Minnesota Opera's Silent Night Program

WORLD PREMIERE A Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative Production

2011 – 2012 SEASON

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welcome Allan E. Naplan | President and General Director

Welcome to the world premiere of Silent Night!

It is a great honor for Minnesota Opera to share this very special event with you.

During opera’s prolific bel canto era, Italian audiences could expect 20 to 30 opera premieres in a given year, composed by the likes of Rossini and Donizetti. By contrast, American opera audiences of 2011 can count this season’s opera premieres on one hand.

Creating a new opera is hard; it’s expensive and often risky. Consequently, new works do not enjoy the same performance frequency as they once did. At Minnesota Opera, however, we are committed to the creation and production of new operas in order to ensure that our art form does not merely become a collection of museum artifacts, but remains an engaging, vibrant and relevant way for us to explore the ideas, emotions and stories that unite and confront us as humans. Through our New Works Initiative, we are invigorating the operatic repertoire with an infusion of contemporary works, and doing so with unstinting dedication. Our ambition is uniquely bold, but we believe that our efforts befit the occasion. We are, after all, creating opera history.

Minnesota Opera has midwifed many new works over the course of its 49 years, and we are thrilled that Silent Night is our most recent achievement. Minnesota Opera is tremendously grateful to the generous supporters who made this commission possible. Most notably, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to Margaret and Angus Wurtele, opera America, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Ruth Easton Fund for their leadership support.

We also thank you, our audience. Minnesota Opera could not maintain our commitment to new works if it were not for your embracing our efforts through your attendance. As we continue to break new ground in opera, we thank you for being our partners on this journey.

Finally, it is also with great excitement that we announce the next commission of the Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative. For our 50th anniversary season, Minnesota Opera will produce the world premiere of Doubt, by composer Douglas J. Cuomo and librettist John Patrick Shanley, based on his Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning Broadway play.

Thank you for attending the world premiere of Silent Night. History awaits …

Allan E. Naplan President and General Director

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Synopsis

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Silent Night

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Background Notes

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Composer Kevin Puts

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Librettist Mark Campbell

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The Artists

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Up Next: Werther

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2011–2012 Season Subscriptions

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Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative

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Tempo

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Education at Minnesota Opera

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Upcoming at Ordway

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Minnesota Opera Board of Directors, Staff and Volunteers

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Minnesota Opera Annual Fund

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

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contents

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synopsis prologue Late summer, 1914 War is declared. At a Berlin opera house, the announcement disrupts the lives of international opera singers Anna Sørensen and Nikolaus Sprink. In a small Scottish church, it inspires William to enlist with his brother Jonathan as their priest, Father Palmer, looks helplessly on. In the Parisian apartment of the Audeberts, it angers Madeleine who excoriates her husband for leaving while she’s pregnant with their first child. With nationalistic songs in the background, the men prepare for war.

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act i

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In and around a battlefield, near the French border, before Christmas Scene one – December 23, late afternoon A skirmish between the Germans and the French and Scottish: corpses pile up in no-man’s land between the three bunkers. When William is shot, Jonathan must leave his brother behind to die.

Scene two – December 23, evening In the Scottish bunker, Lieutenant Gordon assesses the casualties while Father Palmer offers solace to Jonathan. In the French bunker, Lieutenant Audebert discovers the French General waiting to reprimand him for surrendering. The General leaves and Audebert laments the loss of his wife’s photograph to his aidede-camp, Ponchel. Alone, he tallies the casualties in the last battle, while missing Madeleine and their child whom he has not yet seen. He sings of needing sleep, a sentiment echoed by all of the soldiers.

As it starts to snow, covering the corpses in no-man’s land, the soldiers slowly begin to sleep. Alone in the German bunker, Nikolaus reveals his despair about war to an imagined Anna.

Scene three – December 24, morning In the German bunker, crates have arrived – and little Christmas trees from the Kronprinz. Lieutenant Horstmayer receives a directive that Nikolaus has been ordered to sing at the nearby chalet of the Kronprinz, along with one Anna Sørensen. Nikolaus departs for the chalet, excited that he will be reunited

act ii with Anna again after many months apart. The French soldiers receive crates of wine and food. Ponchel, a barber by trade, cuts Audebert’s hair and reminisces about having coffee with his mother every morning, who lives only an hour away on foot. The alarm clock he carries next to his heart (which shielded him from a bullet in the last battle) rings at ten o’clock every morning to remind him of it. In the Scottish bunker, crates of whiskey have arrived.

Jonathan writes a letter to his mother, not mentioning his brother’s death.

Scene four – December 24, early evening At the chalet, Anna and Nikolaus perform. Afterwards, they steal a few moments on a terrace outside. Anna is saddened by Nikolaus’ broken spirit. She vows to accompany him back to the battlefield.

Scene five – December 24, night In the French bunker, Gueusselin volunteers to infiltrate the German bunker and sidles onto no-man’s land. The Scottish soldiers drink whiskey and play a bagpipe that another unit has sent them, as Father Palmer sings a sentimental ballad. The men in the other bunkers hear the song.

Nikolaus arrives; his fellow soldiers greet him with cheers and amazement at seeing Anna with him. Nikolaus sings a rousing Christmas song; midway through, the bagpiper begins to accompany him. Emboldened, Nikolaus stands atop the bunker raising a Christmas tree as a gesture of friendship. Against the protestations of their superiors, the soldiers from all bunkers stand. Nikolaus moves to the center of no-man’s land.

Eventually, the three lieutenants, waving a white flag of truce, agree to a cease-fire … but only for Christmas Eve. The soldiers slowly and cautiously move toward each other. They share their provisions, their photos, their names. Anna appears and the soldiers are awed. Father Palmer holds mass for the men, while Jonathan finds his brother’s body and vows revenge.

When the mass is finished the men are urged to “go in peace;” bombs explode menacingly in the distance.

• intermission •

Scene one – December 25, dawn Jonathan tries to bury his brother. Two German sentries are about to shoot him when Father Palmer and Lieutenant Gordon intervene. Looking on, Horstmayer proposes that it may be time to bury all of the dead. The three lieutenants meet and decide that the truce will be extended.

Scene two – December 25, late morning, early afternoon Father Palmer delivers last rites, and the soldiers form a processional bearing the wagon of bodies away. Anna looks on with Nikolaus and promises that he will not suffer the same fate.

Scene three – December 25, all day In the meantime, news of the cease-fire has reached headquarters, and the British Major, the Kronprinz and the French General declare that they will punish the soldiers for their betrayal.

Scene four – December 25, evening When the truce is over, Nikolaus ridicules Horstmayer for his allegiance to the Fatherland; Horstmayer arrests him for insubordination. Anna takes Nikolaus’ hand and leads him across no-man’s land as Horstmayer orders his men to shoot. Reaching the French bunker unharmed, Nikolaus demands asylum for Anna and himself.

Scene five – December 26, late morning The British Major berates the Scottish soldiers for the truce and announces that they will be transferred to the front lines. When a German soldier is seen crossing the battlefield, the Major orders him killed. Jonathan shoots the man. The French General tells Audebert that he will be transferred to Verdun as punishment for the truce. Audebert informs the French General – his father – that he has learned he has an infant son named Henri. They vow to survive the war for the child’s sake. The Kronprinz angrily announces that the German soldiers are to be deployed to Pomerania. The soldiers are taken off in a boxcar. The battlefield is now completely empty. Snow begins to fall again. ❚

Music by Kevin Puts Libretto by Mark Campbell based on the screenplay by Christian Carion for the motion picture Joyeux Noël produced by Nord-Ouest Production commissioned by Minnesota Opera a Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative Production World Premiere November 12, 15, 17, 19 and 20, 2011 Ordway, Saint Paul Sung in English, French, German, Italian and Latin with English translations

cast the german side Nikolaus Sprink Anna Sørensen Lieutenant Horstmayer Kronprinz, son of Kaiser Wilhelm ii

the french side

William Burden Karin Wolverton Craig Irvin

John Robert Lindsey

Lieutenant Audebert Ponchel, his aide-de-camp French General Madeleine Audebert, Lt. Audebert’s wife Gueusselin, a soldier

Michael Nyby Troy Cook Gabriel Preisser Joseph Beutel

Brad Benoit, Ben Crickenberger, Thomas Glass, Brian Haase, Richard Joseph, Jonathan Kimple, Chandler Molbert, Rodolfo Nieto, Daniel Weinstein

A. J. Glueckert

the scottish side Jonathan Dale William Dale, his brother Father Palmer Lieutenant Gordon British Major

Liam Bonner Andrew Wilkowske Ben Wager Angela Mortellaro Ben Johnson

ensemble soldiers

creative team Conductor Stage Director and Dramaturg Set Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Projection Designer Sound Designer

Michael Christie Eric Simonson Francis O’Connor Kärin Kopischke Marcus Dilliard Andrzej Goulding C. Andrew Mayer

Wig and Makeup Designers Assistant Director Assistant Conductor Fight Choreographer Stage Manager Translation Assistance

Jason Allen and Ronell Oliveri Octavio Cardenas Clinton Smith Doug Scholz-Carlson Alexander Farino Anne Renucci, Jens Schäfer, Roberto Scarella Perino

Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell dedicate the score and libretto of Silent Night to Dale Johnson, whose idea it was to turn the movie Joyeux Noël into an opera and who nurtured it every step of the way.

