Minnesota Opera's La Traviata Program

Sylvia Schwartz soprano Bernarda Fink mezzo-soprano Michael Schade tenor Thomas Quasthoff bass-baritone Malcolm Martineau piano Justus Zeyen piano

Brahms Liebeslieder waltzes

Thursday, April 28 • Ordway Center

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Thomas Quasthoff

Verdi

March 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, 2011 contents 6 7 10 11 12 16 17 20 22 24 25 26 27

Minnesota Opera Staff and Volunteers Note from the President and General Director La traviata Synopsis Background Notes Giuseppe Verdi The Artists Minnesota Opera Orchestra and Ensemble Education at the Opera 2011–2012 Season Up Next: Wuthering Heights Tempo Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative The Kevin Smith Legacy

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minnesota opera staff President and General Director | Allan Naplan Artistic Director | Dale Johnson

ARTISTIC

SCENERY

Artistic Administrator | Roxanne Stouffer Cruz Artist Relations and Planning Director Floyd Anderson Dramaturg | David Sander Artistic Associate | Bill Murray Head of Music | Mary Dibbern Resident Artists Brad Benoit, Octavio Cardenas, Cassandra Flowers, Jonathan Kimple, Eric McEnaney, Angela Mortellaro, Rodolfo Nieto, Michael Nyby, Jeremy Reger, Clinton Smith, Victoria Vargas Master Coach | Mary Jo Gothmann

Technical Director | Mike McQuiston Properties Master | Jenn Maatman Properties Assistant | Michael C. Long Lighting Coordinator | Bill Healey Assistant Lighting Coordinator | Tom Rost Production Carpenter | JC Amel Scene Shop Foreman | Rod Aird Master Carpenters | Steven Rovie, Eric Veldey Carpenters Nate Kulenkamp, Steve Dalglish, Rebecca Knipfer Charge Painter | Jeffery Murphey

EDUCATION Community Education Director | Jamie Andrews Teaching Artist | Angie Keeton Project Opera Music Director | Dale Kruse Project Opera Accompanist | Kathy Kraulik Interns | Ana Ashby, Daniel Weinstein

ADMINISTRATION Finance Director | Jeff Couture Operations/Systems Manager | Steve Mittelholtz HR/Accounting Manager | Jennifer Thill Executive Assistant | Theresa Murray Finance Assistant | Michelle Gould Data and Website Specialist | Ryan Vink

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT PRODUCTION Production Director | Kevin Ramach Production Stage Manager | Alexander Farino Assistant Stage Managers Shayna j. Houp, Cassandra Flowers Production Administrative Assistant Katherine Cattrysse

COSTUMES

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Costume Shop Manager | Erica M. Burds Assistant Costume Shop Manager | Beth Sanders Wardrobe Supervisor | Emily Rosenmeier Drapers | Chris Bur, Diana Girtain, Yancey Thrift Dyer/Painter | Marliss Jenson Costume Technicians: First Hands Helen Ammann, Kelsey Glasener, Liliya Lychrovska Stitchers Rebecca Ballas, Allison Guglielmi, Ann Habermann, Rachel Skudlarek Wig/Makeup Supervisors Sarah Bourne, Priscilla Magalee, Andrea Moriarity, Molly Weinreb Crafts Artisan | Lesley Witt

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Vice President of Advancement | Patrick Dewane Advancement Manager | Kelly Kuczkowski

DEVELOPMENT Director of the Annual Fund | Dawn Loven Institutional Gifts Manager | Beth Comeaux Donor Events and Gala Manager | Emily Skoblik Development Associate | Jenna Wolf

MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS Marketing & Communications Director | Lani Willis Marketing Manager | Katherine Castille Communications Manager | Daniel R. Zillmann Marketing Associate | Kristin Matejcek Ticket Office Manager | Julie Behr Assistant Ticket Office Manager | Kevin Beckey Ticket Office Associate | Kristen Bond Ticket Office Assistants Carol Corich, Nicole Hanson, Jane Samsal, Katherine Skovira Intern | Clark Rahman

minnesota opera volunteers The following volunteers contribute their time and talent in support of key activities of Minnesota Opera. If you would like to learn more about volunteering for Minnesota Opera, please call 612-342-9569 or email jwolf@mnopera.org Gerald Benson Debra Brooks Jerry Cassidy Judith Duncan Sally Economon Jane Fuller Joan Gacki Merle Hanson

Ann Hasselroth Jeanie Johnston Robin Keck Dawn Klassen Eleanore Kolar David Lightstone Jenny Lightstone Jerry Lillquist

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Sydney Phillips John Sauer Wendi Sott Mary Weitz Therese Wietzel Barbara Willis Oliver Woodcock

note from the president and general director Dear Friends, As Minnesota Opera’s new President and General Director, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to La traviata.

Often considered one of the greatest operas of all time, Verdi’s La traviata has long been embraced by audiences due to its tragic romance and heart-wrenching music – both of which touch audiences as strongly today as at its premiere in 1853. To present this classic work, Minnesota Opera has assembled a stellar cast featured in an elegant production.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Chip Emery, Chair Allan Naplan, President and General Director Rachelle D. Chase, Vice Chair Stephanie Prem, Secretary Heinz F. Hutter, Treasurer

DIRECTORS Martha Goldberg Aronson

Lynne E. Looney

Wendy Bennett

Leni Moore

Shari Boehnen

Diana E. Murphy

Susan S. Boren

Luis Pagan-Carlo

Kathleen Callahan

Jose Peris

Rachelle D. Chase

Bradford Pleimann

Jodi Dehli

Mary Ingebrand-Pohlad

Chip Emery

Stephanie J. Prem

Bianca Fine

Elizabeth Redleaf

Thomas J. Foley

Connie Remele

Steve Fox

Sergio Rial

Denver Gilliand

Mark Schwarzmann

Heinz F. Hutter

Peter Sipkins

Philip Isaacson

Barry Snyder

As we look to the future, I also invite you to join us for our thrilling 2011–2012 season. With an exciting line-up that includes Così fan tutte, Silent Night (a world premiere), Werther, Lucia di Lammermoor and Madame Butterfly, you won’t want to miss all that our season has in store.

James Johnson

Simon Stevens

Patricia Johnson

Virginia Stringer

Christine Larsen

Sharon Winslow

Mary A. Lazarus

Margaret Wurtele

Finally, I am tremendously honored to have been chosen to lead Minnesota Opera. Having great admiration for this company’s tremendous accomplishments, both on stage and off, I want to express my deep appreciation to my predecessor, Kevin Smith. Thanks to his leadership, Minnesota Opera is a true jewel of the Twin Cities and beyond. As we go forward together, I hope to honor Kevin’s distinguished legacy by continuing the tradition of bringing you the very best that Minnesota Opera has to offer.

Robert Lee

And so, I propose a toast to Minnesota Opera’s future. “Libiamo, libiamo …” and enjoy the show!

Mary W. Vaughan

While we enjoy the familiarity of Verdi’s tale of conflicted love, I invite you to join us again in April when Minnesota Opera features another classic portrayal of turbulent romance. Based on Emily Brontë’s gothic novel, Wuthering Heights, the opera by famed film composer Bernard Herrmann will offer you the chance to explore this forgotten musical masterpiece in its first major revival since it was composed in 1951 (partially in Minneapolis). Along with the performances, I hope you’ll also join us for our fascinating series of special events presented in anticipation of this production. Visit mnopera.org for details.

EMERITI Karen Bachman John A. Blanchard, III Burton Cohen Julia W. Dayton

HONORARY DIRECTORS Dominick Argento Philip Brunelle

Allan E. Naplan President and General Director

Dolly Fiterman Charles C. Fullmer Norton M. Hintz

Patricia H. Sheppard

Minnesota Opera is proud to be a member of The Arts Partnership with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Schubert Club and Ordway.

