Minnesota Opera's La Clemenza Di Tito Program

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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oContentsBoard of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Minnesota Opera Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Notes from the Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

La clemenza di Tito . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Background Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Synopsis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Pietro Metastasio and the Tradition of Opera Seria . . . 14

A Conversation with Susanne Mentzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

The Artists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Gala Thank You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Opera Broadcasts on MPR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

The Minnesota Opera Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Sta∂ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Coming Up: La bohème. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

The Minnesota Opera Fund. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

The Minnesota OperaPresident & CEO Kevin SmithArtistic Director Dale Johnson

Chair, Board of Directors Virginia L. Stringer

The Minnesota Opera, 620 North First Street

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January 2002

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Photographs,artworks and personal itemsfrom their homesin Sweden areused to explorethe warm rela-tionship betweenthese remarkableartists and their families.

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PERSONAL COLLECTIONS OF

ANDERS ZORN & CARL LARSSON

Glimpse intothe lives ofAnders Zorn{1860-1920} &Carl Larsson{1853-1919},two of Sweden’smost famousartists.

FEB.13 -MAY 19, 2002

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Board of Directors

Dominick ArgentoH. Wesley BalkPhilip BrunelleElizabeth Close

Dolly FitermanCharles C. FullnerNorton M. HintzDonald W. Judkins

David P. KeefeLiz KochirasJevne PennockPatricia H. Sheppard

Honorary Directors

Julia W. Dayton, Director Emeritus James A. Rubenstein, legal counsel,Moss & Barnett

Virginia L. Stringer, Chair Susan S. Boren, Vice ChairBruce Nelson, Secretary Loren Unterseher, Treasurer

Kevin Smith, President & CEO

August J. AquilaMartha Goldberg

AronsonKaren BachmanPatricia BauerSusan J. CrockettEllie CrosbyRolf EnghThomas J. FoleyJohn G. Forsythe

Steve FoxR. Thomas Greene, Jr.Heinz HutterPaula R. JohnsonMichael F. Kelly, Jr.Edward J. KeransSarah B. KlingLynne E. LooneyThomas R. McBurneyDaniel I. Malina

Diana E. MurphyJose PerisKimberly S. PuckettConnie RemeleSteven M. RothschildLucy T. SearlsGregory C. Swinehart Catie Tobin

Welcome. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray ispleased to help bring you The MinnesotaOpera’s production of La Clemenza di Tito.Sponsoring the opera season is just partof our commitment to the arts and qualityof life in our community.

Staging this fine performance takes team-work. From the conductor to the cast mem-bers to the costume designers, manyindividuals are working together to enter-tain you. This team includes managementand patrons – even the audience – whomake a successful production possible.

At U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, we embraceteamwork. We work with clients to under-stand their needs and accomplish theirgoals. We work with colleagues throughoutU.S. Bancorp to provide a comprehensiverange of financial solutions. And we workwith The Minnesota Opera and other high-quality organizations to enrich our commu-nity.

We’re proud to be part of the team effortyou’re about to experience. Enjoy the per-formance.

Andrew DuffPresident and CEOU.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Minnesota Opera Volunteers

The following volunteers contribute their time

and talent in support of key activities of The Minnesota Opera.

Ann Albertson

Laurel Anderson

Jamie Andrews

Gerald Benson

Matt Bluem

Linda Brandt

Jim Brownback

Sue Brownback

Meredith Cain-Nielsen

Kathy Cameron

Joann Cierniak*

Tricia Clarke*

Caroline Coopersmith

Lindsay Craig

Beverly Dailey

Marcia del Castillo

Lee Drawert

Judith Duncan

Sally Economon

Mary Sue Fiola

Jane Fuller

Joan Gacki(Volunteer Chair)

Christine A. Garner

Heather Gehring

Juhi Gupta-Gulati*

Mark Gustin

Mary E. Hagen

John Harris*

Kriste.n Heimerl

Anne Hesselroth

Alisandra Johnson

Nancy Johnson

Jeanie Johnston

Susan Kalmer

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Eleanore Kolar

Lucinda Lamont

Shirley Larson

Rita Lavin

Rochelle Lockwood

Rusty Low

Randi Quanbeck Lundell

Jennifer Madvig

Joan Masuck

Mary McDiarmid

Claire McPherson

Verne Melberg

Warren Mitlyng

Linda Morey

Doug Myhra

Dan Panshin

Pat Panshin

Kaye Peters

Sydney Phillips

Bill Phillips

Julia Porter

Jack Richter

John Rosse

Florence Ruhland

John Sauer*

Michael Silhavy

Wendy Silhavy

Wendy Sott

Dawn Stafki

Harry D. Swepston, III

John Thompson

Anne Townsley

Doris Unger

Carolyn Wahtera

Barbara Willis*

Jeremy Wright

Melissa Zschunke

*Lead volunteer

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Welcome to today’s perfor-

mance! You are in for an op-

eratic treat.

We have assembled on our

stage tonight consummate

musicians. Once again The

Minnesota Opera partners

with The Saint Paul Chamber

Orchestra, and we have an ex-

citing cast of international

operatic giants together on

the same stage. Tenor Bruce Ford, appearing as Emperor

Tito, returns to The Minnesota Opera stage after an ab-

sence of 15 years. It is great to have him back. We wel-

come back one of our favorites, soprano Brenda Harris, in

her trademark role of the scheming fury Vitellia. The in-

ternational superstar, mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer,

makes her company debut in the pants role of Sesto.

This production also allows us to showcase the talents of

our Resident Artists past and present. Soprano Ana Ro-

driguez sings Servilia, Sesto’s sister, and former Resident

Artist, mezzo-soprano Lori-Kaye Miller, returns as Annio.

Finally, Alfred Walker appears in his company debut as

Publio.

The production itself, distinctive in its own right, will

travel to Covent Garden later this spring.

I am delighted you are here to experience what will be

without a doubt a legendary Minnesota Opera perfor-

mance.

Dale Johnson

Artistic Director

Welcome to La clemenza diTito, a new production for a

new year.

I would like to start the new

year here at The Minnesota

Opera by expressing this

company’s gratitude to all of

you in the community. Not

only have you continued your

support during the tumult of

2001, but most of you have

increased your support in the context of a di∑cult econ-

omy. This is a remarkable testament to the resilience and

generosity of our community as well as your commitment

to The Minnesota Opera. I speak on behalf of the entire

company when I say we are proud to live in a community

that places high value on the arts.

Our first production of the season, Lucia di Lammermoor,sold to 88% capacity at the box o∑ce. While that number

is slightly lower than we projected, under recent circum-

stances we are extremely pleased. Our Opening Night

Gala was also a tremendous success, with attendance and

funds raised exceeding both record numbers and expecta-

tions.

As we enter 2002 with this new Mozart coproduction, we

are more excited than ever about the possibilities our fu-

ture holds and about the art we are able to provide to the

community which has been so supportive.