Silent Night, based on the screenplay Joyeux Noël by Christian Carion for the motion picture produced by Nord-Ouest Production © 2005 – Nord-Ouest Production – Senator Film Produktion – Joyeux Noël Ltd. – Artemis Productions – Media Pro Pictures – tf1 Films Production – Les Productions de la Guéville

Silent Night is underwritten by

Silent Night is supported in part by

Margaret and Angus Wurtele

The Minnesota Opera season is sponsored by

7 The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

background notes

by David Sander

France and Britain. Nonetheless, an eventual alliance was made between the three unlikely comrades who now feared a newly unified Germany’s menacing power. Britain, in particular, was drawn out of historical isolationism after seeing arranging royal matches for her litter of Russia’s disastrous defeat in the RussoWorld War i and the children, chose Wilhelm’s son, the Crown Japanese war in 1905, knowing France Christmas Truce of 1914 Prince Frederick, for her oldest daughter would need at least one functional ally.

“Vicky.” Sadly, the heirs apparent would ow approaching its centenary, For all his bluster, Wilhelm ii was only enjoy a short time in the spotlight World War i scarcely receives terrified of the shift in balance of as Frederick died in the first year of the same attention as its more power, for his only treaty was with atrocious and deadlier younger sibling. his reign, leaving the empire to his son Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, a Yet the conflict’s position in history Wilhelm ii. Through other dynastic relationship that had been tested by his marriages, the new Kaiser found himself grandfather in the 1866 war between reveals a horrific change in modern warfare tactics that must have shocked first cousins to George v of England, the two countries. In an unexpected Nicholas ii of Russia and various heads tactical move, when the young Kaiser and overwhelmed its participants. of state as Victoria’s other children would inherited his empire, he foolishly Previously, Western Europe had make similar matches. Danish King enjoyed an unprecedented 43-year dismissed the new Reich’s architect, period of relative peace. The last major Christian ix likewise became “father-inOtto von Bismarck. Through duplicity, law” to Europe through the marriages or diplomacy and guile, the former clash had been between France and successions of his four children. This close chancellor had carefully engineered Prussia in 1870–71, instigated by the former, but provoked by the latter over bloodline would cast an uneasy pale over the map of Europe to Germany’s the Great War that was to come. the succession of the Spanish crown advantage. Wilhelm preferred a more Following the Franco-Prussian War, direct approach and embraced the to a Hohenzollern heir. Since the politics on the Continent continued Napoleonic wars, the Germans had “Schlieffen Plan,” a remarkably detailed to sour. France, Austria and Denmark and audacious top-secret preparation to been engaged in a massive land-grab, acquiring Schleswig-Holstein in 1864; would never get over their strategic invade France through Belgium and the and territorial losses. Austria found Hesse, Hanover and Mecklenburg in Alsace-Lorraine (to be fair, France had 1867; Bavaria in 1871; and the Alsace and some solace in assimilating the Balkan a similar Plan xvii designed to retake Lorraine districts following the French nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an its conquered provinces). The army defeat. It was at this point Wilhelm i action supported by the diplomatically could be sustained by Germany’s vastly sympathetic Germans, while angering superior and government-controlled appointed himself Emperor of the the other Balkan nations, Serbia in Second Reich. railway system, giving the initiative particular. Russia had the recent The Kaiser’s rise in prominence enough manpower and artillery to unpleasant memory of losing a war in the capture Paris in 39 days. Attention could attracted the attention of England’s Crimea (1853–56) fought against Turkey, then be shifted to the east, as it would Queen Victoria, who in the process of take the third entente member, Russia, at least that long to marshal its forces, thereby avoiding a war on two fronts.

Wilhelm found his opportunity when the heir to the Austrian Empire, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife were fatally shot on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by a member of the Serbian radical group, the Black Hand (the anarchists had already successfully murdered the king and queen of Serbia in 1903). He privately urged the archduke’s uncle, Franz Joseph, to take decisive action. When a list of unrealistic demands to investigate the matter was rejected (actually the Serbian government agreed to all but a few points), Austria recalled its ambassador and declared war within the month. The resulting

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Christmas Truce (Q 70075) Imperial War Museum (London, England)

background notes conflict in the remote Balkans was hardly a concern for greater Europe, but all the treaties were triggered into action. Russia was honor-bound to defend Serbia and entered the war on its behalf. Wilhelm was obligated to fight on Austria’s side, and to justify the protection of Germany’s own borders in East Prussia, he seized the opportunity to initiate the Schlieffen Plan against Russia and its allies. On August 4, 1914, the Germans invaded Belgium and headed toward France. As this action was a violation of Belgian neutrality, Britain was obliged to enter the war, against strong opposition.

The Schlieffen Plan was largely an intellectual exercise and didn’t account for a fair amount of Belgian resistance or British involvement. Nonetheless, in a few months the Germans found themselves entrenched on the French border. A war that was supposed to be over in six weeks had stalemated by December. Part of the problem was the increased lethality of industrialized nations. Nineteenth-century warfare had been a gentlemanly undertaking, where major battles would be decided in just a few days. In the four-decade gap since the last skirmish, both sides had significantly developed the velocity and range of artillery, which now included bolt action rifles, Howitzers, machine guns and tanks. Cavalry, cannons and bayonet runs were replaced by large, black, ear-splitting siege guns (christened “Black Berthas,” after the Krupp bomb manufacturing heiress) that yielded nitrate incendiary devices, capable of killing more soldiers with greater force, as did the subsequent introduction of unpredictable, toxic chlorine gas.

In trenches that ran from the English Channel to Switzerland, both sides dug in their heals for a subterranean war of attrition and endured hideous conditions – cold, moisture, mud, vermin, barbed wire, bombs and bullets – as well as a range of new illnesses coined “shellshock” and “trench foot.”

By December, Pope Benedict xv called for a cessation of hostilities for the holiday season, and both sides were ready for a break in the unanticipated carnage.

Acceptable military code allowed for

Trench Christmas photo by FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

small armistices during the course of a war (for meals and to bury the dead), and fraternization with the enemy, though discouraged, had occurred as recently as the Crimean, Civil and Franco-Prussian wars. “Tommy” and “Fritz” could put aside obligatory nationalism to see their opponents as regular guys forced into combat by ambitious superiors.

Given Britain’s strong German ties, many soldiers had actually worked in England and spoke English. Saxons and Anglo-Saxons had a shared ancestry, and most of the other Germans were Bavarian, Hessian and Westphalian reservists rather than soldiers of the Prussian elite – those were sent to the eastern front to defend their native lands. It was not uncommon for lower-grade officers to also participate in these proceedings, though some shrewdly left it to the enlisted men, believing the casual exchange might lead to useful intelligence from the other side of No Man’s Land.

Still, an official Christmas truce in 1914 was out-of-the-question, yet contrary to popular belief, there were many of them up and down the lines. The British had received care packages from King George’s daughter, Princess Mary, containing tobacco and chocolate, and the Germans were given cigars, beer and Tannenbäume from 32-year-old Kronprinz Wilhelm (who actually commanded the Fifth Army in the Argonne). Interactions varied from singing holiday songs back-and-forth

between the trenches to actual ceasefires with both sides meeting on the battlefield, sharing a smoke and exchanging rations. One had to be careful not to get too close to enemy territory, for some soldiers were taken prisoner if they gained any knowledge of positions or weaponry. Many of the British were perplexed by the appearance of the candle-lit trees over the makeshift bunkers and the kind spirits of the Germans – these were, after all, the same people who had brutally invaded Belgium with little regard for civilian life or property. Nonetheless, if they kept the conversation light and didn’t discuss the war, conviviality could be maintained.

Once part of the proud Napoleonic Grande Armée until La Débâcle (their defeat to the Prussians), the French soldiers were a little more hesitant to be cordial, given Germany’s aggressive history toward their country, with its siege and land seizure just 40 years earlier, and at present at the edge of France with the intent to recapture Paris. With the spirit of revanche, their camaraderie was not nearly on the same scale as the British. As one recorded, “You would not find the French and Germans exchanging cigarettes, I think, even if it were the morning of Judgment Day.” (In contrast, one rather ungrateful French soldier remarked to a German, “Beat those Britishers. We have no use for them.”) Though there were short agreements to lay down arms in order to take care of the dead (many of whom had 9

Historical site of the Western Front near Mesen (Messines), Belgium, south of Ypres ... site of many of the Christmas truces; photo by Mary Dibbern

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background notes

Kevin Puts, composer

been putrefying on the battlefield for weeks), after the task was completed, the animosity on both sides only grew.

Experiences varied from place to place. In some cases, wild animals were shot, roasted and shared, and football games (American soccer) allegedly took place on Christmas Day (though the shell-pitted battlefield may have presented somewhat of a challenge). Two famous opera singers were recognized singing at the front. Incidents of haircuts, juggling and backwards bicycling were reported, and newspapers were exchanged as the Germans believed theirs were filled with lies. Many thought of extending the armistice to Boxing Day (December 26) or all the way to the New Year. Photos were taken and letters of disbelief were sent home detailing the unusual circumstances – several found their way into the English and German periodicals alongside reports of their adversaries’ barbarity. When hostilities did resume, it was with reluctance, and the conflict was slow to achieve its original pitch.