LEGAL COUNSEL James A. Rubenstein, Moss & Barnett

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Liz Kochiras

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ON STAGE MAR 5 (7:30PM); MAR 6 (2PM); MAR 8-12 (7:30PM); MAR 13 (2PM) Minnesota Opera La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi MAR 15 (8PM) The Schubert Club Leila Josefowicz, violin Tamara Stefanovich, piano MAR 17 (7:30PM); MAR 18 (10:30AM, 8PM); MAR 19 (8PM) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony MAR 29-APR 3 Times Vary Ordway Theater Season STOMP APR 5 (7:30PM) Target World Music and Dance Series BeijingDance/LDTX APR 9 (8PM) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Mozart and His Contemporaries: 1784 APR 16 (7:30PM); APR 17 (2PM); APR 19, 21, 23 (7:30PM) Minnesota Opera Wuthering Heights by Bernard Herrmann APR 28 (8PM) The Schubert Club Genia Kühmeier, soprano; Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano; Michael Schade, tenor; bass-baritone; Malcolm Martineau, piano; Justus Zeyen, piano APR 29 (10:30AM) APR 30 (8PM) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Leila Josefowicz Plays Prokofiev MAY 6 (7:30PM) Target World Music and Dance Series TU Dance MAY 10-MAY 22 Times Vary Ordway Theater Season Next to Normal MAY 27 (10:30AM); MAY 28 (8PM) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Haydn and the Holligers JUNE 9 (7:30PM); JUNE 10 (8PM); JUNE 11 (8PM) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Haydn’s Harmoniemesse

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JUNE 4 & 5 Flint Hills International Children’s Festival

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JUNE 15-JUNE 26 Times Vary Ordway McKnight Theatre Mu Performing Arts presents Mu Daiko: Soul of the Drum JUNE 15-JUNE 26 Times Vary Ordway Theater Season Guys and Dolls JULY 12-JULY 24 Times Vary Ordway Theater Season 9 to 5: The Musical

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Music by Giuseppe Verdi Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave after La dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils (1849) World Premiere at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice March 6, 1853 March 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, 2011 Ordway, Saint Paul Sung in Italian with English translations Conductor | Michael Christie † Stage Director | Lawrence Edelson Choreographers | Megan McClellan, Brian Sostek Set Designer | Tom Mays Costume Designer | Gail Bakkom Lighting Designer | Josh Epstein Wig and Makeup Designers | Jason Allen and Ronell Oliveri Assistant Conductor | Clinton Smith †† Assistant Director | Octavio Cardenas Stage Manager | Alexander Farino

the cast Violetta Valery, a courtesan | Elizabeth Futral * Georgia Jarman ** Alfredo Germont | Bruno Ribeiro * Daniel Montenegro ** Giorgio Germont, his father | Stephen Powell Flora Bervoix, friend of Violetta | Victoria Vargas Gastone, friend of Alfredo | Brad Benoit Annina, Violetta’s maid | Angela Mortellaro Baron Douphol, Violetta’s protector | Jonathan Kimple Marchese d’Obigny, friend of Flora | Michael Nyby Doctor Grenvil | Ben Crickenberger Giuseppe, a servant | Richard Joseph A messenger | Luke Wallrich friends of Violetta and Flora, servants *

performs March 5, 8, 10, 12 performs March 6, 9, 11, 13

**

†

conducts March 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 conducts March 13

††

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

The appearances of Elizabeth Futral, winner, and Angela Mortellaro and Jonathan Kimple, 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.

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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.

Performances of La traviata are being recorded for delayed broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio, ksjn 99.5 in the Twin Cities.

The Minnesota Opera season is sponsored by The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank.

The appearances of the 2010–2011 season conductors are underwritten by SpencerStuart.

Camerata dinners are sponsored by Lowry Hill.

Opera Insights is sponsored by Comcast.

Champagne intermission receptions are sponsored

by Piper Jaffray.

synopsis act iii

act i

As the guests retire to the ballroom, Violetta feels faint and rests for a moment. Alfredo lingers behind and soon professes his love for her. Friendship is all she can offer, but as he leaves, she gives him a flower and tells him to return when it has faded. As dawn approaches, the guests bid adieu, and Violetta reflects on the feelings Alfredo has aroused within her heart. She ponders whether or not she could ever give up her life of pleasure for true love.

• intermission • act ii Scene one It is several months later, and Violetta and Alfredo are deeply in love.

They have abandoned city life, taking residence in Violetta’s country home.

Alfredo soon learns from Annina that Violetta has had to sell many of her possessions in order to maintain their current lifestyle. Intending to set things right, Alfredo rushes back to Paris.

Violetta receives an invitation to a party that evening thrown by friend and fellow courtesan, Flora Bervoix.

Violetta laughs at the notion of returning to her former life. She is then visited by Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father, who rebukes her for ruining

his son. Impressed by her graciousness in the face of his own rude behavior, Germont soon learns of Violetta’s footing the bill and of her intention to put her past behind. Still, he presses his case – his daughter is about to marry, but the union is in jeopardy as Alfredo’s relationship with Violetta is causing a scandal for the family. It must be broken off.

Several months later, Violetta lies in her bed, desperately weak from the final stages of consumption. Doctor Grenvil attends her, but confides to Annina the end is near. Violetta rereads a letter from Giorgio Germont – Alfredo wounded the baron during the duel and was forced to go abroad.

As promised, Germont told his son of her sacrifice, and he is hurrying back to beg her forgiveness. Violetta fears Reluctantly Violetta agrees, but Germont that he will not return in time, yet must promise to one day tell Alfredo moments later he rushes to her side. of her sacrifice. She responds to Flora’s Reunited, the lovers ecstatically plan invitation, then dashes off a farewell for the future, and Violetta tries to rise note to Alfredo. Upon receiving the but cannot summon the strength. As note, Alfredo is heartbroken. He is a last gesture of love, she gives Alfredo comforted by his father, who urges him a miniature portrait of herself, saying to return to their home in Provence. that she will always be watching over Instead, an enflamed Alfredo pursues him. Suddenly overcome by a euphoric Violetta, suspecting she has returned to feeling, Violetta cries out that she feels her former life and lover. life returning, then falls dead in her lover’s arms.

Scene two That evening at the party, Flora and her guests gossip over Violetta and Alfredo’s recent split.

After a brief diversion of dancing gypsies and matadors, Alfredo shows up unexpectedly. Violetta and the baron arrive shortly thereafter, and Alfredo sends Violetta several bitter jibes, which enrages the baron. He challenges Alfredo at the gaming tables, yet Alfredo is consistently the winner. As the guests retire to the dining room, Violetta pulls Alfredo aside and urges him to leave. He asks if she truly loves the baron, and she continues her deception, saying yes.

Alfredo calls everyone before him and throws his winnings at Violetta, declaring he has paid for her services in full. Giorgio Germont enters at that moment and shames his son for the improper outburst. Demanding satisfaction for such an insult, the baron challenges Alfredo to a duel.

• intermission •

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A late night soirée is in progress at the Parisian home of Violetta Valéry.

Gastone presents to his hostess Alfredo, an admirer. It is soon learned, while Violetta was recently taken ill, Alfredo visited her home daily for hopeful news of her recovery. Violetta retorts that it is more attention than she has received from her current protector, Baron Douphol, who is incensed by the behavior of the youthful upstart. When the Baron declines to make the evening toast, Violetta gives the honor to Alfredo.

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background notes by David Sander

ith Rigoletto and Il trovatore, La traviata completes Giuseppe Verdi’s trio of popular middle-period works that rapidly would make his name synonymous with Italian opera. These operas evolved at a crucial point in Verdi’s personal life. Just a few years earlier we find the composer deeply submerged in his “galley years,” managing to produce two to three operas per year, in accordance with the insatiable demands of the Italian theater industry of the era. Although he had made a name for himself with works such as Nabucco, Ernani and Macbeth, he still did not have the degree of financial independence he desired. Yet La traviata, written in tandem with Il trovatore during the winter of 1852–1853, would be the last of these operas written in relatively quick succession.

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12 Production photos by Michal Daniel

Back in 1847, Verdi had just completed Macbeth and was heading to London to stage his eleventh opera, I masnadieri. On his return he stopped in Paris to negotiate his first work for the Paris Opéra, a French translation and adaptation of his earlier opera I Lombardi. He also reconnected with Giuseppina Strepponi, who had gone to Paris the previous fall to establish herself as a voice teacher. She and Verdi had become acquainted during the production of Verdi’s first opera, Oberto, in which she was to sing the leading role.

Though this engagement fell through, Strepponi would return to Milan to create the role of Abigaille in Verdi’s third (and first truly successful) opus, Nabucco. Already a skilled Donizettian soprano knowledgeable in the theater business, she was useful in advising and advancing the young composer’s career. They began a romantic liaison that reignited during Verdi’s Paris trip.

