Minnesota Opera's Roberto Devereux Program

Gaetano Donizetti

Roberto Devereux

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Roberto Devereux Contents Minnesota Opera Staff and Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Notes from the Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Roberto Devereux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Background Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Synopsis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Gaetano Donizetti. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Director’s Notes: Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux, Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The Artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The Minnesota Opera Chorus and Orchestra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Upcoming: La bohème . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Education at the Opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 2010–2011 Season Announcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Minnesota Opera Annual Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Donor Spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Minnesota Opera President & ceo Artistic Director Chair, Board of Directors

Kevin Smith Dale Johnson Chip Emery

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NOTES FROM THE FROM THE

Leadership

BOARD OF

Directors

Artistic Director

Welcome to the first installment of Donizetti’s trilogy of operas based on the Tudor queens, Roberto Devereux.

We’re excited for this fresh, new period-inspired production, which will showcase the fascinating stories of Queen Elizabeth I, Mary Stuart and Anne Boleyn over the course of the next three years.

We’re delighted to welcome back to the stage Minnesota Opera favorite Brenda Harris, a triumph in our 2006 production of Orazi e Curiazi. Joining her as Queen Elizabeth I’s treacherous lover, Robert Devereux, is Portuguese tenor, Bruno Ribeiro, who is making his Minnesota Opera debut.

We’re pleased to have a master of collaboration, Kevin Newbury, return to direct this production after his incredible The Barber of Seville, which closed last season. Kevin has worked closely with both singers and designers to create a powerful and convincing staging that illuminates the most important aspect of Bel Canto singing, the voice. See the Director’s Notes on page 16.

Officers Chip Emery, Chair Rachelle D. Chase, Vice Chair Stephanie J. Prem, Secretary Heinz F. Hutter, Treasurer Kevin Smith, President & CEO

Directors Martha Goldberg Aronson Ruth S. Huss Wendy Bennett Philip Isaacson

This production exemplifies Minnesota Opera’s continued commitment to repertoire from the Bel Canto period and the artists that specialize in this exquisite operatic style.

Kathleen Callahan Debra Paterson

Enjoy the opera!

Nicky B. Carpenter Jose Peris

Charles Berg Lynne E. Looney Shari Boehnen Diana E. Murphy Susan S. Boren Luis Pagan-Carlo

Jane M. Confer Mary Ingebrand-Pohlad Mary A. Dearing Elizabeth Redleaf

Dale Johnson Artistic Director

Jodi Dehli

Connie Remele

Sara Donaldson Stephanie Simon Bianca Fine Peter Sipkins Thomas J. Foley

President Welcome to Minnesota Opera’s debut production of Roberto Devereux.

I’m pleased to have you here to share in this performance.

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2009 and your ongoing attendance, even in a time of lingering economic uncertainty. It is because of you that we’re able to offer a diverse and artistically dazzling 2010–2011 season (see page 24) and continue boldly Kevin Smith with the first commission of our new President & ceo works program, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, by The Grapes of Wrath creative team Ricky Ian Gordon, Michael Korie and Eric Simonson.

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Jan 30 (8pm); Feb 2, 4, 6 (7:30pm); Feb 7 (2pm) Minnesota Opera Roberto Devereux by Gaetano Donizetti Feb 12 - 13 (8pm) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Upshaw Sings Bach and Bartók Feb 13 (9:30am, 11am) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Ordway Family Series Feb 14 (4pm) VocalEssence WITNESS Philip Brunelle, Artistic Director Sweet Honey in the Rock® She Rocks Feb 19 (7:30pm) Target World Music and Dance Series DanceBrazil Jelon Vieira, Artistic Director Afro-Brazilian/Capoeira Feb 21 (7:30pm) planet Ordway Target World Music Series Dreaming the Duke Nnenna Freelon, Harolyn Blackwell, and Mike Garson Feb 24 (7:30pm) Target World Music and Dance Series Shidara Thunderous Taiko Feb 26 (10:30am, 8pm); Feb 27 (8pm) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra English Classics Mar 6 (7:30pm); Mar 7 (2pm); Mar 9-13 (7:30pm); Mar 14 (2pm) Minnesota Opera La bohème by Giacomo Puccini Mar 16-21 Times Vary Steppenwolf’s August: Osage County Starring Estelle Parsons Mar 25 (7:30pm) Target World Music and Dance Series Diavolo Dance that flies Mar 31 (8pm) The Schubert Club Yefim Bronfman, piano April 2 - 3 (8pm) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Adès and Berlioz April 3 (9:30am, 11am) The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Ordway Family Series

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| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

Music by Gaetano Donizetti Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano after the play Élisabeth d’Angleterre

by Jacques-François Ancelot

Roberto Devereux

World premiere at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples October 28, 1837 January 30, February 2, 4, 6 and 7, 2010 Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Sung in Italian with English captions Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Francesco Maria Colombo Stage Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kevin Newbury Set Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neil Patel Costume Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica Jahn Lighting Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D. M. Wood Wig and Makeup Designers . . . .Jason Allen, Ronell Oliveri Assistant Director. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Octavio Cardenas Assistant Conductor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Clinton Smith Chorusmaster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Dibbern Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexander Farino English Captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cori Ellison

The Cast Elisabetta, Queen of England . . . . . . . . . . . Brenda Harris Roberto Devereux, Earl of Essex . . . . . . . . . Bruno Ribeiro Duke of Nottingham. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lester Lynch Sara, Duchess of Nottingham . . . . . . . Tamara Klivadenko Lord Cecil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brad Benoit Sir Gualtiero Raleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jonathan Kimple A page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael Nyby A friend of Nottingham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rodolfo Nieto Lords, ladies, knights, soldiers, pages, guards, retainers Setting: London at the end of the 16th century Roberto Devereux is sponsored

by Ameriprise Financial.

Additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts

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By arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, sole agent in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for Casa Ricordi/Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.R.L., publisher and copyright owner.

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Supertitles courtesy of New York City Opera.

The appearances of Lester Lynch, winner, and Jonathan Kimple, 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 Roberto Devereux are being taped 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 2009–2010 season conductors are underwritten by SpencerStuart.

BACKGROUND

Notes

by David Sander

R

oberto Devereux, along with Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena, make up what is commonly referred to as the Tudor trilogy, three operas composed over a seven-year period

by Gaetano Donizetti that testify to his greatness.

The composer did not necessarily plan these pieces as a unified progression of operas – likely he set whatever subject assigned to him by the theater’s impresario. Nonetheless, their unity represents a fascinating survey of Queen Elizabeth i’s long life: the displacement and arrest of her mother and Henry viii’s second wife, Anne Boleyn (Elizabeth being present, if not in the libretto); the imprisonment and death sentence of her cousin, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots; and the trial and execution of her once favorite, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. One could even speak of a “tetralogy” if we include Elisabetta al castello di Kenilworth, a work written one year prior to Anna Bolena, which revolves around the secret marriage of an earlier favored courtier, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

The history of the British Isles became popular with Bel Canto composers on the Continent following the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and with the advent of English authors Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron. Gioachino Rossini wrote his Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra in the same year (with a plot similar to Kenilworth, though Scott’s novel had yet to be published) and La donna del lago (based on Scott) four years later. In subsequent decades, Saverio Mercadante produced Maria Stuarda, regina di Scozia (1821), Il conte di Essex (1833) and La gioventù di Enrico v (1834; based on Shakespeare’s Henry v). Giovanni Pacini composed

BACKGROUND

have had a son by Leicester, Arthur Dudley, who was raised in secret and who supposedly discovered his true identity at his foster father’s deathbed.

