Minnesota Opera's Wuthering Heights Program

Herrmann

The 2010–2011 Season

A Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative Production

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Sarah Chang, violin

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Matthias Goerne, baritone

Announcing the 2011-2012 Season schubert.org Leif Ove Andsnes, piano

Sarah Chang, violin Andrew von Oeyen, piano

Music in the Park Series

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International Artist Series

Julia Fischer, violin

St. Lawrence String Quartet October 16, 2011

October 4, 2011

Andr茅 Watts, piano

Wendy Warner, cello Irina Nuzova, piano

November 29, 2011

November 13, 2011

Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano Malcolm Martineau, piano

Goldstein-Peled-Fiterstein Trio January 8, 2012

January 10, 2012

Ysa每e Quartet

Julia Fischer, violin Milana Chernyavska, piano

February 26, 2012

Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio

February 15, 2012

April 15, 2012

Matthias Goerne, baritone Leif Ove Andsnes, piano

Escher String Quartet Jason Vieaux, guitar

April 25, 2012

April 29, 2012 Wendy Warner, cello and Irina Nuzova, piano

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April 16, 17, 19*, 21* and 23, 2011

contents 6 7 10 11 12 16 17 18 20 21 22 24 26 28 30

Minnesota Opera Staff and Volunteers Note from the President and General Director Wuthering Heights Synopsis Background Notes Bernard Herrmann The Kevin Smith Legacy The Artists Minnesota Opera Orchestra and Chorus Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative Education at the Opera Tempo 2011–2012 Season Minnesota Opera Annual Fund Donor Spotlight

* Minnesota Opera will be recording the April 19 and 21 performances of Wuthering Heights in HD video for national and international release. The HD recording is made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Saint Paul Cultural STAR Program.

Large-print and Braille programs are available at the Patron Services Office Large-print and Braille programs are available at the Patron Services Office

Minnesota Opera Chair, Board of Directors | Chip Emery President and General Director | Allan Naplan Artistic Director | Dale Johnson

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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 Projection and Technical Assistant | Ruppert Bohle 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 Painter | Caprice Glaser

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

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 First Hands Helen Ammann, Kelsey Glasener, Liliya Lychrovska Stitchers Rebecca Ballas, Allison Guglielmi, Ann Habermann, Rachel Skudlarek Wig/Makeup Supervisors Priscilla Magalee, Andrea Moriarity Crafts Artisan | Lesley Witt

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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 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 email volunteering@mnopera.org or call Jenna Wolf at 612-342-9569.

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

Joyce Lillquist Mary McDiarmid Verne Melberg Barbara Moore Douglas Myra Candyce Osterkamp Dan Panshin Pat Panshin

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

note from the president and general director Dear Friends, It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Minnesota Opera’s production of Wuthering Heights by Bernard Herrmann.

This is the third production of our New Works Initiative series – a multi-season, $7 million dollar investment in the creation, production and dissemination of contemporary operas – and Minnesota Opera is proud to further demonstrate our ongoing commitment to new works.

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

To lead this production, Minnesota Opera is happy to welcome back two distinguished champions of contemporary opera: Academy Award-winning stage director Eric Simonson and conductor Michael Christie. Together, they lead an exciting cast of rising stars of the opera industry, including Sara Jakubiak as Catherine and Lee Poulis as Heathcliff.

Heinz F. Hutter

Peter Sipkins

Philip Isaacson

Barry Snyder

James Johnson

Simon Stevens

Patricia Johnson

Virginia Stringer

Christine Larsen

Sharon Winslow

As Wuthering Heights brings this current season to a close, I hope you’re now making plans to join us for our 2011–2012 season. Featuring bold productions and thrilling artists, you won’t want to miss Mozart’s charming Così fan tutte, the world premiere of Silent Night by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell, Massenet’s romantic tragedy Werther, the Bel Canto classic Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti and the beloved Madame Butterfly by Puccini.

Mary A. Lazarus

Margaret Wurtele

Along with making a commitment as an opera ticket buyer, I hope you will also support us through a new or increased charitable investment in Minnesota Opera. Through your support of the Annual Fund, Minnesota Opera will continue to achieve success both on stage and off.

Burton Cohen

Thank you and enjoy the performance!

HONORARY DIRECTORS

We are especially honored to present the first staged revival of Herrmann’s forgotten masterpiece, Wuthering Heights. Known for his unforgettable film scores for Psycho with Alfred Hitchcock, Citizen Kane with Orson Welles and Taxi Driver with Martin Scorsese, Bernard Herrmann’s first and only opera was completed in 1951. Partially composed in Minneapolis, it beautifully captures the passion and compelling drama of Emily Brontë’s classic gothic romance.

Robert Lee

EMERITI Karen Bachman John A. Blanchard, III

Julia W. Dayton Mary W. Vaughan

Dominick Argento Philip Brunelle

Allan E. Naplan President and General Director

Charles C. Fullmer Norton M. Hintz Liz Kochiras 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.

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Music by Bernard Herrmann Libretto by Lucille Fletcher after the novel by Emily Brontë World Premiere at Portland Opera, November 6, 1982 April 16, 17, 19, 21 and 23, 2011, Ordway, Saint Paul Sung in English with English translations Conductor | Michael Christie Stage Director | Eric Simonson Choreographer | Heidi Spesard-Noble Set Designer | Neil Patel Costume Designer | Jane Greenwood Lighting Designer | Robert Wierzel Projection Designer | Wendall K. Harrington Sound Designer | C. Andrew Mayer Wig and Makeup Designers | Jason Allen and Ronell Oliveri Assistant Director | Octavio Cardenas Assistant Conductor | Clinton Smith Fight Choreographer | Doug Scholz-Carlson Stage Manager | Alexander Farino

the cast Catherine Earnshaw | Sara Jakubiak Heathcliff | Lee Poulis Hindley Earnshaw, Catherine’s brother | Ben Wager Edgar Linton, the Earnshaw’s neighbor | Eric Margiore Isabella Linton, Edgar’s sister | Adriana Zabala Nelly Dean, the housekeeper | Victoria Vargas Joseph, a farmhand | Rodolfo Nieto Mr. Lockwood, a neighbor | Jesse Blumberg Hareton, Hindley’s son | Joshua Ross Dancers | Jeremy Bensussan, Megan McClellan

The HD recording of Wuthering Heights is made possible by:

Wuthering Heights is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

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By arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.

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The appearances of Eric Margiore, national semifinalist, Sara Jakubiak, regional finalist and Jesse Blumberg, district finalist 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.

Performances of Wuthering Heights 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

Mr. Lockwood seeks shelter at Wuthering Heights, the ancestral home of the Earnshaw family, as a storm rages outside.

Nelly, the housekeeper, warns him to be quiet as the current owner of the manor, Heathcliff, will be angered if he discovers there is a visitor. Alone in an unused bedroom, Lockwood discovers an old diary belonging to Catherine Earnshaw, a deceased former resident of the house.