Kevin SmithPresident and CEO

Notes from The Leadership

from Kevin Smith from Dale Johnson

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Music by Wolfgang Amadeus MozartLibretto by Caterino Mazzolà

after a libretto by Pietro Metastasio (1734)

World premiere at the National Theater, PragueSeptember 6, 1791

January 26, 29, 31, February 2 and 3, 2002Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Sung in Italian with English captions

Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Harry BicketStage Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephen LawlessSet Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Benoît DugardynCostume Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sue WillmingtonLighting Designer . . . . . . . . . .Joan Sullivan-GentheWig Master and Makeup . . . . . . . . . . . .Tom WatsonAssistant Conductor . . . . . . . . . . . . .Je∂rey DomotoChorusmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joseph LawsonContinuo . . . . . . . . . . .Peter Howard, Bruce StasynaProduction Stage Manager . . . . . . . .Alexander FarinoEnglish Captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Adam Pollock

The CastTito, Emperor of Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bruce FordVitellia, daughter of Vitellius . . . . . . . . .Brenda HarrisSesto, friend of Tito . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Susanne MentzerServilia, sister of Sesto . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ana RodriguezAnnio, friend of Sesto . . . . . . . . . . . .Lori-Kaye MillerPublio, prefect of the praetorian guard . . .Alfred Walker

Senators, ambassadors, praetorian guards, lictors, people of Rome

Setting: Rome, c 80 ad

La clemenza di Tito is sponsored by American Express Minnesota Philanthropic Program

Five octave Mozart-era Stein fortepiano provided by The Schubert Club.

Scenery and costumes for this production are jointly owned by

The Minnesota Opera and The Dallas Opera and were constructed by

The Dallas Opera Stage Scenery and Costume Shop.

La clemenza di Tito by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Edited for the New Mozart Edition (Neue Mozart-Ausgabe) by Franz Giegling.

By arrangement with Baerenreiter-Verlag, publisher and copyright owner.

The appearances of Lori-Kaye Miller, Ana Rodriguez and Alfred Walker,

regional finalists of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, is

made possible through a Minnesota Opera Endowment Fund established for

Artist Enhancement by Barbara White Bemis.

The Minnesota Opera season is proudly sponsored by

U.S. Bancorp Piper Ja∂ray.

OperaInsights is sponsored by SpencerStuart.

The 2001-2002 Camerata Circle Dinners are sponsored by Rider, Bennett,

Egan & Arundel.

Promotional support provided by Minnesota Monthly.

Special thanks to Miller Meester advertising for making

the 2001-2002 season preview recording possible

Performances of La clemenza di Tito are being taped for delayed broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio, KSJN 99.5 in the Twin Cities, in June 2002.

See page 20 for details.

Act I, scene ii

Act II, scene iii

The Hapsburgs desperately needed

some good press. Just two years before

Leopold’s ascension, the French Revolu-

tion rocked the monarchical system, de-

posing his own sister, Queen Marie

Antoinette. Their brother, Joseph ii, had

proved himself ine∂ectual during his

final years, having made significant re-

forms that disquieted the nobility and

engaged Austria in an unpopular war

with the Ottoman Empire. Joseph’s

death in 1790 left the throne open to

Leopold, who quickly established power

through a series of coronation cere-

monies, first as the Holy Roman Em-

peror, then as King of Hungary and

finally as King of Bohemia. Thankfully

he had 25 years of experience under his

belt as Grand Duke of Tuscany, where he

had been celebrated for his enlightened

rule.

The Bohemian Estates wished to

honor their monarch with a week of fes-

tivities, including a new opera. Haps-

burg tradition dictated that it be an

opera seria to a text by the celebrated

18th-century librettist Pietro Metastasio.

It was most fortunate that one of his

texts happened to be based on the Em-

peror Titus, another benevolent ruler,

perhaps one of just a handful in the long

roster of corrupt Roman despots.

Titus came to the fore in the wake of

a civil war following Nero’s death, and

with it the end of the Julio-Claudian dy-

nasty. In three years, Rome had had four

emperors – Galba, Otho, Vitellius and

Vespasian – the first three having

su∂ered violent deaths. With the rise of

Vespasian, however, the

dust began to settle, and

his rule was to last ten

years – he would be the

first Roman emperor to

die a natural death.

The reign of Vespasian’s

son Titus was to last only a few

years (79 – 81 ad), but it was

marked by several major events.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius

leveled Pompeii and Hercula-

neum. A major fire left portions of

the Eternal City in ruins. And a

particularly virulent return of the

plague threatened Rome’s population.

The two-year period also saw the com-

pletion of the great Flavian amphithe-

ater, the Colosseum, begun by Vespasian

in 70 and christened with a reenactment

of a famous naval battle with 3,000 par-

ticipants adrift in an entirely flooded

Colosseum floor. Also dating from the

period is the Arch of Titus, which was

built to honor the Emperor’s victory in

Judea during the Jewish wars a decade

before.

Titus’s character (marked by cruelty,

greed, suspected forgery and sexual

promiscuity) was not as stellar as the

opera’s eponymous hero, but he did

clean up his act somewhat once he be-

came emperor. Historically speaking,

Titus was responsible for granting relief

to volcano survivors, and as the 2nd-cen-

tury historian Suetonius indicates, he

did survive an assassination plot and

pardoned the insurgents. This became

the basis for Metastasio’s drama, which

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Notes by David Sander

Tito can do no wrong. He pardons con-

spirators, donates money to disaster

victims, disregards the words of libelers

and slanderers, and marries not for love, but

for the good of the empire. He is the poster

boy for 18th-century “enlightened absolutism,”

the perfect propaganda vehicle for recently

appointed Emperor Leopold ii, known to his peo-

ple as the “German Titus.”

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otherwise is mostly fiction.

Suetonius also mentions an un-

named daughter to Vitellius, though

there is no evidence she was involved in

the scheme to overthrow Titus. The Jew-

ish princess, Berenice, also comes to us

from the history books – Titus became

involved with her during his governor-

ship of Judea, and she later joined him

in Rome. The prospect of marriage was

indeed discouraged by the Roman peo-

ple, who found Berenice’s marriage to

her uncle King Herod Agrippa and in-

cestuous relationship with her brother

Herod Agrippa ii dis-

tasteful.

In addition to Sue-

tonius’s chroni-

cles, Metastasio

was inspired by

French classical

theate r wi th

Racine’s Andromaque (1667) and

Corneille’s Cinna, ou la clémence d’Auguste(1642). His libretto was first set in 1734

to music by Antonio Caldara for another

Hapsburg emperor, Charles vi (grandfa-

ther of Leopold), and not surprisingly,

was intended to flatter the ruling

monarch, though the librettist made a

shallow e∂ort to disguise that fact. Since

its premiere, his libretto for La clemenzadi Tito was set more than 40 times dur-

ing the 18th century – it became his

most popular work.

Metastasio was dead by the time the

Bohemian commission came around,

and the task of updating the text fell

into the hands of Caterino Mazzolà, the

recently appointed Caesarian poet to the

Austrian Empire. It was common prac-

tice to modify a Metastasio libretto to

suit one’s own tastes and purposes, and

this had been done in each previous in-

carnation. Mazzolà skillfully whittled

down the text, eliminating some 700

lines and creating a few new ones, incor-

porating them into ensembles and cho-

ruses (of which Metastasio had next to

none). He reduced the opera from three

to two acts and focused the action on

three characters, eliminating virtually all

of the subsidiary plots. He and Mozart

breathed life and humanity into Metas-

tasio’s statuesque characters, fleshing out

Vitellia as a hell-bent fury thirsty for

vengeance, building upon Sesto’s inter-

nal conflict between his passion for a

woman and love of a friend, and lending

compassion to Tito’s struggle to temper

his personal tragedy with public duty.