Sadly, a royal wedding was not to be as Leicester was relegated to the role of proxy consort and trusted adviser to the queen. He was proposed as a potential (though unwilling) mate for Mary Stuart in order to keep her in check, but he married someone else, this time secretly, for noble matches required royal approval. His new bride was Lettice Knollys, Elizabeth’s cousin descended from the Boleyn side of the family, a widow with four children. It is said Elizabeth was furious and banned her from court forever, likely because her first cousin (once removed) so resembled a younger version of herself. Lettice’s oldest child was Robert Devereux, and Leicester groomed his stepson as a sort of successor. When he died in 1588 (a great blow to the queen), Elizabeth turned to the young man for comfort. Like Leicester, Devereux used his charm and good looks (in spite of the 32-year age difference) to garner Elizabeth’s attention, to the disgust and envy of the other male courtiers.

Chief among these was Robert Cecil, son of Lord Burghley, Elizabeth’s much-valued councilor and the most powerful member of the Privy Council after Leicester’s death. Only two years apart, Cecil grew up alongside Robert Devereux as his father was appointed to the triumvirate of Portrait of Robert Devereux, guardians that oversaw 2nd Earl of Essex (late 16th century) The Board of Trustees of the Armouries, Leeds, Great Britain the latter’s minority.

HIP/Art Resource, NY Cecil had been dropped when still an infant and injured as a result. As his small stature and crooked back marked a strong contrast to Robert’s strength and virility, Cecil turned to his wits in order to obtain glory.

Essex discounted him as a mere apprentice of his father, and by 1593, relations turned hostile. Elizabeth had been careless about pumping new blood into her top advisers, and with the deaths of the closest, Sir Francis Walsington (1590) and Sir Christopher Hatton (1592), and with his own death quickly approaching, Lord Burghley prepared his son to assume his post, feeling no loyalty to his former ward. Devereux believed he was entitled to the same position and a fierce rivalry ensued as the 11 Machiavellian court grew more unstable. ➤

| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

his own version of Henry v in 1820 as well as Margherita, regina d’Inghilterra (1827; based on the steely Margaret d’Anjou, wife of Henry vi) and Maria, regina d’Inghilterra (1843; a quasi-historical opera about Mary Tudor, Elizabeth’s half-sister). Vincenzo Bellini’s last opus, I puritani (1835), involves political intrigue surrounding the execution of Charles i. Donizetti also produced an Alfredo il Grande (1832; based on an early Wessex king), the famous Lucia di Lammermoor (1835; Scott’s rendition of an episode in Scottish history) and Rosmonda d’Inghilterra a year earlier.

The tale of Rosamund Clifford, ill-fated mistress of Henry ii who was poisoned by his jealous wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is touched upon in Roberto Devereux as Sara considers her adulterous plight.

It was Mercadante’s unsuccessful Il conte di Essex that caught Donizetti’s attention in 1834. He petitioned librettist Felice Romani to revise it for him, but the usually slow and overcommitted librettist didn’t even bother to respond. Donizetti probably kept the idea in the back of his head, leaving Romani’s widow, Emilia Branca, to later accuse Devereux-librettist Salvadore Cammarano of plagiarism. Actually, both authors had at their disposal a recent play, Élisabeth d’Angleterre by Frenchman JacquesFrançois Ancelot. The playwright based his narrative on a long tradition of French dramas based on the Virgin Queen, most notably by Thomas Corneille and Gaultier de Coste. Both operas follow the five-act tragedy quite closely, though Cammarano added Devereux’s Act iii prison scene for a little extra tension. The librettist also deleted much of Ancelot’s political subterfuge, leaving Elisabetta’s final line about leaving her kingdom to Scottish ruler (and Mary Stuart’s son) James vi as somewhat strange and unexpected.

In reality, history has little to do with either Élisabeth d’Angleterre or Roberto Devereux. Elizabeth didn’t have love affairs in the traditional sense (if we are to believe her status as the Virgin Queen). She feared losing power to a man if she were to be married, so she spent her life with various flirtations, teasingly in pursuit of powerful head-of-states only to back out of the matrimonial plans at the very last moment. She preferred to shower attention on certain men of her court, most notably the Earl of Leicester, a relationship that endured many years after they had both been imprisoned in the Tower of London, she for being a potential threat to her half-sister, “Bloody” Mary Tudor, he for supporting a coup to depose the fervently Catholic Mary in favor of her Protestant cousin Lady Jane Grey. Leicester’s brother, Guilford, who was married to the unlucky Jane and potentially England’s next king, was summarily executed for his role in the revolution along with his wife and father. Leicester’s reputation was eventually rehabilitated though it came under a dark cloud when his first wife, Amy Robsart, had been found dead at the foot of the stairs. It was whispered she had been murdered at the bidding of the queen so that she could romantically pursue her handsome courtier. There is also evidence that the “Virgin” Queen may

Notes

BACKGROUND

Notes

Queen Elizabeth I of England (1844) George Peter Alexander Healy (1813–1894)

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after Gerards Marcus the Younger (ca.1561–1635) Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, France Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, NY

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Famous for his excursions into the early American colonies, Sir Walter Raleigh is another member of the court who was antagonistic to Devereux as he too sought the queen’s attention. Back in the 1580s, he and Devereux exchanged hasty words which led to the challenge of a duel, only to be broken off by the queen herself. Later mending the fence, Raleigh participated with Devereux in the raid on Spanish Cadiz and restored himself into royal favor. Though one of Elizabeth’s principal favorites, there was always something suspicious about the generally unpopular Raleigh whose talents included intelligence gathering and covert espionage. He outlived Elizabeth, but eventually would be executed for treason during the reign of James vi/i.

The third nobleman of interest is Charles Howard, Earl (not Duke) of Nottingham. He also achieved a triumph in Cadiz, claiming all the credit while Devereux was fighting other battles. He was elevated to Lord Admiral and given an earldom, a level of precedence above the Earl of Essex. Unlike the opera, they were hardly friends. Howard conspired with other courtiers opposed to Devereux and was sent to arrest him after his final disgrace. His first wife, Catherine (not Sara) Carey, was also a cousin of the queen via the Boleyn line. Nottingham himself was a first cousin of the ill-fated fifth wife of Henry viii, Catherine Howard, as

well as first cousin to Anne Boleyn, a clear example of how intricately linked the Tudor court’s bloodlines were.

Devereux’s ancestors were more illustrious, dating from the Norman Conquest and blended with Plantagenet blood, so this elevation must have been especially galling.

He begged the queen for a higher position, Lord Marshall of England, and got it. He took over Leicester’s apartments at court, his house in London (renaming it Essex House) and became a surrogate for his stepfather. Just as Leicester had done, by 1590 Devereux had taken a bride without the queen’s permission, Walsington’s daughter Frances (a political maneuver thwarted by her father’s death a year later). Elizabeth overlooked the headstrong and impulsive young man’s indiscretions, many of which she would never have tolerated from anyone else, at least for the moment. As for Devereux, he indulged the sexagenarian queen not only for advancement at court but also to salvage his finances – thanks to his father Walter and to his own reckless spending, he owed over half of his debts to the crown.