Naturally, when news reached headquarters of these unofficial armistices, the high command was not pleased, but retribution was relatively lax. Though anti-fraternization is key to the success of any soldier, there was still a sense of wartime chivalry and few court-marshals were conducted, only a stern warning not to do it again. Many units were redeployed as it was believed they would not fight with the same voracity now that they had met the enemy face-to-face.

There was more talk about a truce the following Christmas.

Some veiled attempts – songs in trenches and casualty burials – did occur but nothing to the degree as what had been experienced one year earlier. The war had taken on a harsher tone of inhumanity with a greater intensity of slaughter.

Soldiers had witnessed the menacing effects of poisonous gas, Zeppelin and airplane bombings and submarine warfare, now tainted by the sinking of the Lusitania, an event that further damaged Germany’s image in the world view (particularly by the Americans, who lost over 100 citizens in the almost 2,000 civilian deaths). In spite of these gruesome engagements, all with high casualties, the battle front was fairly static until the entrance of the United States in 1917. By then, Russia had been consumed by civil unrest, and Austria was secretly suing for peace with France. Finally, by November 11, 1918, Germany came to grips with its folly and surrendered unconditionally.

In the end, the Schlieffen Plan ultimately failed. So promising at first, the maneuver had underestimated Paris’ garrison and the tenacity of its people, supply-and-demand problems at the invasion’s western-most flank, unreliable communication to forward positions and the earlier-than-anticipated mobilization of Russian troops in the east. The war redrew the map of Europe, costing millions of lives and the end of three empires while laying the groundwork for an even deadlier and more grotesque conflict just two decades later.

Early in the War to End All Wars, a 25-year-old lance corporal had narrowly escaped death in the first battle of Ypres on the Belgian border. He vehemently declined to participate in the Christmas Truce that followed and was devastated by Second Reich’s loss nearly four years later. Embittered, a wildly patriotic Adolf Hitler set in motion his dangerous course for an apocalyptic new world order. ❚

Described by The New York Times as “exhilarating and compelling,” the music of Kevin Puts has been commissioned and performed by leading orchestras, ensembles and soloists throughout North America, Europe and the Far East. Known for his distinctive and richly colored musical voice, Mr. Puts has received many of today’s most prestigious honors and awards for composition.

An early boost to his career came in 1996 when Mr. Puts was named Composer-in-Residence of both Young Concert Artists, Inc., and the California Symphony at the invitation of Barry Jekowsky, the orchestra’s Founder and Music Director. Other important early commissions came from the New York Youth Symphony, which premiered his Concerto for Everyone at Carnegie Hall in 1999, the Vermont Symphony and Ensemble Kobe (Japan), which co-commissioned Marimba Concerto featuring Makoto Nakura, and the National Symphony Orchestra, which commissioned the fanfare Continuo for brass and organ.

Since then, Mr. Puts has created a sizeable body of works for orchestra, which includes four symphonies and several concertos. In April 2008, Jeffrey Kahane and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra gave the premiere of Night, a piano concerto commissioned through the laco’s Sound Investment program. Mr. Puts has since begun performing the work himself, first appearing as soloist during the summer of 2010 with Marin Alsop conducting the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra. His Clarinet Concerto, commissioned

by Kathryn Gould, was written for Bil Jackson, who premiered the work with the Colorado Symphony under Jeffrey Kahane in 2009. As the Composer-in-Residence for the Fort Worth Symphony, Mr. Puts wrote a violin concerto for concertmaster Michael Shih, which was given its premiere in April 2007 with Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducting. Mr. Puts was selected as the 2007 American Composer-in-Residence for the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, where his Two Mountain Scenes was premiered by the New York Philharmonic. The summer of 2007 also saw the premiere of Mr. Puts’ Symphony No. 4: From Mission San Juan, commissioned by Howard Hansen and performed by the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, conducted

by Marin Alsop.

Mr. Puts’ 2005–2006 season included the premieres of three major orchestral works: Percussion Concerto for Orange County’s Pacific Symphony and the Utah Symphony, premiered by Evelyn Glennie; Sinfonia Concertante for five solo instruments and orchestra for the Minnesota Orchestra; and a cello concerto, Vision, commissioned by the Aspen Music Festival and performed by Yo-Yo Ma in honor of David Zinman’s

70th birthday. Other orchestral commissions have included River’s Rush for the Saint Louis Symphony and Leonard Slatkin for the opening celebration of the orchestra’s 125th anniversary season in 2004. Commissioned by Kathryn Gould and Meet the Composer through the “Magnum Opus” project, Symphony No. 3, “Vespertine” was premiered by the Marin Symphony Orchestra in May 2004. The Atlanta Symphony commissioned and premiered …this noble company in 2003. Falling Dream was commissioned by the American Composers Orchestra/bmi Foundation for a premiere at the 25th Anniversary Concert of the American Composers Orchestra in 2002 with conductor Dennis Russell Davies at Carnegie Hall. Symphony No. 2, for which Mr. Puts was commissioned as winner of the Barlow International Orchestra Competition, was premiered by the Cincinnati Symphony under Paavo Järvi in 2002 and later performed by the Utah Symphony under Keith Lockhart. Millennium Canons, commissioned by the Institute for American Music, was premiered by The Boston Pops and conductor Keith Lockhart in 2001 and has received multiple performances across the United States.

Recent chamber music projects have included Credo, commissioned by Chamber Music Monterey Bay for the Miro Quartet, which continues to perform the work widely across the United States and abroad. In 2008, the string sextet Concertante commissioned and premiered Arcana; The Eroica Trio premiered Trio-Sinfonia, a work commissioned by Music Accord in 2007, and continues to perform the work widely; and Four Airs was commissioned by the Music from Angel Fire Festival in 2004. Three Nocturnes was commissioned and premiered by the Verdehr Trio in 2004. The University of Texas Wind Ensemble commissioned Mr. Puts’ first work for winds, Chorus of Light, and premiered the piece with Jerry Junkin conducting in 2003. Summer 2002 saw the premiere of Einstein on Mercer Street, commissioned by the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and premiered by bass-baritone Timothy Jones with Kevin Noe conducting.

Mr. Puts’ honors include the 2003 Benjamin H. Danks Award for Excellence in Orchestral Composition of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a 2001 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, a 2001– 2002 Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome and the 1999 Barlow International Prize for Orchestral Music. While an undergraduate at the Eastman School of Music, Puts was awarded a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the bmi 2001 Carlos Surinach Fund Commission, bmi’s 1998 William Schuman Prize, and several grants from bmi and ascap.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Puts received both his Bachelor’s Degree and his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from the Eastman School of Music, and his Master’s Degree from Yale University. From 1999 to 2005, he taught composition at The University of Texas at Austin. Since 2006, he has been a member of the Composition Faculty at the Peabody Institute. ❚

Mark Campbell is one of the most in-demand librettists in opera today. In eight years, he was written libretti for nine operatic works, including : Volpone (Wolf Trap Foundation for the Arts, 2004 and 2007, music

by John Musto, directed

by Leon Major); Later the Same Evening (National Gallery of Art/University of Maryland, 2007; Manhattan School of Music, 2008; Glimmerglass Festival, 2011, music by Musto, directed

by Major); Bastianello and Lucrezia (New York Festival of Song, 2008, music by Musto and William Bolcom); Rappahannock County (Virginia Opera, 2011, music by Ricky Ian Gordon, directed by Kevin Newbury); and The Inspector (Wolf Trap Opera, 2011, music by Musto, directed by Major). Other operatic works include Three Lost Chords (Toronto’s Luminato Festival, American Opera Projects) and A Letter to East 11th Street (American Opera Projects and vox).

As a lyricist, Mr. Campbell penned all of the lyrics for Songs from an Unmade Bed, a theatrical song cycle with music by 18 composers (New York Theatre Workshop, 2005, directed by David Schweizer). The show has since been produced in many venues around the world. Other musicals for which he has written lyrics include: And the Curtain Rises, book by Michael Slade, music by Joseph Thalken (dc’s Signature Theatre, directed by Kristin Hanggi); The Audience (The Transport Group, directed

by Jack Cummings); Splendora, book by Peter Webb, music by Stephen Hoffman (American Place Theatre, directed by Jack Hofsiss); Akin, music by Richard Peaslee (Music-Theatre Group); and Light Shall Lift Them (Harvey Theatre, Brooklyn Next Wave Festival).

Recordings of Mr. Campbell’s works include the Grammy®-nominated Volpone (Wolf Trap Recordings), Later the Same Evening (Albany Records), Bastianello/ Lucrezia (Bridge Classical) and Songs from an Unmade Bed (Sh-k-Boom Records). Songs from an Unmade Bed is also published by Bill Holab Music.

Mr. Campbell’s awards include: first recipient of the Kleban Foundation Award for Lyricist, two Richard Rodgers Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a New York Foundation for the Arts Playwriting Fellowship, three Drama Desk Award nominations, a Rockefeller Foundation Award, a Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award and a Grammy® nomination. ❚

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Mark Campbell, librettist

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the artists Joseph Beutel

Liam Bonner

William Burden

british major

lieutenant audebert

nikolaus sprink

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Bass Joseph Beutel joins Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist program after spending the summer as a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist, where he covered Méphistophélès in Faust and the Catholic Priest in The Last Savage. Previous roles have included the Impresario/Direttore in the young artist production of Viva La Mamma! at Seattle Opera; Benoit and Alcindoro in La bohème for South Texas Lyric Opera; Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Mustafà in L’italiana in Algeri, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, Le Roi in Cendrillon and Herr Reich in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor for iu Opera Theatre; and the Sergeant in Pirates of Penzance for Western Michigan University.