The Metastasio/Mazzolà political al-

legory not only shows Titus as a perfect

individual, but a skillful manipulator of

the people. Rebellions were a hot issue

at the end of the 18th century, and the

double-edged sword is very clear – the

ruler can be both kind and cruel, what-

ever the situation demanded. The drama

portrays a monarch faced with a violent

uprising but able to successfully quash it

– an important message to send during a

particularly unsettling period of history.

Timing is everything, and circum-

stance played a crucial role in the devel-

opment of the coronation opera.

Unfortunately the Bohemian nobles did

not allot very much time between their

decision to create a new work and the day

of its premiere. Inquiries began in July,

but Mozart was not the first choice. That

honor fell to Antonio Salieri, kapellmeis-

ter of the Imperial court, who had the

good sense to decline given his workload

at the moment – his star pupil (and assis-

tant) was composing at Esterháza in lieu

of Franz Joseph Haydn, who was in turn

delighting audiences in London with his

symphonies. The impresario in charge of

the project, Domenico Guardasoni, next

approached Mozart, whom he had

known from two years prior. In fact, at

that time they may have discussed the

possibility of setting La clemenza di Tito –

evidence suggests Mozart had some

sketches for the opera already completed.

This may have guided Mozart’s deci-

sion to accept the commission, given he

had less than two months to compose it.

Even though he was committed to other

work, he was still desperately short of

cash, and a second child was due at any

time. He also aspired to a posting as sec-

ond kapellmeister in Leopold’s new

regime and hoped to impress the Em-

peror with a reminder of their past en-

counters. The composer set aside his two

other major projects, a somber requiem

and a German singspiel, and wrote the

score at a rapid pace.

The reception at the premiere sur-

vives in an anecdote, a sneer made by

Empress Maria Luisa calling the new

work “German trash.” The remark sur-

vives only in spoken lore, and it would

be surprising if the royal couple found

disdain in all of Mozart’s music – the

coronation celebrations are peppered

with performances of his other works,

and the Emperor and Empress had just

attended a production of Don Giovannionly a few days before. One senses that if

the remark is true, Maria Luisa would

have been referring to his treatment of

opera seria, the favored genre of the Tus-

cany court and one to which (they

thought) only could be done justice by

an Italian composer. Nonetheless, the

people took their cue, and further per-

formances of La clemenza di Tito did not

sell out. The opera closed on September

30, 1791, coincidentally on the same

day as the opening of The Magic Flute in

the suburbs of Vienna.

Still, the opera had a long life ahead

of it even if Mozart didn’t. Following his

death, Constanze Mozart made selec-

tions from the work a staple in her

benefit concerts intended to raise money

for her struggling family. La clemenza diTito became one of Mozart’s most popu-

lar operas during the early part of the

19th century until Romantic sensibility

put it in the shadows for many decades.

Only during the last 25 years has the

opera returned to the standard repertory

and is now valued as it should be – a

jewel in the crown of the great com-

Mazzolà and Mozart breathed life and humanity into Metastasio’s statuesque characters

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Synopsisact i

Scene one Vitellia, daughter of the de-

posed emperor Vitellius, is furious

over Tito’s plans to marry the Judean

princess Berenice. Vitellia feels she

has been overlooked as the obvious

choice as Tito’s consort, thereby

mending the fence between

powerful Roman factions. She

has enticed Sesto to incite a riot

designed to overthrow and murder

Tito. Sesto is hesitant – Tito is a close

friend and a good emperor – but his

love for Vitellia is all-consuming. Annio

enters with news that Tito’s marriage

plans are not popular with the peo-

ple, and therefore Berenice has de-

parted from Rome. Tito has sent

for Sesto. In an aside, Vitellia

tells Sesto to defer her orders as

there may still be a place for

her in Tito’s heart.

Annio loves Sesto’s

sister Servilia and believes

the time is right to sol-

emnize their union. He

asks his long-time friend to

help him obtain the emperor’s

consent.

Scene two The people praise their

emperor as Publio announces his

confirmation as “Father of the

State.” A temple shall be built,

and the annual tribute is o∂ered

in his honor. Tito modestly de-

clines the temple and the trea-

sures, accepting only the love of his

people. He orders the tribute be given

as relief to the survivors of Vesuvius,

their villages having been reduced to

ashes by the volcano’s eruption. As the

people withdraw, Tito asks that Sesto

and Annio remain. He announces that

since he cannot marry for love, he shall

for friendship and asks for Servilia’s

hand, thereby bringing Sesto’s family

closer into the royal fold. Privately both

Sesto and Annio are horrorstruck –

though Sesto tries to explain the situa-

tion, Annio nobly confirms that the al-

liance is a good one and that Servilia is

worthy of Tito’s greatness.

Annio gives Servilia the terrible

news, yet she counters that he is her only

true love. She will talk to the emperor.

Scene three Publio gives Tito a docu-

ment naming those who have dared

to besmirch the names of the em-

perors, past and present, yet Tito

advises him to pay no mind to the

matter – it is better to forgive.

They are interrupted by Servilia,

who begs an audience with the em-

peror. Though honored by his o∂er,

she boldly declares that her heart

belongs to another. Tito releases

her from the obligation to the

empire and blesses her marriage

to Annio.

Vitellia encounters Servilia

and bitterly o∂ers her new sov-

ereign a token of respect.

Servilia cryptically replies

that the throne still may be Vitel-

lia’s, which the latter takes as an insult.

Her angers flares as she sends for Sesto,

whom she berates for putting o∂ the re-

bellion. Again she uses her wiles to win

his heart, and he begrudgingly agrees to

her plan. After Sesto leaves, Publio in-

forms Vitellia that she has been se-

lected to become Tito’s bride. She

tries to stop Sesto, but it is too late

– the insurrection has begun.

Scene four Alone, Sesto considers

the consequences of his treaso-

nous act. A fire breaks out in

the capital as the conspiracy

unfolds. A crowd of horrified

onlookers gathers.

— intermission —

act ii

Scene one Sesto believes Tito to be

dead, but Annio assures him

that Tito lives – another man

took the seemingly deadly

blow. Sesto confesses to Annio

that it was he who incited

the riot intended to assassinate the

emperor. He advises his friend to pro-

tect Tito from any further harm. Annio

suggests that Sesto throw himself at

Tito’s mercy, using his own virtue as his

best defense.

Vitellia, however, demands Sesto

leave Rome at once, before knowledge

of his role in the siege is discovered. Her

e∂orts are in vain – Publio arrives to

place Sesto under arrest. The man he

supposed was Tito did not die and has

divulged the details of the coup. Vitellia

has a moment of remorse for causing his

downfall.

Scene two The people celebrate the

suppression of the rebellion and

Tito’s safe return to the seat of

power. Publio announces the

commemorative games are

about to begin, but Tito hesi-

tates, fearing Sesto’s fate be-

fore the Senate. He doesn’t

believe his friend could have

betrayed him. Annio enters,

begging for mercy on

Sesto’s behalf. During his

trial Sesto confessed to the evil

deeds and has been condemned to die.

