: Kaduce as Liù in Turandot, 2013; as Rusalka, 2008; as Rosasharn in The Grapes of Wrath, 2007; as Cio-Cio-San in Madame Butterﬂy, 2012

Resident Artists 2013 © Theresa Murray for Minnesota Opera

Pictured above left to right: (back row) Matthew Opitz, Sheldon Miller, Daniel Ellis, Christian Zaremba. (front row) Aaron Breid, Rebecca Krynski, Victoria Vargas, John Robert Lindsey, Christie Hageman, Shannon Prickett, Geoﬀrey Loﬀ.

Class of 2013–2014

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Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program

innesota Opera is pleased to welcome our 2013–2014 Resident Artists. Soprano Christie Hageman, mezzo-soprano Victoria Vargas, tenor John Robert Lindsey and baritone Matthew Opitz return, as well as assistant conductor Aaron Breid, coach/ accompanist Sheldon Miller and assistant director Daniel Ellis. New in the 2013–2014 season are sopranos Rebecca Krynski and Shannon Prickett, bass Christian Zaremba and coach/accompanist Geoffrey Loff. Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist Program offers a full season of employment for talented artists beginning their professional careers. From late August through the end of the season, Resident Artists gain valuable experience in assignments ranging from ensemble, understudy and comprimario to leading roles in mainstage performances. T

2014–2015

RESIDENT ARTIST AUDITIONS MINNEAPOLIS: November 12–16, 2013 NEW YORK: December 3–11, 2013 Minneapolis audition applications are due by October 21 and New York audition applications are due by November 11. Learn more and download the application forms at

mnop.co/rap.

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Concept drawings courtesy of HGA Architects

Exterior Interior

Pardon our dust

Opening in Spring, 2015!

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ising behind the wall of the Marzitelli Ordway’s world music, dance, theater and selfFoyer is the most visible component produced programming; The Schubert Club of the Arts Partnership: a new, acoustically will be able to expand its offerings and have exquisite 1,100 -seat Concert Hall in the greater flexibility with dates, and Minnesota tradition of the great halls in London, Vienna Opera will benefit with the ability to extend our standard rehearsal and and Amsterdam is now performance time in the under construction. The The Arts Partnership Music Theater. intimate wooden interior (Minnesota Opera, the In addition, the will complement the Ordway, The Saint Paul four organizations of beloved blue and gold Chamber Orchestra and the Arts Partnership confines of the Ordway’s The Schubert Club) is will be stronger through Music Theater. On the preparing to astound you! a shared endowment. outside, the glass façade The campaign has a $32 facing Rice Park will extend all the way to the corner of Washington million endowment fund goal within the $79 Avenue and Fifth Street. In fact, from the million campaign. This critical component of lobby of the new Concert Hall you will be able the project will ensure affordable access to the to see up to the Cathedral, as well as onto Rice Ordway for the Arts Partnership organizations Park and the surrounding turn-of-the-century throughout the long term. architecture. It will be a stunning vista, one of As a group, the Arts Partnership found the most beautiful in the state. a way to accomplish together more than ever While Minnesota Opera’s mainstage could be done alone. With the encouragement performances will remain in the Music (and financial support) of community leaders, Theater, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra a new model of cooperation was born. Though will use the Concert Hall as its new partnerships can be challenging, this one performance home. The Concert Hall will works. National observers say it is a novel make new programming initiatives possible solution for changing times. for the Ordway and serve as a venue to The biggest winner? The community! many outstanding local ensembles. Greater availability in the Music Theater will allow For more information on the Arts Partnership, for the enhancement and growth of the please visit artspartnership.org.

Minnesota Opera

Social Media Did you know that you can find Minnesota Opera on Facebook and see what we’re doing from day to day, or that you can follow our live tweet events on Twitter? Minnesota Opera also has a vast number of videos from past and current productions on our YouTube page and eclectic style boards for each show on Pinterest.

facebook.com/minnesotaopera twitter.com/mnopera youtube.com/minnesotaopera pinterest.com/mnopera

individuals. This season’s previews will include a live tweeting opportunity for the next generation of performing arts lovers, whether brand new to opera or aficionados of the art form. Participants enjoy refreshments during a social hour and pre-rehearsal discussion at Ordway hosted by a special guest. Past guests have included Minnesota Opera Music Director Michael Christie, a common fixture at these events when he is conducting, and composer/ librettist team Douglas J. Cuomo and John Patrick Shanley, who brought the world premiere of Doubt to life last season. The events conclude with exclusive access to the final dress rehearsals. If you are interested in helping bring opera to the social media generation, please visit mnop.co/ preview and register for the Social Media Preview for Arabella on Thursday, November 7.

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We invite you to get social with us. See production photos from tonight’s performance in our Facebook galleries and share them with your friends. Watch videos from Manon Lescaut on YouTube and use #manonlescaut and @mnopera when tweeting about your experience. Want an even deeper experience? Minnesota Opera hosts Social Media Previews for bloggers and social media savvy

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Apply today’s ticket to a 3-, 4or 5-opera package! THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING MANON LESCAUT As a special offer, we’ll consider today’s ticket part of your p y can save up p to 25% 3-, 4- or 5- opera subscription so you anges all season. and enjoy ﬂexible exchanges

Visit the Ordway box ofﬁce at ﬁrst intermission, or call 612-333-6669, M – F, 9am – 6pm.