To his own financial and political detriment, Devereux would prove to be more interested in warfare than government, and when he was in the battlefield, his adversaries were able to consolidate power. As we get to the events of the opera, Devereux has just one military conquest to his credit – the raid of Cadiz – gaining him great popularity with the people. There had been several more missteps, however – a failed invasion to restore deposed King Dom António of Portugal and a failed campaign with Bourbon King Henri iv to end his religious problems in France. Trouble in Ireland led to a heated exchange between subject and sovereign – at the end, Elizabeth boxed Essex’s ears when he showed his back to her (a blatant disrespect for royal authority), and Essex almost drew his sword, a grave violation of court decorum. The stalemate was broken when the queen reluctantly approved his petition to quell the Irish uprising. She gave him the largest contingent she had ever approved – 16,000 foot soldiers and a cavalry of 1,300.

No one else would have ever wanted this thankless task. The rebels were led by Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, a formidable enemy who was often swayed by Spain’s backdoor negotiations to form a Catholic alliance and gain a foothold just north of England. Once Devereux had landed, he delayed in fear, waiting for the right moment to strike. This dalliance cost the frugal queen some expense and manpower, and though he wished to return to England, she sharply commanded he stay until the deed was done.

Instead, Devereux arranged a secret meeting with Tyrone in an attempt to find an easier solution than outright warfare, where the English army was sure to lose. O’Neill demanded a pardon from the queen before any armistice could take place.

Devereux then went back to England without permission, storming into the Elizabeth’s chamber where she was resting pre-levée, without her myth-inspiring wig or makeup. Her response was one of outraged majesty – Tyrone would be ➤ BACKGROUND NOTES CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

Synopsis act i

She encourages him to escape England and gives him a hand-embroidered scarf as a reminder of their love.

• i nt er mission • act i i

The courtiers gossip over Devereux’s fate as Parliament has been meeting throughout the night. Cecil finally emerges and announces a sentence of death. Elisabetta takes Gualtiero aside to learn of Devereux’s recent movements. The earl was missing the entire evening. Upon his return, he was disarmed and searched for incriminating documents. Instead they found a silken scarf, and Elisabetta suspects she has been betrayed again that very night. Nottingham enters with the execution order, but begs the enraged queen not to sign it.

When Devereux is brought before her, Elisabetta shows him the scarf, and Nottingham privately recognizes it as belonging to his wife. The queen only requires that Devereux reveal his lover’s name, and she will spare his life, but when he refuses, she furiously signs the death warrant.

queen. But when Gualtiero and the guards arrive, he realizes his end is near.

At the palace, unaware of her rival’s identity, Elisabetta feels her friend Sara’s absence in such a dark hour. She tearfully wonders why Devereux has not sent the ring that will save his life. Cecil enters with news that Devereux is on his way to the block. Sara breathlessly arrives with the ring in her hand and confesses she is Devereux’s lover. A cannon shot confirms the fatal blow has been delivered, and Elisabetta lashes out at the Nottinghams for their complicity in Devereux’s death.

As they are taken into custody, the queen laments the weight of her bloodstained crown. She longs for death, commending the burden of leadership to her heir-apparent, James of Scotland.

• i nt er mission • act i i i

In her apartments, Sara receives a secret note from Devereux and learns of his imminent execution, which can only be commuted if she gives Elisabetta his ring that she now possesses. Nottingham enters unexpectedly, sees the letter and demands to read it.

Angered by the treachery of both his wife and his friend, he detains Sara’s frantic attempts at departure as Devereux is led to the tower.

Alone in his prison cell, Devereux fears his fate, though is certain his messenger has completed his task and the ring has been delivered to the

| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

The women of the court show their concern over Sara’s sad demeanor. For her part, Sara cannot be consoled – she is riddled with guilt over her secret love affair with Roberto Devereux, Queen Elisabetta’s favorite. Sara is also her monarch’s closest friend.

Elisabetta enters, anxious over Devereux’s imminent arrival after a lengthy absence. She questions if he has been faithful, again causing Sara to be distressed. The queen reveals her fondness for her young male courtier, more valuable than the throne itself.

Cecil and Gualtiero arrive and make a charge of treason against Devereux.

While fighting unsuccessfully in Ireland, he has been accused of engaging in traitorous plots. The queen demands further proof and questions Devereux personally.

He claims to have only spared the vanquished and is surprised to find a scaffold already constructed for his execution. Elisabetta reminds him of the ring she once gave him, a token that could spare his life in any crisis.

Devereux wishes only to return to the battlefield. Elisabetta senses a coolness in his disposition and tries to get him to admit her rival’s name.

Aware the knowledge would unleash her fury, Devereux denies that he is in love.

Alone with his friend Nottingham, Devereux muses over his uneasy situation. Nottingham has problems of his own, as his wife Sara seems deeply troubled. Interrupting their heartfelt (yet guilty) exchange, Cecil calls Nottingham to a meeting of the Peers, as a sentence must be decreed.

Nottingham promises to save his friend.

Meanwhile, Devereux and Sara meet in secret. He derides her for marrying while he was away, but she counters that it was only because the union was ordered by the queen after her father’s death to ensure her financial security. She reminds him that the ring on his hand is a token of overt royal affection, but he quickly removes it, leaving the ring with Sara.

13 Costume design by Jessica Jahn

GAETANO

Donizetti

b Bergamo, November 29, 1797; d Bergamo, April 8, 1848

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

W

14

unrestrained literature of the Romantic period. His ith nearly 70 operas to his credit, Gaetano influence on Verdi cannot be underestimated.