Left alone Tito considers his friend’s de-

ceit but can’t sign the death sentence

before speaking to him once more. He

rues the unhappy fate of those in power

who must live in constant fear of their

friends and enemies.

Before the emperor, Sesto confirms

his guilt, claiming weakness but refus-

ing to name his accomplice. Angered by

Sesto’s reluctance to justify his treach-

ery, Tito agrees to the execution, only to

falter once again after Sesto has left his

presence. His love for his friend is

greater than the need for revenge, and

he privately determines to save Sesto’s

life.

Vitellia learns of Sesto’s death sen-

tence and suspects that she has

been implicated in the plot.

Annio and Servilia encourage

her to use her influence as the

future empress with Tito –

they don’t understand why

she tarries. Left alone, Vitellia

gathers her resolve to come

clean with the truth.

Scene three Tito orders that the con-

demned man be brought before

him, relishing his secret design to o∂er

a pardon. As Sesto is admitted, Vitellia

rushes in and confesses her involvement,

fueled by her rage at being twice passed

over for candidacy as empress. Tito an-

nounces his desire to forgive and forget,

and all rejoice their noble emperor’s

clemency.

Annio

Vitellia

Sesto

Servilia

Tito

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Child wonder, virtuoso performer and

prolific creative artist, Mozart is the

first composer whose operas have never

been out of repertory. His prodi-

gious talents were apparent very

early in his life; by the age of four he

could reproduce on the keyboard a

melody played to him, at five he

could play the violin with perfect in-

tonation and at six he composed his

first minuet.

A musician himself, Wolfgang’s

father, Leopold, immediately saw the

potential of his son’s talents. With

the mixed motives of religious piety

and making a tidy profit, Leopold

embarked on a series of concert tours

showing o∂ the child’s extraordinary

talents. Often playing with his sister

Maria Anna (“Nannerl”), herself an

accomplished musician, young

Wolfgang charmed the royal courts

of Europe, from those of Austrian

Empress Maria Theresa, French king

Louis xv and English king George

iii, to those of the lesser principali-

ties of Germany and Italy.

As Mozart grew older, his con-

cert tours turned into a search for

permanent employment, but this

proved exceedingly di∑cult for a Ger-

man musician in a market dominated

by Italian composers. Although many of

his early operas were commissioned by

Milanese and Munich nobles (Mitridate,Ascanio in Alba, Lucio Silla, La finta giar-diniera), he could not rise beyond Konz-ertmeister of the Salzburg archbishopric.

When the new prince archbishop,

Count Hieronymus Colloredo, was ap-

pointed in 1771, Mozart also found he

was released for guest engagements

with less frequency. Though his position

improved and a generous salary was

o∂ered, the composer felt the Salzburg

musical scene was stifling for a man of

his enormous talent and ingenuity.

Things came to a head in 1781 im-

mediately after the successful premiere

of Mozart’s first mature work, Idomeneo,in Munich. The archbishop, then visit-

ing Vienna, insisted the composer join

him there. Never did Mozart better un-

derstand his position in the household

than during that sejour, when he was

seated at the dinner table below the

prince’s personal valets and just above

the cooks. He requested to be perma-

nently discharged from his duties, and

after several heated discussions his peti-

tion was granted, punctuated by a part-

ing kick in the pants.

Now completely on his own for the

first time, Mozart embarked on several

happy years. He married Constanze

Weber, sister to his childhood sweet-

heart Aloysia, and premiered a new

work, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (TheAbduction from the Seraglio), at the

Burgtheater. Mozart also gave concerts

around Vienna, presenting a number of

new piano concertos and symphonies.

His chief concern was to procure a posi-

tion at the Imperial court. A small com-

mission came his way from Joseph ii for

a one-act comedy, Der Schauspieldirektor(The Impresario), given in the same

evening as Antonio Salieri’s Prima lamusica e poi le parole (First the music, thenthe words), to celebrate the visit of the

emperor’s sister, Marie Christine, and

her husband, joint rulers of the Austrian

Netherlands.

The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s first

true masterpiece for the Imperial

court, premiered at the Burgtheater

in 1786 and went on to Prague the

following year where it was a huge

success. Don Giovanni premiered in

Prague in 1787 to great acclaim, but

its Vienna premiere in 1788 was

coolly received. By this time, Mozart

had received a minor Imperial post-

ing, Kammermusicus, which required

him to write dances for state func-

tions. The position was hardly wor-

thy of his skills and generated only a

modest income, a weighty concern

now that debts had begun to mount.

Joseph ii commissioned another

opera from Mozart, Così fan tutte,which premiered January 26, 1790.

The emperor was too ill to attend

the opening and died the following

month. His brother, Leopold ii, as-sumed leadership, and Mozart hoped

to be appointed Kapellmeister – in-

stead he merely received a continu-

ance of his previous position.

Crisis hit in 1791. Constanze’s

medical treatments at Baden and the

birth of a second child pushed their

finances to a critical point. Mozart’s

friend and fellow Freemason, the impre-

sario Emanuel Schikaneder, suggested

he try his luck with the suburban audi-

ences at his Theater auf der Wieden.

Composition of The Magic Flute began

that summer but had to be halted when

two generous commissions came his

way: a requiem for an anonymous pa-

tron (who hoped to pass it o∂ as his own

composition), and an opera seria to cele-

brate the new emperor’s coronation as

King of Bohemia. La clemenza di Titopremiered September 6, and The MagicFlute was completed in time to open

September 30. The Requiem, however,

remained unfinished, and as Mozart’s

health began to fail, the composer feared

he was writing his own death mass. In

December Mozart died at the age of 35

and was given a simple funeral by his

impoverished widow, then buried in a

mass grave on the outskirts of Vienna.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartb Salzburg, January 27, 1756; d Vienna, December 5, 1791

Portrait of Mozart by Joseph Lange (1751-1831)

Scala / Art Resource, NY

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Pietro Metastasio and the Tradition of Opera Seria

The words Pietro Metastasio and

opera seria are virtually synony-

mous, as for most of the 18th century,

his 28 libretti held sway in the realm

o f s e r i ou s I ta l i an ope r a . L ik e

Gioachino Rossini’s music a century

later, Metastasio’s famed literary style

and operatic formula became text-

book, subduing the threat of any seri-

ous competition to mere imitation.

His position remained unchallenged

for 50 years.

Born Antonio Trapassi to an

impoverished family in Rome, the

young Metastasio had the good

fortune to attract the attention of

Gian Vincenzo Gravina, a wealthy

jurist and man of letters. Gravina

was impressed with the boy’s

knack for verse and improvisation

and he o∂ered to adopt the boy

and further his education. Under

his tutor’s wing, Metastasio’s life

was transformed, indicated quite

literally by the change in name

Gravina orchestrated on his be-

half, Metastasio being derived

from the Greek word metastasis, a

transition or change.