There he would remain as the couple lived together openly in the city’s more permissive climate.

The year 1847 also marked the passing of a famous Parisian figure, Marie Duplessis. Her meteoric rise to notoriety as one of the city’s most sought-after courtesans was accomplished in just a few years, and her brief life was fast and furious – she died at the age of 23. Strepponi may have seen her at the Paris Opéra, where both frequently attended, and Verdi likely would have heard about Duplessis’ sensational, albeit posthumous, reputation. One of her many lovers, Alexandre Dumas fils produced a loosely autobiographical novel of their eleven-month affair, which was published the following year.

Though the popular novel was quickly dramatized, the resulting play remained unproduced due to problems with the censors. The triumph of the Second Empire led to more lax definitions of decency, and the drama was allowed to be staged at the Théâtre du Vaudeville on February 2, 1852 (it is believed the government permitted the production to distract Parisians from Napoleon iii’s political coup the previous December).

Its shocking topicality made it a sensation overnight – several real-life characters were surely in the audience.

During the intervening years, several important events took place.

In response to revolutions in Paris and Italy in 1848, Verdi composed a blatantly political opera, La battaglia di Legnano.

Curiously, it was one of his last of this type – seemingly the ultimate failure to establish Italian independence (at least for the moment) caused Verdi to seek refuge within his soul. His next three operas, Luisa Miller, Stiffelio and Rigoletto, were to be domestic tragedies, looking inward to human emotional relationships. Love is rarely portrayed in a lasting positive light, but rather as a prelude to separation and disaster.

Perhaps these works were indicative of his own strife at the time as he tried to balance the relations between his parents, in-laws and neighbors with his new romantic companion.

Verdi’s lust to own land finally was satisfied during this period. Borrowing heavily from his father and other creditors, he purchased three parcels of ancestral soil near his childhood town of Busseto, which would become his future and final residence, Sant’Agata. In order to finance the venture, his parents sold their home and took up residence in the farmhouse. During the summer of 1849, Verdi and Strepponi decided to leave Paris and reside in Busseto, where he also had purchased a palazzo in the heart of the city. Strepponi dutifully followed the man of her life back to Italy. Little did she know what awaited her there.

Life had been arduous for Strepponi. Her father died when she was 17, leaving his widow to support five children. At that time Strepponi was a promising voice student and would make her debut two years later.

Expected to provide for the family, she accepted many engagements, which involved mutual favors in the less morally bound operatic social scene. As a result, she had a series of unplanned pregnancies, disrupting her contracts and weakening her health. By the mid1840s the soprano’s voice was in ruin (possibly threatened by consumption,

she once wrote) and led her to pursue another career in Paris. Verdi never judged her past, and she was grateful for his devotion, yet it would hardly become an uncomplicated love match.

Where Paris may have indulged their relationship, Busseto was quite the opposite. In the small town, gossip traveled swiftly, and when the town hero returned and resided with a woman not his wife, the villagers quickly turned against her. Foremost in their disdain were Antonio Barezzi, Verdi’s early benefactor and father of his first wife, and Verdi’s own parents, who were devout Catholics. Strepponi and Verdi lived in the palazzo for 16 months, but while he could find escape, either in composing or traveling to mount productions in other cities, she was virtually an outcast, exiled in a sea of hatred.

During this tumultuous period, we see the darker side of Verdi’s personality.

He broke off all contact with his parents during the winter of 1850. Though he was still very much financially indebted, he served them notice of impending eviction from Sant’Agata, even though they were in their sixties and in ill-health with no place to go. Verdi and Strepponi moved into the small farmhouse in May. With the extended family still surrounding Verdi’s hereditary estate, the couple didn’t quite find the solace they had sought. In December 1851, they returned to Paris for several months.

At this time, Verdi negotiated another deal with the Paris Opéra (which would become Les vêpres siciliennes) and saw Dumas’ play. He had already read the novel, and by the fall of 1852, selected the subject to fulfill a contract with Venice’s Teatro La Fenice.

But there was another commission to finish first, for the Teatro Apollo in Rome. No two works could be more different than Il trovatore and La traviata, written so closely together, the former of the wildly romantic, melodramatic variety popular in the earlier part of the century, the latter a prototype for the newly evolving theater of realism.

It is significant that the creative periods overlapped, showing the full breadth of the composer’s inherent talents.

As a consequence of his focus on Il trovatore, Verdi missed a very important deadline – January 15, 1853.

This was the date set in his contract as to when the composer could accept or reject the principal singers signed

by La Fenice’s management. As the commission for what would become La traviata had come the previous May, late in the theatrical season, Verdi could not have the cast of his own choosing as they were already booked elsewhere. He was not diametrically opposed to Fanny Salvini-Donatelli as the first Violetta, but he hoped to see how the La Fenice season played out before finally accepting her. As it happened, the stagione didn’t fare very well; a new opera by Carlo Bosoni had failed miserably and was quickly replaced by a hastily assembled revival of Ernani. Another production earlier in the season, in which SalviniDonatelli had performed, also had gone poorly, though not by any fault of the soprano. Coupled with these events was an anonymous poisoned-pen letter Verdi received in February sniping that his new opera was doomed to fail, and the composer genuinely took this to heart.

Francesco Maria Piave’s libretto survived the censors surprisingly intact (one of the reasons Venice was chosen

for this particular work) – they only required the title, Amore e morte, be changed – but the theater’s management had its own concerns about the presentday subject matter, relatively uncharted territory in the world of opera at that time. Fearing the chorus of locals might expose their unsophisticated trappings in contemporary dress, at the last minute the impresario decided to put the whole company in Louis-quatorze costume. This naturally enraged Verdi, who was now certain the premiere would be a fiasco. To his shock, the opening night began with applause for the prelude and most of the Act i numbers, concluding with SalviniDonatelli’s expert delivery of Violetta’s aria “Sempre libera.” But during Act ii things began to go awry. Felice Varesi, the baritone who had created the roles of Macbeth and Rigoletto, was in vocal decline and couldn’t negotiate Germont’s rather exposed singing line.

By Act iii, the audience couldn’t quite grasp the Rubenesque Salvini-Donatelli as a consumptive heroine, and more laughter ensued. Programmed at the end of the season, La traviata had only nine performances, and Verdi’s suspicions had been correct – the entire endeavor had truly been a catastrophe. ➤

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background notes

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background notes

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Although there was interest from other Italian companies in producing Verdi’s newest opera, the composer decided to keep it under wraps for some time – the next viewing of La traviata would be produced according to his exact terms and casting. Initially he wanted a Roman premiere of the work (where Trovatore had recently prevailed), but as it turned out, another Venetian theater got the bid. The conductor/ impresario, Antonio Gallo, was a respected interpreter of his work, and 14 months later at the Teatro San Benedetto the opera triumphed. The cast included an appropriately emaciated Violetta, and five numbers of the score had been touched up a bit, but otherwise, as Verdi would vehemently stress, the opera was identical to the one seen at the La Fenice.

It is tempting to consider Verdi’s personal investment in this particular opera and point out its vaguely autobiographical undercurrents. He and Strepponi had returned to Sant’Agata in March 1852, but not without having received a scathing letter from his ex-father-in-law Barezzi while still in Paris. Verdi was quick to write back in language curiously reflective of Dumas’ novel. While showing deference to a man he viewed as a father-figure, he politely but firmly stood up to him with respect to his mistress, his own traviata,

two daughters, who were split up and sent to different relatives. At one point, Marin Plessis reentered the picture, removing Alphonsine from relative happiness and installing her into the farmhouse of a seventy-year-old friend.

There is little doubt she suffered sexual abuse at this point in her life.

The Real Traviata Alphonsine’s big break came when her father dragged her away again, this Whether Giuseppina Strepponi time to Paris, where she was yet again provided the inspiration for Verdi’s abandoned to her father’s acquaintances. heroine or his first wife Margherita She escaped and found herself homeless inspired Violetta’s better qualities at age 14.