Donizetti was the leading Italian composer in Donizetti’s success in dealing with both comic and the decade between Vincenzo Bellini’s death tragic settings was due in part to his own manic depressive and the ascent of Giuseppe Verdi. Donizetti was born in personality. Well acquainted with the northern Italian city of Bergamo personal misfortune, Donizetti to an impoverished family. After lost in the span of eight years his showing some musical talent, he mother, father, two infant sons, an was enrolled in the town’s Lezioni infant daughter and Virginia Vasselli, Caritatevoli where he had the good his wife of seven years. He never fortune to study with Giovanni truly recuperated after her death, Simone Mayr, maestro di cappella at locking the door to her room and Santa Maria Maggiore. Originally refusing to utter her name again. His from Bavaria, Mayr was a successful melancholia may have been induced composer in Italy during the era by early symptoms of syphilis, which preceding Rossini’s rise to fame, he contracted as a young man. It may with dozens of operas to his credit. have also been brought on by the Though offered many prestigious responsibility he felt for harboring appointments throughout Europe, the disease that likely cost him his Mayr remained loyal to his adopted wife and children. community and greatly enhanced the Donizetti made his Paris debut local musical institutions. Donizetti in 1835 with Marino Faliero at the arrived at a time when Mayr was writing his greatest operas, and his Théâtre Italien and later premiered Portrait of Gaetano Donizetti impression on the younger composer Piccio (1804–1873) Les martyrs (1840) at the Paris was pronounced. Throughout his life, Museo Teatrale alla Scala, Milan, Italy Opéra. A French translation of Scala/Art Resource, NY Donizetti regarded him as a second Lucia made his name a household father, though he would outlive his word, and in 1840 the composer master by only three years. captivated audiences with La favorite, which became When it came time, Donizetti furthered his education hugely popular throughout Europe and North America. at the Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna (shadowing One of his very last works for the stage, Dom Sébastien Rossini, who had once studied there). He had already (1843), was cast in the mold of French grand opéra and penned several short operas before receiving his first was extremely well-received. commission in 1818 from the Teatro San Luca in Venice The composer had hoped to assume Niccolò Zingarelli’s – this was Enrico di Borgogna to a libretto by Bartolomeo post as director of the Naples Conservatory, but when the Merelli. (In later years, as impresario of La Scala, Merelli 85-year-old composer died in 1837, Donizetti’s considerable was instrumental in the beginnings of Verdi’s career.) musical contribution to the city was overlooked. Preference Further works were produced in Venice, but Donizetti was given to a lesser composer, Saverio Mercadante, chiefly returned to Bergamo for a few years of relative inactivity. because he was a native Neapolitan. After his brief stint in A letter of introduction from Mayr to poet Jacopo Ferretti Paris, Donizetti turned toward the Austrian state, where he led Donizetti to Rome, where in 1822 he would have his became music director of the imperial theaters. Two of his first unequivocal success, Zoraide di Grenata. His career final works had their premiere at Vienna’s principal venue, was just getting started. the Kärntnertortheater: Linda di Chamounix (1842) and Later that year Donizetti settled in Naples and used it Maria di Rohan (1843). After the success of Linda, he was as a base for the next 16 years. He arrived just as Rossini was appointed Composer to the Austrian Court, a position finishing his seven-year contract with the royal theaters. Like Mozart had held a half century before.

Rossini he had the ability to work at the increasingly rapid By 1845, symptoms of his illness had become pace demanded by the Italian theater industry and was able incapacitating, and his erratic behavior could no longer to produce three to four operas a year for most of his life. be excused by overwork. With his family’s intervention Many remain timeless gems. L’elisir d’amore (1832), Donizetti was placed in a French sanitarium at Ivry for La fille du régiment (1840) and Don Pasquale (1843) 17 months, then transferred to a Paris apartment. There demonstrated his expert handling of lighter subjects. he was regularly visited by musicians and colleagues, Lucrezia Borgia (1833), Gemma di Vergy (1834), Lucia including Verdi, but by this point he was paralyzed, di Lammermoor (1835), Maria de Rudenz (1838) and disoriented and rarely spoke. In September 1847, friends Maria Padilla (1841) displayed the composer’s mastery arranged his return to Bergamo, where he passed his final of the Italian melodrama fueled by impassioned and days at the home of a wealthy patroness. ❚

BACKGROUND

Notes

BACKGROUND NOTES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

King Edward iii. His successor, Philip iii, continued to perpetuate this theory after his father’s death.

These events would precipitate Robert Devereux’s final fall from grace. He foolishly concocted a plan in order to show himself as protector of the queen from this supposedly imminent danger and to discredit Cecil and the others as pro-Catholic advocates. During an uprising, he tried to rally his high regard with the people, but found he had overstepped the line when they failed to support his cause. As his guilt of high treason was now undeniable, Devereux was executed in 1601, and an aging Elizabeth never recovered from her grief, dying two years later.

During that time she had worn around her neck a ring Devereux had once given her.

Could this be the ring in the opera? Rumor has it that the Countess of Nottingham, who was a close friend of the queen (and who probably was not Essex’s secret mistress), received the supposed object of affection by accident after being mistaken for her sister, a royal attendant. Rather than turn it over to the queen, she was forced to keep it by her husband, a longtime adversary of Devereux (as we have seen). The countess allegedly confessed the deed on her deathbed, but Elizabeth could not forgive her. History

Overture. Set design by Neil Patel.

denies this manner of exchange could have saved Essex’s life, though such a story quickly made it into legend and literature. Nonetheless, that coup de théâtre along with the appearance of a jealousy-inducing scarf worthy of Shakespeare makes Roberto Devereux a compelling piece, supported by Donizetti’s fully developed, deeply affective score. Elisabetta may not be the title character (as she is in Ancelot’s original play), but she does become the star of the show through her emotional journey from jealous pride to lonely devastation, a tragic conclusion to an illustrious and accomplished life. ❚

| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

hanged for all of his treachery. Because of his own dereliction of duty, Devereux was arrested for treason.

This is not the betrayal for which he was executed – Elizabeth characteristically pardoning him for that rather major blunder. Devereux remained under house arrest, and now somewhat mentally unbalanced, he hatched an elaborate scheme of tragic hubris to “save” the queen from her devious councilors and restore his name. The basis of his plot was the succession issue, which was a complicated one as the childless and sibling-less Elizabeth had no direct heir. James vi, related to her through the executed Mary Stuart, was the heir apparent, though she had other living blood relatives, most notably Arbella Stuart and two sons

by Jane Grey’s sister, Katherine, all great-grandchildren of Henry viii’s sisters. Though a union with Scotland wasn’t very palatable, it assured the Protestant religion would remain in force. Throughout her life, Elizabeth endured a Catholic threat, particularly from her ex-brother-in-law Philip ii of Spain. His second wife had been Mary Tudor – during her reign he had been, in title, King of England.

Renaissance Europe was a veritable hotbed of religion and politics in the 16th century. In addition to Philip’s machinations, which included a marriage proposal and two failed invasions from the sea (including the ill-starred Armada of 1588), Elizabeth faced opposition on every front.

Philip’s nephew, Alessandro Farnese, the Duke of Parma, sat uncomfortably close in the Spanish Netherlands trying to crush a rebellion following the assassination of William of Orange. In France, the calculating (and poisonous) Catherine de’ Medici saw all of her Valois sons predecease her after three had been crowned king and another had pursued a long (but ultimately unconsummated) courtship with Elizabeth. Unlikely dynastic unions were essential to settling old scores between global powers and disparate factions as religious fervor was rampant in France, with the Protestant Huguenots’ struggle against France’s proCatholic government.

The Reformation affected England’s diplomatic relations as well, for in Catholic eyes, Elizabeth was illegitimate. Her father Henry viii’s marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (Philip’s great aunt), had never been officially annulled by the Church, and she faced excommunication by a series of popes. As border nations, France and Spain were constantly vying for European supremacy, and Philip’s solution for power in England was to dethrone Elizabeth in favor of his daughter by his third wife (Catherine de’ Medici’s daughter, Elisabeth de Valois), the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia. Furthermore, following the War of the Roses, the Tudor claim to the English throne had been a shaky one at best – in order to better secure his rule, Henry viii had attainted and executed a number of Plantagenet claimants on trumped up charges, including the virtually innocent Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury and Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckingham. Like Elizabeth, Philip of Spain could trace his ancestry back to John of Gaunt, a son of English

15

DIRECTOR’S

Notes

by Kevin Newbury Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux, Maria Stuarda and Anna Bolena.

D

onizetti’s Tudor Queen Trilogy is full of religious imagery, and the idea of violent martyrdom – both religious and romantic – emerges as a central theme.