When Gravina died in 1718,

Metastasio came into a small for-

tune, which he quickly squan-

dered. He also inherited his

adoptive father’s place in the Ar-

cadian Academy. Founded in

1690, the Academy (among its

other intentions) sought to bring

some order to the somewhat uncon-

trolled legacy of baroque opera. Opera,

during the first century of its existence

had become extravagant. Spectacle was

the name of the game with newly im-

proved stage machinery and special

e∂ects intended to produce the ulti-

mate theatrical experience, aptly de-

scribed in France as le merveilleux, or

“the marvelous.” Plotting was a sub-

sidiary concern; consequently the op-

eras had a plethora of characters,

incongruous situations, with comic

and tragic episodes intertwined and

use of superfluous language. Baroque

opera relished its unique status as

being all the arts rolled into one, yet

the Arcadians felt that there was virtue

to be taught as well – a higher moral

purpose could be achieved with the

display of devotion to duty and loyalty

to the rational side of the human

mind. Aristotelian principles of unity

in time, place and action, supported

by the precept of drama’s purpose

both to delight and to instruct, guided

them in seeking an art form that de-

livered a didactic message. Librettists,

such as Apostolo Zeno (1668 – 1750),

elevated the quality of the libretto,

significantly downsizing the cast list

and streamlining the plot into an or-

derly sequence of events. Emotions

were restrained, comedy was entirely

eradicated and language became ele-

gant and aristocratic.

Zeno had been poeta cesareo to the

Hapsburg court in Vienna since 1718,

and Metastasio succeeded him in

1729. There Metastasio did his best

work, first collaborating with vice-

kapellmeister Antonio Caldara (1670-

1736) and standardizing the art form

of opera seria. The librettist was a

master of stagecraft and an economical

writer of exquisite verse. A Metas-

tasian libretto had three acts each with

up to 12 scenes defined by the en-

trances and exits of between five and

eight characters. The story line was

typically derived from ancient history,

with the French classical theater of

Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine serv-

ing as a guide. The opera was laid out

as a sequence of arias, mostly of the da

capo variety, itself evolved from the

poetic refrain – musical material is in-

troduced, contrasted, then reintro-

duced and embellished. Duets

occasionally may be employed,

but larger ensembles typically

were not, and the chorus was re-

served for the triumphal scenes

and big act finales. Recitative

filled the gaps, usually set to

simple continuo, with orchestral

accompaniment reserved for the

two to three truly serious mo-

ments of the piece. Protagonists

faced emotional ly charged

conflicts involving public good

versus private interest, and the

drama is propelled forward by

intrigue and deceit, contrasted

by a subsidiary plot involving

two lovers. The ending is in-

evitably a happy one, even if it

betrays the original source (an-

other t ra i t inher i ted f rom

French theater, where all the un-

pleasantness took place o∂stage).

Metastasio’s libretti stood as

literary works apart from the

music and could be played as

spoken drama. This could explain

their extreme popularity during the

18th century – audiences seemed to

enjoy seeing them time and time

again as long as the musical accompa-

niment had changed. This a∂orded the

rise of several composers, namely Jo-

hann Hasse (1699 – 1783), Niccolò

Jommelli (1714 – 1774), and Tom-

maso Traetta (1727 – 1779), obscure

names today, but then quite popular

thanks to Metastasio. His universal

popularity extended across Europe –

George Frideric Handel used several

Metastasio libretti for his London op-

eras, as did Johann Christian Bach,

Giuseppe Sarti, Domenico Cimarosa

Arch of Titus, 1871; George Peter Alexander Healy, Frederic Church, and Jervis McEntee.

The

New

ark

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NY

b Rome, January 3, 1698; d Vienna, April 12, 1782

Opera Seria continues on page 20

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by Stephanie Wendt

What was your reaction when you wereasked to take on the role of Sesto?I’ve been in this opera three times

singing the smaller role of Annio. I sang

the role of Sesto at the Lyric Opera of

Chicago, and then I never had another

o∂er to do it. I think it’s because this

opera is not often done. When this pos-

sibility came up, I thought, boy, that’s

one role I really want to do again.

What is appealing about the role?Vocally it’s one of the more challenging

and enjoyable roles to sing. I do a lot of

Mozart, like the role of Cherubino,

which is great, but it’s comic and cute. I

really love the dramatic “trouser” roles

of Mozart. I jump whenever I get a

chance to do them.

How do you approach singing and acting therole of a young man?The singing is no di∂erent from what I

do in the role of a woman. Physically,

the trouser roles are usually more active.

It sounds rather odd, but I find this very

freeing; you don’t have to worry about

posing as much as just being. I don’t do

roles like Carmen or Delilah because

they’re too low for me, so a lot of the fe-

male roles left for me as a mezzo are not

as emotionally satisfying as trouser roles.

Do you gesture di∂erently when you play ayoung man?It’s really a mindset more than any-

thing. A lot of these operas were written

in the 1700s and 1800s. The men had

an elegance about them; if you were to

see them today you might think them a

little e∂eminate because of their wigs

and clothes. I can get away with it be-

cause I can give a bit of that e∂eminate

quality, but I can also just be a tomboy.

Why do you think composers wrote youngmen’s roles for women’s voices?It’s a mix of things. Some of Mozart’s

trouser roles were originally sung by

countertenors and some weren’t. Now

we’re in an age when we’ve got a lot of

countertenors but there was a time

when we didn’t. A lot of the Handel

roles were for castrati, who, thank God,

don’t exist anymore. I think the inno-

cence of a woman’s voice works well for

trouser roles – these are young men, all

20 and under.

You sing such a wide variety of genres —from recitals to opera to chamber music, fromMozart to Berg. How are those di∂erencesreflected in the way you use your voice?For years, all I did was opera, partly be-

cause I was only comfortable being a

character. I wasn’t comfortable being

myself. In my late 30s I really got inter-

ested in recital work, and found it free-

ing in a few di∂erent ways. I was

collaborating with one pianist or a few

chamber musicians and that was it. Wewould decide what we wanted to do

with the music. In opera, it’s necessary

to have a lot of cooks. You’ve got the

conductor and the director and the set

designer and the costume designer and

sometimes the choreographer. Every-

body wants to explain their point of

view, and then you have to take all of

those things and add a little bit of your-

self. That’s the nature of opera.

The other di∂erence between opera and

recitals is sound. The amount of sound

you have to put out in an opera is a lot

bigger – there’s an orchestra and usually

the halls are larger. You tend to need

more days o∂ between opera perfor-

mances. It’s like revving up for a

marathon. I rarely do recitals within two

weeks of an opera because I find the ad-

justment extremely di∑cult – to get my

voice “calmed down.”

You’ve worked with so many illustrious mu-sicians. Who stands out as an inspiration?I led a very charmed life early in my ca-

reer. I’d be working with people who

were 10 to 20 years older than me,

which was incredibly intimidating.

Deep down I didn’t know what I

needed to know, but you can’t let that

on when you’re hired for a job. You

learn very fast to be quiet and observe. I

got to work with Joan Sutherland very

early. She’s a fabulous person and amaz-

ing to work with. She is incredibly

calm. There were no histrionics. Her en-

ergy went into her sound. I also did a

very small role in another opera – actu-

ally Bruce Ford [Tito] was in this opera

too; we each had maybe three lines.

Marilyn Horne and Federica von Stade

were two of the other singers! I remem-

ber going to the first rehearsal – I think

I was 22 or 23 – and when they opened

their mouths it just sounded so easy,

like velvet! That was a great lesson. To

me it didn’t feel easy.

Is your voice still changing?Oh, yeah. Women’s voices change

throughout life because of our hor-

mones. My voice was kind of high and

thin until I had my son when I was 31.

