One of the most important works of 21st century opera, “Silent Night,” winner of the Pulitzer Prize, returns this weekend to the site of its 2011 world premiere. The Minnesota Opera is remounting the show that sprang from its New Works Initiative, and has since enjoyed a remarkable tour. Stage director Eric Simonson is a … [ Read more]
‘Rigoletto’ at Minnesota Opera: Who’s Laughing Now?
March 23, 2018 by
A loathsome politician uses his power to prey on women, indiscriminately hopping from one dalliance to the next, abetted by the very people he’s likely to hurt. But enough about current events. The Minnesota Opera has a good show going on right now. Their penultimate main stage performance of the season is Verdi’s “Rigoletto,” imagined … [ Read more]
Classical Conditioning: Attracting new blood to the world’s oldest performing arts
June 5, 2017 by
Should you dress up to go to the opera? Unlike some other companies, Minnesota Opera hasn’t taken a position on the question. They haven’t felt they need to, said Minnesota Opera president and general director Ryan Taylor. Some traditional operagoers, Taylor said, feel they need to clearly state, “This is a substantial piece of art, … [ Read more]
MN Opera’s “Dinner At Eight”: Fiddling While Rome Burns
March 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The world around them is in shambles, they’ll be damned if they don’t keep up appearances. Like the cartoon dog in the burning room, this is fine, they say. Last Saturday was the world premiere of Dinner At Eight, an opera based on the 1932 play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, at the … [ Read more]
MN Opera Announces 2017-18 Season: Mozart, Thaïs, and Dead Man Walking
February 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The Minnesota Opera has announced their five main stage performances for the upcoming 2017-18 season: Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti (Oct. 7, 10, 12, 14, and 15, 2017), will be envisioned in 1950s Hollywood, with the lively farce centered around the declining career of a silent film star. The Marriage of Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Nov. … [ Read more]
‘Rheingold’ shines at Minnesota Opera
November 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Greed and power, love and revenge. All the elements of tremendous drama are on display at the Minnesota Opera’s production of Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold. The second performance of the 2016-17 season is an ambitious venture into Wagner’s “Ring Cycle,” which, as Minnesota Opera President Ryan Taylor told us earlier this season, “Any company that begins to … [ Read more]
Young, Vibrant, and Bold: The 2016-17 Minnesota Opera Season
September 23, 2016 by Leave a Comment
“I started my career here, in the resident program,” says Ryan Taylor, the new President & General Director of the Minnesota Opera. “This was one of the three markets, that I’d always said, I’d really like to live there. It’s such a great community for the arts and such a special place in the heart of the … [ Read more]
Silver city sounds: Venues new and old are filling St. Paul with music
September 12, 2016 by Leave a Comment
In the daytime, downtown St. Paul is a rush of suits and high heels, with coffee cups everywhere and fobs flapping in the breeze. The skyways fill up during lunchtime, as do street-level restaurants like Afro Deli and Black Dog. The professionals that populate St. Paul in the daytime have traditionally left the the city … [ Read more]
The Shining at the Minnesota Opera
May 11, 2016 by Leave a Comment
A hotel in a blizzard. All work and no play. Lloyd the bartender. Room 217. The boiler room. Croquet mallets smashing through doors. One man’s descent into madness. The Shining made its world premiere from the Minnesota Opera at the Ordway Center for Performing Arts Saturday, May 7—a mix of dazzling multimedia and heartfelt, frantic vocals. You … [ Read more]
Tosca at the Minnesota Opera
March 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Hope and optimism, sincerity and faith—it’s amazing how much can be undone by jealousy and a couple poor decisions. That’s the lesson from Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca,” now playing at the Minnesota Opera. The Ordway Theater is a perfect venue for this grand melodrama in three acts. The set dressing, both striking and minimal, underscores the … [ Read more]