When taken as a whole, the trilogy seems to be told through the eyes of Elizabeth i, highlighting the three most painful moments in her life – all relating to martyrdom: the executions of her mother, her rival queen and her young lover.

As we began thinking about the trilogy, my design team and I (of course) spent a lot of time looking at the art and architecture of the 16th century. How could we reflect the patterns and images of the era in an acutely theatrical way? Schiller’s play Mary Stuart (on which the eponymous opera was based) has also proven to be a useful way into this world. The play is full of images of ghosts, angels and light, and the language illustrates the many ways in which religious ideologies inform and subvert personal, romantic relationships. Even decisions that do not directly reflect the conflict of the Reformation are born out of the sense of a monarch’s divine right – a power over men’s hearts.

The legacy of a monarch’s sense of God-like, absolute power led us to the images and iconography of Christianity.

Since Elizabeth in particular felt such an affinity toward the Virgin Mary and, indeed, tried to model herself after her, we were drawn to images of the Annunciation and the requisite angels, lightning and sunlight descending from above. All three queens beg for clarity and celestial

MINNESOTA M NNES NN E OT O A OP OPERA O EER RA mnopera.org | MI

Act I, Scene i. Set design by Neil Patel.

16 6

guidance. As Elizabeth says in Mary Stuart, “From Heaven, may there descend a ray that may illuminate my mind.”

Thus, over-size religious images dominate each queen’s private space, including a vast painted sky in Devereux and a mural of Titian’s “Assumption of the Virgin” in Stuarda.

This idea of celestial light coming from above – just out of reach – also manifests itself in the huge, ornate gold ceiling that dominates the set. Scenery and light descend from above, with the molding of the ceiling becoming the base molding of the walls. The ceiling sometimes shifts, closing in on the characters like the heavy weight of the crown.

Within this devout, ordained world, all three operas oscillate between public and private spaces. Architecturally, each large wall feels like it belongs in a castle or a cathedral, but instead of a stone or brick composition, they are bold and colorful, alternating between large, lush patterns for private spaces and rounded, trompe l’oeil images for the public spaces. When the monarchs address their public, they appear to be in a pulpit, once again emphasizing the religious themes that underscore their stories. We are interested in exploring height and scale: when do the monarchs physically tower over their world? When do they crumble beneath it?

Although the operas traverse fifty-eight years (basically, Elizabeth’s entire lifetime), they all share certain elements. The flexible space can transform in a few moments, allowing for smooth, a vista changes. The stage can be full of people one moment and the next moment it’s suddenly bare, with only the gold, monolith ceiling hovering above. The walls constantly fly away to reveal people hovering, like ghosts, and sometimes

BACKGROUND B ACKGROUND

the scenery floats in mid-air, precarious and fragile, reflecting a character’s state of delirium. Each queen seems to drive the action around her, almost as though she can part walls at will. Although the three productions share a vocabulary and some of the same scenery, each opera has certain elements unique to its story, including distinct color schemes that help differentiate the emotional world of each piece.

In order to emphasize the idea that all three stories are told through Elizabeth’s eyes, each opera begins and ends in the same way, with Elizabeth seemingly alone. In Devereux, we see her preparing for her reunion with Devereux, her long gray hair spilling out of the bathtub. Only as her attendants begin to transform her (wig and all) do we realize that it’s Elizabeth. In Maria Stuarda, we see Elizabeth getting ready for her reception with the Duke of Anjou, haunted by the specter of Mary behind her. And, at the beginning of Anna Bolena, we see a three-year-old Elizabeth getting ready for her day, already surrounded by attendants and already engaging in the same ritual she still adheres to in Devereux fifty-five years later. A queen is never truly alone.

All three operas end with the same image of martyrdom. Like Macbeth, this is a world haunted by

Notes N otes

Act III, Scene iii. Set design by Neil Patel.

ghosts. Ghosts haunt their killers, just as the ghosts of these executed characters haunt England. Thus, (*spoiler alert!*) the final images are more emotional than literal.

The prison where Anna, Devereux and Maria face their death is dominated by a huge cross. As each character ascends the scaffold, they actually walk up into (or descend out of ) the cross, ensuring their legacy as a religious or sexual martyr. In the final measures of Devereux and Stuarda, Elizabeth wears the same innocent white dress as she is faced with the ghost of the person she ➤ DIRECTOR’S NOTES CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

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THE

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

Artists Brad Benoit

Brenda Harris

Cecil (tenor)

Elisabetta (soprano)

Kankakee, Illinois

2009 Gabrielle, Casanova’s Homecoming 2009 Almaviva, Il barbiere di Siviglia 2009 Lampwick, The Adventures of Pinocchio 2008 Ruiz, Il trovatore

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

Upcoming Parpignol, La bohème; Third Jew, Salome, Minnesota Opera

Jonathan Kimple

Recently Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, Utah Opera

Upcoming Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, Opera Lyra Ottawa Donna Anna, Don Giovanni, Kansas City Opera Elisabetta, Mary Stuart, Minnesota Opera

Tamara Klivadenko Sara (mezzo-soprano)

Dallas Center, Iowa

Togliatti, Samara (Russia)

Recently Count Ceprano, Rigoletto; Giove, La Calisto; Marchese d’Obigny, La traviata, Portland Opera Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist Ceprano, La traviata, Sarasota Opera

Upcoming Colline, La bohème; Second Soldier, Salome, Minnesota Opera

Lester Lynch Nottingham (baritone) Elyria, Ohio

2008 Count di Luna, Il trovatore

Recently Porgy, Porgy and Bess, Lyric Opera of Chicago Germont, La traviata, Lyric Opera of Kansas City Tonio, Pagliacci, Pittsburgh Opera Porgy, Porgy and Bess, Semperoper (Dresden)

Upcoming Herald, Lohengrin, Lyric Opera of Chicago Scarpia, Tosca, Glimmerglass Opera Carbon, Cyrano de Bergerac, San Francisco Opera

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2006 Camilla, Orazi e Curiazi 2005 Maria Padilla, Maria Padilla 2003 Norma, Norma 2002 Vitellia, La clemenza di Tito

Gualtiero (bass-baritone) 2009 Nourabad, The Pearl Fishers

18

New Douglas, Illinois

Recently Adalgisa, Norma; Amneris, Aida; Calbo, Maometto ii; Fenena, Nabucco; Adriano, Rienzi, Theater Bremen Maddalena, Rigoletto, (Graz, Austria) Marchesa Melibea, Il viaggio a Reims, Rossini Opera Festival (Pesaro; Jesi; Treviso) roles with the Astrakhan State Music Theatre and the Novaya Opera (Moscow)

Upcoming Carmen, Carmen, Theater Bremen

Bruno Ribeiro Roberto Devereux (tenor) Coimbra, Portugal

Recently Carlo, I masnadieri; Ismaele, Nabucco; Corrado, Il corsaro, Verdi Opera Fest. (Parma) Narraboth, Salome, Teatro Regio di Torino Alvaro, La forza del destino; Don Carlo, Don Carlo, Belcanto Opera (uk) Almaviva, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Firenze Festival Gennaro, Lucrezia Borgia, Staatsoper München

Upcoming Tebaldo, I Capuleti ed i Montecchi, Opera Ireland Des Grieux, Manon, Theater St. Gallen

Francesco Maria Colombo

Jessica Jahn

conductor

costume designer

Milan, Italy

Seattle, Washington

2006 Orazi e Curiazi 2005 Maria Padilla

2008 Il trovatore

Recently Verklaerte Nacht, Orchestra Verdi (on Sky tv) Pagliacci; La voix humaine, Tenerife Opera Fest.