Beutel was a district finalist in 2011 and a Palm Beach Opera Competition Encouragement Award recipient in 2010 and 2011. For Minnesota Opera this season, he appears as the British Major in Silent Night, Le Bailli in Werther, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and the Bonze in Madame Butterfly.

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Praised by Opera News for his “rich, versatile voice” and “beautiful instrument,” rising baritone Liam Bonner debuts this season with Los Angeles Opera as Sid in Albert Herring under the baton of James Conlon, returns to North Carolina Opera for his first performances of Il Conte di Luna in Il trovatore and to Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Moralès in Carmen followed by performances as Horatio in Hamlet in the worldwide hd broadcast.

Previous seasons have included his first performances of Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in a new production by David Alden, a role which he also covered at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as the role of Raimbaud in the new production of Le Comte Ory. He has sung Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles with New Orleans Opera, Ned Keene in Peter Grimes with Houston Grand Opera, Valentin in Faust with North Carolina Opera and made his Washington National Opera debut in the title role of Hamlet under the baton of Plácido Domingo.

Tenor William Burden has appeared in many prestigious opera houses in the United States and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Minnesota Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Théâtre du Châtelet, Bayerische Staatsoper, Berliner Staatsoper, Madrid’s Teatro Real and the Saito Kinen Festival. He has sung the title roles of Faust, Pelléas et Mélisande, The Rake’s Progress, Roméo et Juliette, Béatrice and Bénédict, Candide and Acis and Galatea; Captain Vere in Billy Budd, Don José in Carmen, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Pylade in Iphigénie en Tauride, Narraboth in Salome, Gérald in Lakmé, Nerone in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Aschenbach in Death in Venice. This season, he sings at San Francisco Opera as Daniel Hill in Heart of a Soldier, at Seattle Opera in the title role of Orphée et Eurydice, at Canadian Opera Co. as Jupiter in Semele and at Santa Fe Opera as the Shepherd in Szymanowski’s King Roger.

Michael Christie

Troy Cook

Marcus Dilliard

conductor

father palmer

lighting designer

Michael Christie became the Virginia G. Piper Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony in August 2005 and was the music director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic from 2005 to 2010. With his orchestras, he has embarked on a series of ambitious projects focusing on interdisciplinary collaborations with visual artists, dance companies and theater groups, as well as on contemporary composers such as Gorecki, Ligeti, Adams, Goijov and Tan Dun. He is also Music Director of the Colorado Music Festival, where he has been much praised for his innovative programming and 11 consecutive seasons of audience growth.

Since 2009, Mr. Christie has become much more involved with opera productions including two acclaimed productions each with Opera Theatre of St. Louis (Corigliano’s Ghosts of Versailles and Adams’ Death of Klinghoffer), Minnesota Opera (Verdi’s La traviata and Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights) and Aspen Opera Theatre (Ghosts of Versailles and West Side Story). This season’s operatic highlights include Minnesota Opera’s Silent Night and Madama Butterfly and otsl’s Alice in Wonderland.

For more biographical information about these artists, visit our website at mnopera.org/season or go to get.neoreader.com on your smartphone and then snap this tag.

American baritone Troy Cook recently debuted both the Hamburgische Staatsoper as Marcello in La bohème, where he also performed his first Ford in Falstaff in the spring of 2010, and the Royal Opera – Covent Garden as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte.

Mr. Cook’s 2011–2012 season includes appearances with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra as Marcello in La bohème, Opera Company of Philadelphia as Lescaut in Manon Lescaut and Central City Opera as Marcello.

Additionally, he joins Opera Rara for a recording of Donizetti’s Caterina Cornaro.

In the 2010–2011 season, Mr. Cook returned to Lyric Opera of Kansas City as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, sang his first Escamillo in Carmen at Green Mountain Opera Festival and appeared on the concert stage in performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Pacific Symphony and the Arizona Musicfest and the St. John Passion with the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

Future seasons will find him in multiple leading roles with Opera Company of Philadelphia.

Marcus Dilliard has designed for opera, theater and dance across North America and in Europe, including numerous productions for Minnesota Opera, the Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theater Company, Minnesota Dance Theater and Theatre de la Jeune Lune. Recent designs include God of Carnage for the Guthrie Theater, Norma for Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Song of Extinction for Theater Latté Da, All Is Calm at the Pantages Theater and An Ideal Husband for Great Lakes Theater Festival. Upcoming projects include Così fan tutte for Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Charlie’s Aunt for the Guthrie Theater, Cinderella for the Ordway and Julius

by Design for Penumbra Theater.

The appearances of Liam Bonner, national semifinalist; John Robert Lindsey, Angela Mortellaro, Gabriel Preisser and Andrew Wilkowske, regional finalists; and Joseph Beutel and A. J. Glueckert, 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.

the artists A. J. Glueckert

Andrzej Goulding

Craig Irvin

kronprinz

projection designer

lieutenant horstmayer

Andrzej Goulding trained in set and costume design on the Theatre Design course at Central Saint Martins in London.

Video designs include Orlando (Glasgow Opera, Festival Theatre Edinburgh), Enlightenment (Hampstead), Fried Rice Paradise (Esplanade Theatre, Singapore), Ghost the Musical (Workshop), The Last Witch (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh), The Pros, The Cons and a Screw, The Snow Queen (Derby), Pinocchio, 101 Dalmations (Royal and Derngate), Speed the Plow (Old Vic), Humble Boy (Royal and Derngate), Street Scene (Young Vic, tour), Varjak Paw (Linbury Studio, tour), The Wizard of Oz (Royal and Derngate), The Real Thing (Salisbury Playhouse) and Feather Boy (National Theatre Studio).

Animation work includes Ghost the Musical (Manchester Opera, Piccadilly Theatre), Love Never Dies (Adelphi), The Wizard of Oz (London Palladium) and Alice in Wonderland (Royal Opera).

Associate/asst. set design includes Ghost the Musical (2011), Matilda the Musical (rsc, Courtyard), The Lord of the Rings (Princess of Wales, Toronto), The Lord of the Rings (Theatre Royal Drury Lane) and Boeing Boeing (Comedy).

Bass-baritone Craig Irvin brings a vibrant sound and commitment to character to each role he portrays.

Recently in residence with Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center, his assignments have included Zuniga in Carmen, Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sam in A Masked Ball and Ashby in La fanciulla del West.

Over the summer and during the 2011– 2012 season, Mr. Irvin makes role and company debuts with Wolf Trap Opera as the Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, with Minnesota Opera and Opera Company of Philadelphia in Kevin Puts’ new opera Silent Night and with Cleveland Orchestra in Salome.

Additional upcoming engagements include Nashville Opera in his reprisal of the role of Ashby in La fanciulla del West.

Mr. Irvin recently sang the Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly and the Doctor/Professor in Lulu as well as Ramfis in Aida with Pensacola Opera. In the 2009–2010 season, he appeared as Angelotti in Tosca at Lyric Opera of Chicago and as Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Knoxville Opera.

Kärin Kopischke

John Robert Lindsey

Angela Mortellaro

costume designer

jonathan dale

madeleine audebert

Kärin Kopischke’s costume designs for opera have been seen across the country, including Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Colorado Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera and Skylight Opera Theatre. Ms. Kopischke has also designed costumes for Regional Theater Tony Award-winners American Conservatory Theater, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Long Wharf, Victory Gardens, Children’s Theatre Company, Crossroads, Cincinnati Playhouse and Chicago Shakespeare. She is a recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Award, the AriZoni Award and was nominated for the Prague Quadrennial.

Ms. Kopischke has taught costume design at Northwestern, DePaul and Carroll Universities. She currently teaches costume design at Lawrence University and lives in the woods of Door County, Wisconsin with her family Alan, Anya and Simon.

For more biographical information about these artists, visit our website at mnopera.org/season or go to get.neoreader.com on your smartphone and then snap this tag.

Colorado native tenor John Robert Lindsey is a recent graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he earned his Master of Music in vocal performance under the tutelage of Julie Simson.

Past engagements include Tenor Soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Sam Polk in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, the Stage Manager in Ned Rorem’s Our Town and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. Mr. Lindsey was met with numerous successes in competitions recently. He was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for the past two years, as well as taking third place in 2010 and first place in 2011 at the prestigious Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition.

For Minnesota Opera’s 2011–2012 season, Mr. Lindsey will appear as Jonathan Dale in Silent Night, Schmidt in Werther, Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor and Goro in Madame Butterfly.

Angela Mortellaro returns to the Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist program for a second season, singing the roles of Despina in Così fan tutte, Madeleine in Silent Night, Sophie in Werther, the title role in the Sunday cast of Lucia di Lammermoor and Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly. Last season, she was seen as Amore in Orpheus and Eurydice, Clorinda in Cinderella and Annina in La traviata. Other roles include Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with both PORTOpera and Sarasota Opera; Edith in The Pirates of Penzance and Anna Gomez in The Consul as a Chautauqua Opera Apprentice Artist; and Sister Genovieffa in Suor Angelica, Sally in Die Fledermaus and Clorinda in La Cenerentola for Orlando Opera Company. The soprano also appeared as Clorinda for Aspen Opera Theatre as well as Frasquita in Carmen and internationally as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro for Operafestival di Roma.