Suddenly it was as if I had a di∂erent in-

strument. It was rich and dark. I’m not

there yet, but when women reach

menopause, their voices can get a little

wobbly or not as free. The aging of the

voice is more obvious in women than in

men.

Right now I’m probably the happiest

I’ve been with my voice. I used to sing

almost 11 months a year. I don’t do that

anymore. I have a 13-year-old son, so I

want to be home more, and I teach now.

I like the balance of teaching and per-

forming. I just sing the engagements I

really want to sing. I think that helps

my voice.

What do you do on a regular basis to main-tain your technique?It’s terrible to say, but I’ve never been a

Conversation continues on page 19

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

Brenda HarrisVitellia

Minnesota Opera DebutArmida, 1993

RecentlyLa clemenza di Tito, Metropolitan OperaOtello; Così fan tutte, Atlanta OperaNorma, Opéra de QuébecSemiramide; La traviata; others, The Minnesota Opera

UpcomingAgrippina, New York City OperaVanessa, Opéra National du Rhin (Strasbourg)

Lori-Kaye Miller Annio

Minnesota Opera DebutMacbeth, 2000

RecentlyLe nozze di Figaro, El Paso OperaIl re pastore, Lake George Opera FestivalDie tote Stadt, New York City OperaLe nozze di Figaro; 2000 Resident Artist, The Minnesota OperaCarmen; Madame Butterfly; The Magic Flute; Kismet;

Roméo et Juliette; Così fan tutte; others, Tri-Cities Opera

UpcomingAdriana Lecouvreur, Opera Orchestra of New York

Bruce FordTito

Minnesota Opera DebutThe Abduction of Figaro, 1984

RecentlyThe Barber of Seville, Opéra de Monte Carlo

Tancredi, Teatro Malibran (Venice)Armida, Edinburgh Festival

UpcomingThe Barber of Seville, Opéra National de Paris (Bastille)

Don Giovanni, Glyndebourne FestivalLa clemenza di Tito, Royal Opera House – Covent Garden

Ermione, Dallas Opera

Susanne MentzerSesto

Minnesota Opera DebutRecently

Ariadne auf Naxos; Pelléas et Mélisande; Der Rosenkavalier;Les contes d’Ho∂mann; others, Metropolitan Opera

Idomeneo, Sächsische Staatsoper (Dresden)Les nuits d’été (Berlioz), Orchestre de Paris

Un giorno di regno, Royal Opera House – Covent GardenI Capuleti e i Montecchi, Los Angeles Opera

UpcomingFalsta∂, Metropolitan Opera

Les contes d’Ho∂mann, Opéra National de Paris

Ana RodriguezServilia

Minnesota Opera Resident ArtistRecently

Gianni Schicchi; Carmen; Le nozze di Figaro; L’enfant et les sortilèges, Orlando Opera Company

La bohème, Opera North (New Hampshire)Cinderella; Toy Shop, Cincinnati Opera E & O

Cherubin, IVAI (Tel Aviv)L’elisir d’amore, Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music

Amore e guerra, Opera Theater of Lucca (Italy)

UpcomingLa bohème; Little Women; Don Carlos, The Minnesota Opera

Alfred WalkerPublio

Minnesota Opera DebutRecentlyDon Giovanni, Opera North (New Hampshire)Salome, Tanglewood Music FestivalMadame Butterfly; Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk;

Pelléas et Mélisande; others, Metropolitan OperaThe Rake’s Progress; The Magic Flute, Wolf Trap Opera

UpcomingIl trovatore, Tulsa OperaLakmé, Opera OntarioBéatrice et Bénédict, New York Philharmonic

Harry BicketConductor

Minnesota Opera DebutRecently

Agrippina, Glimmerglass OperaGiulio Cesare, Teatro del Liceu (Barcelona); L. A. Opera

Rinaldo, New York City Opera; Bayerische StaatsoperLa clemenza di Tito, Edinburgh Festival; New York City Opera

Le nozze di Figaro, Glyndebourne Festival

UpcomingLa clemenza di Tito, Welsh National Opera

L’incoronazione di Poppea, New Israeli Opera (Tel Aviv)Ariodante, Bayerische Staatsoper (Munich)

Benoît DugardynSet Designer

Minnesota Opera DebutRecentlyDal male il bene, Innsbruck FestwochenCavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci, Théâtre de la Monnaie (Brussels)Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Teatro del Liceu (Barcelona)Salome, Stadttheater Bühnen (Nürnburg)Il trovatore, L. A. Opera; Washington Opera; GöteborgsOperan

UpcomingDer Ring des Nibelungen, Stadttheater Bühnen (Nürnburg)Die Fledermaus, Glyndebourne FestivalLa clemenza di Tito, Royal Opera House – Covent Garden

Stephen LawlessStage Director

Minnesota Opera DebutRecently

Griselda, Staatsoper (Berlin)The Flying Dutchman, New York City Opera

Salome, Stadttheater Bühnen (Nürnburg)Don Pasquale, Los Angeles Opera

Il trovatore, GöteborgsOperan

UpcomingDer Ring des Nibelungen, Stadttheater Bühnen (Nürnburg)

Die Fledermaus, Glyndebourne FestivalLa clemenza di Tito, Royal Opera House – Covent Garden

Joan Sullivan-GentheLighting Designer

Minnesota Opera DebutRecentlyMadame Butterfly; Così fan tutte; Le nozze di Figaro;

The Consul; Le Cid; Tristan und Isolde; Giulio Cesare; Tosca; others, Washington Opera

Il trovatore, GöteborgsOperan (Sweden)Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Aida; others, Seattle OperaDialogues des Carmélites, Le Grand Théâtre de GenèveThe Rake’s Progress, New York City Opera

UpcomingSalome; Pique Dome; Tour to Japan, Washington Opera

Tom WatsonWig Master and Makeup

Minnesota Opera DebutThe Pearl Fishers, 1986

RecentlyOpera Theatre of St. Louis (season)

Santa Fe Opera (season)The Minnesota Opera (1986-2001 seasons)

Metropolitan Opera (season)Jane Eyre; Dirty Blonde, (Broadway)

UpcomingLa bohème; Little Women; Don Carlos,

The Minnesota Opera

Sue WillmingtonCostume Designer

Minnesota Opera DebutRecentlyDie Schweigsame Frau; Don Carlos, Zurich OperaShowtime at the Stadium; Love in a Wood; The Duchess of Malfi;

Don Carlos; The White Devil; Richard II; Measure for Measure; The Merchant of Venice, Royal Shakespeare Co.

Capriccio, Teatro Regio (Turin)Genoveva, Prague State Opera; Opera North (England)Eugene Onegin, Opera North (England)Il seraglio, Opéra National du Rhin (Strasbourg)Nabucco; Fidelio, Bregenz Festival

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person who practiced. I spend time

learning music, which is di∂erent. To

get it into my voice, I’ll use the re-

hearsal period; that’s what the rehearsal

is for. You have to see what your col-

leagues are doing. It’s very much a reac-

tive art form.

What musical and career advice do you giveyour students?I do tell them that most people are born

with their instruments. You can’t really

teach someone to have an operatic

sound. I teach them how to lose the bad

habits. I teach them to get in touch

with what they’re doing physically –

every little movement in their throat

and nose and head – so when they’re o∂

on their own they can self diagnose. I’m

not too hard on them about interpreta-

tion. I want them to figure it out, un-

derstanding that every time they sing a

role it might mean something di∂erent.