ARABELLA Nov. 9 – 17, 2013

Service charges and other restrictions may apply.

MACBETH Jan. 25 – Feb. 2, 2014

For love or money? Arabella wants to marry for love, but her parents need her to marry for money. Will their manipulations ruin her chance to find true happiness? Richard Strauss’ romantic comedy is set in Vienna’s golden age.

Power corrupts. Based on Shakespeare’s thriller, Verdi’s Macbeth examines the corrosive consequences of tyranny. At the urging of his scheming wife, Macbeth murders the king to claim the crown. His desperate and deadly reign devastates his country and hastens his doom.

THE DREAM OF VALENTINO

THE MAGIC FLUTE

Apr. 12 – 27, 2014 Love conquers all. Mozart’s masterful comedy is richly reimagined in a boundary-busting production. Connecting the tale’s enduring meaning with modern metaphor, this extraordinary staging features stunning interaction between animation and live performance.

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Mar. 1 – 9, 2014 Fame is a dangerous dance. Rudolph Valentino’s stardom blazes across the silver screen but is quickly consumed by the same forces that ignited it. Seduction and scandal swirl in Dominick Argento’s tango-tinged opera about an artist discovered and destroyed by Hollywood.

UPCOMING EVENTS OCTOBER 15 – Tap into Tempo (Fulton Brewery, North Loop Neighborhood, Minneapolis)

This season, Tempo is moving into its second decade of engaging 20- and 30-somethings with the Minnesota Opera through one-of-a-kind events and steeply discounted tickets for opening night performances. For only $50, your Tempo membership includes exciting benefits to help you get the most out of your experience.

mnopera.co/tempo 612-333-6669 tempo@mnopera.org

Join us for beer with a side of opera! We’ll preview the upcoming Minnesota Opera season, learn some “Opera 101” and listen to arias from our amazing Resident Artists while sampling brews and craft sodas from one of the Twin Cities’ hottest local breweries.

OCTOBER 21 – Arabella Tempo Happy Hour + Behind the Curtain Meet up at a North Loop neighborhood hot spot for cocktails and nosh. Then head over to the Minnesota Opera Center for Behind the Curtain. Get the inside scoop as opera experts and members of the cast and creative team lead discussions exploring the music, history and design of each opera. Behind the Curtain classes are ideal for ﬁrst-time opera goers and long-term fans alike.

NOVEMBER 9 – Arabella Tempo Night Out + After Party Check out Tempo on Minnesota Opera's blog every Tuesday:

2012 © ClarePix Photography

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mnopera.co/blog

Silver & Gold Soirée

Arabella wants to marry for love, but her parents need her to marry for money. When the man of her dreams appears, will their manipulations ruin her chance to ﬁnd true happiness?

New Works Initiative

Announcing Minnesota Opera’s Newest Commission innesota Opera has commissioned The in new opera when it was launched in 2008, the Shining, a new opera by composer Paul Initiative was designed to invigorate the operatic Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell, based art form with an infusion of contemporary on the 1977 best-selling novel by Stephen King. works and formalized Minnesota Opera’s The Shining will receive its world premiere as commitment to artistic growth, leadership and part of the 2015–2016 season. Visit mnop.co/ innovation. Its first iteration – a seven-season the-shining for more information. commitment to producing premieres and The Shining is the iconic supernatural revivals of new works – funded the commissions horror novel that helped establish Stephen of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night King as the genre’s definitive voice. In the (Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell), last season’s story, Jack Torrance moves his wife Wendy Doubt by Douglas J. Cuomo and librettist John and son Danny to the remote Overlook Hotel Patrick Shanley and the upcoming political in Colorado, where he has been hired as winter thriller, The Manchurian Candidate (also by Puts caretaker. The family endeavors to remain and Campbell), which will have its premiere in together in spite of their growing isolation from the 2014–2015 season. the world, the hotel’s paranormal activity and Now in the penultimate year of that first Jack’s abusive nature, alcoholism and growing phase, we are excited to reveal the future of madness. “King’s novel is naturally operatic: the New Works Initiative. This next iteration it sings,” said Moravec. “It features the classic is being conceived as a 10-year program that elements of operatic conflict, notably the power will not only encompass major commissions of love in the face of extraordinary evil and like The Shining for our mainstage season destructive forces. It’s a joy to imagine the at the Ordway, but endeavors to further musical form of this timeless contest, along invigorate the art form and expand its with the story’s evocation of terror and the audience by creating new works conceived for supernatural.” non-traditional opera venues. To that end, a A film based on King’s novel, directed hallmark of this new program will be the by Stanley Kubrick, was released in 1980, creation of local and national partnerships to and in 1997, Mr. King adapted his book into develop new ways of creating, workshopping a television mini-series. Minnesota Opera’s and presenting opera. T commission is the work’s first adaptation for the stage. “I really look forward to MUSIC BY Paul Moravec working with LIBRETTO BY Mark Campbell Paul to help make King’s BASED ON THE NOVEL BY Stephen King original story sing,” said librettist Mark Campbell. The commission of The Shining launches the second generation of Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative. A pioneering movement

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UPCOMING EVENTS at Minnesota Opera

OCT 15 – Tap Into Tempo Join Tempo at Fulton Brewery in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood for beer with a side of opera. Preview Minnesota Opera’s season, learn some “Opera 101” and listen to arias from the Resident Artists while sampling brews and craft sodas from one of the Twin Cities’ hottest local breweries.