Ms. Mortellaro has a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from Rice University and a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Wisconsin.

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.

| SILENT NIGHT

Tenor A. J. Glueckert begins his first season as a Minnesota Opera Resident Artist singing the Kronprinz in Silent Night and Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Previously, he has been seen as Dr. Caius in Falstaff at Utah Opera, where he was a resident artist last year, and the Simpleton in Boris Godunov at Utah Festival Opera. Other roles include the Tambor-Major in Wozzeck and Sextus in Harrison’s Young Caesar for Ensemble Parallèlle, Wolfram in Les contes d’Hoffmann for Santa Fe Opera, Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette and Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor for San Francisco Lyric Opera, Le Remendado in Carmen for Festival Opera of Walnut Creek and Carl Magnus in A Little Night Music for sfcm Musical Theater Ensemble.

Mr. Glueckert performed a number of roles at his alma mater, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, including Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Dema in Cavalli’s L’Egisto, the title role in Orpheus in the Underworld, Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel and Don Basilio/ Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro.

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the artists Michael Nyby

Francis O’Connor

Gabriel Preisser

william dale

set designer

lieutenant gordon

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Baritone Michael Nyby made his operatic debut in 2002 with Ithaca Opera Company and his Canadian professional debut in 2007 with Burnaby Lyric Opera. He has performed with Vancouver Opera, Vancouver Bach Choir, Santa Fe Opera, Minnesota Opera and Duluth Festival Opera. Mr. Nyby was a member of the 2007–2008 Vancouver Opera in Schools, where he sang 138 performances of Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia. He has participated in artist development programs such as the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program and the Vancouver Opera Young Artist Coaching Intensive. He sang the role of Lord Cecil in Maria Stuarda for Minnesota Opera during the 2010–2011 season and was recently singled out in The New York Times for his “standout performance as the shepherd Leuthold” in Caramoor’s Guillaume Tell. Mr. Nyby looks forward to Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia for Vancouver Opera’s 2011–1012 season, where he will also be featured in Roméo et Juliette.

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Francis O’Connor trained at Wimbledon School of Art. Opera credits include Benzin (Chemnitz); Wut (Berne); Luisa Miller, Lucrezia Borgia, Roberto Devereux (Buxton Festival); Manon, The Adventures of Pinocchio (Opera North, Chemnitz, Minnesota); Capriccio, La fanciulla del West, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, South Pacific, Iolanthe (Grange Park Opera); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mirandolina, Ariadne auf Naxos, Don Pasquale (Garsington Opera); La traviata (English National Opera); Der Vogelhändler (Komische, Berlin); Maometto ii (Strasbourg); and Don Pasquale (Geneva).

Recent theater includes Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Dublin); The Secret Garden (Edinburgh and Toronto); Enlightenment (London); Crash (Leeds); Fried Rice Paradise (Singapore); Death of a Salesman (Leeds); Everyone (Edinburgh); Elves and the Shoemakers (Dundee); Equivocation (Manhattan Theatre Club); Peter Pan (Edinburgh); and Two Men of Florence (Boston – won the Norton Award for Best Design). Current projects include Macbeth (Liverpool); Il turco in Italia (Garsington Opera); Maria di Rohan (Buxton); and The Flying Dutchman (Berne).

Praised for his power and presence both as a singer and an actor by the Houston Chronicle, baritone Gabriel Preisser originally hails from the small town of Apopka, Florida. At the Moores Opera Center in Houston, he performed such roles as Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas, Tom Joad in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath, Larry Foreman in The Cradle Will Rock and the title role of both Don Giovanni and Elmer Gantry. Recently, Opera News applauded him for a beautifully sung Yamadori in Kentucky Opera’s production of Madame Butterfly. Mr. Preisser has also sung the title role of Il barbiere di Siviglia with Owensboro Symphony, John Brooke in Mark Adamo’s Little Women with Pensacola Opera, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with Intermezzo, Prince Ottokar in Der Freischütz with Des Moines Metro Opera, Jason from Grand Night for Singing with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, and Danilo in The Merry Widow and Masetto in Don Giovanni at Utah Festival Opera. For Minnesota Opera this season, he will sing Albert in Werther and Yamadori in Butterfly.

Eric Simonson

Ben Wager

Andrew Wilkowske

stage director

french general

ponchel

Writer and director Eric Simonson recently directed Wuthering Heights for Minnesota Opera and Rusalka for Colorado Opera. Other directing credits include The Grapes of Wrath at Minnesota Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and Carnegie Hall; numerous plays for Steppenwolf Theatre; and productions at The Huntington Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Primary Stages in New York, Court Theatre in Chicago, l.a. Theatre Works, The Kennedy Center, City Theater in Pittsburgh, Seattle Rep and San Jose Rep. His production of The Song of Jacob Zulu played on Broadway and received six Tony Awards including Best Director. His film directing credits include the documentaries A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin (Academy Award), On Tiptoe (Academy Award nomination) and Studs Terkel: Listening to America, all of which aired on hbo (Emmy Nomination). Playwriting credits include Lombardi (recently on Broadway), Bang the Drum Slowly, Work Song (co-written with Jeff Hatcher), Honest and Fake. Mr. Simonson is a member of Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago.

For more biographical information about these artists, visit our website at mnopera.org/season or go to get.neoreader.com on your smartphone and then snap this tag.

Bass Ben Wager is a 2009 graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, where his roles included Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Enrico in Anna Bolena, the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte and Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino.

Mr. Wager’s 2011–2012 season includes Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Minnesota Opera and a debut with Opera Boston as Capellio in I Capuleti ed i Montecchi.

During the 2010–2011 season, he appeared as Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles at Opera Cleveland, as Masetto in Don Giovanni at Dallas Opera and as Hindley in Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights for Minnesota Opera. As a member of the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2009, he has sung Panthus in Les Troyens, Doctor Grenvil in La traviata, Angelotti in Tosca and Escamillo and Zuniga in Carmen. The same year he debuted in Minnesota, singing the bass roles in Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio and appeared at Opera Company of Philadelphia as Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia.

Andrew Wilkowske is one of the most versatile performers on the stage today. His Papageno in The Magic Flute “stole the show” according to the Washington Post, and was a “lusty-voiced fellow,” according to Opera News. This season, the baritone returns to Skylight Opera Theatre for the premiere of Kirke Mechem’s The Rivals to play Baron von Hakenbock and debuts the role of Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Utah Opera. He also returns to Minnesota Opera as Sharpless in Madame Butterfly.

Mr. Wilkowske recently sang the title role in the critically acclaimed production of The Emperor of Atlantis with Boston Lyric Opera. He reprised the role of Noah in The Grapes of Wrath with the Collegiate Chorale at Carnegie Hall, a role he created for the world premiere in Minnesota, where he has recently been seen as Geppetto in Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio and Henry Kissinger in Nixon in China.

Mr. Wilkowske also performed in the North American premiere of Howard Shore’s The Fly at Los Angeles Opera.

Minnesota Opera would like to express appreciation to the individuals and organizations who helped with Opening Night activities: MAJ Doug Bekke, US Army Retired, GEN John W. Vessey, Jr. Chapter AUSA, Cretin-Derham Hall Jr. ROTC

the artists Karin Wolverton

MINNESOTA OPERA ORCHESTRA

CHORUS

VIOLIN I

CLARINET

Allison Ostrander concertmaster Julia Persitz David Mickens Judy Thon-Jones Angela Waterman Hanson Andrea Een Conor O’Brien Lydia Miller Giselle Hillyer Orieta Dado

Johnny Teyssier Nina Olsen double Eb Clarinet Karrin Meffert-Nelson double Bass Clarinet

Matthew Abbas Alex Barnett Brad Benoit Kelsey Bruso Michael Burton Joseph Clegg Zachary Colby Joshua Cramer Ben Crickenberger Steven Dahlberg John deCausmeaker Jock Donaldson Stefan Egerstrom Peter Frenz Thomas Glass Brandon Glosser David Goudzwaard Daniel Greco Brian Haase Alex Heetland Jason Hernandez Benjamin Hills Timothy James Ben Johnson Brian Jorgensen Richard Joseph Jonathan Kimple Andy Kirk Jake LaSota Eric Mahutga Brian Maus Riley McNutt Eric Mellum Chandler Molbert Phong Nguyen Rodolfo Nieto Tim O’Brien Jon Thomas Olson Mario Perez Grant Scherzer Robert Schmidt Eric Sorum Michael Tambornino Patrick Terry Mark Thomas Colyn Tvete Adan Varela Daniel Weinstein

anna sørensen

BASSOON Coreen Nordling Laurie Hatcher Merz

CONTRABASSOON Cheryl Kelley

VIOLIN II Laurie Petruconis Elizabeth Decker Melinda Marshall Margaret Humphrey Huldah Niles Alastair Brown Miriam Moxness Griffiths Anne Strasser

VIOLA David Auerbach Laurel Browne Jenny Lind Nilsson Susan Janda Justin Knoepfel James Bartsch

HORN Charles Hodgson Neal Bolter Rebecca Jyrkas Lawrence Barnhart

TRUMPET John G. Koopmann Christopher Volpe Craig Hara

TROMBONE Phillip Ostrander John Tranter David Stevens

TUBA CELLO Sally Gibson Dorer Rebecca Arons Thomas Austin Ramiro Alvarez Kirsten Whitson Dale Newton

MINNESOTA DISTRICT AUDITIONS December 3, 2011, 10am Ordway McKnight Theatre, St. Paul, MN Judges are Carol Kirkpatrick, Emily Pulley and Joel Revzen

UPPER MIDWEST REGION AUDITIONS February 4, 2012, 12pm Ordway Main Stage, St. Paul, MN With MET judge and Executive Director Gayletha Nichols, Eric Weimer and Bruce Stasyna.