Your artistry changes as you get older

and have life experiences.

What do you tell students about the career itself?There was a point about 10 years ago

when I thought I could never teach be-

cause I was too burned out by the toll

singing took on my life. I’ve been di-

vorced and it’s hard to raise a child as

single mom. The father is in the picture,

but there’s a lot of heartbreak. You have

to live a lot of time away from people

you love, so it’s hard to tell impression-

able young singers, “Go ahead and do

this.” But then again I don’t want them

to think they have to have a cloistered

existence to be a singer. It’s not like that

anymore. It’s possible to sing and be a

parent, and I think parenthood enhances

your art.

How do you restore yourself?Not enough. I was doing yoga, and that

helped me a lot. What rejuvenates me

most is having time o∂, especially when

I have two or three weeks at home in

one block. The other thing is teaching

at Aspen. This will be my third sum-

mer. It’s beautiful. Clean air, lots of ex-

ercise, being able to sing chamber music

without critics around, wearing jeans

and a t-shirt. You work with great stu-

dents. Your colleagues are all at the top

of their fields. It’s a fairyland out there.

Conversation continued from page 15

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Opera Broadcasts

and Franz Joseph Haydn. The libretti

also served the political interests of the

reigning monarch – there was rarely a

story line that didn’t feature a benevo-

lent ruler faced with di∑cult issues

who eventually triumphs. The Haps-

burgs used them with great frequency

for celebrating birthdays, namedays,

weddings and other festive occasions.

By mid-century, however, the

winds of change were in the air. After

1744 Metastasio only produced eight

new libretti, as the Hapsburg monar-

chy was plagued by financial di∑culties

and wars with Prussia, and Metastasian

personages lacked contemporary rele-

vance. The rising vogue for comic opera

was evidenced by Joseph ii’s prefer-

ences, made clear as early as 1764, and

his unwillingness to pay the high fees

demanded by opera seria singers. New

reforms were again taking place –

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714 –

1787) and his librettist Ranieri de’

Calzabigi (1714 – 1795) broke the

Metastasian mold by cutting the ex-

cesses that it had spawned, namely the

bastardization of the aria, as dictated by

the reigning doyens of the 18th century,

the castrati. Embellishments were care-

fully notated and new aria forms were

explored, namely the two part slow-fast

option, as well as other practices bor-

rowed from serious opera’s comic

cousin, opera bu∂a. By restoring a more

even balance between music and poetry,

as was prescribed by the Florentine

Camerata and ultimately the ancient

Greeks, Gluck achieved greater dra-

matic truth and declamation, which led

to more natural characterizations as op-

posed to the seemingly stilted ones of

Metastasio. The orchestra was given

greater attention through use of orches-

tral color and the elevated status of the

overture, now emotionally and themati-

cally linked to the rest of the drama.

Mythological themes, banished by Ar-

cadian thinking as being unnatural and

unwieldy, made a return as part of a

general renewed interest in classical

themes, generated by the recently exca-

vated ruins of Pompeii and a treatise is-

sued by Johann Winkelmann, History ofAncient Art (1764).

These were the surroundings in

which Mozart found himself when he

began composing operas in the 1770s.

The immensity of the genre did not

scare the dauntless teen as he tackled

Mitridate, re di Ponto, a Metastasian sto-

ryline based on a play by Racine. Two

years later he set an existing libretto by

Metastasio, Il sogno di Scipione (1772),

quickly followed by another Metas-

tasian-inspired work, Lucio Silla (1772),

and later yet another Metastasio li-

bretto, Il re pastore (1775). Though

these works are generally discounted as

experimental, youthful works, they re-

veal much about Mozart’s approach to

opera seria. His work to date would

have significant bearing on his next

great serious opera, Idomeneo, re di Creta(1781), another derivative of French

classical theater. His librettist, Gio-

vanni Battista Varesco, still used Metas-

tasio as a model, but Mozart would

utilize some of the reforms inspired by

Gluck, notably the greater use of en-

semble and chorus. These were the

seeds of the more flexible approach to

opera seria he would employ as he com-

posed La clemenza di Tito 10 years later.

Elasticity was the lifeline of opera

seria, and even though Metastasio

died the following year, his libretti,

albeit with adaptation, continued to

be set into the early 19th century. By

that point opera seria existed in name

only and had morphed into some-

thing truly di∂erent in the nimble

hands of Rossini during his years in

Naples. What lay in that wake was

the still-evolving Romantic melo-

drama, brought to fruition in the care

of later Bel Canto composers Vincenzo

Bel l ini , Gaetano Donizett i and

Giuseppe Verdi.

Opera Seria continued from page 14

The Minnesota Opera’s 2001-2002 sea-

son opera broadcasts on NPR-a∑liate

Minnesota Public Radio (KSJN 99.5

FM in the Twin Cities) have been

scheduled in a special five-week festival

broadcast from May 19-June 16, 2002.

As broadcast details are available, they

will be posted on the Opera’s web site,

www.mnopera.org/broadcasts.htm

Anonymous (3)Mr. Rolf AndreassenMary AndresKaren BachmanPatricia and Mark BauerMr.* and Mrs. Judson Bemis, Sr.Judy and Kenneth DaytonDr. Paul FroeschlNettie A. Grabscheild*Robert A. GreenNorton M. Hintz TrustCharles HudginsMr. and Mrs. Dale JohnsonCharlotte KarlenMr. and Mrs. Steve KellerGretchen Klein*Jerry and Joyce LillquistMargaret and Walter MeyersScott PakudaitisSydney M. and William S. PhillipsDr. Marian R. RubenfeldMary SavinaFrank and Lynda SharbroughRobert and Barbara StruykMary W.VaughanDale and Sandra Wick

* deceased

Kevin Smith celebrates 20 years with The Minnesota Opera by welcoming the inaugural members ofhis President’s Circle. This plannedgiving program of The MinnesotaOpera will keep the Opera thrivingfor future generations.

If your name has been accidentally omitted,or for more information about joining The President’s Circle, please call Bill Venne,Development Director, at 612-342-9565.