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OCT 21 – Tempo Happy Hour + Behind the Curtain Meet up at a North Loop neighborhood hot spot for cocktails and nosh before heading over to the Minnesota Opera Center for Behind the Curtain: Arabella. OCT 21 – Behind the Curtain: Arabella Look behind the curtain to see what it takes to bring innovative opera to the stage. Hosted by Minnesota Opera’s new Head of Music Rob Ainsley, cast and creative team members lead an engaging exploration of the music, history and design of Arabella. OCT 25-26 – Minnesota Opera Red Wing Residency Concerts Following a three-week, intergenerational opera education residency in collaboration with local high school students, the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra and the Red Wing Singers, opera choruses will be performed onstage with adult community members and Minnesota Opera Artists in concerts of “Opera’s Greatest Hits” at the historic Sheldon Theater.

NOV 6 – Hamlet Broadcast Minnesota Public Radio will broadcast Minnesota Opera’s “no-holds-barred” (Star Tribune) production of Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet at 8pm. This stunning opera from the 50th anniversary season starred Brian Mulligan as Hamlet and Marie-Eve Munger as Ophélie. NOV 7 – Social Media Preview: Arabella Minnesota Opera hosts a preview of Arabella for bloggers and social media savvy individuals. This season’s previews will include a live tweeting opportunity for the next generation of performing arts lovers, whether brand new to opera or aficionados of the art form. NOV 9-17 – Richard Strauss’ Arabella For love or money? Arabella wants to marry for love, but her parents need her to marry for money. When the man of her dreams appears, will their manipulations ruin her chance to find true happiness? Richard Strauss’ witty romantic comedy is set in Vienna’s golden age. Sung in German with English translations projected above the stage. NOV 14 – Give to the Max Day In November, Minnesotans will come together for the state’s largest day of giving. Every donation you make during Give to the Max Day 2013 helps qualify Minnesota Opera for money and awards, furthering the impact of your donation. Please join us for this special day of online giving!

Celebrate National Opera Week – Oct 25-Nov 3

Dale Johnson

hope you are enjoying the Minnesota Opera season premiere of Puccini’s tragic love story, Manon Lescaut. For the second opera of the season, we have a delectable treat for you. We are happy to present the company premiere of Richard Strauss’ Arabella. Written in 1933, this wistful comedy is as graceful as its title. Arabella was the product of a twodecade relationship between Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Their very impressive output of opera over this period included Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten. For their next collaboration, von Hofmannsthal based his libretto on his 1910 novel Lucidor. Influenced by the collapse of the Viennese stock exchange crash, Lucidor told the tale of a family caught up in a changing world. Arabella features the Waldner family trying to cope with their own financial crisis by marrying off their daughter, the beautiful Arabella, to a rich suitor. In a tale made for opera, Arabella wants to marry for love. Mistaken identities, misunderstandings and general chaos ensue, held together by the luscious score of Richard Strauss. Strauss burst onto the operatic scene after gaining success with his memorable tone poems Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration and Til Eulenspiegel. His opera Salome both scandalized and excited the opera-going public with its decadent story and clashing harmonic experiments.

Perhaps Salome represented some of the last gasps of Romantic-era opera. Strauss continued along this experimental path with his opera Elektra. However with Der Rosenkavalier, his music went in a different direction. While still employing the harmonic gestures he was noted for in his first two operas, he gently sanded down the edges of his “sound” to fit this magnificent 20 th -century comedy. We hear in the frothy waltzes of Der Rosenkavalier the first seeds of the sound of Arabella. Both operas have a “Viennese Waltz” quality to them, feature extraordinary monologues for their soprano leads and show a deep feeling for the characters, however buffoonish they may appear. While we love to revel in the glorious orchestral washes of the magnificent waltzes, what we remember when we leave the theater are the moving inner monologues of the leading ladies. This brilliant new staging of Arabella is a co-production with Santa Fe Opera, where it premiered last season, and Canadian Opera Company. I am pleased to welcome back director Tim Albery to Minnesota Opera. His lavish production shows the Waldner family living beyond their means in a Vienna that is about to undergo extraordinary changes. Arabella is caught between loving all those things that come with money, but also feels an emptiness that only a true love can fill. I hope you will return and enjoy this extraordinary opera. T

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Arabella Preview

Minnesota Opera

Education

Maestro Vordoni leads the La bohème chorus through their music from Act II.

summer

OPERA | MINNESOTA OPERA youtube.com/minnesotaopera

camp

On the campus of ShattuckSt. Mary’s School the entire Summer Opera Camp posed for a picture before the last performance La bohème.