All Metropolitan Opera National Council Events are free and open to the public.

For more information visit moncuppermidwest.org or call Margaret Houlton at 952-939-6908

BASS John Michael Smith Constance Martin Jason C. Hagelie Charles Block

Ralph Hepola

TIMPANI Kory Andry

PERCUSSION Matthew Barber Paul Hill Bob Adney

KEYBOARD Erin McEnaney

HARP FLUTE

Nikki Lemire

Michele Frisch Amy Morris Eun Cho

Michael Breidenbach

BAGPIPE (offstage)

OBOE

HARMONICA (offstage)

Michael Dayton Justin Schwartz

Chris Kachian

STRING QUARTET ENGLISH HORN

(offstage)

Mark Seerup

Stephan Orsak, violin Almut Engelhardt-Kachian, violin Coca Bochonko, viola Joseph Englund, cello

SUPERNUMERARIES Shad Cooper Jesse Corder Andy Flamm Scott Herman Andrew Northrop Steven Pomije

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

| SILENT NIGHT

Karin Wolverton has been described by Opera News as “a young soprano to watch.” In 2010–2011, Ms. Wolverton joined the Dayton Philharmonic for its gala performance of “Viva Italia!,” sang the role of Pamina with the Minnesota Orchestra in Die Zauberflöte, performed Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Opera Omaha and was featured in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Phoenix Symphony.

Future engagements include her Carnegie Hall debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Chippewa Valley Symphony.

Recent roles include Musetta in La bohème, Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Minnesota Opera, Mimì in La bohème with Pensacola Opera, a reprisal of her role in The Grapes of Wrath with Pittsburgh Opera, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Piedmont Opera and Mimì in La bohème with Teatro Nacional de Managua in Nicaragua. Ms. Wolverton has been seen as Micaëla in Carmen as well as Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress and Antonia in Les contes d’ Hoffmann with Des Moines Metro Opera.

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| SILENT NIGHT

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

SPENCER STUART IS PROUD TO SUPPORT MINNESOTA OPERA

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We are pleased to present guest conductor Maestro Michael Christie in Minnesota Opera’s production of Silent Night.

The Adventures of Pinocchio – February, 2009 Jesse Blumberg and Kelly Kaduce in Minnesota Opera’s The Grapes of Wrath (2007). Blumberg returns in Bernard Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights.

Minnesota Opera’s world premiere production of Silent Night was commissioned and developed through the Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative. The hd video recording of Silent Night (to be recorded on November 17) is also funded through the New Works Initiative, a sevenyear, $7 million program designed to invigorate the opera repertoire with an infusion of new and contemporary works. Through this Initiative, Silent Night and the other contemporary works we champion will be given life well beyond these performances in the Twin Cities.

Casanova’s Homecoming – November, 2009

Minnesota Opera came into being in 1963 with a world premiere of Dominick Argento’s opera Masque of Angels, produced (by the then-Center Opera) on the brand new stage of the Guthrie Theater. For decades, Minnesota Opera’s commitment to new and contemporary opera made it a rarity in the world of American opera. A landmark National Endowment for the Arts study in 1985 revealed that Minnesota Opera was the only company that year to produce a new work.

Fortunately, the landscape has changed. Now, new American cape ha opera has never been more ppopular. Minnesota Opera is grateful to its audience for nearly nea a half-century of support of new and contemporary opera. oper The New Works Initiative has been guided and supported by the committee listed on this page. They have helped the company deepen its role as a leader in the production of new work.

Wuthering Heights – April, 2011

MINNESOTA OPERA New Works Initiative Committee: Margaret Wurtele, Chair Karen Bachman Burt Cohen Jane Confer Judy Dayton John Huss

Silent Night – November, 2011

Ruth Huss Lucy Jones Robert Marx Jenny Nilss0n

Allan Naplan, President and General Director

| SILENT NIGHT

Gayle Ober

Dale Johnson, Artistic Director

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Elizabeth Redleaf Mary Vaughan Bernt von Ohlen

opera tasting 2011

Tempo is a membership program for both new and seasoned opera-goers ages 21–39. Your $50 Tempo membership includes exciting benefits to help you get acquainted with Minnesota Opera.

UPCOMING TEMPO EVENTS: UPCOMING TEMPO EVENTS: Oct. 26 Silent Night Preview Event Dec. OperaNight Bootcamp: Nov. 8 12 Silent Tempo Night Out +Basic AfterTraining Party Jan. 11 Werther PreviewBasic Event Dec. 8 Opera Bootcamp: Training

mnopera.org/tempo | 612-333-6669 Email us: tempo@mnopera.org Check out our blog: mnopera-tempo.blogspot.com Official home of Tempo Night Out + After Party for the 2011–2012 season

Follow Tempo on Facebook®

Director of Sales and Operations Amy Newton

Advertising Account Executives Alice Reimann Lynn Kohlasch Wendy Wagner Peggy Short

Creative Manager Susan Schwegman

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Graphic Designer / Assistant Director of Operations

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Danielle Biers

Graphic Designers Stacy Harwood Suzanne Sentyrz Klapmeier

Publisher Arch Crist

For Advertising Opportunities in Minnesota Opera Program Magazines: info@artsandcustom.com | 952.843.4603 www.artsandcustom.com

© 2011 Digital Crush Photography

Jan. 28 Werther Tempo Night Out + After Party

info@artsandcustom.com www.artsandcustom.com 952.843.4603

| SILENT NIGHT

Advertising in the Minnesota Opera program magazine will help you reach key audiences.

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education at the opera

PROJECT OPERA FALL RETREAT In early October, Project Opera held their fall retreat on the campus of Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota. Students toured the campus and learned about their new Vocal Performance Program which is being led by former Resident Artist Brad Benoit. Minnesota Opera is thankful to Shattuck-St. Mary’s School for being such a wonderful host!

save the date:

Project Opera Winter Concert Friday, February 3, 2012 7pm Ordway Center

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Project Opera will present its Winter Concert which will feature selections from The Giver, the newly commissioned opera by Susan Kander based on the book by Lois Lowry, and Victor Herbert’s Babes in Toyland, among many others.

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education at the opera

Octavio Cardenas, Resident Artist Stage Director, takes high schoolers through an acting exercise.

NAIL YOUR NEXT AUDITION! Two Day at the Opera audition master classes will be held on January 16 and February 20 for high school-aged singers and pianists. The day-long program gives participants an opportunity to perform in a master class led by Minnesota Opera staff, learn about the “inner game” of audition preparation and get a behind-the-scenes look at the world of opera.

This program is ideal for teens in grades 9–12 who are preparing solos for spring contest, All-State and college auditions.

| SILENT NIGHT

To register, contact Jamie Andrews at andrews@mnopera.org. Space is limited.

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ONSTAGE NOVEMBER Nov 12, 15, 17, 19, 7:30pm;

Nov 20, 2pm Minnesota Opera A New Works Initiative Production Silent Night World Premiere Nov 22, 7:30pm Ordway Target® World Music Series Still Black, Still Proud An African Tribute to James Brown Nov 25 & 26, 8pm The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 Nov 29, 8pm The Schubert Club André Watts, piano

DECEMBER Dec 2, 10:30am & 8pm; Dec 3, 8pm The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3

Dec 13 - Jan 1 Times Vary Ordway Theater Season An Ordway Production Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

JANUARY Jan 6, 10:30am & 8pm; Jan 7, 8pm The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony Jan 10, 8pm The Schubert Club Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano & Malcolm Martineau, piano Jan 13, 10:30am & 8pm; Jan 14, 8pm The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Mozart and Ligeti Jan 15, 7:30pm Ordway Target Dance Series Ronald K. Brown Evidence, A Dance Company

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Jan 20 & 21, 7:30pm; Jan 22, 2pm Ordway McKnight Theatre Broadway Songbook: The Words and Music of Contemporary Broadway

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Jan 20 & 21, 8pm The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Christine Brewer Sings Beethoven and Wagner Jan 28, 31 & Feb 2, 7:30pm; Feb 4, 8pm; Feb 5, 2pm Minnesota Opera Werther by Jules Massenet

Target World Music and Dance Series is generously sponsored by

minnesota opera staff

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President and General Director | Allan Naplan Artistic Director | Dale Johnson

OFFICERS

ARTISTIC

PRODUCTION

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 Joseph Beutel, Aaron Breid, Octavio Cardenas, A.J. Glueckert, John Robert Lindsey, Eric McEnaney, Angela Mortellaro, Gabriel Preisser, Mary-Lacey Rogers, Clinton Smith, Victoria Vargas Master Coach | Mary Jo Gothmann

