THE
Artists
For more biographical information about these artists, visit our website at www.mnopera.org
BACKGROUND NOTES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12
Douglas of Parkland, was captured and nearly attained for treason. So James V, Archibald and all the James Douglases are actual people, two of whom had a real disagreement, but these are really among the only true facts. Roderick Dhu and Malcolm Graeme belong to actual highland clans with a rich lineage (Vich Alpine and Graham, respectively, with the title “Dhu” referring to the former being the clan’s chieftain). In the poem, Douglas finds refuge in Roderick’s home as they are closely related, evidenced by the
papal dispensation required due to Ellen and Roderick’s consanguinity. James was known to travel in disguise as Goodman of Ballengeich, liked to hunt game and to bed easy women (he sired a number of royal bastards), including his own wife, Mary of Guise, daughter of the powerful French Duke of Lorraine (their union a result of the continuing auld alliance). Their daughter became another famous woman of the era (and of operatic lore), the illfated Mary “Queen of Scots.” And just to keep things tidy, this Mary wed
Archibald and Margaret’s grandchild, Henry Lord Darnley, to produce James VI, who would also inherit (after the death of England’s virginal Queen Elizabeth) the run-out Tudor dynasty as James I (an ascension likely to have caused his great grand-uncle Henry a roll in his grave). His minority would be as dicey as his that of his regal Stuart grandfather amid more Douglas intrigue, as history shows its remarkable tendency to repeat itself.
Lennart Nilsson: Life An exhibition from The Hasselblad Center, Göteborg, Sweden
T H E G E N U I N E A RT I C L E
18
6409 City West Parkway • Eden Prairie, MN (952) 941-9448
Life: 20 weeks © Lennart Nilsson
| THE MINNESOTA OPERA www.mnopera.org
May 31 – Oct. 8, 2006
This retrospective spans the photographer’s career from his early photo essays and portraits to his groundbreaking images of life itself. THE AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTE
LO N NA M O S OW ’ S C E N T E R F O R M I N D B O DY F I T N E S S
2600 Park Avenue • Minneapolis Call 612- 871- 4907 or visit www.americanswedishinst.org