Th e young girl soon found when she sold her few jewels to pay employment as one of the countless the young composer’s rent (and the Parisian grisettes, women who worked reason the title character could not in the “clean” trades of dressmaking and be named after Dumas’ Marguerite embroidery, but were forced to take Gautier), a real “traviata” did exist. Born students as live-in lovers to make ends in a small town in Normandy, Rose meet; thus grisettes were women of Alphonsine Plessis hardly betrayed easy virtue and an enterprising nature. her modest origins once she became a Alphonsine’s striking beauty attracted high-priced courtesan. Her incredible a middle-aged restaurateur, and he set beauty and aristocratic bearing may her up in a spacious flat. It was here have been due to some minor nobility in her ancestry, but her more immediate the barely literate peasant girl began to reinvent herself. In no time she brushed relations left much to be desired: her up on the authors of the day, learned grandmother was a prostitute, and her to play the piano with some assurance, father, Marin, a town-to-town peddler known for his hard drinking and brutal shed the rather clumsy appellation of Alphonsine for the more stylish Marie, behavior. Alphonsine did not have and added a “du” to her last name to give a happy childhood. Forced to take a it a bit more polish. position as an English gentlewoman’s Her efforts quickly paid off. She was chambermaid and afraid of her husband, seen in the company of such notables Madame Plessis was separated from her or “woman led astray.” It appears Barezzi got the point – upon their return to Italy, the meddling villagers would eventually subside, the son would mend the fence with both fathers, and Barezzi would come to embrace Strepponi as his own daughter.

background notes

the major theaters, which she regularly attended. At one point he summoned the courage to approach Clémence Prat, an older woman with a questionable past who served as Marie’s go-between, and the two were introduced in Marie’s drawing room. Not unlike Dumas’ novel and play and Verdi’s opera, the young man immediately professed his love, and Marie was not completely unresponsive – indeed life in the fast lane had been wearing her down and the signs of consumption were already apparent.

Dumas’ interest was more sanitary than sexual – he had the notion of restoring her health if she would devote herself entirely to him. This began the yearlong affair which tearfully ended when Dumas realized he could not afford Marie’s taste for luxury, nor could she give up the many lovers who underwrote it.

Though there was a brief, yet intense, affair with pianist Franz Liszt that followed, in the end, Vicomte Pérrigaux and Marie’s servant Clotilde were her only real friends. During Marie’s last few days, her faithful maid/ companion borrowed from her own savings to keep the household going, and it appears Pérrigaux was the only man she ever truly loved. At one point Marie and “Ned” spoke of marriage, but his aristocratic family would not allow it. Perhaps sensing her end was near,

Pérrigaux did eventually marry Marie in secret, giving her at least the right to use his title and coat-of-arms, though they never lived together as husband and wife. He was present at her deathbed and paid for her funeral.

Dumas was traveling with his father during Marie’s final days and didn’t make it back in time to see her die, a significant departure from what is relayed in his novel, play and the opera.

Knowing from his father that literature could be used both as a weapon and a release, he vented his spleen into a sentimental memoir, discreetly changing the names to Armand Duval and Marguerite Gautier. He chose to tell his story as narrated to another person to give added distance, a stranger who purchases Marguerite’s copy of Manon Lescaut at the auction of her belongings following her death. They strike up a friendship, and Armand divulges the book’s significance, a special gift to Marguerite, Manon being another woman of dubious morals. By the end, the narrator is instructed to put Armand’s story to paper. The tale includes a grisly scene where Armand is compelled to exhume Marguerite’s body to gaze upon her one last time.

In truth, it was Pérrigaux who ordered the exhumation (though Dumas was likely present) for reburial in a better, ➤

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as the Comte de Guiche, Comte Ferdinand de Monguyon, Vicomte Édouard de Pérrigaux and other young lions and dandies of the infamous Paris Jockey Club. She also attracted the attention of Count Gustav von Stackelberg, an elderly and exceedingly wealthy Russian diplomat whose career had peaked at the Congress of Vienna. According to legend, he was struck by Marie’s likeness to his own daughter, who had died of consumption some years earlier. He paid her now-extensive bills as she moved to a fashionable residence on the Rue de la Madeleine. Marie became a fixture at the Opéra, elegantly dressed and reportedly accompanied by a bouquet of white camellias, or red on days she was “unavailable” (a rather indelicate detail that revealed her true profession).

Economically speaking, a courtesan had to maintain several lovers at once, and as a highly desirable siren who became reckless, extravagant, untruthful and exploitative, Marie Duplessis had enough seductive allure to ruin some of the richest men in France.

One admirer from the vast pool was Alexandre Dumas fils, and his past had been only slightly better. Born out of wedlock to Alexandre Dumas père and a grisette, Catherine Lebay, the crying infant was a constant nuisance to the struggling young writer, who could no longer concentrate in the confines of what had once been a quiet and loving home. Father Dumas finally abandoned mother and child, only to return several years later to acknowledge his son as his own, remove young Alexandre and enroll him in a private boarding school.

In spite of his father’s better intentions, Alexandre junior was miserable away from his mother and was bullied in school as a result of his illegitimate birth.

He grew up sullen and morose.

As an adult, like most men in his circle, the 20-year-old Alexandre Dumas fils was well-aware of the beautiful Marie Duplessis – he had observed her by day surveying the Bois de Boulogne from her smart blue coupé drawn by exquisite thoroughbreds, and in the evenings at all

Olympia (1863) Édouard Manet Musée d’Orsay (Paris, France)

15

giuseppe verdi

background notes

b Le Roncole, October 9 or 10, 1813; d Milan, January 27, 1901

continued from page 15

censors would allow. His stirring patriotic choruses made him a symbol of the Risorgimento, the political movement for a unified Italy.

In a 54-year period, Verdi wrote 26 operas (two of which were revised extensively and retitled). The years 1851–1853 marked the peak of Verdi’s career, with the composition of his three most familiar pieces: Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La traviata. These three operas hark back to the musical style of Nabucco, with simpler accompaniments and superbly crafted melodies.

In 1859 Napoleon iii of France drove the Austrians out of Lombardy.

As Verdi had long been considered © DeA Picture Library/Art Resource, NY an artist of revolution, he was pressed Private Collection into accepting a seat in the new Italian orn into a relatively poor family Parliament. During his parliamentary near the town of Busseto, Verdi career he found time to compose only owed his first musical training one opera, La forza del destino. to Antonio Barezzi, a local patron.

Macbeth was revised in 1865 Barezzi arranged for Verdi to go to and presented in Paris, where Verdi Milan, where he failed the entrance agreed to write Don Carlos. Aida, first exams to the Conservatory. Verdi then performed at the Cairo Opera House returned to Busseto to assume, amid in 1871, proved the perfect vehicle fierce controversy, the post of maestro for showcasing Verdi’s gifts, and it di musica and to marry Barezzi’s contained some of his finest music. daughter, Margherita, in 1836. They had Following Aida, Verdi firmly stated two children, but tragically, within a he had retired for good. He was now three-year period Margherita and their devoted to his villa, Sant’Agata, and children died. In despair, Verdi pursued to revising and remounting several his career elsewhere. Then he returned earlier works, pausing briefly to write a to Busseto with Giuseppina Strepponi, powerful Requiem. Coaxed out of his the soprano who created the role of retreat by a lifelong love of Shakespeare, Abigaille in Nabucco and whom he later the septuagenarian composer produced married. He bought a nearby farm, built Otello and Falstaff to great acclaim. a large comfortable house and – with Verdi’s final years were focused on only occasional interruptions to travel, two philanthropic projects, a hospital compose or produce an opera – managed in the neighboring town of Villanova, the farm until his death in 1901. and a rest home for aged and indigent Verdi’s third opera for La Scala, musicians in Milan, the Casa di Riposo.

Nabucco, is generally considered his Giuseppina died in 1897, and Verdi’s first masterpiece. Its most notable own passing several years later was an element is a long, slow chorus for the occasion of national mourning. One Israelites, yearning for their homeland: month after a small private funeral at “Va, pensiero.” Italian patriots, then the municipal cemetery, his remains under Austrian domination, heard in were transferred to Milan and interred it their own situation; at its premiere at the Casa di Riposo. Two hundred and at most performances afterwards, thousand people lined the streets audiences demanded the chorus to be as “Va, pensiero” was sung by an sung again, despite police prohibitions. 800-person choir led by conductor In the years that followed, Verdi and Arturo Toscanini. ❚ his librettists wrote as boldly as the

more permanent tomb. The viewing and identification of the corpse would have been required by French law, and after eleven days already underground, Marie’s remains must have given Dumas quite a lasting memory.