On the beautiful campus of Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, Minnesota, 29 teens from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and as far away as Maine spent a very intensive June week learning the chorus music to La bohème and getting ready to perform in Opera under the Stars. The students received a crash course in what it takes to stage an opera and had daily sessions in vocal coaching and movement. N ew this summer was the Children’s Chorus Summer Opera Camp, a camp especially for kids ages 7 – 1 2 . Over three nights, nine kids learned the children’s chorus music to La bohème as they too performed in Opera under the Stars. For most of these youngsters, this was their first time singing in Italian and with Minnesota Opera.

Visit Minnesota Opera’s NEW HOME for opera education on the web:

mnop.co/imagine

Both programs are led by Dale Kruse, Music Director for Project Opera and the Children’s Chorus Master, with the help of many talented artists from around town. More information about either program can be found at mnop. co/project-opera. Karin Wolverton, who sang Mimì, stopped in to meet the kids before La bohème rehearsals started.

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Adults and children alike can check out fun pictures and videos about Minnesota Opera artists and productions or gaze at the “universe” of opera history.

minnesota opera staff President and General Director | Kevin Ramach Artistic Director | Dale Johnson Music Director | Michael Christie

ARTISTIC

PRODUCTION

Artistic Administrator | Roxanne Stouffer Artist Relations and Planning Director | Floyd Anderson Dramaturg | David Sander Head of Music | Robert Ainsley Resident Artists | Aaron Breid, Daniel Ellis, Christie Hageman, Rebecca Krynski, John Robert Lindsey, Geoffrey Loff, Sheldon Miller, Matthew Opitz, Shannon Prickett, Victoria Vargas, Christian Zaremba Master Coaches | Lara Bolton, Mary Jo Gothmann Artist Administration Intern | Thomas Glass

Production Director | Karen Quisenberry Production Stage Manager | Kerry Masek Assistant Stage Managers | Katie Hawkinson, Shayna j. Houp Production Administrative Assistant | Katherine Cattrysse

COSTUMES

DEVELOPMENT

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SCENERY

MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS Marketing & Communications Director | Lani Willis Marketing Manager | Katherine L. Castille Communications Manager | Daniel R. Zillmann Marketing Associate | Kristin Matejcek Online Content Specialist | Adam Holisky Ticket Office Manager | Julie Behr Assistant Ticket Office Manager | Kevin Beckey Ticket Office Associate | Sarah Fowler Ticket Office Assistants | Carol Corich, Kärsten Jensen, Carrie Walker Summer Communications Interns | Mattie Armstrong, Anna Lin, Emily Nyberg, Sophia Romanaggi

minnesota opera board

OFFICERS Rachelle D. Chase, Chair Kevin Ramach, President and General Director James Johnson, Vice Chair Robert Lee, Secretary Patricia Johnson, Treasurer

DIRECTORS Patricia Beithon Rachelle D. Chase Jane M. Confer Sara Donaldson Chip Emery Bianca Fine Sharon Hawkins Ruth S. Huss Heinz F. Hutter Mary IngebrandPohlad Philip Isaacson James Johnson Patricia Johnson Christine Larsen Robert Lee Steve Mahon David Meline

Leni Moore Albin “Jim” Nelson Kay Ness Luis Pagan-Carlo Jose Peris Stephanie Prem Kevin Ramach Elizabeth Redleaf Connie Remele Don Romanaggi Christopher Romans Linda Roberts Singh Nadege Souvenir Simon Stevens Virginia Stringer H. Bernt von Ohlen Margaret Wurtele

EMERITI Karen Bachman John A. Blanchard, III Burton Cohen

Julia W. Dayton Mary W. Vaughan

HONORARY DIRECTORS Dominick Argento Philip Brunelle Dolly Fiterman

Norton M. Hintz Liz Kochiras Patricia H. Sheppard

LEGAL COUNSEL James A. Rubenstein, Moss & Barnett

TEMPO BOARD Ryan Alberg Thomas Bakken Benjamin Canine Leslie Carey Melissa Daul Katie Eiser Kara Eliason Jennifer Engel Laura Green Ben Jones Claire Joseph Carolina Lamas Susan N. Leppke

Kristin Matejcek, Staﬀ Liaison Megan Mehl, Board Chair Alex Morton Jamie Nieman Chrissi Reimer Jana Sackmeister Polina Saprygina Rhonda Skoby, Vice Chair Carrie Walker Jenna Wolf

MINNESOTA OPERA VOLUNTEERS The following volunteers contribute their time and talent to support the key activities of Minnesota Opera. If you would like to learn more about volunteering please visit mnopera.org/volunteer, email volunteering@mnopera.org or call Jenna Wolf at 612-342-9569. 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 Yelva Lynﬁeld

Suzan Lynnes Mary McDiarmid Verne Melberg Barbara Moore Douglas Myhra Candyce Osterkamp Dan Panshin Pat Panshin Eric Peterson Sydney Phillips Kari Schutz Janet Skidmore Wendi Sott 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.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

annual fund | individual giving See (and hear) your donated dollars at work! Minnesota Opera’s family of donors supports the company’s community engagement and artistic endeavors, including main stage productions, individual artists and artisans. Donate today and help Minnesota Opera bring this amazing art form to thousands of kids and adults this year. Visit mnop.co/ support to give online or call 612-342-9567 to donate by phone. Thank you!