Once asleep, he begins to have nightmares about Cathy, whose ghost he envisions outside his window. Lockwood cries out, disturbing Heathcliff, who enters the room. Greatly agitated, Heathcliff anxiously looks out the window, but sees no one and is utterly devastated.

act ii

The following spring, Cathy awaits another visit from Edgar. Heathcliff invites her for a walk, but she fears they will be discovered by Joseph. He berates her for spending so much time with the Lintons, and she rebukes him for being childish. Heathcliff rushes off as Edgar enters. Cathy asks Nelly to stop spying on them and to leave the room as well. When she doesn’t, Cathy disciplines her. Edgar intercedes, and she strikes him too. The spat passes, and as Cathy and Edgar make up, Nelly feels a dreadful foreboding for Heathcliff, knowing that he and the young woman will never be together.

Hareton enters the room, fearful of his drunken father. Hindley stumbles in act i and picks up a carving knife, intending Scene one – It is twenty years earlier. to harm the child. Nelly has seen this Cathy and Heathcliff enter Wuthering behavior before and tries to make a game Heights after a walk on the moors. They out of it, while putting herself between are clearly in love, and Cathy recalls the father and son. Hindley snatches the day he first came to their house after her child and threatens to throw him down father discovered him as a homeless boy the stairs until Heathcliff stops him. in Liverpool and took him in. Cathy’s Cathy returns, and unaware Heathcliff alcoholic brother, Hindley, is now master is nearby, confides in Nelly her intention of their home and treats Heathcliff to marry Edgar. Heathcliff rushes from poorly. He is upset to find them in an the room, and mortified that she has embrace and orders Heathcliff to work been overheard, Cathy runs outside into in the fields with Joseph, the farmhand. a raging storm, crying out his name.

Joseph wishes to break for mass, but Hindley demands that he hold the ritual • intermission • inside the house to keep an eye on Cathy act iii and Heathcliff. As Joseph dozes off, the couple revels in the moonlight and It is three years later and Cathy is escapes through a window. married to Edgar. She now resides in the Lintons’ home at Thrushcross Scene two On Christmas Eve, the Grange, a short distance from household awaits the arrival of their neighbors, siblings Edgar and Isabella, Wuthering Heights. Their scene of domestic tranquility is interrupted along with Cathy, who has been their when Nelly announces a visitor – guest for several weeks. Nelly plays Heathcliff has returned after a lengthy with Hindley’s young son Hareton while observing the forlorn Heathcliff. absence. He has become a fully grown, good-looking and perfectly groomed She offers to smarten his disheveled young man, with a face chiseled by attire for the impending visit, but he experience. Cathy chides him for his will have none of it – Cathy will like him as he is. Rushing toward the door, silence, but Heathcliff counters that it has been a difficult period. Now flush Heathcliff is cuffed by Hindley, who insists on greeting his guests rather than with cash, he intends to buy Wuthering Heights from Hindley, who is financially the “stable boy.” Cathy remarks on his sulky demeanor while Heathcliff sizes up mired with huge gambling debts.

Edgar, a potential rival. Hoping to keep Cathy is once again enthralled by her childhood soul mate, and Edgar can Heathcliff and Cathy apart, Hindley continues to bait him and the two scuffle, barely hide his jealousy. He asks for a moment alone with his wife. leaving the room. Carolers sing outside.

Meanwhile, Isabella is also entranced

by Heathcliff and admits she was attracted to his non-conforming ways back when they met at Christmastime.

He hardly pays her much attention, even when she sings a song to him.

Cathy returns, asking that they be left alone, but Isabella refuses, stating that she is now Heathcliff ’s friend.

Cathy exposes all of his faults, claiming he could never marry a Linton.

Heathcliff sneers – if she could love a Linton, why couldn’t he? Upset, Cathy tries to leave the room and encounters Edgar. Seeing how distraught she has become, he orders Heathcliff to leave his house, and he does so while cursing them both. Now completely unhinged, Cathy admits she does not love Edgar and recalls the simplicity of her childhood. She longs for the grave and is hardly comforted by Nelly’s feeble attempts to calm her nerves.

act iv The following March, Isabella writes a letter revealing her unhappiness.

Her impulsive marriage to Heathcliff has been a failure, and the walls of Wuthering Heights have become a prison. A drunken Hindley wields a pistol, deriding the streetwise vagrant who robbed him of his father’s love and his birthright. Isabella is jealous of the apparent affair she thinks Heathcliff is having with Cathy, and is ready to watch him die, only to scream out at the last minute, saving Heathcliff ’s life.

He wrestles the gun out of Hindley’s hand and scorns his unloved wife, who leaves the room in a wild frenzy.

Cathy enters, showing the effects of a long illness. She only wishes for peace, and Heathcliff asks why she betrayed her heart by marrying Edgar, which ultimately has caused them both so much pain. After they forgive one another, Cathy vividly envisions the afterlife and dies. Unable to face her mortality, Heathcliff challenges her spirit to haunt him forever and drive him mad. ❚

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prologue

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background notes by David Sander

1948, he found a refuge in Minnesota – his friend Dmitri Mitropoulis was the music director of the Minneapolis Symphony, and his soon-to-be second wife, Lucy Anderson, was living nearby.

Herrmann cloistered himself deep within the former wcco studios, where he could compose uninterrupted.

After another visit to the English moors in 1949 for his second honeymoon (with Lucy), the opera was completed in 1951, at 3:54 p.m., as Herrmann would ernard Herrmann – you may not engagement with the Halle Orchestra meticulously notate on the score. In many recognize the name but you’ve of Manchester. Herrmann asked the respects, the music belongs to his lush probably heard his music if you orchestra’s manager to show them the neo-Romantic scores of the 40s, which are a vintage film fan or have caught Yorkshire moors and the farmhouse produced such evocative films as The the newest Dodge suv commercials.

“Top Withens” that inspired the novel.

With over 50 motion pictures scores, Already an accomplished dramatist (her Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Hangover Square, some to legendary Alfred Hitchcock fame rests on the radio play Sorry, Wrong Jane Eyre, The Magnificent Ambersons and Citizen Kane. Herrmann was films, his musical footprint is deep Number), Fletcher drafted a libretto not a melodist – most of his signature and his legacy is still esteemed to this based on the first part of Wuthering moments are composed of a repeated day. The composer’s lifelong obsession, Heights up to the death of Catherine however, was to produce his only opera, Earnshaw Linton. In 1947, Herrmann 3–5 note motive inverted, reharmonized or reversed, over a rhythmic ostinato. The Wuthering Heights. began to compose, and as he would The composer may have conceived state, “It was my intention to emphasize voices sing in a declamatory “parlando” style, while the orchestra truly tells the the idea as early as 1943, while working the fact that this opera places utmost story, precipitating the ever-changing on the Orson Welles film, Jane Eyre, importance upon the expressiveness of atmosphere of the Heights. after the novel by Charlotte Brontë. the vocal roles. The orchestra may be The length of the opera – about Having read most of the staples of said to be descriptive of the landscape three-and-a-half hours – presented a 19th-century literature in his youth (he and weather of each act inasmuch as daunting task, and the characteristically would also set Melville’s Moby Dick the novel itself depends greatly upon as a dramatic cantata), Herrmann the oneness of the characters with their irascible composer refused to allow any cuts. He believed it to be a natural fit was certainly familiar with her sister environment and also the mood and for his English connection, the Halle Emily’s classic tale, also set in northern color of the day.”