The author would later claim Marie Duplessis had only lived the first and second acts of his drama, and possessed only a few of Marguerite’s nobler traits, yet he still described her as the only courtesan who had a heart. Indeed, the rest of her shallow circle probably did not realize she was truly dying, as the art of conspicuous consumption was very much in vogue. It was only when she was seen for her final public appearance two months before her death, elegantly dressed and gaudily bedecked with nearly every gem in her possession yet feverish and red-eyed, that her terminal condition was truly assessed. With her days truly numbered, as Dumas relays, she had to experience Paris “ten times more than anyone else.” Her careless lifestyle finally took its toll on February 3, 1847. Following Marie’s death, the famed courtesan’s enormous debts required an auction of her possessions, an event that garnered citywide interest.

Many proper women, so long denied their husbands’ attention by these demimondaines, gathered to gape at the sumptuous luxury in which she had lived. Charles Dickens was there, and maybe even Giuseppina Strepponi, postulates one Verdi biographer, as was the Duchess de Ragusa, Pérrigaux’s aunt, intent on recovering the family jewels that her nephew had squandered on his now publicly scandalous love affair. Marie’s sister, Delphine, traveled from the provinces to attend, and rather than bidding on any sentimental remembrance, sensibly bought eight skirts at a good price. It hardly mattered, for the balance of the auction’s proceeds after the creditors were paid went to her as Marie’s only heir, and included among her few remaining personal possessions was a full-length portrait of the beautiful courtesan. Delphine hung the painting in the basement of her tavern as a tourist attraction, but was forced to sell it after the small inheritance had been carelessly spent. ❚

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the artists

For more biographical information about these artists, visit our website at mnopera.org

costume designer Ridgway, Pennsylvania

2005 Tosca 2005 Maria Padilla 2004 Lucrezia Borgia 2003 Rigoletto 2003 La traviata 2001 Street Scene 2000 Macbeth 1999 Otello 1998 Faust 1994 The Merry Widow 1990 Frankenstein 1989 Snow Leopard 1988 Rigoletto 1987 South Pacific 1985 L’elisir d’amore 1983 A Death in the Family 1982 The Village Singer

Michael Christie conductor Buffalo, New York

Recently Ghosts of Versailles, Opera Theatre of St. Louis; Wexford Fest. Opera; Aspen Music Fest.

Aindamar, Phoenix Symphony music director – Phoenix Symphony; Colorado Music Festival

Upcoming Wuthering Heights; Silent Night, Minnesota Opera The Death of Klinghoffer, Opera Theatre of St. Louis West Side Story, Aspen Music Festival

Brad Benoit Gastone (tenor) Kankakee, Illinois

2010 Third Jew, Salome 2010 Parpignol, La bohème 2010 Lord Cecil, Roberto Devereux 2009 Gabrielle, Casanova’s Homecoming 2009 Almaviva, Il barbiere di Siviglia 2009 Lampwick, The Adventures of Pinocchio 2008 Ruiz, Il trovatore

Recently Martin, The Tender Land, Sugar Creek Symphony Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist

Ben Crickenberger Dr. Grenvil (bass-baritone) Saint Paul, Minnesota

2010 Benoit, La bohème

Recently Roberto Devereux; Casanova’s Homecoming; The Pearl Fishers; Il barbiere di Siviglia; Pinocchio; Faust; Croesus; Roméo et Juliette; L’italiana in Algeri; Un ballo in maschera (ensemble), Minnesota Opera Guard, Aladdin Jr., Children’s Theater Co. Captain, Anything Goes; Rapunzel’s Prince, Into The Woods, University of Minnesota

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Gail Bakkom

17

the artists

For more biographical information about these artists, visit our website at mnopera.org

Lawrence Edelson stage director Boston, Massachusetts

Recently Orpheus (Telemann), Wolf Trap Opera Little Women; Werther, ivai Tel Aviv Pénélope, Manhattan School of Music Così fan tutte, Boston Univ. Opera Institute Il barbiere di Siviglia, Hawaii Opera Theater

Upcoming La serva padrona; Trouble in Tahiti, Opera Santa Barbara Hydrogen Jukebox, Fort Worth Opera

Elizabeth Futral Violetta (soprano) Smithfield, North Carolina

1996 Mélisande, Pelléas et Mélisande

Recently Four Ladies, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Florida Grand Thaïs, Thaïs, Teatro Municipal de Santiago Violetta, La traviata, Kentucky Opera; San Diego Opera; Washington Opera; Los Angeles Opera; San Francisco Opera Hanna, Die lustige Witwe, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Upcoming Émilie, Émilie du Châtelet, Spoleto Festival

Jonathan Kimple Baron Douphol (bass-baritone) Dallas Center, Iowa

2011 Talbot, Mary Stuart 2010 Second Soldier, Salome 2010 Colline, La bohème 2010 Gualtiero Raleigh, Roberto Devereux 2009 Tartaglia/Inquisitor, Casanova 2009 Nourabad, The Pearl Fishers

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Recently

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Josh Epstein lighting designer Minot, North Dakota

Recently Orpheus (Telemann), Wolf Trap Opera Pénélope, Manhattan School of Music The Dollhouse, Guthrie Theater Sweeney Todd, Lyric Theatre The Crowd You’re In With, Goodman Theater; Bad Dates, Long Wharf Theatre

Upcoming La serva padrona; Trouble in Tahiti, Opera Santa Barbara

Georgia Jarman Violetta (soprano) Brooklyn, New York

Recently Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, Dallas Opera Violetta, La traviata, Den Nye Opera (Bergen) Gilda, Rigoletto, Florentine Opera

Upcoming Josephine, hms Pinafore, Caramoor Festival Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, Florida Grand Opera Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Atlanta Opera Three Ladies, Les contes d’Hoffmann, eno Elettra, Idomeneo, Florentine Opera

Tom Mays set designer Minneapolis, Minnesota

2004 Lucrezia Borgia* 2003 Rigoletto* 2003 La traviata*

Recently

The Caretaker †; Macbeth †, Guthrie Theater The Nutcracker †, Loyce Houlton (2006–2010) Orpheus and Euridice*†, others, Minn. Dance Theater Take Me Out †; Point of Revue †; others, Mixed Blood

The Golden Ticket, Wexford Fest.; Opera/St. Louis Giove, La Calisto, Portland Opera Ceprano, Rigoletto, Sarasota Opera

Arsenic and Old Lace †, Guthrie Theater Oedipus el rey*, Pangea World Theater

Megan McClellan; Brian Sostek

Daniel Montenegro

choreographers New Hope, Minnesota; Iowa City, Iowa

Recently founders – Sossy Mechanics Trick Boxing; Pieces of Eight, tour – United States, Canada; London; Edinburgh; Prague Cinderella Redux, Beyond Ballroom Dance Co. Le Dance Off, James Sewell Ballet Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Ordway Carousel; Man of La Mancha, Nautilus The Pajama Game, Mixed Blood Theater Not From Texas, Zenon Dance Company

Upcoming

†

* scenery lighting

Alfredo (tenor) Santa Ana, California

2004 Tamino, The Magic Flute 2004 Liverotto, Lucrezia Borgia 2003 Nick, The Handmaid’s Tale 2003 Flavio, Norma

Recently Thug, Il Postino; Gastone, La traviata; Maximino, Concierto para Mendez, Los Angeles Opera Roderigo, Otello, San Francisco Opera Nemorino, L’elisir d’amore, Merola Opera Shepherd, Oedipus Rex, Sydney Festival

the artists

For more biographical information about these artists, visit our website at mnopera.org

Angela Mortellaro

Michael Nyby

Annina (soprano)

Marchese d’Obigny (baritone)

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)

2010 Clorinda, Cinderella 2010 Amore, Orpheus and Eurydice

2011 Lord Cecil, Mary Stuart 2010 Fifth Jew, Salome 2010 Schaunard, La bohème 2009 Montebank, Casanova’s Homecoming

Recently Gretel, Hansel and Gretel, PORTOpera; Sarasota Opera Clorinda, La Cenerentola; Suor Genovieffa, Suor Angelica; Sally, Die Fledermaus, Orlando Opera

Recently Moralès, Carmen, Vancouver Opera Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni; Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, European Music Acad. of Teplice