Production Director | Kevin Ramach Production Stage Manager | Alexander Farino Assistant Stage Managers Shayna j. Houp, Andrew Landis Production Administrative Assistant Katherine Cattrysse

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 Jensen First Hands Helen Ammann, Kelsey Glasener, Allison Guglielmi Stitchers Rebecca Ballas, Ann Habermann, Rachel Skudlarek, Kristen Weller Wig/Makeup Supervisor | Andrea Moriarity Wig/Makeup | Priscilla Bruce

SCENERY Technical Director | Mike McQuiston Properties Master | Jenn Maatman Interim Prop Master | Stanley Dean Hawthorne Properties Assistant | Michael C. Long Lighting Coordinator | Raymond W. Steveson, Jr. Assistant Lighting Coordinator | Tom Rost Assistant Set Designer | Michael Kaukl Assistant Projection Designer | Kim Battistini Animator | Brian Horgan Production Carpenter | JC Amel Scene Shop Foreman | Rod Aird Master Carpenters | Steven Rovie, Eric Veldey Carpenters Nate Kulenkamp, Steve Dalglish, Molly Diers, Jarrod Iverson Charge Painter | Jeffery Murphey Painters Caprice Glaser, Laura Hohanshelt, Rosanna King, Rachel Madden, Lili Payne, Kathleen Sullivan

Stephanie Prem, Secretary Heinz F. Hutter, Treasurer

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

Martha Goldberg Aronson

Robert Lee

Wendy Bennett

Lynne E. Looney

Shari Boehnen

David Meline

DEVELOPMENT

Susan S. Boren

Leni Moore

Kathleen Callahan

Luis Pagan-Carlo

Rachelle D. Chase

Jose Peris

Jane Confer

Bradford Pleimann

Jodi Dehli

Mary Ingebrand-Pohlad

Chip Emery

Stephanie J. Prem

Bianca Fine

Sergio Rial

Steve Fox

Don Romanaggi

Sharon Hawkins

Mark Schwarzmann

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

Margaret Houlton

Peter Sipkins

Ruth Huss

Barry Snyder

MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS

Heinz F. Hutter

Simon Stevens

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, Carrie Walker Interns | Clark Rahman, Carrie Walker

Philip Isaacson

Bernt von Ohlen

James Johnson

Sharon Winslow

Patricia Johnson

Margaret Wurtele

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

EDUCATION Community Education Director | Jamie Andrews Teaching Artist | Angie Keeton Project Opera Music Director | Dale Kruse Project Opera Accompanist | Kathy Kraulik Project Opera Program Assistant | Ana Ashby

INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

DIRECTORS

Christine Larsen

EMERITI Karen Bachman

Julia W. Dayton

John A. Blanchard, III

Mary W. Vaughan

Burton Cohen

HONORARY DIRECTORS

The following volunteers contribute their time and talent to support the key activities of Minnesota Opera. If you would like to learn more about volunteering please visit mnopera.org/volunteer, email volunteering@mnopera.org or call Jenna Wolf at 612-342-9569.

Merle Hanson Jeanie Johnston Robin Keck David Lightstone Jenny Lightstone Jerry Lillquist

Rachelle D. Chase, Vice Chair

ADMINISTRATION

minnesota opera volunteers

Gerald Benson Debra Brooks Jerry Cassidy Judith Duncan Jane Fuller Joan Gacki

Allan Naplan, President and General Director

Joyce Lillquist Mary McDiarmid Verne Melberg Barbara Moore Douglas Myhra Candyce Osterkamp

Dan Panshin Pat Panshin Eric Peterson Sydney Phillips Wendi Sott Barbara Willis

Minnesota Opera is a proud member of The Arts Partnership with Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and The Schubert Club.

Dominick Argento

Norton M. Hintz

Philip Brunelle

Liz Kochiras

Dolly Fiterman

Patricia H. Sheppard

LEGAL COUNSEL James A. Rubenstein, Moss & Barnett

| SILENT NIGHT

COSTUMES

Chip Emery, Chair

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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 $25,000 and above Anonymous Mary and Gus Blanchard 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 Elizabeth Redleaf Mary W. Vaughan Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation C. Angus and Margaret Wurtele

Cy and Paula Decosse Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation William I. and Bianca M. Fine Charitable Trust Albin and Susan Nelson Carolyn, Sharon and Clark Winslow

Gold $15,000–$24,999

Silver $10,000–$14,999

Ellie and Tom Crosby, Jr. Jane M. and Ogden W. Confer

Anonymous Karen Bachman Susan Boren

Dr. and Mrs. Daniel D. Buss Sara and Jock Donaldson Dolly J. Fiterman 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

camerata circle Platinum $7,500–$9,999 Tracy and Eric Aanenson 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 Stephanie Prem and Tom Owens Connie and Lew Remele Chris and Mark Schwarzmann Maggie Thurer and Simon Stevens Bernt von Ohlen and Thomas Nichol

Gold $5,000–$7,499 Anonymous (2) James Andrus Martha Goldberg Aronson and Daniel Aronson Martha and Bruce Atwater Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation William Biermaier and David Hanson Kathleen Callahan

Darlene J. and Richard P. Carroll 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 Margaret and Andrew Houlton Cynthia and Jay Ihlenfeld 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 Barbara and David Meline Bill and Barbara Pearce Jose Peris and Diana Gulden Shawn and Brad Pleimann Sergio Rial Lois and John Rogers Patricia and Don Romanaggi Jennifer and Chris Romans Drs. Joseph and Kristina Shaffer Stephanie Simon and Craig Bentdahl Peter and Bonnie Sipkins Susan and Barry Snyder

Virginia L. and Edward C. Stringer Mr. and Mrs. James Swartz Lori and Herbert Ward

Anonymous (4) Annette Atkins and Tom Joyce Alexandra O. Bjorklund Dr. Lee Borah, Jr. Margee and Will Bracken Christopher J. Burns Susan and Richard Crockett Gisela Corbett Thomas and Mary Lou Detwiler Mona and Patrick Dewane Ralph D. Ebbott Nancy and Rolf Engh Patricia R. Freeburg Christine and Jon Galloway Lois and Larry Gibson Meg and Wayne Gisslen Mrs. Myrtle Grette Michele Harris and Peter Tanghe Dorothy Horns and James Richardson Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Horowitz James Jelinek and Marilyn Wall Dale A. Johnson Jacqueline Nolte Jones

Robert and Susan Josselson Kathleen and John Junek Warren and Patricia Kelly Lyndel and Blaine King Robert Kriel and Linda Krach Helen L. Kuehn David MacMillan and Judy Krow Margery Martin and Dan Feidt Roy and Dorothy Mayeske Mary Bigelow McMillan Karla Miller Allan Naplan and Christina Harrop Nancy and Richard Nicholson Kelly and Michael Palmer Marge and Dwight Peterson Mr. and Mrs. William Phillips Rhoda and Paul Redleaf 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 Carolyn and Andrew Thomas William Voedisch and Laurie Carlson Ellen M. Wells Nancy and Ted Weyerhaeuser

Lori and Tom Foley Salvatore Silvestri Franco Kris and Kristina Fredrick Bradley Fuller and Elizabeth Lincoln 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 Elizabeth and Jule Hannaford Hackensack Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation Don Helgeson and Sue Shepard 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 Wadad Kadi Stan and Jeanne Kagin 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 Kyle Kossol and Tom Becker Constance and Daniel Kunin Mark and Elaine Landergan Christl and Andrew Larson Diane and David Lilly, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. B. John Lindahl, Jr. Bill Long

Silver $2,500–$4,999

artist circle | MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

$1,000–$2,499

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Anonymous (2) Arlene and Tom Alm Kim A. Anderson Jamie Andrews and Jane Kolp-Andrews 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 Ellen and Jan Breyer Conley Brooks Family Juliet Bryan and Jack Timm Ann and Glen Buttermann Elwood and Florence Caldwell Joan and George Carlson Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. 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 Mary and Kevin Date Clarke Davis Fran Davis Judson Dayton Ruth and Bruce Dayton The Denny Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Margaret DiBlasio Elise Donohue Joan Duddingston Joyce and Hugh Edmondson Ann Fankhanel Ester and John Fesler Joyce and Hal Field Gail and Donald Fiskewold

annual fund | individual giving artist circle (continued) Dawn M. Loven Mr. and Mrs. Reid MacDonald Barbara McBurney Helen and Charles McCrossan Sheila McNally Deb and Jon McTaggart Judith and James Mellinger Kendrick B. Melrose Family Foundation Velia R. Melrose David and LaVonne Middleton Dr. and Mrs. Alfred Moore Sandy and Bob Morris Judy and David Myers

Elizabeth B. Myers Kaye and Terry Myhre Joan and Richard Newmark Eric Norman Julia and Brian Palmer Pat and Dan Panshin Paula Patineau Suzanne and William Payne Suzanne and Rick Pepin Susan and David Plimpton Mary and Robert Price Connie and Jim Pries Sara and Kevin Ramach

John and Sandra Roe Foundation Thomas D. and Nancy J. Rohde Gordon and Margaret Rosine Chris and Jeff Rotsch Andrea and James Rubenstein Kristine and Roger Ruckert Terry Saario and Lee Lynch Sampson Family Charitable Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Schindler Karen and Mahlon Schneider Ardath and Glenn Solsrud Matthew Spanjers Julie and Bruce Steiner