England. In 1946, he and his first Given the constraints of the film Orchestra, but the director Sir John wife, Lucille Fletcher, traveled to the industry, Herrmann was accustomed Barbirolli claimed they did not have the resources to stage the piece. Most United Kingdom for a conducting to working under a tight schedule.

Wuthering Heights became somewhat of opera companies agreed. San Francisco Opera considered a mounting with a challenge with no enforced deadline.

Consequently, the composer had some Leopold Stokowski (a friend of the difficulty finding time to complete composer) as conductor, but the project it and had to retreat from New was dropped due to illness – at least York and Hollywood to that may have been the polite reason.

Herrmann’s aggravation over casting work in earnest.

Curiously, in had become the real issue. New York City Opera and Heidelberg Opera were other possibilities that never made it to fruition. In truth, Herrmann’s aggressive personality got in the way of any further prospects, and out of frustration, he underwrote the expense of producing a recording on his own. The opera remained unproduced at the time of his

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B

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background notes

to his affection for his employer’s wife.

Branwell became erratic and turned to alcohol, and much like Emily’s character Hindley, who loses his wife at an early age, drank himself into a weakened state, then died of tuberculosis. He was said to wander around with a carving knife, ready to meet Satan. One of his bouts with melancholia, which entailed eleven nights without sleep followed by weeks of mental exhaustion and starvation also imitates Catherine’s breakdown and final illness.

So how Emily Brontë, secluded from society and never knowing romantic love, could write a tempestuous story such as Wuthering Heights remains a mystery. Equally amazing is that her only book could be an enduring literary masterpiece, the subject of several major motion pictures, a pbs mini-series, Mexican (as Abismos de pasión) and French (as Hurlevent) adaptations, an mtv special and two operas (the other being one by Carlisle Floyd, premiered by Santa Fe Opera in 1958). At first glance, the topsy-turvy structure of the novel seems haphazard and rambling. Two narrators are featured, Mr. Lockwood, Heathcliff ’s tenant at Thrushcross Grange, and Ellen “Nelly” Dean, alternately housekeeper to the Earnshaws and Lintons. Though commonly set in the 1840s, the opening line states that it is actually 1801, and the narrative consists of the preceding 30 years.

The prologue of the opera focuses on Lockwood’s second visit to the Heights, ancestral home established by an earlier Hareton Earnshaw circa 1500. He is unable to make it home to the Grange due to bad weather and is forced to spend the night. Shown to Catherine’s former lodging, he has a series of terrifying dreams, one of which includes the apparition of a child claiming to be Catherine. In the novel, when Lockwood returns to the Grange, Nelly tells the entire story of the three generations inhabiting these acres just outside the city of Gimmerton.

Portrait of the Brontë Sisters, c. 1834 (oil on canvas)

by Patrick Branwell Brontë (1817–1848) National Portrait Gallery, London, UK/ The Bridgeman Art Library Originally a portrait of the four Brontë siblings, Branwell later painted himself out of the picture.

Nelly recalls Hindley and Catherine’s childhood and how she, though the daughter of a retainer, played with them both as an equal. One day, old Mr. Earnshaw goes on a seemingly random trip to Liverpool, and instead of returning with the promised gifts for the children (a whip for Cathy, a fiddle for Hindley and some fruit for Nelly), he presents a gypsy boy, christened Heathcliff after Earnshaw’s first and now-deceased son. The three youths don’t take kindly to the new arrival, informally referring to him as “it.”

Father Earnshaw shows a preference for Heathcliff, feeding a growing antipathy with Hindley which would fully manifest itself after the death of both parents. At that time, Hindley has been away at college, and when he returns to the Heights to take his rightful place as lord of the manor, he is accompanied by a new wife, Frances. Enjoying only a brief stretch as mistress of the house, Frances dies after giving birth to Hareton. This ➤

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death, and it was not until November 6, 1982, thirty-one years after it was completed, when Portland Opera gave the belated world premiere. In a production that probably caused Herrmann a turn in the grave, about 40 minutes were excised, and the action was rearranged as a flashback, with Lockwood present in an appended epilogue for his first encounter with the aging Heathcliff in desperate search of Catherine’s ghost.

Is Wuthering Heights a gothic tale, infused with the supernatural? Or is it a Victorian romance with star-crossed, yet hopelessly irreconcilable love? Critics were stymied when the original novel first appeared in 1847. Many found it shockingly perverse, while others were surprised by the intensity of the violence, even for a male author (Emily Brontë had published under an alias, Ellis Bell). Contemporaries found its “human beings, like the trees, grow gnarled and dwarfed and distorted by the inclement climate” and the novel “so rude, so unfinished and so careless.”

Some opinions were mixed: “The book is original; it is powerful; full of suggestiveness. But still it is coarse … the whole tone of the style of the book smacks of lowness. It would indicate that the writer was not accustomed to the society of gentlemen, and was not afraid, indeed, rather gloried, in showing it.”

Stranger still is that the novel could be written by a personality such as Emily Brontë. The daughter of an Irish parson, she and her siblings, Charlotte, Anne and Branwell, lived in Haworth, Yorkshire in relative isolation. With few other children to play with, the Brontës retreated inside themselves, creating the magical fairy kingdom of Gondal, yielding many beautiful poems. Though her sisters were more adept at participating in the real world, Emily had only lived away from home for short periods, employed as an impatient and unsuccessful governess.

She never married, nor were there any offers. Back in Haworth, she was joined by her brother, who had left his position in disgrace after succumbing

13 Photos by Lee Poulis

background notes

Isabella and Heathcliff, but the latter lays claim to his progeny and brings him to the Heights. Cathy and Linton correspond in secret, and a duality of a sort ensues. Life at Wuthering Heights has taken a turn for the worse as Heathcliff treats his sickly son with cruelty and lets Hareton freely roam without education or affection. Edgar is taken ill and just before he dies, Heathcliff detains Cathy and forces her to marry Linton. As women under the marriage laws of the era cannot inherit property, Heathcliff assumes control of the Grange after the perpetually ailing Linton expires one month later.

The circular pattern of Brontë’s novel is finally resolved. At the beginning, Lockwood rents Thrushcross Grange, and after meeting his landlord for the first time, discovers an unhappy, entrapped Cathy ii, an unkempt, dimwitted Hareton and an irritable, despondent Heathcliff. By the end, after an absence of many months, Lockwood returns to discover Heathcliff ’s passing. Unable to forget Catherine even after 17 years (once again lying beside her corpse when Edgar is laid to rest in the adjacent plot), he also has mortally starved himself and has been buried on the other side of Catherine’s grave. Their souls are rumored to roam the moors.

Wuthering Heights evokes a whirlwind of conflicted sympathies. Is Top Withens in Yorkshire, England.

This farmhouse has been associated with “Wuthering Heights,” the Earnshaw home in Emily Brontë’s novel. the Byronic Heathcliff truly a villain?

The buildings, even when complete, bore no resemblance to the house she described, but the situation may He is the first to make a compromise have been in her mind when she wrote of the moorland setting of the Heights. Photo by Lee Poulis. after Catherine’s mannered return to the Heights, asking Nelly to make Most adaptations of Wuthering occupants deride the vulgar-tongued him “decent” and “good.” He then Heights conclude with an anguished and dirtily untamed Heathcliff.

Heathcliff bemoaning his fate without accumulates wealth to please her and Catherine remains for five weeks.