Upcoming

Upcoming

Offstage Voice, Wuthering Heights; Despina, Così fan tutte, Minnesota Opera

Leuthold, Guillaume Tell, Caramoor Festival

Stephen Powell

Bruno Ribeiro

Giorgio Germont (baritone)

Alfredo (tenor)

West Chester, Pennsylvania

Coimbra, Portugal

2010 Roberto Devereux, Roberto Devereux

Recently de Guiche, Cyrano de Bergerac, San Fran. Opera Ford, Falstaff, Pittsburgh Opera Uncle John, Grapes of Wrath, Collegiate Chorale Scarpia, Tosca, Minnesota Orchestra Germont, La traviata; Sharpless, Madame Butterfly, Los Angeles Opera; San Francisco Opera

Recently Des Grieux, Manon, Theater St. Gallen Corrado, Il corsaro, Bilbao Opera Icilio, Virginia, Wexford Festival Don José, Carmen, Oper Klosterneuburg Tebaldo, I Capuleti ed i Montecchi, Opera Ireland Ismaele, Nabucco, Verdi Opera Festival (Parma)

Upcoming Rigoletto, Rigoletto, Cincinnati Opera Scarpia, Tosca, Palm Beach Opera

Upcoming Malcolm, Macbeth, Opéra de Lille

Clinton Smith

Victoria Vargas

assistant conductor

Flora (mezzo-soprano)

Lake Jackson, Texas

Brooklyn, New York

2011 Anne, Mary Stuart 2010 Tisbe, Cinderella

Recently Madame Butterfly, Hamline University The Bartered Bride; La bohème, Univ. of Michigan guest conductor – Wayzata Symphony Orch.

La vie parisienne; La Périchole; La belle Hélène; Opéra du Périgord (Périgueux, France)

Recently Mamma Lucia (cover), Cavalleria rusticana, Sarasota Opera; Chautauqua Opera Marcellina, Le nozze di Figaro, Ashlawn Opera

Upcoming

Upcoming Nelly, Wuthering Heights, Minnesota Opera Second Lady, Die Zauberflöte; Laura, Luisa Miller, Chautauqua Opera

staff conductor – Canadian Operatic Arts Acad. assistant conductor – Merola Opera Program Lucia; Madame Butterfly, Minnesota Opera

with

Minnesota Opera?

Auditions for the upcoming season will be held May 4, 5, 6 and 7.

To learn more, visit mnopera.org/about and click on “auditions.”

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o t t n Wa g... sin

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the artists

MINNESOTA OPERA ORCHESTRA

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Charles Hodgson Neal Bolter Brian Vance Lawrence Barnhart

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MINNESOTA OPERA CHORUS

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Alex Barnett Kristin Bond Karen Bushby Lisa Butcher Cecile Crozat-Zawisza John deCausmeaker Adam Diekhoff Jennifer Eckes Brandon Glosser Carmelita Guse Sandra Henderson Joshua Hinck James Howes Kathleen Humphrey Ben Johnson

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music at the center

2010–2011

TOP: The Elders ABOVE: Cantus

SATURDAY, MARCH 19 7:30PM The Elders As seen on PBS, The Elders create and perform original music that transcends its Celtic roots and is infused with the passion of American rock.

SATURDAY, APRIL 16 7:30PM Cantus Glorious vocal musicmaking, and charisma to burn.

HOPKINS CENTER FOR THE ARTS 1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins TICKETS: 952.979.1111 www.hopkinsartscenter.com

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For more information on these concerts and additional events visit www.hopkinsartscenter.com.

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education at the opera

Opera Summer Camp Join Minnesota Opera for Summer Camp, an experience for vocalists and instrumentalists in grades 9–12. It will be held from June 17–24 at Perpich Center for Arts Education. In small ensembles, campers will stage operatic scenes and explore the process of learning a new piece of music and performing with a small orchestra. Each day will have sessions in movement, vocal coaching, staging and master classes.

Participation is by audition only.

Vocal Auditions: Minnesota Opera Center Saturday, April 16 (9–12 p.m.)

Monday, April 18 (6–8:30 p.m.)

Instrumental Auditions: Submit a CD recording by May 9.

For more information or to sign up for an audition, please contact Jamie Andrews at 612.342.9573 or andrews@mnopera.org.

coOPERAtion!

February 7–18, Minnesota Opera’s Teaching Artist was in residence in the Lake City Public School District.

Angie Keeton spent two weeks working with both elementary and high school students on various musical projects. The Bluff View Elementary School students learned about Mozart through their rehearsing and performance of Through the Eyes (and Ears) of Mozart. Angie, along with Ben Crickenberger and Kathy Kraulik, helped the students rehearse music and prepare staging for the performance. The students also had an opportunity to provide creative input as to how the show was put together.

At Lincoln High School, choir teacher Carey Kopp invited Angie to coach her singers on the art songs they had been preparing for Solo-Ensemble competition. After two weeks of coaching sessions and discussions about how to create a recital program, the students and their families got to experience a professional recital and opera scenes performance by Minnesota Opera artists. Music Teacher Amy Rogness told us: “After last year’s visit to Lake City, I can’t tell you the number of students and staff at Bluff View and the High School who were talking about trying opera. Just hearing it and overcoming the barrier opened minds to many in our small town school system. Our main goal with the extended residency and recital was to help expose this to the parents of our students and to the community at large.” This is a great example of a collaboration between teachers in a district who created an opera education experience for their students that reached beyond the doors of the classroom and out into the community.

Artist residencies like this are part of the Opera’s coOPERAtion! program that is generously supported by Medtronic.

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Want to bring opera to your school?

Contact Angie at akeeton@mnopera.org

22

education at the opera

Project Opera performs a spectacular concert!

Wuthering Heights Adult Education Class

Close to 500 people attended Project Opera’s January concert at Augsburg College. The performance featured both Ragazzi and Giovani ensembles performing Vivaldi’s Gloria, operatic choruses and a holiday sing-along. Accompanying the singers was a 14-piece orchestra made up of adult volunteers and students from Hudson High School.

Monday, April 4, 2011 7–9 p.m.

Minnesota Opera Center 620 North First Street

Join noted film expert Bruce Crawford as he discusses Bernard Herrmann’s life and career, from CBS Radio and Carnegie Hall to Hollywood and his lasting impact on our culture. Wuthering Heights was considered by Herrmann himself as his life’s masterwork. It took several years for him to complete it, and he was intensely protective of it, not allowing any cuts or revisions during his lifetime, which kept the opera from being performed until after his death. Herrmann’s music, in whatever form, is distinct, dramatic and memorable, and Wuthering Heights is no exception.

Call 612-333-6669 for tickets.

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Project Opera performs Vivaldi’s Gloria

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minnesota opera

new works initiative

The

Kevin Smith Legacy

“Minnesota Opera deserves enormous credit for continuing to devote resources to the future of the art form, especially now.”

– Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2009

2011 is a landmark year for what OPERA America President Marc Scorca calls “the most important new works program in the country.”

Next month, Minnesota Opera unveils its highly anticipated new production of a gothic romance by a Hollywood legend: Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights.

You may not recognize his name, but you know Bernard Herrmann’s work. His first film score was for Orson Welles’ iconic masterpiece, Citizen Kane. He wrote the music for Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest films, including North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo and many more. His final score, finished just days before he died in 1975, was for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. He was a musical giant whose genius infuses Hollywood history. But his brilliant – and only – opera, Wuthering Heights, was never publicly performed in his lifetime. For film lovers and opera lovers alike, Minnesota Opera’s new production is the don’t-miss event of the season.

Each summer, Kevin would lead the staff in maintenance projects at the company’s home, the Opera Center. This included painting, repairing and “beam walking.” Yes, below is a picture of Kevin Smith walking the pine beams of the Opera Center with a vacuum cleaner. Without a net. Perhaps 30 years of producing opera is enough of a “high-wire act” to make beam-walking seem easy.

The Opera Center comprises administrative offices, rehearsal spaces, scenic and costume shops and is a source of company pride and a physical manifestation of Kevin’s legacy of vision and commitment. We ask that your gift help support the maintenance of this extraordinary asset, which has incubated all of Minnesota Opera’s productions since 1990. Please become a virtual “Beam Walker.” For your gift in Kevin’s honor, we will put your name on a plaque on a beam in the Opera Center. Your gift will mark this special occasion of Kevin’s retirement.