Trauersinfonie; Harmoniemesse Orchestra Haydn di Trento e Bolzano Pelléas et Mélisande (Fauré); L’arlésienne (Bizet), Pomeriggi Musicali (Milan) Don Pasquale, As.Li.Co. (Lombardy, Italy)

Recently La bohème, Wolf Trap Opera Company La Cenerentola, Glimmerglass Opera Die Mommie Die!*, Love, Loss and What I Wore, (nyc) (* Lucille Lortel Award for Costume Design) In the Red and Brown Water, Alliance Theatre

Upcoming Mary Stuart, Minnesota Opera Life is a Dream, Santa Fe Opera

DIRECTOR’S NOTES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Artists Kevin Newbury stage director Auburn, Maine

2009 Il barbiere di Siviglia 2008 Il trovatore 2007 Le nozze di Figaro

Recently La Cenerentola, Glimmerglass Opera Bernstein’s Mass, Carnegie Hall; Kennedy Center Upcoming Mary Stuart, Minnesota Opera Eugene Onegin, Opera Theatre of St. Louis Life is a Dream, Santa Fe Opera Virginia, Wexford Opera Festival

has just executed for a cause – whether the cause is heartbreak or religious zealotry. In Bolena, the young Elizabeth (also in white) sees her mother as she is about to be executed, paving the way for her behavior in the other two operas. The final haunted landscape is revealed through Elizabeth’s eyes. Did she secretly attend the executions? Is the final image a ghost? Is she actually looking at a dead body? Or is it Elizabeth’s imagination?

Against a backdrop of violent martyrdom and religious reformation, each of the three operas tells a deeply personal story of love and betrayal. Ultimately, the queens are forced to look inward. As Elizabeth says in Schiller’s play, “I was sovereign to myself.” ❚

D. M. Wood

Neil Patel

lighting designer

set designer

Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

2009 Il barbiere di Siviglia 2008 Il trovatore

Recently La Cenerentola, Glimmerglass Opera Romance, American Repertory Theatre The Magic Flute, Houston Grand Opera La traviata; The Magic Flute, Opera Colorado Il viaggio a Reims, New York City Opera Tristan und Isolde, Savonlinna Opera Festival Tosca, Canadian Opera Company

Bangor, Wales (United Kingdom)

2006 Orazi e Curiazi 2005 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 Le nozze di Figaro; Don Giovanni; Così fan tutte, Nikikai Opera (Tokyo) Oleanna; Ring of Fire; ‘Night Mother, Broadway

| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

THE

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Education AT THE OPERA Who are those kids?

Project Opera, the Minnesota Opera’s youth vocal training program, reaches over 100 singers during the school year. Students travel from as far away as Duluth, St. Peter, Somerset and River Falls each Saturday to learn the fundamentals of opera. Students can start with Project Opera in grade four and continue through grade twelve. Those who participate do so for many reasons – here are some of them: Maria Diez There has always been a melody inside me to which I dance, and it began to grow strong when I joined the Bel Canto Voices. Then once Jan Kimes retired, BCV became Project Opera. I continued in the program because of the symphony inside me, which was my passion for the arts, played every time I sang at the Opera. Honestly, there is no place I’d rather be on a Saturday than surrounded by teens who understand me on a level others do not. Also, it’s a gift to be taught by amazing professionals who inspire me to go above and beyond. Performance is one of the loves of my life and I plan to follow it as a career. Project Opera has given me the opportunity to excel as an individual and a performer. The beauty and determination I find here is helping me fly towards my calling.

Maria as a fairy in Iolanthe

Bridget, Katie and Colleen before a performance.

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coOPERAtion!

22

The Through the Eyes (and Ears) of Mozart Tour is on the road again. This week we wrapped up a five-day in-school residency with Rutherford Elementary in Stillwater with two fabulous performances! Teaching Artist Angie Keeton was joined by bass-baritone Ben Crickenberger, accompanist Andrew Fleser and a very excited group of student performers. If you would like to bring this interactive program to the school of your special student, contact Angie at 612.342.9554 or akeeton@mnopera.org.

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

Coleen, Katie and Bridget Palmer-Erickson Our family found out about Project Opera in 2007, when my parents read a description of it in their Minnesota Opera program. My mother called me and said that there was a wonderful opportunity for our daughters and I responded that there would be no way that our family could ever be involved in such a program because it was surely out of our reach. Thankfully, I was wrong. I was raised in New Orleans and found that arts programs were often so poorly supported that they either lacked in substance or were only available to the elite. Project Opera sets Minnesota apart with such a quality program being made accessible to a broad section of the community. The learning that our daughters are gaining from their time in rehearsal, performance and as audience members shapes their idea of music and their vision of themselves. Project Opera is more than just a thing that they go to do on Saturdays, it is a part of who they are and who they will become.

– by Liz Palmer-Erickson, mother of three Project Opera participants

Casanova’s Homecoming Student Final Dress Rehearsal Over 350 students were invited to attend the final dress rehearsal of Casanova’s Homecoming on November 12. The kids, many first-time operagoers, had the unique opportunity to see a great comedy and have the composer sitting in the audience!

Education AT THE OPERA

Monday, February 22, 2010 7:00–9:00 p.m.

At the Minnesota Opera Center Call 612.333.6669 for tickets.

Puccini’s La bohème, opera’s quintessential portrait of romance, is a feast of lyric melodies, intense emotion and dramatic spectacle.

The forces of infidelity, jealousy and terminal illness conspire against the pursuit of freedom, beauty and love, but fail in the end. Local scholar Daniel Freeman takes us through this masterpiece where a tragic couple encounters the harshness of reality. A relationship in the time of “free love,” espoused by the Bohemians of 19th-century Paris, is easily initiated but difficult to conclude due to emotional attachments often provoked.

Nail your next audition!

Audition master classes will be held on February 19 and April 1.

Audition master classes will be held on February 19 and April 1 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 behindthe-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 auditions and college auditions.

To register, call Jamie Andrews at 612.342.9573. Space is limited.

| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

Adult Education Class La bohème

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Opera Tickets for $30!

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WE ARE PLEASED TO PRESENT GUEST CONDUCTOR MAESTRO FRANCESCO MARIA COLOMBO IN MINNESOTA OPERA’S

| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

PRODUCTION OF ROBERTO DEVEREUX.

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| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

the season’s alive

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MINNESOTA OPERA

Annual Fund

INDIVIDUAL GIVING

It is with deep appreciation that Minnesota Opera recognizes and thanks all of the individual donors whose annual support helps bring great opera to life. It is our pleasure to give special recognition to the following individuals whose leadership support provides the financial foundation which makes the Opera’s artistic excellence possible.

For information on making a contribution to Minnesota Opera, please call the Director of the Annual Fund Dawn Loven at 612-342-9567, or email her at dloven@mnopera.org.