Catherine, even dying at that point in expects she will leave her husband as a Scene two marks her homecoming to result. When that doesn’t happen, he some cases. But the novel has another the Heights, now a gentrified lady. story to tell. In her final hours, Catherine marries Isabella to vex her by mirroring Acts ii and iii remain faithful Catherine’s own loveless match for unexpectedly gives birth to a sevento their source, though Heathcliff ’s month baby, Cathy ii. Nelly skips ahead material gain. The downward spiral return after a three-year absence is a number of years to Cathy’s teen years. begins, his happiness merely a ghost of slightly more dramatic in the opera what once was. We never find out the Edgar has kept her sequestered in the (in the book, the reunion is mostly terrible things Heathcliff did or who described, not witnessed) as is Isabella’s Grange for all this time, though she is he had to ruin in order to obtain his yearning to know what lies beyond the sudden interest in him. By Act iv wealth, but something dark and demonic park. When Edgar, full of forgiveness, she has severely regretted her rash has occurred. The first sign of damage visits a dying Isabella, Cathy sneaks marriage, and in Brontë’s story, Nelly reveals itself when he hangs Isabella’s out to Penistone Crags and encounters receives the letter she is seen writing Hareton for the first time. Edgar returns pet Springer to hasten their elopement. in the opera, and repeats it verbatim.

His physical abuse at Hindley’s hands to the Grange with Linton, the son of Not long after that, Isabella, though

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brings us to Act i, scene one of the opera and provides the context for Hindley’s excessively brutal behavior.

Between the two scenes of Act i, a little more action takes place in the novel. During one of their many wild forays on the moors, Catherine and Heathcliff happen upon Thrushcross Grange. They peer into the window to see the “civilized” world of Edgar and Isabella Linton as they squabble over the possession of a small pet.

The intruders startle the household, and Skulker, the guardian bulldog, sets upon Catherine, biting her on the ankle. Father and mother Linton take her inside to heal, while all the

14

no longer welcome at the Grange

by Edgar for her family betrayal, arrives bleeding from a knife wound delivered by Heathcliff. In the same episode, Hindley has pulled his gun and has been harshly beaten for his efforts. He dies under mysterious circumstances soon after, and Isabella flees to the south of England. Torn between the love for her husband and the primordial bond she feels with Heathcliff, Catherine starves herself to death (at the Grange and not at the Heights as she does in the opera).

Heathcliff pays her a secret visit just before she expires and then again at her grave, feverishly trying to lie beside her.

background notes

Ponden Hall in Haworth, England.

Emily Brontë is said to have portrayed this building as “Thrushcross Grange,” the home of the Linton familiy.

Photo by Lee Poulis.

Close family relationships frame the story. There is an undercurrent insinuating Heathcliff is Mr. Earnshaw’s illegitimate child. Certainly Mrs. Earnshaw’s chilly reaction to the additional family member is quite revealing. Catherine’s telling admissions “I am Heathcliff ” and “he’s more myself than I am” may be driven by relation of flesh rather than personality.

There is a certain lack of sexuality about their dysfunctional connection, yet in the next generation, one interpretation suggests Heathcliff is the real father of Cathy ii. The timeline certainly works – he returns to the Heights just seven months before she is born premature.

Whether between half-siblings or first cousins, the marriages betray a certain xenophobia that keeps strangers out of the Grange/Heights territory, one reason Lockwood is so coolly welcomed.

Brontë sums up her tale neatly and succinctly. After Linton Heathcliff ’s death, Cathy grows closer to her other cousin, Hareton, and transforms the illiterate young man from a simpleton to a gentleman. They marry and move to the Grange, thereby uniting the troubled history of the Earnshaws and Lintons

into a future of hope, albeit tenuous.

The final lines of the novel, delivered

by Lockwood, imply some closure or at least wishful thinking, for Catherine and Heathcliff appear to be finally together in eternity, the intensity of their everlasting bond refusing to be extinguished. ❚ I sought, and soon discovered, the three headstones on the slope next the moor: the middle one grey, and half buried in heath; Edgar Linton’s only harmonized by the turf and moss creeping up the foot; Heathcliff’s still bare.

I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.

| WUTHERING HEIGHTS

may psychologically justify his tendency to strike whomever is at arm’s length, be it Isabella, Hareton, Cathy ii, Linton or a now-demoralized Hindley.

Yet, toward the end of his life, he begins to show signs of tenderness.

Heathcliff ’s final days are wistfully spent at the window where Lockwood has just seen Catherine’s ghost, and he ends up dying in her bed with his hand reaching out to the open window.

His final words to Nelly, “I believe you think me a fiend, something too horrible to live under a decent roof,” seem to indicate that his veil of evil is more intentional than inherent.

An alternate theory suggests Nelly is the motivating force behind the malevolence at the Heights.

Benign as she is in the opera, a closer examination of the novel’s text (where she is chief narrator) reveals a sort of Iago-like presence to Catherine and Heathcliff ’s Othello. Once treated as an equal in the Earnshaw household, she is relegated to the kitchen by the intruder Heathcliff after a feeble attempt to get rid of him. She is not prepared to be ruled by Catherine as mistress of the Heights or of the Grange, and tacitly shows her contempt on various occasions. She knows Heathcliff is listening when Catherine describes how it would “degrade” her to marry him, thus setting in motion his departure and the ensuing disasters. A pathological busybody, Nelly manages to be nearby or actually in the room at all of the key moments. She adroitly camouflages her errors – as Catherine lies dying, she doesn’t seek medical attention or even inform her employer. Her meddling doesn’t stop with the first generation.

She is an essential go-between, allowing forbidden communications between Cathy ii and Linton, which eventually guarantees Heathcliff ’s triumph over the Grange. Upon Lockwood’s arrival, she seeks him as an ally with her sympathetic telling of the past events, and plots to marry him off to Cathy ii to secure her position as housekeeper (not surprisingly, Brontë herself didn’t like to have servants in the house).

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bernard herrmann b New York, June 28, 1911; d Los Angeles, December 24, 1975

Photo courtesy of Musical America Archives

first generation American, Bernard Herrmann was the son of Russian immigrants.

Originally from Odessa, his father, Abraham Dardick, started as a whaler and plantation worker. Eventually making his way to New York City, Dardick changed his surname to the more German appearing and socially acceptable “Herrmann,” married Ida Gorenstein, studied ophthalmology and opened his own eyewear shop.

His son Benny had two younger siblings, and all three children were exposed to music at an early age. Each learned to play an instrument, and Benny would listen to his father’s 78s as well as attend Young People’s concerts at Carnegie Hall. By age 13 he had read Berlioz’s famous treaty on orchestration, which would later have a profound effect on his remarkable tone color. Herrmann attended New York University and the Juilliard School. At the same time, he became involved with the Young Composers’ Group, with Aaron Copland as its nominal leader, and later formed The New Chamber Orchestra, performing a mixture of newer English and American compositions.

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

A

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In 1934, Herrmann landed a position as an assistant conductor at cbs Radio. Once firmly established, he began to present adventurous programming, featuring contemporary works by lesser-known composers. As radio was then the premier form of home entertainment, success in the field made Herrmann’s early career. By 1937, he was working on the station’s “Columbia Workshop” and two years later on the drama series “The Mercury Theatre on the Air,” led by a 23-year-old Orson Welles. Their collaboration, the provocative War of the Worlds, resulted in Herrmann’s participation in his first motion picture, Citizen Kane (1941).