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November brings the world premiere of the company’s first commission of the New Works Initiative, Silent Night, by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell. Inspired by the true story of the 1914 Christmas Eve truce, Silent Night is based on the screenplay for Joyeux Noël by Christian Carion for the motion picture produced by Nord-Ouest Production.

After 30 years with the company, Kevin Smith is retiring as President and CEO of Minnesota Opera. A group of donors have contributed $750,000 to the Opera in Kevin Smith’s honor. We ask you to join these donors in recognizing his retirement with a gift to Minnesota Opera.

27 Kevin Puts

Mark Campbell

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 the Director of the Annual Fund Dawn Loven at 612-342-9567, or email her at dloven@mnopera.org.

bel canto circle Platinum $20,000 and above Anonymous (1) Karen Bachman Mary and Gus Blanchard Jane M. and Ogden W. Confer Julia W. Dayton Vicki and Chip Emery 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 Nadine and Bill McGuire Ronning Family Foundation Elizabeth Redleaf Mary W. Vaughan Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation C. Angus and Margaret Wurtele

Gold $15,000–$19,999 Ellie and Tom Crosby, Jr.

Cy and Paula Decosse Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation William I. and Bianca M. Fine Charitable Trust

Silver $10,000–$14,999 Anonymous William Biermaier and David Hanson Susan Boren Dr. and Mrs. Daniel D. Buss Sara and Jock Donaldson

Dolly J. Fiterman Sharon and Bill Hawkins Peter J. King Mary and Barry Lazarus Jenny Lind Nilsson and Garrison Keillor Harvey T. McLain Mrs. Walter Meyers Moore Family Fund for the Arts Diana and Joe Murphy Mary Ingebrand Pohlad Joseph Sammartino Carolyn, Sharon and Clark Winslow

camerata circle Platinum $7,500–$9,999 Allegro Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation Shari and David Boehnen Kathleen and William Callahan Nicky B. Carpenter Rachelle Dockman Chase N. Bud and Beverly Grossman Foundation Erwin and Miriam Kelen Albin and Susan Nelson Connie and Lew Remele Chris and Mark Schwarzmann Maggie Thurer and Simon Stevens

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Gold $5,000–$7,499

28

Anonymous Tracy and Eric Aanenson Martha Goldberg Aronson and Daniel Aronson Martha and Bruce Atwater Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Nancy and Chuck Berg Darlene J. and Richard P. Carroll James and Gisela Corbett David and Vanessa Dayton Mary Lee Dayton Connie Fladeland and Steve Fox

Mr. and Mrs. William Frels Denver and Nicole Gilliand Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison Bill and Hella Mears Hueg Tina and Ken Hughes Patricia Johnson and Kai Bjerkness Debra and James Lakin Chris Larsen and Scott Peterson Robert L. Lee and Mary E. Schaffner Ilo and Peggy Leppik Lynne Looney Mr. and Mrs. Donald Lucker The Kendrick B. Melrose Family Foundation Bill and Barbara Pearce Jose Peris and Diana Gulden Stephanie Prem and Tom Owens Shawn and Brad Pleimann Sergio Rial Lois and John Rogers Drs. Joseph and Kristina Shaffer Stephanie Simon and Craig Bentdahl Peter and Bonnie Sipkins Susan and Barry Snyder Kevin and Lynn Smith Karen Sternal Virginia L. and Edward C. Stringer Mr. and Mrs. James Swartz Bernt von Ohlen and Thomas Nichol Lori and Herbert Ward

Silver $2,500–$4,999

Ann and Thomas Bagnoli Maria and Kent Bales Mrs. Paul G. Boening Allan Bradley Conley Brooks Family Juliet Bryan and Jack Timm Elwood and Florence Caldwell Joan and George Carlson Rusty and Burt Cohen In Memory of Kathy Coleman

Barb and Jeff Couture Mrs. Thomas M. Crosby, Sr. Helen and John Crosson Clarke Davis Fran Davis Judson Dayton Ruth and Bruce Dayton The Denny Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Margaret DiBlasio

Anonymous (5) Kim A. Anderson Annette Atkins and Tom Joyce Alexandra O. Bjorklund Dr. Lee Borah, Jr. Margee and Will Bracken Christopher J. Burns Susan and Richard Crockett Jeff and Wendy Dankey Jodi Dehli Thomas and Mary Lou Detwiler Mona and Patrick Dewane Ralph D. Ebbott Sally J. Economon Nancy and Rolf Engh Patricia R. Freeburg Bradley Fuller and Elizabeth Lincoln Christine and Jon Galloway Lois and Larry Gibson Meg and Wayne Gisslen Mrs. Myrtle Grette Dorothy Horns and James Richardson Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Horowitz Margaret and Andrew Houlton Cynthia and Jay Ihlenfeld James Jelinek and Marilyn Wall

Dale A. Johnson Jacqueline Nolte Jones Robert and Susan Josselson Stan and Jeanne Kagin Warren and Patricia Kelly Lyndel and Blaine King Robert Kriel and Linda Krach Helen L. Kuehn Benjamin Y. H. and Helen C. Liu David MacMillan and Judy Krow Margery Martin and Dan Feidt Barbara McBurney Mary Bigelow McMillan Nancy and Richard Nicholson Ruth and Ahmad Orandi Marge and Dwight Peterson Mr. and Mrs. William Phillips Redleaf Family Foundation Mary and Paul Reyelts Kim and Peter Rue Nina and Ken Rothchild Kay Savik and Joe Tashjian Fred and Gloria Sewell Lynda and Frank Sharbrough Karen Sternal Carolyn and Andrew Thomas William Voedisch and Laurie Carlson Ellen M. Wells Nancy and Ted Weyerhaeuser

artist circle $1,000–$2,499 Anonymous Arlene and Tom Alm Lowell Anderson and Kathy Welte Jamie Andrews and Jane Kolp-Andrews August J. Aquila and Emily Haliziw Nina and John Archabal Satoru and Sheila Asato Ruth and Dale Bachman

Elise Donohue Joan Duddingston Ann Fankhanel Ester and John Fesler Joyce and Hal Field Gail and Donald Fiskewold Lori and Tom Foley Salvatore Silvestri Franco Kris and Kristina Fredrick Christine and W. Michael Garner

annual fund | individual giving

artist circle (continued) Mr. and Mrs. R. James Gesell Heidi and Howard Gilbert Stanley and Luella Goldberg Sima and Clark Griffith Bruce and Jean Grussing Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hale Hackensack Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation Don Helgeson and Sue Shepard Sharon and Cliff Hill Andrew Holly and Svea Forsberg-Holly John and Jean McGough Holten Bill and Hella Mears Hueg Thomas Hunt and John Wheelihan Ekdahl Hutchinson Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Teresa and Chuck Jakway Wadad Kadi Nancy and Donald Kapps

Markle Karlen Thomas A. Keller, iii E. Robert and Margaret V. Kinney Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Gerard Knight Mrs. James S. Kochiras Constance and Daniel Kunin Mark and Elaine Landergan Sy and Ginny Levy Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Jerry and Joyce Lillquist Bill Long Dawn M. Loven Mr. and Mrs. Reid MacDonald Roy and Dorothy Mayeske Helen and Charles McCrossan Sheila McNally Judith and James Mellinger Velia R. Melrose

David and LaVonne Middleton Victoria and Charles Mogilevsky Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Moore Sandy and Bob Morris Judy and David Myers Elizabeth B. Myers Joan and Richard Newmark Eric Norman Julia and Brian Palmer Derrill M. Pankow Paula Patineau Suzanne and William Payne Suzanne and Rick Pepin Mary and Robert Price Connie and Jim Pries Sara and Kevin Ramach George Reid John and Sandra Roe Foundation Thomas D. and Nancy J. Rohde Gordon and Margaret Rosine

Terry Saario and Lee Lynch Sampson Family Charitable Foundation Patty and Barney Saunders Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Schindler Karen and Mahlon Schneider Matthew Spanjers Julie and Bruce Steiner Dana and Stephen Strand Robert and Barbara Struyk Michael Symeonides and Mary Pierce Tempo Board Members Stephanie C. Van D’Elden Mr. and Mrs. Philip Von Blon Dr. Craig and Stephanie Walvatne James and Sharon Weinel Mr. and Mrs. Don White