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Minnesota Opera Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Michael Christie

It takes a village to bring compelling works to the stage, including skilled craftspeople to create and tailor the costumes.

These are some of the ‘unsung heroes’ backstage at Minnesota Opera!

annual fund | individual giving 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. For information on making a contribution to Minnesota Opera, please call Dawn Loven, Director of the Annual Fund, at 612-342-9567 or email her at dloven@mnopera.org.

bel canto circle Platinum $25,000 and above

Gold $15,000–$24,999

Silver $10,000–$14,999

Anonymous (1) Tracy and Eric Aanenson Mary and Gus Blanchard Jane M. and Ogden W. Confer Julia W. Dayton Sara and Jock Donaldson Vicki and Chip Emery Mr. and Mrs. William Frels Ruth and John Huss Heinz Hutter Mr. and Mrs. Philip Isaacson James E. Johnson Lucy Rosenberry Jones The Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of HRK Foundation Elizabeth Redleaf Mrs. Mary W. Vaughan C. Angus and Margaret Wurtele

Anonymous (1) Karen Bachman Ellie Crosby William I. and Bianca M. Fine Charitable Trust N. Bud and Beverly Grossman Foundation Robert L. Lee and Mary E. Schaffner Barbara and David Meline Moore Family Fund for the Arts Judy Mortrude and Steven Mahon Albin and Susan Nelson Joseph Sammartino Bernt von Ohlen and Tom Nichol

Anonymous (2) Patricia and John Beithon Karen Bachman Donald E. Benson Susan Boren Rachelle Dockman Chase Sharon Hawkins Garrison Keillor and Jenny Lind Nilsson Kathleen and John Junek Warren and Patricia Kelly Harvey T. McLain Mary Ingebrand Pohlad Kay Ness and Chris Wolohan Connie and Lew Remele Patricia and Don Romanaggi Robert and Barbara Struyk Maggie Thurer and Simon Stevens Virginia L. and Edward C. Stringer

Platinum $7,500–$9,999 Allegro Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation Shari and David Boehnen Patricia Johnson and Kai Bjerkness Erwin and Miriam Kelen Jose Peris and Diana Gulden Chris Larsen and Scott Peterson Lynne Looney Lois and John Rogers Jennifer and Chris Romans Carolyn, Sharon and Clark Winslow

Gold $5,000–$7,499 James Andrus Anonymous (2) Martha and Bruce Atwater Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation William Biermaier and David Hanson Alexis and Michael Christie Mary Lee Dayton Cy and Paula Decosse Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Jodi Dehli Dolly J. Fiterman

Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison Andrew Houlton Cynthia and Jay Ihlenfeld Debra and James Lakin Mary and Barry Lazarus Ilo and Peggy Leppik Mr. and Mrs. Donald Lucker Mr. and Mrs. Reid MacDonald Kendrick B. Melrose Family Foundation Diana and Joe Murphy Bill and Barbara Pearce Stephanie Prem and Tom Owens Nadege Souvenir Dr. and Mrs. Andrew J. Thomas Stephanie C. Van D’Elden Lori and Herbert Ward

Silver $2,500–$4,999 Anonymous (4) Nina and John Archabal Martha Goldberg Aronson and Daniel Aronson Annette Atkins and Tom Joyce Alexandra O. Bjorklund Ken and Peggy Bonneville Dr. Lee Borah, Jr.

Margee and Will Bracken Rita and Kenneth Britton Juliet Bryan and Jack Timm Christopher J. Burns Kathleen Callahan Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Carlson Darlene J. and Richard P. Carroll Nicky B. Carpenter Rusty and Burt Cohen Gisela Corbett Rebecca and Jay Debertin Thomas and Mary Lou Detwiler Ralph D. Ebbott Nancy and Rolf Engh Rondi Erickson and Sandy Lewis Gail Fiskewold Patricia R. Freeburg Meg and Wayne Gisslen Mrs. Myrtle Grette Ms. Susanne Haas and Mr. Ross Formell Michele Harris and Peter Tanghe Dorothy Horns and James Richardson Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Horowitz Bill and Hella Mears Hueg Dale A. Johnson Robert and Susan Josselson

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camerata circle

annual fund | individual giving camerata circle Nancy and Donald Kapps Warren and Patricia Kelly Lyndel and Blaine King Robert Kriel and Linda Krach David MacMillan and Judy Krow Helen L. Kuehn Dr. Caliann Lum Margery Martin and Dan Feidt Roy and Dorothy Mayeske Mary Bigelow McMillan Velia R. Melrose Karla Miller Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Moore

“

(continued)

Sandy and Bob Morris Nancy and Richard Nicholson Mr. and Mrs. Rolf Peters Marge and Dwight Peterson Mrs. William Phillips Sara and Kevin Ramach Rhoda and Paul Redleaf Thomas D. and Nancy J. Rohde Nina and Ken Rothchild James A. Rubenstein, Moss & Barnett Kay Savik and Joe Tashjian Mary H. and Christian G. Schrock