Welles later claimed that 50% of the success of Citizen Kane was the music. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences agreed, and nominated the score in 1942. It didn’t win – the award went to another Herrmann project, The Devil and Daniel Webster, his only Oscar. When the cbs Symphony was disbanded in 1951, Herrmann made a clean break and moved to Hollywood. He would significantly challenge the prevailing methods of movie score composition, mired by expatriate composers tethered to 19th-century European traditions.

His experience in radio taught him to use less traditional instrumentation that could better convey the drama, and he orchestrated his own music, rarely done in the film industry.

It was in the mid-50s when his greatest collaboration began with Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble With Harry. The director was a tedious micro-manager and would leave notes for his film composers as to exactly what he wanted, and Herrmann was the first to ignore them. In their next work, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), the composer was given a prominent role. In a trademark Hitchcockian cameo during the film’s pivotal scene at Royal Albert Hall, Herrmann appears as the conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Further Hitchcock movies included The Wrong Man (1956), Vertigo (1958), North By Northwest (1959), and most famously, Psycho (1960). The director

wanted the terrifying shower scene to be silent, but Herrmann won him over and created some of his most memorable music, a series of monotone highpitched strings that reflects both the plunging of the blade and the sounds of birds (the murderer’s hobby in the film is taxidermy). Herrmann also worked on Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963), but as there was no music, his role was merely advisory. Their next project, Marnie (1964), resulted in a box office failure, and both artists were feeling pressure to knuckle under to Hollywood’s newest trend, a movie’s trademark “title song” that would enhance its marketability.

Herrmann was not adept with melody – his strengths lay elsewhere – and he felt degraded by such a simplistic approach.

For Torn Curtain (1966), Hitchcock specifically requested a theme, and as usual, Herrmann disregarded his instructions. When the director first heard the music, he immediately rejected it, paid the composer and found someone else.

Herrmann was devastated by the split. He severed his ties with Hollywood and began to spend more time in England. His mood must have brightened when he received an offer from French director François Truffaut for a film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s futuristic and dystopic Fahrenheit 451 (1966). Though a great fan of modern French composers, Truffaut knew Herrmann would give him music of the 21st century.

The composer’s output slowed in the late 1960s as he turned to making recordings, but his career would take a sudden turn toward the end of his life.

While screening the murder sequence of Brian de Palma’s new movie Sisters (1972), a film editor decided to play the shower music from Psycho to fill the silent void. De Palma found that it fit perfectly and engaged the composer for this movie and for the one that followed, Obsession (1975), Herrmann was engaged over John Williams.

Martin Scorsese, a longtime fan, hired him to score Taxi Driver, and after completing the final recording session, Herrmann died in his sleep at age 64. ❚

The

Kevin Smith Legacy

After 30 years with the company, Kevin Smith has retired as President and CEO of Minnesota Opera. A group of donors has contributed a significant amount 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.

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.

All donors to this special fund will be listed in the 2011–2012 season.

Ovation Opera Tours Opera and Music Tours since 1977

Tanglewood Music Festival July 20 - 25, 2011

Four Boston Symphony concerts Susan Graham and Jean-Yves Thibaudet

New York November 2 - 7, 2011

Nabucco, Don Giovanni and Richard Tucker Gala

Chicago March 14 - 17, 2012

Aida, Rinaldo and Showboat

April, 2012

1696 Scheffer Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota 55 116 65 1-699- 1 105 or 800-365-7691 www.ovationoperatours.com info@ovationoperatours.com

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St. Petersburg Russia

17

the artists

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

Jesse Blumberg Mr. Lockwood (baritone) Summit, New Jersey

2007 Connie Rivers, The Grapes of Wrath

Recently

Buffalo, New York

2011 La traviata

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

Silent Night; Madame Butterfly, Minnesota Opera The Death of Klinghoffer, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

Jane Greenwood costume designer Liverpool, England

Recently House of Blue Leaves; Championship Season; Driving Miss Daisy; Million Dollar Quartet; Collected Stories; A View from the Bridge; Waiting for Godot; Heartbreak House, Broadway Moby Dick, Dallas Opera

Upcoming

Wendall K. Harrington projection designer New York, New York

2009 The Abduction from the Seraglio 2008 Rusalka 2007 The Grapes of Wrath 2005 Nixon in China

Recently

16 Tony nominations

The Who’s Tommy; Grey Gardens; The Good Body; others, Broadway The Chris Rock Tour Die Gezeichneten, Los Angeles Opera The Nutcracker, San Francisco Opera Anna Karenina, Royal Danish Ballet

Sara Jakubiak

Eric Margiore

Upcoming Moby Dick, State Opera of South Australia

Awards

Catherine (soprano) Bay City, Michigan

Recently Dede, A Quiet Place, New York City Opera Beatrice, Three Decembers, Chicago Opera Theater Elvira, Don Giovanni, Boston Youth Symphony Mimì, La bohème, Syracuse Opera; Tulsa Opera Countess, Le nozze di Figaro, Seoul Arts Center soloist, Four Last Songs (Strauss), Symphony Pro Musica

Upcoming Eurydice, Orphée, Virginia Opera

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

conductor

Celebrant, Mass (Bernstein), Royal Festival Hall Harlekin, Ariadne auf Naxos, Boston Lyric Opera John Brooke, Little Women, Opera Delaware Connie, The Grapes of Wrath, Pittsburgh; Utah Silvio, Pagliacci, Annapolis Opera artistic director – Five Boroughs Music Fest.

Poliferno, Niobe, Boston Early Music Festival

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Michael Christie

Rodolfo Nieto Joseph (bass-baritone) Hickory Hills, Illinois

2010 First Soldier, Salome 2010 Colline, La bohème 2009 Spanish Captain/Inquisitor, Casanova

Recently Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, Cedar Rapids Opera

Upcoming Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, Green Mountain Opera Fest.

Gravitas, Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings, dciny at Disney Hall

Edgar (tenor) New York, New York

Recently Alfredo, La traviata, Hawaii Opera Theatre Rinuccio, Gianni Schicchi, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Tamino, Die Zauberflöte, Opera Hong Kong

Upcoming Fritz, L’amico Fritz, Opera Holland Park Don José, Carmen, Crested Butte Music Fest.