Bel Canto Circle Platinum $20,000 and above Anonymous (1) Karen Bachman Mary and Gus Blanchard Jane M. and Ogden W. Confer Julia W. Dayton Sara and Jock Donaldson Vicki and Chip Emery Ruth and John Huss Sisi and Heinz Hutter Mr. and Mrs. Philip Isaacson Lucy Rosenberry Jones

The Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of HRK Foundation Nadine and Bill McGuire Dwight D. Opperman 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 Dolly J. Fiterman Barbara McBurney Stephanie Simon and Craig Bentdahl

Silver $10,000–$14,999 Anonymous William Biermaier and David Hanson

Susan Boren Dr. and Mrs. Daniel D. Buss Sharon and Bill Hawkins Mary and Barry Lazarus Peter J. King Jenny Lind Nilsson and Garrison Keillor Harvey T. McLain Mrs. Walter Meyers Diana and Joe Murphy Mary Ingebrand Pohlad Joseph Sammartino

Camerata Circle Platinum $7,500–$9,999 Allegro Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation Shari and David Boehnen Kathleen and William Callahan Nicky B. Carpenter Rachelle Dockman Chase N. Bud and Beverly Grossman Foundation Erwin and Miriam Kelen Albin and Susan Nelson Debra Paterson and Mark Winters Stephanie Prem and Tom Owens Connie and Lew Remele Maggie Thurer and Simon Stevens

Gold $5,000–$7,499

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

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

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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 Kirsten and Ron Johnson Debra and James Lakin Ilo and Peggy Leppik Mr. and Mrs. B. John Lindahl, Jr. Lynne Looney Mr. and Mrs. Donald Lucker The Kendrick B. Melrose Family Foundation Sandy and Bruce Nelson Bill and Barbara Pearce Jose Peris and Diana Gulden Edward Phares Lois and John Rogers Chris and Mark Schwarzmann Drs. Joseph and Kristina Shaffer Peter and Bonnie Sipkins Kevin and Lynn Smith Karen Sternal Virginia L. and Edward C. Stringer Mr. and Mrs. James Swartz Bernt von Ohlen and Thomas Nichol Lori and Herbert Ward

Silver $2,500–$4,999 Anonymous (5) Kim A. Anderson Annette Atkins and Tom Joyce Alexandra O. Bjorklund Dr. Lee Borah, Jr. Margee and Will Bracken Christopher J. Burns Elwood and Florence Caldwell Rusty and Burt Cohen Jeff and Wendy Wenger Dankey Thomas and Mary Lou Detwiler Mona and Patrick Dewane Tom and Lori Foley Patricia R. Freeburg Bradley Fuller and Elizabeth Lincoln Christine and Jon Galloway Lois and Larry Gibson Meg and Wayne Gisslen Mrs. Myrtle Grette Karen and John Himle Dorothy Horns and James Richardson Dr. and Mrs. Arthur Horowitz Cynthia and Jay Ihlenfeld Dale A. Johnson Jacqueline Nolte Jones Robert and Susan Josselson Stan and Jeanne Kagin Warren and Patricia Kelly

Lyndel and Blaine King Helen L. Kuehn Robert L. Lee and Mary E. Schaffner Benjamin Y. H. and Helen C. Liu Leland T. Lynch and Terry Saario Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation David MacMillan and Judy Krow Mary Bigelow McMillan Elizabeth Musser Trust – Fir Tree Fund Nancy and Richard Nicholson Eric Norman Ruth and Ahmad Orandi Marge and Dwight Peterson Mr. and Mrs. William Phillips Rhoda and Paul Redleaf Mary and Paul Reyelts Nina and Ken Rothchild Kay Savik and Joe Tashjian Fred and Gloria Sewell Lynda and Frank Sharbrough Bruce and Julie Jackley Steiner Tanrydoon Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation William Voedisch and Laurie Carlson Ellen M. Wells Nancy and Ted Weyerhaeuser Carolyn, Sharon and Clark Winslow

Ann and Thomas Bagnoli Maria and Kent Bales Mrs. Paul G. Boening Conley Brooks Family Joan and George Carlson Barb and Jeff Couture Mrs. Thomas M. Crosby, Sr. Fran Davis Judson Dayton Ruth and Bruce Dayton The Denny Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation

Margaret Diablasio Jessica and Jonathan Doklovic Elise Donohue Sally J. Economon Ann Fankhanel Ester and John Fesler Salvatore Silvestri Franco Leslie and Alain Frecon Kris and Kristina Fredrick Terence Fruth and Mary McEvoy Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation

Christine and W. Michael Garner Heidi and Howard Gilbert Stanley and Luella Goldberg Michael and Elizabeth Gorman Sima and Clark Griffith Bruce and Jean Grussing Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hale Hackensack Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation Robert Harding and Allan Valgemae, M.D. Don Helgeson and Sue Shepard

Artist Circle $1,000–$2,499 Anonymous Arlene and Tom Alm Lowell Anderson and Kathy Welte Paula Anderson and Sheila Bray Jamie Andrews and Jane Kolp-Andrews Nina and John Archabal Satoru and Sheila Asato August J. Aquila and Emily Haliziw Mr. and Mrs. Edmund P. Babcock Ruth and Dale Bachman

MINNESOTA OPERA

INDIVIDUAL GIVING

Annual Fund

Artist Circle (continued) Sharon and Cliff Hill Diane Hoey John and Jean McGough Holten Margaret and Andrew Houlton Thomas Hunt and John Wheelihan Ekdahl Hutchinson Family Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Todd Hyde Teresa and Chuck Jakway James Jelinek and Marilyn Wall Markle Karlen E. Robert and Margaret V. Kinney Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation Mr. and Mrs. William Kling Gerard Knight Mrs. James S. Kochiras Robert Kriel and Linda Krach 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 Roy and Dorothy Mayeske Helen and Charles McCrossan Patricia and Samuel McCullough Sheila McNally Velia R. Melrose Jane and Joseph Micallef David and LaVonne Middleton Anne W. Miller Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Moore Moore Family Fund for the Arts Sandy and Bob Morris Judy and David Myers Elizabeth B. Myers

Joan and Richard Newmark Rebecca and Bradley Nuss Julia and Brian Palmer Derrill M. Pankow Allegra W. Parker 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 Sampson Family Charitable Foundation Patty and Barney Saunders Dr. and Mrs. Richard J. Schindler

Stanislaw and Krystyna Skrowaczewski Matthew Spanjers Kristi and Mark Specker The Harriet and Edson Spencer Foundation Julie and Bruce Steiner Dana and Stephen Strand Robert and Barbara Struyk Michael Symeonides and Mary Pierce Tempo Board Members Lois and Lance Thorkelson Mr. and Mrs. Philip Von Blon James and Sharon Weinel Mr. and Mrs. Don White

Donald and Naren Bauer Barbara S. Belk Martin and Patricia Blumenreich Judith and Arnold Brier Thomas and Joyce Bruckner Juliet Bryan and Jack Timm I-ming Shih and Arnold Chu Joann Cierniak J.P. Collins Elisabeth Comeaux Roxanne and Joseph Cruz Norma Danielson Bruce Dayton Amos and Sue Deinard Mary Elise Dennis Joan R. Duddingston Joyce and Hugh Edmondson Rondi Erickson and Sandy Lewis Herbert and Betty Fantle Mr. and Mrs. William Farley Joyce and Hal Field C.D.F. Foundation Pamela and Richard Flenniken Jane Fuller David Gilberstadt R. Hunt Greene and Jane Piccard Marjorie and Joseph Grinnell