We have been excited to watch Minnesota Opera rise to ever higher levels of quality in the last decade. It’s good to think that, as financial supporters, we have been a small part of making that happen. — Meg and Wayne Gisslen, Minnesota Opera donors and subscribers

artist circle

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$1,000–$2,499

Drs. Joseph and Kristina Shaffer Lynda and Frank Sharbrough Stephanie Simon and Craig Bentdahl Julie and Bruce Steiner Dr Norrie Thomas Stephanie C. Van D'Elden William Voedisch and Laurie Carlson Dr. Craig and Stephanie Walvatne Sonja and Jerry Wenger Nancy and Ted Weyerhaeuser Woessner Freeman Family Foundation

Anonymous (3) Mary and Charles Anderson Kim A. Anderson Betty Andrews Ruth and Dale Bachman David Baker In memory of Kent Bales Ann and Thomas Bagnoli Mrs. Paul G. Boening Allan Bradley Ellen and Jan Breyer Juliet Bryan and Jack Timm Ann and Glen Butterman Scott Cabalka Elwood and Florence Caldwell Joan and George Carlson Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Carlson Wanda and David Cline In Memory of Kathy Coleman Barb and Jeff Couture Susan and Richard Crockett Helen and John Crosson Jeff and Wendy Dankey Fran Davis Ruth and Bruce Dayton The Denny Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Margaret DiBlasio Elise Donohue Joan Duddingston Joyce and Hugh Edmondson Ann Fankhanel Ester and John Fesler Joyce and Hal Field Melanie and Bruce Flessner Salvatore Silvestri Franco Emil and Robert Fredericksen

Bradley Fuller and Elizabeth Lincoln Christine and Michael Garner Mr. and Mrs. R. James Gesell Heidi and Howard Gilbert Stanley and Luella Goldberg Dr. Richard Gregory Bruce and Jean Grussing Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hale Elizabeth and Jule Hannaford Hackensack Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation Don Helgeson and Sue Shepard Karen and John Himle Jean McGough Holten Thomas Hunt and John Wheelihan Ekdahl Hutchinson Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Teresa and Chuck Jakway Margaret and Philip Johnson Janet Jones Wadad Kadi Stan and Jeanne Kagin E. Robert and Margaret V. Kinney Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Hugh Klein and Judy Lebedoff Gerard Knight Mrs. James S. Kochiras Kyle Kossol and Tom Becker Constance and Daniel Kunin Stefanie Lenway and Tom Murtha Mr. and Mrs. Seymour Levy Bill Long Helen and Ben Liu Dawn M. Loven Barbara McBurney Laura McCarten Helen and Charles McCrossan Sheila McNally

”

Deb and Jon McTaggart Judith and James Mellinger David and LaVonne Middleton Judy and David Myers Elizabeth B. Myers Louis Newell Joan and Richard Newmark Pat and Dan Panshin Derrill M. Pankow Paula Patineau Suzanne and William Payne J.M. Pickle Mary and Robert Price Kari and Dan Rasmus Mary and Paul Reyelts John and Sandra Roe Foundation Kim and Peter Rue Kristine and Roger Ruckert Terry Saario and Lee Lynch Anne and Lee Salisbury Sampson Family Charitable Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Schindler Gloria and Fred Sewell Ardath and Glenn Solsrud Matthew Spanjers Edson Spencer Michael Steffes Donna Stephenson Dana and Stephen Strand Michael Symeonides and Mary Pierce Schelly and Bryn Vaaler Cindy and Steven Vilks Mr. and Mrs. Philip Von Blon Bryan Walker and Christine Kunewa-Walker James and Sharon Weinel Lani Willis and Joel Spoonheim

annual fund | individual giving patron circle Gold $750–$999 Barbara S. Belk Gerald and Phyllis Benson Debra Brooks and James Meunier Peter Davis and Pamela Webster Jennifer Gross and Jerry LeFevre Charles Hample Carolyn and Charles Mayo Eric Peterson and Jenna Wolf A.M. Rock, M.D. David E. Sander Warren Stortroen David L. Ward John W. Windhorst Jr.

Silver $500–$749 Anonymous (3) Arlene and Tom Alm Alvaro Alonso August J. Aquila and Emily Haliziw Dr. and Mrs. Orn Arnar Dan Avchen and David Johnson Jo and Gordon Bailey Family Fund of the Catholic Community Foundation Rebecca Arons and Thomas Basting, Jr. Donald and Naren Bauer Carl and Joan Behr Brian Benjamin Chuck Bennett Dennis and Judy Berkowitz Martin and Patricia Blumenreich Allen Brookins-Brown Thomas and Joyce Bruckner Joann Cierniak J.P. Collins