Alfredo, La traviata, Lyric Opera Baltimore Roméo, Roméo et Juliette, Annapolis Opera Rodolfo, La bohème, Central City Opera

Neil Patel set designer Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales

2010 Roberto Devereux 2011 Mary Stuart 2006 Orazi e Curiazi 2004 Madame Butterfly

Recently Alcina, New York City Opera Carmen; Madame Mao, Santa Fe Opera Anna Karenina; Gloriana; Cavalleria rusticana; Suor Angelica, Opera Theatre of St. Louis Così fan tutte, Nikikai Opera (Tokyo) Wonderland; Fat Pig; [title of show], Broadway

the artists

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

Lee Poulis Heathcliff (baritone) Greenlawn, New York

Recently Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni, Sarasota Opera Escamillo, Carmen, Szegedi Szabadteri (Hungary) Wolfram, Tannhäuser; Belcore, L’elisir d’amore; Yeletsky, Pique Dame, Oper Bonn Oppenheimer, Doctor Atomic, Saarbrücken

Upcoming

Joshua Ross Hareton (treble) Virginia Beach, Virginia

Recently Chichester Psalms, St. Olaf College; Magnum Chorum tours – St. Paul’s Cathedral (London); Carnegie Hall member – Project Opera Giovani Choir freshman – Shattuck-St. Mary’s School

Escamillo, Carmen; Vater, Hänsel und Gretel, Bonn Oppenheimer, Doctor Atomic, Finnish Nat’l Opera Valentin, Faust, Baltimore Opera

stage director Milwaukee, Wisconsin

2008 Rusalka 2007 The Grapes of Wrath 2006 Orazi e Curiazi 2003 Handmaid’s Tale

Recently Rusalka, Opera Colorado A Note of Triumph – Academy Award Lombardi, Broadway Carter’s Way, Kansas City Repertory Homeland; Five Points; On Tiptoe, hbo Television

Upcoming Silent Night, Minnesota Opera

Victoria Vargas Nelly (mezzo-soprano) Brooklyn, New York

2011 Flora, La traviata 2011 Anne, Mary Stuart 2010 Tisbe, Cinderella

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

Upcoming Second Lady, Die Zauberflöte; Laura, Luisa Miller, Chautauqua Opera

Robert Wierzel lighting designer New York, New York

2008 Rusalka 2007 The Grapes of Wrath 2003 The Handmaid’s Tale

Recently Agrippina, Boston Lyric Opera Divine Rivalry, Hartford Stage Company Arms and the Man, Guthrie Theater Fela!, Royal National Theatre of London The Tender Land, Glimmerglass Opera

Upcoming The Tales of the City, a.c.t. San Francisco

Heidi Spesard-Noble choreographer Shelbyville, Illinois

2007 Lakmé 2006 Orazi e Curiazi 2005 Carmen 2003 La traviata 2002 The Merry Widow

Recently Tom Thumb, Project Opera (Ritz Theatre) The Grapes of Wrath*, Minnesota; Pittsburgh; Utah Cinderella, Minnesota Opera (*asst. choreographer) Midlife: the Crisis Musical; Brigadoon; The Christmas Show; Big Bang, Chanhassen Theatres Runaways, Macalaster College

Ben Wager Hindley (bass) Havertown, Pennsylvania

2009 Fire Eater; Ape Judge; Ringmaster; Big Green Fisherman, Pinocchio

Recently Roucher, Andrea Chénier; Angelotti, Tosca; Dr. Grenvil, La traviata, Deutsche Oper Berlin Nourabad, Les pêcheurs de perles, Cleveland Opera Masetto, Don Giovanni, Dallas Opera

Upcoming Mandarin, Turandot; Escamillo, Carmen, Deutsche Oper Berlin

Adriana Zabala Isabella (mezzo-soprano) Miami, Florida

2009 Pinocchio, The Adventures of Pinocchio 2008 Stéphano, Roméo et Juliette 2006 Nicklausse, Les contes d’Hoffmann

Recently Rosina, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Sugar Creek Symph.

Page, Salome; Mercédès, Carmen, Palau de les Arts Opera Reina Sofia (Valencia) Hänsel, Hänsel und Gretel, Austin Lyric Opera

Upcoming Dorabella, Così fan tutte, Opera Saratoga

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Eric Simonson

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the artists MINNESOTA OPERA ORCHESTRA VIOLIN I Laurie Petruconis Concertmaster Julia Persitz David Mickens Allison Ostrander Judy Thon-Jones Andrea Een Giselle Hillyer Natalia Moiseeva Lydia Miller Lindsay Erickson

BASS

TRUMPET

John Michael Smith Constance Martin Jason C. Hagelie Michael Watson

John G. Koopmann Christopher Volpe Craig Hara

FLUTE

Phillip Ostrander John Tranter David Stevens

TROMBONE Michele Frisch Jane Garvin Amy Morris double piccolo

TUBA Ralph Hepola

OBOE Michael Dayton Justin Schwartz

TIMPANI Kory Andry

VIOLIN II

ENGLISH HORN

PERCUSSION

Conor O’Brien Elizabeth Decker Stephan Orsak Melinda Marshall Margaret Humphrey Huldah Niles Orieta Dado Miriam Moxness Griffiths

Michal Rogalski

Matthew Barber Steve Kimball

VIOLA

BASSOON

David Auerbach Vivi Erickson Jenny Lind Nilsson Susan Janda James Bartsch Coca Bochonko

Coreen Nordling Laurie Hatcher Merz

CELLO Jim Jacobson Sally Gibson Dorer Rebecca Arons Thomas Austin Teresa Richardson Ramiro Alvarez

CLARINET Karrin Meffert-Nelson Nina Olsen

HARP Min J. Kim Nikki Lemire

BASS CLARINET Paul Schulz

CONTRABASSOON Karen Brooks

HORN Brian Vance Charles Hodgson Neal Bolter Lawrence Barnhart

MINNESOTA OPERA CHORUS Brad Benoit Peter Frenz Gretchen Gamm April Hanson Jonathan Kimple Mary Monson Angela Mortellaro Michael Nyby

1815 Streicher Fortepiano Minnesota Opera debut in Thrushcross Grange scene of Wuthering Heights

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Built in 1994 by Thomas and Barbara Wolf in The Plains, Virginia, this piano represents the most creative aspects of early 19th-century Viennese piano making. The instrument is 7’7” long, has a range of six octaves, is triple strung and has four pedals: shift, bassoon, moderator and damper.

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Because of its large, varied sound, it is suitable for repertoire that spans the transition from Classicism to Romanticism.

Beethoven preferred Streicher pianos. Recently, it was used

by Amy and Sara Hamann in a recording of Beethoven piano sonatas. This instrument currently resides in The Schubert Club Museum’s “Living Collection.”

WANT TO SING WITH MINNESOTA OPERA? Auditions for the upcoming season will be held May 4, 5, 6 and 7 at Minnesota Opera Center, 620 North First Street in Minneapolis.

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

Jesse Blumberg and Kelly Kaduce in Minnesota Opera’s The Grapes of Wrath (2007). Blumberg returns in Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights.

minnesota opera

new works initiative This production of Wuthering Heights is being shot in HD video to be widely distributed. We are excited to present this “first” – a “first” for Minnesota Opera, and as far as we know, a “first” for Twin Cities arts organizations.

New York’s Metropolitan Opera has been the pioneer in extending the art form beyond the opera stage. Our thinking at Minnesota Opera is to complement what the Met is doing. That is, to distribute digitally the operas that can only be seen at Minnesota Opera – our New Works Initiative. Next November, we will do the same with our world premiere of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night.

Our 2007 world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath received world-wide accolades, with one reviewer calling it “the great American opera.” However, the only people who saw it were the fortunate thousands who filled Ordway for our production. So when we created the Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative, we decided we needed these works to participate in the digital age. This means shooting in HD video so the world can see the exciting new works being done here in the Twin Cities.

Photo by Michal Daniel

John Fanning and former Minnesota Opera Resident Artist John Michael Moore in Dominick Argento’s Casanova’s Homecoming (2009).

