The Minnesota Opera
2001–02 Season Performances

Ticket Information

The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár
November 9, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 17, 2002
English translations projected above the stage.

Set in turn-of-the-century Paris, Lehár’s operetta is an effervescent battle of the sexes. The young widow Hanna is being pressured by Baron Zeta to marry a Pontevedrian bachelor, Count Danilo, so her fortune doesn’t end up in the hands of the French. In this sensual comedy, an intoxicating waltz works its magic on Hanna and Danilo.

Returning as the Merry Widow after last season’s sensational debut as Lucia is American soprano Maureen O’Flynn. Karl Daymond (Transatlantic) is Danilo to O’Flynn’s Hanna. Elisabeth Comeaux (Street Scene, Der Rosenkavalier, many others) is Valencienne, and Jeffrey Lentz (Pirates of Penzance) is Camille. Chuck Hudson (The Barber of Seville) returns to direct this San Francisco/Utah Opera production. Sets were designed by Michael Yeargan, with costumes by Susan Memmott Allred.

The Merry Widow is sponsored by Marshall Field’s Project Imagine.

Norma by Vincenzo Bellini
January 25, 28, 30, February 1 and 2, 2003
Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.

After Norma’s premiere, Richard Wagner wrote, "This opera among all the creations of Bellini is the one which, with the most profound reality, joins to the richest vein of melody the most intimate passion."

The protrayal of Bellini’s Druid priestess has turned many sopranos into legends. The Minnesota Opera proudly welcomes back one of this era’s great Bel Canto sopranos, Brenda Harris (La clemenza di Tito, Semiramide, La traviata, The Tales of Hoffmann, Julius Caesar) as Norma. Monica Colonna debuts as Adalgisa, and Daniel Borowski debuts as Oroveso.

Norma is sponsored by U.S. Bank, Private Client Group.

The Flying Dutchman by Richard Wagner
February 22, 25, 27, March 1 and 2, 2003
Sung in German with English translations projected above the stage.

Wagner created a mystical romance from a maritime legend. The sea captain known as the "Flying Dutchman" is damned to eternal wandering unless he finds redemption through faithful love. Daniel Sumegi (Faust) appears as Daland. John Keenan (Otello, Tosca, La traviata) returns to conduct The Minnesota Opera Orchestra.

David Roth (La bohème, Faust, The Turn of the Screw, Madame Butterfly, Tosca, others) will direct the remount of The Minnesota Opera’s own 1992 Keith Warner production, for which costumes were designed by Candice Donelly.

The Flying Dutchman is sponsored by American Express Minnesota Philanthropic Program.

La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi
April 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13, 2003
Sung in Italian with English captions projected above the stage.

Against her better judgment, the courtesan Violetta falls for the romantic but naïve Alfredo. In one of the most memorable operas by one of opera’s most memorable composers, we witness Violetta’s vitality and nobility and the triumph of true love over both jealousy and death.

The new Minnesota Opera production is set in 1915 Paris and stars Judith Howarth as opera’s most beloved party girl. Charles Castronovo debuts as her Alfredo, and Jason Howard (Don Carlos, Macbeth) returns as Germont. Will Crutchfield (The Capulets and the Montagues) returns to conducts The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. The Minnesota Opera’s own costume director, Gail Bakkom, will design the costumes.

"Maestro Crutchfield discovered a set of La traviata orchestra parts from London that were retired in 1867 as well as role books used in the Paris premiere of the opera, and is preparing an historically informed reading of this work," said Johnson. "Our musical telling of this well-known opera will be looking forward, as opposed to looking back through the eyes of history at Verdi."

Based on extensive research from the materials above and correspondence between Verdi and his contemporaries, the noted bel canto conductor is approaching The Minnesota Opera’s La traviata from a bel canto perspective. "This opera is from the period when Verdi used the full Donizettian idiom for the last time," Crutchfield said. "Unlike Trovatore and Rigoletto, the thrust of the piece is essentially lyric and all the main roles are on the lyrical side for their type. There is a lot of historical material to draw on."

La traviata is sponsored by U.S. Bank, Private Client Group.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Poul Ruders
Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood
May 10, 13, 15, 17 and 18, 2003
Sung in English with English captions projected above the stage.

Poul Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the Margaret Atwood novel, explores what happens when intolerance defines a society. In an era of extreme oppression, one woman’s precious inner world of memories, hope and tenderness protects her humanity. The Minnesota Opera is proud to present the North American premiere of the work that Time called "... an operatic message that its audiences will be unable to ignore."

Elizabeth Bishop debuts as the handmaid Offred, and Helen Todd (The Magic Flute, La traviata) returns as Aunt Lydia. Eric Simonson (La bohème, Bok Choy Variations) is creating this new production, and scenic design is being created by Robert Israel, whose history with The Minnesota Opera goes back to The Good Soldier Schweik in 1966 when the company (then Center Opera) was under the auspices of the Walker Art Center. Israel’s artistry was most recently seen in last season’s acclaimed The Capulets and the Montagues.

London’s The Guardian called Paul Bentley’s libretto "a triumph" and Poul Ruders’s music "remarkable at every stage." Copenhagen’s Weekendavisen said, "Ruders competes with Puccini in the glimpses of happiness and with Stravinsky in his ability to create games of hide-and-seek."

The Minnesota Opera’s mission is to produce opera 
and opera education programs
at the highest artistic level that inspire and entertain our audiences
and enrich the cultural life of our community.