Dr. Hannelore Brucker Thomas and Joyce Bruckner Juliet Bryan and Jack Timm Joann Cierniak J.P. Collins Elisabeth Comeaux Roxanne and Joseph Cruz Norma Danielson Amos and Sue Deinard Mary Elise Dennis Mary Jean and John deRosier Mary Elise Dennis Jessica and Jonathan Doklovic Joyce and Hugh Edmondson Rondi Erickson and Sandy Lewis Herbert and Betty Fantle Mr. and Mrs. William Farley C.D.F. Foundation Pamela and Richard Flenniken Mr. and Mrs. John Forsythe Leslie and Alain Frecon Terence Fruth and Mary McEvoy Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Jane Fuller Katy Gaynor David Gilberstadt

Marjorie and Joseph Grinnell Susanne Haas and Ross Formell Roger L. Hale and Nor Hall Albert and Janice Hammond Frederick Hey, Jr. Marna Holman Diane and Paul Jacobson Barbara Jenkins Margaret and Phillip Johnson Janet N. Jones Drs. Charles and Sally Jorgensen Kathleen Junek Jane and Jim Kaufman Jan Kimes Kristen and Dean Lambert Jonathan and Lisa Lewis Ruth Lyons Mahley Family Foundation Tom and Marsha Mann Carolyn and Charles Mayo Anne W. Miller Mary Monson Jack and Jane Moran John Ohle Ann and John O’Leary Dennis R. Olson Lawrence O’Shaughnessy

James A. Payne Christina and Dwight Porter Barbara and Carroll Rasch Dan Rasmus and Kari Fedje Rasmus Dennis M. Ready Debra Rectenwald Lawrence M. Redmond Liane A and Richard G Rosel David E. Sander Dr. Leon and Alma Satran Cherie and Bob Shreck Clifford C. and Virginia G. Sorensen Charitable Trust of The Saint Paul Foundation Anthony Thein Norrie Thomas Emily Anne and Gedney Tuttle Mary Weinberger Jo and Howard Weiner Barbara and Carl White Helen and J. Kimball Whitney Barbara and James Willis S. B. Hadley Wilson Mr. John W. Windhorst Jr.

patron circle Anonymous Gerald and Phyllis Benson Pat and Dan Panshin Ann M. Rock Andrea and James Rubenstein Krystyna and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski The Harriet and Edson Spencer Foundation Warren Stortroen Cindy and Steven Vilks Frank and Frances Wilkinson Lani Willis and Joel Spoonheim

Silver $500–$749 Anonymous (2) Floyd Anderson Dr. and Mrs. Orn Arnar Jo and Gordon Bailey Family Fund of the Catholic Community Foundation Barbara S. Belk Martin and Patricia Blumenreich Judith and Arnold Brier Debra Brooks and James Meunier

L e ar n t bou more a e f it s n the be ing of be r a dono

Minnesota Opera greatly appreciates our generous donors!

We offer the following benefits to our contributors: • Donor Appreciation Concert/ Donor Tech Rehearsal • Invitations to special events

• Complementary parking • Opera News Magazine • And much more

Please contact Jenna Wolf, Development Associate, at 612-342-9569 or jwolf@mnopera.org for information on donor levels and benefits.

Thank you so much for your support – you make great opera possible!

These lists are current as of February 10, 2011 and include donors who gave a gift of $500 or more during Minnesota Opera’s Annual Fund Campaign.

If your name is not listed appropriately, please accept our apologies and contact Jenna Wolf, Development Associate, at 612-342-9569.

| LA TRAVIATA

Gold $750–$999

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legacy circle | individual giving 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 us that so we may appropriately recognize your generosity.

Anonymous (3) Valerie and Paul Ackerman Thomas O. Allen Mr. and Mrs. Rolf Andreassen Mary A. Andres Karen Bachman Mark and Pat Bauer Mrs. Harvey O. Beek (†) Barbara and Sandy Bemis (†) Joan and George Carlson Darlene J. and Richard P. Carroll Julia and Dan Cross Judy and Kenneth (†) Dayton Mrs. George Doty Rudolph Driscoll (†) Sally Economon

Ester and John Fesler Paul Froeschl Katy Gaynor Lois and Larry Gibson Robert and Ellen Green Ieva Grundmanis (†) Ruth Hanold Norton M. Hintz Jean McGough Holten Charles Hudgins Dale and Pat Johnson Drs. Sally and Charles Jorgensen Robert and Susan Josselson Charlotte (†) and Markle Karlen Mary Keithahn Steve Keller

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 Mary Bigelow McMillan Margaret L. and Walter S. (†) Meyers

John L. Michel and H. Berit Midelfort Susan Molder (†) Edith Mueller (†) Joan and Richard Newark Scott Pakudaitis Sydney and William Phillips Mrs. 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 (†) Deceased

For more information on possible gift arrangements, please contact the Director of the Annual Fund Dawn Loven at 612-342-9567.

Your attorney or financial advisor can then help determine which methods are most appropriate for you.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

“So, how many operas could one person see in a lifetime?”

A very appropriate question for Peter King and Ann Fankhanel, who have collectively seen more operas than most people.

How did Ann and Peter develop such passion for opera?

Growing up in families who valued music and music education played a big role – in fact, every child in the family was required to take music lessons!

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Featuring Peter and Ann in this program is very fitting as Peter would say that La traviata is his all-time favorite opera and the epitome of operatic perfection. For Peter, the perfect opera has a great story line and tuneful melodies that stay with you for days. While La traviata was the first opera Ann ever experienced (at the age of 15), her favorite opera is Verdi’s Otello. The most memorable opera performance of Otello was with the world-famous Canadian tenor Jon Vickers.

Recently, Ann and Peter met one of opera’s greatest living Violettas – Renée Fleming – at her recent Carnegie Hall Recital on January 11, 2011. The meeting was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one they will treasure for years to come.

Peter King and Ann Fankhanel Photo by Theresa Murray

While they travel near and far to hear great opera, as longtime Minnesota Opera subscribers and donors, Peter and Ann always look forward to the exciting operas performed by world-class artists right here in their own backyard.

annual fund | institutional giving

minnesota opera sponsors Season Sponsor

Production Innovation System

The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank

General Mills

Production Sponsors

Resident Artist Program

Cinderella | Target

Wenger Foundation

Conductor Appearances

La traviata Tempo Cast Parties

SpencerStuart

Kincaid’s

Camerata Dinners

Opera Insights

Lowry Hill

Comcast

Gala Sponsor

Champagne Intermission Receptions

U.S. Bank

Meet the Artists Official Caterer Macy’s Design Cuisine

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

Piper Jaffray

Broadcast Partner Minnesota Public Radio

corporations, foundations and government 3M Foundation Ameriprise Financial, Inc. General Mills Foundation John S. and James L. Knight Foundation The McKnight Foundation The Medtronic Foundation Minnesota State Arts Board National Endowment for the Arts Target The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank Travelers Foundation U.S. Bancorp Foundation UnitedHealth Group The Wallace Foundation

Platinum $10,000–$24,999 Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation Cargill Foundation Comcast Dorsey & Whitney Foundation Ecolab Foundation Education Minnesota Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Anna M. Heilmaier Charitable Foundation Lowry Hill MAHADH Fund of HRK Foundation Piper Jaffray SpencerStuart Twin Cities Opera Guild Valspar Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota Wenger Foundation

Gold $5,000–$9,999 Accenture Boss Foundation Briggs and Morgan, P.A. Cleveland Foundation Faegre & Benson

Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts R. C. Lilly Foundation Mayo Clinic Onan Family Foundation Pentair Foundation The Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation Rahr Foundation RBC Foundation – USA Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, p.a.

Securian Foundation Xcel Energy Foundation

$25,000–$49,999

Silver $2,500–$4,999 Allianz Life Insurance of North America Dellwood Foundation Deloitte Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation Hutter Family Foundation The Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Ted and Dr. Roberta Mann Foundation Peravid Foundation The Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation Margaret Rivers Fund Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Tennant Foundation

$10,000–$24,999

Bronze $1,000–$2,499 Athwin Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. McVay Foundation Sewell Family Foundation Sit Investment Foundation The Regis Foundation Wells Fargo Insurance Services For information on making a corporate or foundation contribution to Minnesota Opera, please contact the Institutional Gifts Manager Beth Comeaux at 612-342-9566 or email her at bcomeaux@mnopera.org.

| LA TRAVIATA

Sponsors $25,000+

$50,000–$99,999

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