Dana and Stephen Strand Michael Symeonides and Mary Pierce Tempo Board Members Stephanie C. Van D’Elden Cindy and Steven Vilks Mr. and Mrs. Philip Von Blon Bryan Walker and Christine Kunewa-Walker Dr. Craig and Stephanie Walvatne James and Sharon Weinel Lani Willis and Joel Spoonheim

Ken and Peggy Bonneville Judith and Arnold Brier Debra Brooks and James Meunier Dr. Hannelore Brucker Thomas and Joyce Bruckner Joann Cierniak J.P. Collins Bronwen Cound and William Brody Roxanne and Joseph Cruz Amos and Sue Deinard Mary Jean and John deRosier Holli Egerstrom Kingston Fletcher Mr. and Mrs. John Forsythe Terence Fruth and Mary McEvoy Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Jane Fuller Joan and William Gacki Roger L. Hale and Nor Hall Albert and Janice Hammond Frederick J. Hey, Jr. Marna and John Holman Diane and Paul Jacobson

Janet N. Jones Drs. Charles and Sally Jorgensen Jane and Jim Kaufman Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Amy and Chris Koch Scott and Karla Lalim Ruth W. Lyons Mahley Family Foundation Tom and Marsha Mann Lois and Tom Martin Donald Masler Carolyn and Charles Mayo Laura McCarten Katherine Merrill Jack and Jane Moran Theresa and Jim Murray Ann and John O’Leary Dennis R. Olson Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Derrill M. Pankow James A. Payne Dwight and Christina Porter Carroll and Barbara Rasch Dennis M. Ready

Debra Rectenwald Lawrence M. Redmond Dr. Ann M. Rock Richard T. and Liane A. Rosel Enrique and Clara Rotstein Kathleen and Mike Ruhland David E. Sander Christian and Mary Schrock Cherie and Robert Shreck Clifford C. and Virginia G. Sorensen Charitable Trust of The Saint Paul Foundation Jon Spoerri and Debra Christgau Judith Stone Dr. Anthony Thein Jill and John Thompson Emily Anne and Gedney Tuttle David L. Ward Mary Weinberger Howard and Jo Weiner Barbara and Carl White Barbara and James Willis S.B. Hadley Wilson

Maureen Kucera-Walsh Robert and Venetia Kudrle James and Gail LaFave Beatrice H. Langford Chris and Marion Levy Keith and Margaret Lindquist Dr. Joan E. Madden Donald and Rhoda Mains Orpha McDiarmid Family Fund Dr. L. David Mech Jane and Joseph Micallef Virginia Miller Steven J. Mittelholtz Michael J. and Judith Mollerus Brad Momsen and Rick Buchholz Jill Mortensen and S. Kay Phillips Virginia Dudley and William Myers Sarah Nagle Merritt C. Nequette and Pauline Lambert Lucia Newell Lowell and Sonja Noteboom Dr. Dorothy Novak Ben and Lynn Oehler Patricia A. O’Gorman Scott J. Pakudaitis Mark Palmer Lana K. Pemberton Mary Helen Pennington M.D.

Eric Peterson and Jenna Wolf Kathleen M. Philipp Walter Pickhardt and Sandra Resnick Stephen and Julianne Prager Nicole and Charles Prescott Dan Rasmus and Kari Fedje Rasmus Jim and Lauri Roberts Dr. Hanan J. Rosenstein Daniel Roth Thomas Ryan Mary Savina Deborah and Allan Schneider Paul L. Schroeder Mrs. Donald Sell Mr. and Mrs. Morris Sherman Debra Sit and Peter Berge Daniel J. Spiegel Family Foundation Thomas and Sharon Stoffel Lowell and Deb Stortz Vanesa and David Sutherland Jean Thomson and John Sandbo Susan Truman Don and Holly Weinkauf David and Karin Wendt John and Sandra White Wendy Wildung David and Rachelle Willey Daniel Richard Zillmann

patron circle Gold $750–$999 Barbara S. Belk Gerald and Phyllis Benson Susanne Haas and Ross Formell Dusty Mairs Stanislaw Skrowaczewski Warren Stortroen Frank and Frances Wilkinson John W. Windhorst Jr.

Silver $500–$749 Anonymous Floyd Anderson August J. Aquila and Emily Haliziw Dr. and Mrs. Orn Arnar Suzanne Asher Jo and Gordon Bailey Family Fund of the Catholic Community Foundation Susan Bienkowski Scott D. Bjelde Martin and Patricia Blumenreich

$250–$499 Anonymous Paul and Val Ackerman Thomas O. Allen Katherine Anderson Charles and Mary Anderson Quentin and Mary Anderson Marcia J. Aubineau Eric S. Anderson and Janalee R. Aurelia Dan Avchen Ronald and Kay Bach Thomas Bailey James and Gail Bakkom Bishu and Irina Bandyopadhyay John and Patricia Beithon Estelle T. Bennett Allen Brookins-Brown Stephen Bubul Mr. Ellis Bullock Jerome and Linda Carlson Katherine Castille Sandy and Doug Coleman Marc and Virginia Conterato Sage and John Cowles Jr. Barb Davis Kay Dewane Mary Dibbern Joshua A. Dorothy

Herbert and Betty Fantle Charles and Anne Ferrell Brian M. Finstad C.D.F. Foundation Melanie and Bruce Flessner Susan E. Flint and Michael Leirdahl David and Margene Fox Charlotte and Gene Frampton Judith Garcia Galiana and Alberto Galiana Greta and Paul Garmers Katherine and Robert Goodale Jr. John and Lynn Goodwyne Dr. Richard Gregory Jennifer Gross and Jerry LeFevre Russell and Priscilla Hankins Douglas and Doris Happe Jill A. Heath Andrew Holey and Gary Whitford Reverend and Mrs. Henry H. Hoover Worth L. Hudspeth Ray Jacobsen Deborah and Ronald Jans Erika and Herb Kahler Jim and Kathleen Karges Carole and Joseph Killpatrick Janice L. Kimes Alan and Ann Koehler

These lists are current as of October 4, 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, Individual Gifts Officer, at 612-342-9569.

| SILENT NIGHT

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 Robert and Ellen Green Ieva Grundmanis * Ruth Hanold * Fredrick J. Hey, Jr. 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 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 Mildred McGonagle * Mary Bigelow McMillan Margaret L. and Walter S. * Meyers John L. Michel and H. Berit Midelfort Susan Molder * Edith Mueller *

Joan and Richard Newark Philip Oxman and Harvey Zuckman 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

* In Remembrance

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 S POTLIGHT John and Ester Fesler In conjunction with the world premiere of Silent Night, Minnesota Opera would like to take a moment to recognize the many individuals whose service in the military has ensured the freedoms we as Americans are so fortunate to enjoy.

In 1944, a very young John Fesler (he was just 18 years old) left the familiarity of Shattuck-St. Mary’s School, his family and Minnesota to begin his military service and basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

This experience away from home was just the start of his service, which continued with a long boat ride across the Atlantic (amidst German submarine raids), being wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and ultimately ending in an English hospital before being sent home and discharged.

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

John Fesler in 1944 (on left).

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When asked his opinion of an opera depicting the famous 1914 World War i Christmas Eve truce, John said he thought the topic very appropriate and relevant today. Everyone, even people who have never served in the military, can appreciate the themes in Silent Night of loneliness, being homesick, longing for family and the human desire for peace.

This November, John and his wife Ester (both longtime Minnesota Opera patrons) will not only remember friends on Veteran’s Day, but they will also attend Silent Night. John and Ester expect to experience many emotions at the performance, which is what makes opera such an amazing art form – it reaches the audience and pulls at the heart by portraying the essence of the human experience.

John and Ester Fesler

annual fund | institutional giving minnesota opera sponsors Season Sponsor

Opera Up Close Official Caterer

Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank & The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank

Macy’s Design Cuisine

Production Innovation System General Mills

Production Sponsors

Così fan tutte Target Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank Werther Target

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

Resident Artist Program Wenger Foundation

Tempo Cast Parties Sakura

Opera Insights Conductor Appearances

Comcast

SpencerStuart

Camerata Dinners

Champagne Intermission Receptions

Lowry Hill

Piper Jaffray

Gala Sponsor

Broadcast Partner

Ascent Private Capital Management of U.S. Bank

Minnesota Public Radio

This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

$50,000–$99,999

corporations, foundations and government 3M Foundation Ameriprise Financial, Inc. General Mills Foundation The McKnight Foundation The Medtronic Foundation Minnesota State Arts Board Target Travelers Foundation U.S. Bancorp Foundation U.S. Bank UnitedHealth Group The Wallace Foundation

Platinum $10,000–$24,999 Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation Best Buy Children’s Foundation Cargill Foundation Comcast The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Dorsey & Whitney Foundation Ecolab 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 COMPAS 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 Gifts $250–$2,499 Athwin Foundation Bobby & Steve’s Auto World Youth Foundation The Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation Enterprise Holdings Foundation Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. Le Jeune Family Foundation McVay Foundation Maslon, Edelman, Borman & Brand 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.

| SILENT NIGHT

Sponsors $25,000+

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