Roger L. Hale and Nor Hall Albert and Janice Hammond Stefan and Lonnie Helgeson Diane and Paul Jacobson Mrs. Owen Jenkins Janet N. Jones Drs. Charles and Sally Jorgensen Jane and Jim Kaufman Mr. and Mrs. Stafford King Jonathan and Lisa Lewis Ruth Lyons Donald and Rhoda Mains Tom and Marsha Mann Carolyn and Charles Mayo Sam Meals Mary Monson Jack and Jane Moran Lowell and Sonja Noteboom John Ohle Ann and John O’Leary Pat and Dan Panshin James A. Payne Dan Rasmus and Kari Fedje Rasmus Dennis M. Ready Lawrence M. Redmond William and Sue Roberts

Ann M. Rock Liane A and Richard G Rosel Gordon and Margaret Rosine Kim W. and Peter J. Rue Anne Salisbury David E. Sander Dr. Leon and Alma Satran Ralph Schneider Mrs. Donald Sell Clifford C. and Virginia G. Sorensen Charitable Trust of The Saint Paul Foundation Jon Spoerri and Debra Christgau Anthony Thein Carolyn and Andrew Thomas Greg Thompson Patricia Tilton Susan Travis Emily Anne and Gedney Tuttle Stephanie C. Van D’Elden Morgan Walsh Jo and Howard Weiner Jerry Wenger Barbara and Carl White Helen and J. Kimball Whitney Barbara and James Willis Mr. John W. Windhorst Jr.

Patron Circle Gold $750–$999 Anonymous Dr. and Mrs. Orn Arnar Gerald and Phyllis Benson Wanda and David Cline Mr. Steven A. Diede Jennifer Gross and Jerry LeFevre Ruth E. Hanold Frederick J. Hey Jr. Nancy and Donald Kapps Mahley Family Foundation Judith and James Mellinger The Redleaf Family Foundation The Harriet and Edson Spencer Foundation Warren Stortroen Cindy and Steven Vilks Frank and Frances Wilkinson Lani Willis and Joel Spoonheim

Silver $500–$749 Charles Anderson Eric S. Anderson and Janalee R. Aurelia Jo and Gordon Bailey Family Fund of the Catholic Community Foundation

These lists are current as of January 2, 2010 and include donors who gave a gift of $500 or more during Minnesota Opera’s Annual Fund Campaign.

If your name is not listed appropriately, please accept our apologies and contact Dawn Loven, Director of the Annual Fund, at 612-342-9567.

Minnesota Opera greatly appreciates our generous donors!

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

• Complementary parking • Opera News Magazine • And much more

Please contact Dawn Loven, Director of the Annual Fund, at 612-342-9567 or dloven@mnopera.org for information on donor levels and benefits.

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

| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

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

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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 Rondi Erickson

Ester and John Fesler Paul Froeschl Katy Gaynor Lois and Larry Gibson Robert and Ellen Green Ieva Grundmanis (†) Ruth Harold 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 Susan Molder (†) Edith Mueller (†)

Joan and Richard Newark Scott Pakudiatis Sydney and William Phillips 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.

| MINNESOTA OPERA mnopera.org

Donor Spotlight

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The Community Cultivation Committee (CCC) is made up of energetic women who serve as ambassadors for Minnesota Opera. It is with pleasure that we recognize two of our members, Committee Chair and Opera Board Member Sara Donaldson (pictured on left), and Committee Member Chris Schwarzmann.

Sara and Chris have worked together with the committee to strengthen the Opera’s relationships with prospective operagoers. From making a simple

introduction to people in the seats next to them, to helping people connect with artists at a fabulous dinner party, Sara and Chris are making a difference in the success of reaching current and prospective patrons.

Thank you to Sara and Chris and all of the CCC members for their passion for Minnesota Opera and the art form. Their enthusiasm for sharing great opera with our community is quickly turning partygoers into opera fans!

OPERA GOES UNDERGROUND Join us for a fantastic Prohibition-themed Cabaret in the secret caverns of the Minnesota Opera Center. This fun-filled evening features Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artists in performance and food, drink and dancing. Come down to the speakeasy on Friday, March 19. Password may be required … To learn more contact Emily Skoblik at 612-342-9553.

Annual Fund

INSTITUTIONAL GIVING

MINNESOTA OPERA

Minnesota Opera Sponsors

Minnesota Opera gratefully acknowledges its major institutional supporters:

Season Sponsor

Gala Sponsors

The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank

Travelers U.S. Bank

Production Sponsors The Pearl Fishers, The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank Casanova’s Homecoming, Ronning Family Foundation Roberto Devereux, Ameriprise Financial La bohème, Target Salome, National Endowment for the Arts Recovery Act

Meet the Artists Official Caterer

Conductor Appearances

Pop!!

SpencerStuart

Broadcast Partner

Camerata Dinners

Minnesota Public Radio

$100,000+

Wildside Caterers

Production Innovation System General Mills

Resident Artist Program Wenger Foundation

Tempo Gray Plant Mooty

Tempo Opera Night Out

Lowry Hill

Corporations, Foundations and Government 3M Foundation Ameriprise Financial City of Saint Paul’s Cultural STAR Program General Mills Foundation The McKnight Foundation The Medtronic Foundation Minnesota State Arts Board National Endowment for the Arts Target The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank Travelers Foundation U.S. Bancorp Foundation UnitedHealth Group The Wallace Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation Minnesota

Platinum $10,000–$24,999 Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation Best Buy Children’s Foundation Cargill Foundation Deluxe Corporation Foundation Dorsey & Whitney Foundation Ecolab Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Gray Plant Mooty Anna M. Heilmaier Charitable Foundation Lowry Hill The MAHADH Fund of HRK Foundation RBC Foundation – usa RBC Wealth Management SpencerStuart Twin Cities Opera Guild Valspar Foundation Wenger Foundation

Gold $5,000–$9,999 ADC Telecommunications Allianz Life Insurance of North America Bemis Company Foundation Boss Foundation Briggs and Morgan, P.A.

Cleveland Foundation Deloitte Education Minnesota Foundation Faegre & Benson Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts R. C. Lilly Foundation Mayo Clinic Onan Family Foundation Pentair Foundation The Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi Rahr Foundation Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, p.a.

Securian Foundation Xcel Energy Foundation

$25,000–$49,999

Silver $2,500–$4,999 Dellwood Foundation Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation Hutter Family Foundation Peravid Foundation The Elizabeth C. Quinlan Foundation Margaret Rivers Fund Tennant Foundation Thyme to Entertain

$10,000–$24,999

Bronze $1,000–$2,499 The ADS Group Arts & Custom Publishing Co., Inc. Bailey Nurseries, Inc. Burdick-Craddick Family Foundation Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc. Hogan & Hartson Leonard, Street & Deinard McVay Foundation Alice M. O’Brien Foundation Lawrence M. O’Shaughnessy Charitable Annuity Trust in honor of Lawrence M. O’Shaughnessy Peregrine Capital Management Sit Investment Foundation The Regis Foundation The Southways 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.

| ROBERTO DEVEREUX

Sponsors $25,000+

$50,000–$99,999

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