Jack and Jane Moran Jill Mortensen and S. Kay Phillips Theresa and Jim Murray Lucia Newell Ann and John O’Leary Dennis R. Olson Ruth and Ahmad Orandi Jim Pagliarini and Elizabeth Raymond Kathleen and Donald Park James A. Payne Lana K. Pemberton Ron and Mary Peterson Carroll and Barbara Rasch Dennis M. Ready Lawrence M. Redmond George Reid Bryn Roberts and Marcy Jefferson Richard G. and Liane A. Rosel Enrique and Clara Rotstein Georgie Saumweber Cherie and Robert Shreck Stanislaw Skrowaczewski Clifford C. and Virginia G. Sorensen Charitable Trust of The Saint Paul Foundation Mark and Kristi Specker Jon Spoerri and Debra Christgau Chichi Steiner Judith Stone Dr. Anthony Thein Jill and John Thompson Jean Thomson and John Sandbo Susan Truman Mary Weinberger Howard and Jo Weiner Barbara and Carl White Frank and Frances Wilkinson Barbara and James Willis

I believe it’s important that arts organizations like Minnesota Opera get full support from the people in the community. Music, in particular, adds dramatically to the quality of our life. It’s hard to quantify the response we have to music, but we know at an instinctive level that it has the ability to reach our emotions, that truly human part of our being, and produce a result that we get from few other sources in our environment. — Dave Ward, Minnesota Opera donor and subscriber

”

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“

Norma Danielson Eileen Dauer Amos and Sue Deinard Mary Elise Dennis Joshua A. Dorothy Holli Egerstrom Mrs. John C. Rowland Steven Engle C.D.F. Foundation Terence Fruth and Mary McEvoy Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Jane Fuller Joan and William Gacki Katy Gaynor David and Terry Gilberstadt Roger L. Hale and Nor Hall David and Chris Hansen Bonita Hanson Blanche and Thane Hawkins Stefan and Lonnie Helgeson Sharon and Cliff Hill Norton and Mary Hintz Henry and Jean Hoover Worth L. Hudspeth Diane and Paul Jacobson Barbara Jenkins Bryce and Paula Johnson Drs. Charles and Sally Jorgensen Markle Karlen Carole and Joseph Killpatrick James and Gail LaFave Chris and Marion Levy Ruth W. Lyons Mahley Family Foundation Dusty Mairs Tom and Marsha Mann Kristin and Jim Matejcek Steven J. Mittelholtz

annual fund | individual giving associate circle

| MINNESOTA OPERA youtube.com/minnesotaopera

$250–$499

Anonymous (2) Thomas O. Allen Katherine Anderson Linda Z. Andrews Jerry Artz Suzanne Asher Marcia J. Aubineau Eric S. Anderson and Janalee R. Aurelia Thomas Bailey James and Gail Bakkom Bishu and Irina Bandyopadhyay Laird Barber Kevin Beckey Bender Vocal Studio Bill Bertram Matthew Brummer Philip and Carolyn Brunelle Emilie and Henry Buchwald Dan Buivid Keith Campbell Renee Campion and David Walsh Jerome and Linda Carlson Katherine L. Castille John Chrisney Elisabeth Comeaux Jeanne E. Corwin Melissa Daul Mark Dickey Barry Divine Katherine and Douglas Donaldson Leah and Ian Evison Herbert and Betty Fantle Charles and Anne Ferrell Brian M. Finstad Christine Fleming Judith Garcia Galiana and Alberto Galiana Greta and Paul Garmers Father Joseph P. Gillespie

Hunt Greene and Jane Piccard William and Aimee Guidera Margaret Gunther Russell and Priscilla Hankins Anne Hanley and George Skinner Douglas and Doris Happe Jill A. Heath John and Rosmarie Helling Frederick J. Hey, Jr. Mary K. Hicks Andrew Holey and Gary Whitford Burton and Sandra Hoverson Margaret F. Humphrey Ray Jacobsen Christina and Nicholas Jermihov Sharon and Fredrik Johnson Dr. and Mrs. Eric Jolly Erika and Herb Kahler Janice Kimes Kelly and Adam Kuczkowski Robert and Venetia Kudrle Scott and Karla Lalim Beatrice H. Langford Kenyon S. Latham Bryan Lechner Lisa and Jonathan Lewis Sarah Lutman and Robert Rudolph Dr. Joan E. Madden Donald and Rhoda Mains Diane Malfeld Julie Matonich and Robert Bras David Mayo Rosalee McCready Patricia N. and Samuel D. McCullough Beth and Tom McGuire Malcolm and Wendy McLean Laurie and David Mech Robert Messner John L. Michel and H. Berit Midelfort

Michael J. and Judith Mollerus Brad Momsen and Rick Buchholz Virginia Dudley and William Myers Merritt C. Nequette Lowell and Sonja Noteboom Kathleen Nye-Reiling Patricia A. O’Gorman Donna and Marvin Ortquist Scott J. Pakudaitis Julia and Brian Palmer John and Margaret Perry Carol Peterson Edward and Beverly Phares Walter Pickhardt and Sandra Resnick Dwight and Christina Porter Nicole and Charles Prescott Christina Reimer Robert E. Rocknem Michael and Tamara Root Bob and Donna Rose Daniel Roth Trish and Steve Rowley David M. Sandoz Mary Savina Jon L. Schasker Deborah and Allan Schneider Paul L. Schroeder Mrs. Donald Sell Mr. and Mrs. Morris Sherman The Singer Family Foundation Debra Sit and Peter Berge Emily Skoblik Delroy and Doris Thomas Elaine B. Walker Mark Warnken and Rebecca Peason Ellen M. Wells David Wendt John and Sandra White John M. Williams Daniel Richard Zillmann

These lists are current as of September 1, 2013, and include donors who gave a gift of $250 or more during Minnesota Opera’s Annual Fund Campaign. If your name is not listed appropriately, please accept our apologies and contact Jenna Wolf, Individual Gifts Officer, at 612-342-9569.

become a donor Bring innovative opera productions to life with your charitable gift, and join Minnesota Opera’s family of donors today.