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has supported the HD initiative, as has the Cultural STAR Program of the City of Saint Paul. So there is a great national and local interest in our HD activities. Plus, the overall supporters of the New Works Initiative are also making this innovation possible. Opera has always used new technology to advance the art form. We are excited to be able to continue this tradition.

Photo by Michal Daniel

Kevin Puts

| WUTHERING HEIGHTS

Based upon a fascinating true story, Silent Night recounts a miraculous moment of peace during World War I, when Scottish, French and German officers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce.

With music by Kevin Puts and libretto by Mark Campbell, Minnesota Opera will present Silent Night in November 2011 as the next production in the New Works Initiative.

21 Mark Campbell Photo by Steve McHugh

education at the opera

Project Opera to perform The Giver Project Opera is proud to announce their first commission, The Giver, with libretto and music by Susan Kander. Based on the popular children’s novel by Lois Lowry, this coming-ofReprinted by permission of age story is about Jonas, a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt twelve-year-old boy who lives in what seems like a utopian society where there is no pain, but as he grows older, he begins to understand the truth about his society. A Newberry Medal Award winner for children’s literature in 1994, The Giver is still frequently found on middle school reading lists.

What’s unique about this opera is that it is created specifically for teen voices to sing all the principal roles and chorus. The orchestra will be made up of members of the Minnesota Youth Symphonies. Commissioning a work like this is central to Project Opera’s mission which is dedicated to giving young people authentic, hands-on experience with opera.

The fully staged production will be performed in April, 2012, and is a co-commission with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Get involved!

Project Opera is for boys and girls in grades 4–12.

Auditions for next season will be June 15, July 27 and August 24.

Call 612.342.9573 to schedule an audition time.

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Opera Summer Camp

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This experience is for vocalists and instrumentalists in grades 9–12 and will be held from June 17–24 at Perpich Center for Arts Education.

Participation is by audition only.

Vocal Audition: Minnesota Opera Center Monday, April 18 (6–8:30 p.m.)

Instrumental Audition: 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!

Through the eyes of children Teaching Artist Angie Keeton led a week-long residency at Central Elementary School in Norwood Young America that introduced students to the beauty of opera and life of Mozart. Below are responses from two fourth-grade students who attended the final performance of Through the Eyes (and Ears) of Mozart.

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

Want to bring opera to your school?

Contact Angie at akeeton@mnopera.org

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TICKETS

FOR

30!

$

Tempo is a membership program for both opera newbies and buffs ages 21–39.

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• Invitations to cast parties and special events • Access to exclusive Tempo Lounge at intermission • Preview events • Young Friends of Opera discounts to other companies • Big discounts on select Minnesota Opera events • and education classes Official home of Tempo Cast Parties for the 2010–2011 season

Photo by Steve McHugh

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

$50 membership includes these benefits: Steep ticket discounts (up to 76%!)

Join or renew now for the best benefits!

Join Tempo or renew your membership now to lock in your benefits for next season. Being a Tempo member is the best way to stay informed about special offers and member-exclusive events.

mnopera.org/tempo 612-333-6669

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Total Annual Circulation: 990,000 For Advertising Opportunities: info@artsandcustom.com | 952.843.4603 | www.artsandcustom.com

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Proud to partner with and offer advertising within the following Arts publications:

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APR. 14 – 22, 2012

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

MAR. 3 – 11, 2012

JAN. 28 – FEB. 5, 2012

Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

così fan tutte Love Shaken and Served with a Twist.

The battle of the sexes rages on in Mozart’s most provocative comedy. As a philosopher engages a quartet of lovers in a subversive game that confronts their idealistic views of love, the two men disguise themselves and try to seduce each other’s lover. This sublime masterpiece reminds us of love’s power to confound reason. Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.

13 80 &. 3*& % 3&

NOV. 12 – 20, 2011

SEPT. 24 – OCT. 2, 2011

SUBSCRIBERS – don’t lose your seats! Renew by April 30.

Composed by Kevin Puts, libretto by Mark Campbell, based on the screenplay for Joyeux Noe ¨l by Christian Carion for the motion picture produced by Nord-Ouest Production.

World Premiere — a Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative production

The true story of Christmas Eve, 1914

silent night

Silent Night recounts a miraculous moment of peace during one of the bloodiest wars in human history. On WWI’s western front, Scottish, French and German officers defy their superiors and negotiate a Christmas Eve truce. Enemies become brothers as they share Christmas and bury their dead. William Burden stars as the soldier whose voice inspired peace – if only for a day. Sung in English, German, French, Italian and Latin with English translations projected above the stage.

Composed by Jules Massenet

In the Name of Love.

werther

Overflowing with yearning and heartbreaking melancholy, Massenet’s most romantic tragedy is inspired by a true story of unrequited love. The passionate James Valenti (pictured) returns to star as Werther, the idealistic young poet who cannot live without love. Roxana Constantinescu, who dazzled audiences as Cinderella, returns as the object of his obsession. Sung in French with English translations projected above the stage.

Composed by Gaetano Donizetti

Madness on the Moors.

lucia di lammermoor

In one of Donizetti’s most gripping operas, Lucia secretly loves Edgardo, her clan’s enemy. But scheming to restore the family’s fortune, her brother forces her into a loveless marriage – with disastrous consequences. After winning hearts as Eurydice, Susanna Phillips returns to star as the fragile heroine of this exhilarating masterpiece of melodic beauty and psychological depth. Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.

Composed by Giacomo Puccini

To die with honor is to live without shame.

madame butterfly

Kelly Kaduce (pictured) returns as the tragic heroine, Butterfly. Seduced by the handsome American naval officer Pinkerton, the young geisha falls deeply in love. But his betrayal leads to one of opera’s most heartrending conclusions.

Minnesota Opera’s celebrated production evokes the beauty and romance of Puccini’s gorgeous, unforgettable classic. Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.

The 2011-2012 Season SEE 3 OPERAS FOR AS LITTLE AS

$50

EASY & FLEXIBLE EXCHANGE POLICY You can change your ticket to a dierent date or show, or even bring a friend to your next opera.

mnopera.org 612-333-6669 Ticket OfďŹ ce: Mon. – Fri. 9am – 6pm Kelly Kaduce returns as Madame Buttery.

5IF ° TFBTPO JT TQPOTPSFE CZ

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1IPUP CZ 4UFWF .D)VHI

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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 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

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 Nicky B. Carpenter Rachelle Dockman Chase N. Bud and Beverly Grossman Foundation Sharon and Bill Hawkins Erwin and Miriam Kelen Albin and Susan Nelson Connie and Lew Remele Chris and Mark Schwarzmann Maggie Thurer and Simon Stevens

Gold $5,000–$7,499 Anonymous Tracy and Eric Aanenson Martha Goldberg Aronson and Daniel Aronson Martha and Bruce Atwater Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Nancy and Chuck Berg Kathleen and William Callahan 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 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 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 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 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 Kevin and Lynn Smith Karen Sternal Carolyn and Andrew Thomas William Voedisch and Laurie Carlson Ellen M. Wells Nancy and Ted Weyerhaeuser

artist circle | MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

$1,000–$2,499

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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 Ann and Thomas Bagnoli Maria and Kent Bales Mrs. Paul G. Boening Allan Bradley Conley Brooks Family Juliet Bryan and Jack Timm Ann and Glen Buttermann 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 Jeff and Wendy Dankey Clarke Davis Fran Davis Judson Dayton Ruth and Bruce Dayton The Denny Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Margaret DiBlasio Elise Donohue Joan Duddingston Rondi Erickson and Sandy Lewis 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

Katy Gaynor 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 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 Barbara Jenkins Kathleen and John Junek 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 Barbara McBurney Helen and Charles McCrossan Sheila McNally Judith and James Mellinger Velia R. Melrose

annual fund | individual giving

artist circle (continued) 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

Andrea and James Rubenstein 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

Judith and Arnold Brier Debra Brooks and James Meunier Dr. Hannelore Brucker Thomas and Joyce Bruckner 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 Joyce and Hugh Edmondson 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 Joan and William Gacki 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 Margaret and Phillip Johnson Janet N. Jones Drs. Charles and Sally Jorgensen Kathleen Junek Jane and Jim Kaufman Kristen and Dean Lambert Jonathan and Lisa Lewis Ruth Lyons Mahley Family Foundation Tom and Marsha Mann Carolyn and Charles Mayo Katherine Merrill 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 Clara and Enrique Rotstein 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 Jon Y. Spoerri and Debra Christgau 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.

Sid and Diane Levin Marion and Chris Levy Jonathan and Lisa Lewis Keith and Margaret Lindquist Rebecca Lowe Joan E. Madden Donald and Rhoda Mains Dusty and George Mairs David Mayo Orpha McDiarmid Family Fund L. David Mech Jane and Joseph Micallef H. Berit Midelfort and John Michel Virginia Miller Steven J. Mittelholtz Michael J. and Judith Mollerus Brad Momsen and Rick Buchholz Jill Mortensen and S. Kay Phillips William Myers and Virginia Dudley Sarah Nagle Merritt C. Nequette Lowell and Sonja Noteboom Patricia A. O’Gorman Scott J. Pakudaitis David and Marilyn Palmer Lana K. Wareham Mary Helen Pennington, M.D. Erica Perl and George J. Socha, Jr. Kathleen Philipp Walter Pickhardt and Sandra Resnick Stephen and Julianne Prager Nicole and Charles Prescott Dan Rasmus and Kari Fedje Rasmus

Ruth Rose Hanan J. Rosenstein, M.D. Daniel Roth Berneen Rudolph Mary Savina Karen A. Schaffer Deborah and Allan Schneider Ralph Schneider Paul L. Schroeder Doris Jean Seely Judith and Morris Sherman Debra Sit and Peter Birge Arthur and Marilynn Skantz Sandra and Richard Smith Daniel J. Spiegel Family Foundation Thomas Stoffel Joanne Strakosch and William Umscheid Vanesa and David Sutherland Delroy and Doris Thomas Jill and John Thompson Susan Truman Bryan Walker and Christine Kunewa-Walker Elaine B. Walker David Ward Evelyn Welsh Wendy Wildung David and Rachelle Willey Srilata Zaheer Daniel Zillmann

patron circle Gold $750–$999 Anonymous Gerald and Phyllis Benson Pat and Dan Panshin Ann M. Rock 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 Suzanne Asher Jo and Gordon Bailey Family Fund of the Catholic Community Foundation Barbara S. Belk Martin and Patricia Blumenreich

$250–$499 Anonymous Mark Abeln Bryan and Judith Anderson Katherine Anderson Quentin and Mary Anderson Charles and Mary Anderson Eric S. Anderson and Janalee R. Aurelia Ronald and Kay Bach Thomas Bailey James and Gail Bakkom Bishu and Irina Bandyopadhyay John and Patricia Beithon Estelle T. Bennett Cindy and John Beukema Susan and Thomas Boardman Peggy and Ken Bonneville Carolyn and Phillip Brunelle Stephen Bubul Emilie and Henry Buchwald Ellis Bullock Katherine Castille Sandy and Doug Coleman Kay Constantine Virginia and Marc Conterato Jeanne Corwin Sage and John Cowles, Jr. Barbara J. Dacy Kay Dewane Mary Dibbern Steven and Jean Diede Pierre C. Dussol Bill Erickson and Joan O’Hara

Herbert and Betty Fantle Charles and Anne Ferrell Brian Finstad C.D.F. Foundation Melanie Flessner Charlotte and Gene Frampton Greta and Paul Garmers Katherine and Robert Goodale, Jr. John and Lynn Goodwyne Richard Gregory Robert and Ann Groover Jennifer Gross and Jerry LeFevre Russell and Priscilla Hankins Douglas and Doris Happe Sarah Harris and David Holmgren Norton M. Hintz Andrew Holey and Gary Whitford Rev. Henry and Jean Hoover Samuel Hudson Worth L. Hudspeth Ray Jacobsen Erika and Herb Kahler Carole and Joseph Killpatrick Janice L. Kimes Stafford King Christine and John Kipp Ann and Alan Koehler Terry Kones Robert and Venetia Kudrle Alexandra Kulijewicz James and Gail LaFave Scott Lalim Bob and Bea Langford

These lists are current as of March 1, 2011 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, Development Associate, at 612-342-9569.

| WUTHERING HEIGHTS

associate circle

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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 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 (†) 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

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

SPOTLIGHT

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Ann Richter and Chris Burns are spectacular ambassadors for Minnesota Opera. Former work colleagues, Ann and Chris get a real kick out of sharing their excitement about opera with pretty much anyone who will listen.

Chris states, “It is really interesting how once people get a taste of opera, they are sold on the art form and, after a few shows, simply can’t get enough of it.” This is very true, and as often is the case, people who experience their first opera with a friend or family member are surprised at how much they enjoy their opera experience. These “opera newbies” in turn become opera ambassadors and start bringing more friends. Even though some operas “are an acquired taste,” as Chris initially felt about Wagner operas, it is his belief that “once people are hooked on opera, they are fans for life.”

Minnesota Opera extends a heartfelt thanks to all the “opera ambassadors” who, like Ann and Chris, are introducing more people to this wonderful art form.

Ann Richter and Chris Burns

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 Wuthering Heights National Endowment for the Arts

Wenger Foundation

Conductor Appearances

Opera Insights

Sakura Comcast

Camerata Dinners

Champagne Intermission Receptions

Gala Sponsor U.S. Bank

Meet the Artists Official Caterer

$100,000+

Tempo Cast Parties

SpencerStuart Lowry Hill

Minnesota Opera gratefully acknowledges its major institutional supporters:

Piper Jaffray

Broadcast Partner Minnesota Public Radio

Macy’s Design Cuisine

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 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 National Endowment for the Arts Piper Jaffray SpencerStuart Twin Cities Opera Guild Valspar Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota Wenger Foundation

Gold $5,000–$9,999 Accenture Beim Foundation Boss Foundation Briggs and Morgan, P.A.

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

Securian Foundation Thomson Reuters Xcel Energy Foundation

$25,000–$49,999

Silver $2,500–$4,999 Allianz Life Insurance of North America Cleveland Foundation Dellwood Foundation Deloitte Hutter Family 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 Foundation Enterprise Holdings Foundation Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. McVay Foundation Onan Family 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.

| WUTHERING HEIGHTS

Sponsors $25,000+

$50,000–$99,999

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