Visit mnop.co/support to give online.

THANK YOU!

LEGACY CIRCLE

MINNESOTA OPERA THANKS the following donors who, through their foresight and generosity, have included the Opera in 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

Anonymous (4) Valerie and Paul Ackerman Thomas O. Allen Mr. and Mrs. Rolf Andreassen Mary A. Andres Karen Bachman Randolph G. Baier* Mark and Pat Bauer Mrs. Harvey O. Beek * Barbara and Sandy Bemis * Allan Bradley C. T. Bundy, II Joan and George Carlson Darlene J. and Richard P. Carroll Julia and Dan Cross Judy and Kenneth * Dayton Mrs. George Doty Rudolph Driscoll * Anne P. Ducharme Sally Economon *

Ester and John Fesler Paul Froeschl Katy Gaynor Robert and Ellen Green Ieva Grundmanis * Julia Hanna* Ruth Hanold * Fredrick J. Hey, Jr. Norton M. Hintz Jean McGough Holten Charles Hudgins * Dale and Pat Johnson Ruth Jones* Drs. Sally and Charles Jorgensen Robert and Susan Josselson Charlotte * and Markle Karlen Mary Keithahn Patty and Warren Kelly Margaret Kilroe Trust * Blaine and Lyndel King

Gretchen Klein * Bill and Sally Kling Gisela Knoblauch * Mr. and Mrs. James Krezowski Robert Kriel and Linda Krach Venetia and Robert Kudrle Robert Lawser, Jr. Jean Lemberg * Gerald and Joyce Lillquist David Mayo Barbara and Thomas * McBurney Mildred McGonagle * Beth McGuire Mary Bigelow McMillan Margaret D.* and Walter S.*Meyers John L. Michel and H. Berit Midelfort Susan Molder * Edith Mueller *

Kay Ness Joan and Richard Newark Philip Oxman and Harvey Zuckman Scott Pakudaitis Lana Pemberton Sydney and William* Phillips Richard G. * and Liane A. Rosel Mrs. Berneen Rudolph Mary Savina Frank and Lynda Sharbrough Drew Stewart James and Susan Sullivan Gregory C. Swinehart Stephanie Van D’Elden Mary Vaughan Dale and Sandra Wick Richard Zgodava* * In Remembrance

For more information on making planned giving arrangements, please contact Dawn Loven, Director of the Annual Fund, at 612-342-9567. Your attorney or ﬁnancial advisor can then help determine which methods are most appropriate for you.

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us so that we may appropriately recognize your generosity.

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

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

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

$25,000–$49,999

$10,000–$24,999

For information on making a corporate or foundation contribution to Minnesota Opera, please contact Beth Comeaux, Institutional Gifts Manager, at 612-342-9566 or email her at bcomeaux@mnopera.org.

institutional giving minnesota opera sponsors Season Sponsor

Production Innovation System

Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank

General Mills

Production Sponsors

Wenger Foundation

Manon Lescaut Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank The Magic Flute Target

Resident Artist Program Tempo After Parties Sakura

Opera Insights

Camerata Dinners

Comcast

Abbot Downing

Media Sponsor

Gala Sponsors

Minnesota Public Radio

3M Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank JB Hudson Jewelers – Official Jeweler of Opera Gala 2013

corporations, foundations and government 3M Foundation Ameriprise Financial, Inc. Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank General Mills Foundation The McKnight Foundation The Medtronic Foundation The Michelson Family Foundation Minnesota State Arts Board National Endowment for the Arts Target U.S. Bank Foundation United Health Foundation

Platinum $10,000– $24,999 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Abbot Downing Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation Best Buy Children’s Foundation Cargill Foundation Comcast Dorsey & Whitney Foundation Ecolab Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation

MAHADH Fund of HRK Foundation Travelers Foundation Valspar Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota Wenger Foundation Xcel Energy Foundation

Gold $5,000–$9,999 Accenture Boss Foundation Briggs & Morgan, P.A. Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts Anna M. Heilmaier Charitable Foundation R. C. Lilly Foundation Mayo Clinic Pentair Foundation The Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Rahr Foundation RBC Wealth Management Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, p.a. Securian Foundation Thomson Reuters

Silver $2,500–$4,999 Cleveland Foundation Dellwood Foundation Faegre Baker Daniels Hutter Family Foundation Le Jeune Family Foundation Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP The Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation Margaret Rivers Fund Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Spencer Stuart Summit Brewing Company Tennant Foundation

Bronze $250–$2,499 The Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation Enterprise Holdings Foundation Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. McVay Foundation Onan Family Foundation Peravid Foundation Sewell Family Foundation Sit Investment Foundation

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Sponsors $25,000+