The Minnesota Opera announces

The President’s Circle

21• l

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oThe Minnesota Opera Chorus

ChorusCarlos Archuleta*

Terry BeaudryMatt Boehler*Bryan BoyceAnna BrandsoyMichael CainJulie CarpenterGenevieve ChristiansonMadeleine CieslakSteve DahlbergWood FosterPaul GriggsbyApril HansonKate HaugenRobin HeggenKathryn JensenGeorgette JohnsonNaomi KarstadRyan Kinsella*

Elizabeth LonghurstMike LundinBryan MausEric Mellum Mary Monson Justin MontigueDawn Pierce

James PlanteJill Sandager Steve SandbergBob SchmidtSandra SchoeneckerAnne B. StorlieJames Valenti*Karen WeaverDavid WellerKarin Wolverton

SupernumerariesCorey AndersonBen BlairJoseph BottenMario Diaz-Moresco**

Robert ElliottAndy FlammPhil GreenbergDaniel GreggDan GriderJoseph JohnsonMichael KelleherSteve LewisPatrick Lopez de VictoriaSteve MosowDavid RossMark Rossman

Paul SabbyErik StoneNorm TiedemannDavid TouchstonePeasant ChildrenPatrick Bromelkamp‡

Matthew Dickinson‡

Nicholas EarlGrace Forceia‡

Rosalie Graber‡

Grace Quiring‡

Eleanor Quiring‡

PagesAndy Eggum‡

Charlotte Zelle

Resident Artistscovering principal rolesMatt Boehler (Publio)James Valenti (Tito)

*denotes Minnesota Opera

Resident Artist

**appears with The Minnesota Opera

in conjunction with MacPhail Center

for the Arts’s Prelude Program for

talented young adults.‡students of New Breath Productions

ViolinsSteven Copes, concertmaster

John M. and Elizabeth W. Musser ChairKyu-Young Kim, associate

concertmasterJohn H. and Elizabeth B. Myers Chair

Leslie Shank, assistant concertmasterHulings Chair

Elsa Nilsson John KennedyBrenda Manuel MickensNathan Cole, principal second

violinThomas Kornacker,

co-principal second violinCarolyn Gunkler, assistant

principal second violinMichal SobieskiDaria T. AdamsFrieda Tso-Ning Fan

ViolasSabina Thatcher, principalEvelina Chao, assistant principalTamas Strasser, co-principalAlice Preves

CellosPeter Howard, principal

Bill and Hella Mears Hueg ChairJoshua Koestenbaum, associate

principalRuth and John Huss Chair

Sarah LewisDaryl Skobba

BassesChristopher Brown, principalFred Bretschger, assistant

principal

FlutesJulia Bogorad-Kogan, principalAlicia McQuerrey*

OboesKathryn Greenbank, principal†Andrea Banke, guest principalThomas Tempel

ClarinetsTimothy Paradise, principal

Philip H. and Katherine Nason ChairMarlene Pauley*

BassoonsCharles Ullery, principalCarole Mason Smith

HornsHerbert Winslow, principalPaul Straka

TrumpetsGary Bordner, principalLynn Erickson*

Harpsichord & PianoLayton James, principal

Timpani & PercussionEarl Yowell, principal

Extra Musicians:Coreen Nordling, bassoon

* regular additional musicians† on leave for the 2001-2002 season

THE SAINT PAUL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA ROSTER2001 • 2002

Andreas Delfs, Music DirectorNicholas McGegan, Baroque Series Director

Chair of the Board President and Managing DirectorLowell J. Noteboom Bruce Coppock

Proceeds help supportCourage Programs

and you can receivea tax deduction

based on fair market value.

763-520-0540www.courage.org

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StaffPresident & CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin SmithArtistic Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dale JohnsonGeneral Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Humleker

ArtisticArtistic Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roxanne Stou∂er CruzArtistic Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Floyd AndersonEducation Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Holly CarpenterDramaturg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David SanderProduction Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexander FarinoStage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yasmine KissAssistant Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lee HendersonResident Artist Music Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bruce StasynaChorusmaster/Head Coach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joseph Lawson

Resident Artist Instructors . . . . . . . . . . .Carlotta Dradi, Barbara Kierig,

Peter Rothstein, Doug Scholz-Carlson, Nancy Tibbetts

Resident Artists . . Carlos Archuleta, Matthew Boehler, Je∂rey Domoto,

Ryan Kinsella, Laura Loewen, Ana Rodriguez, James Valenti

Education Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Raymond Berg, Peggy Endres,

Kenny Kiser, Janet Paone, Je∂ Richman, Joseph Schlefke,

Elise Skophammer, Roger Skophammer,

Casey Stangl, Ed Williams, Joan Womeldorf

Stage Management Intern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Julia Carlis

Mentor Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Megan Furman

CostumesCostume Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gail BakkomAssistant Costume Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beth SandersDrapers . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Bur, Angela Patten, Yancey ThriftFirst Hands . . . . . . Helen Ammann, Mark Heiden, Valerie HillWig/Makeup Assistants . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Allen, Jodi Heath,

Emily Rosenmeier

Stitchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jennifer Dawson, Stephanie Molstad, Stephanie Vogel, Deborah Zawada

SceneryScenic and Lighting Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom MaysTechnical Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stuart SchatzScenic Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Holly CarpenterAssistant Lighting Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nicole SimoneauProperties Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stanley Dean HawthorneProperties Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike LongCharge Painter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michael BolinScenic Artist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Debra JensenProduction Carpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.C. AmelScene Shop Foreman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rod AirdCarpenters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patrick Dzieweczynski,

Mike McQuiston, Steve Rovie

AdministrationController . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Je∂ CoutureOperations/Systems Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve MittelholtzAccounting Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer ThillEvents/Volunteer Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Curtis

DevelopmentDevelopment Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill VenneInstitutional Gifts Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jaime MeyerExecutive/Development Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . Theresa Murray

Marketing/CommunicationsMarketing and Communications Director . . . Glyn NorthingtonCommunications Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lani WillisTicket O∑ce Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason YoungReceptionist/Information Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . Malia Long

A Fairy Tale Ballet for ChildrenbyWilor Bluege

February 15-17, 2002

Tickets: 612-673-0404, www.ticketmaster.com or

visit The O’Shaughnessy box office.

A tale ofcompassion

and hope.

www.stanthonydance.org

MINNESOTANS UNDERSTAND

THE VALUE THE ARTS

BRING TO ITS COMMUNITY.

For information on our array of wealth management services, please call 612-338-7881 or visit www.ustrust.com.

U.S. Trust proudly supports The Minnesota Opera — a Minnesota tradition.

Minneapolis: 612-338-7881 St. Paul: 651-298-1441

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Coming Up:

The Minnesota Opera revives its own 1996 production La bohème

this March, set in the 1840s Latin Quarter of Paris. Mimì,

Rodolfo and their spirited Bohemian friends learn life’s

most important lessons in Puccini’s sweetest love story,

the tale that inspired the Broadway musical Rent and the

world of Hollywood’s Moulin Rouge.

“There’s no mystery why La bohème returns to opera

stages around the world,” said Artistic Director Dale

Johnson. “Puccini captures the love and ardor of

youth and reminds us all of the first time we

fell in love. This is a perfect opera —

there’s not a wasted note.”

March 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10at Ordway Center

Call 651.224.4222 for tickets

Adult Education ClassA class devoted to La bohème will be held on Monday,

February 11, 2002, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at The Minnesota

Opera Center, 620 North First Street in the Minneapolis

Warehouse District. Call 612-342-9575 for registration

information.

Opera InsightsOne hour prior to each performance, join Artistic Director

Dale Johnson and/or other members of the artistic sta∂

and the Resident Artists for a 30-minute introduction to

the work. Opera Insights are free and held in Ordway Cen-

ter’s mezzanine lobby.

To learn more about La bohème ...

Please visit our web site at www.mnopera.org or consider the opportunites listed below. On the web site you will find

casting updates, artist biographies, synopses, background notes, suggestions for further reading and listening, ticketing

services and other company information.

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The Minnesota Opera Fund

Individual Donors: The Camerata CircleThe Camerata Circle is The Minnesota Opera’s highest category of personal support. With this designation,

we recognize these very special friends for their commitment to the tradition of opera in our community.

Platinum Mrs. Judson Bemis, Sr.Mary and Gus BlanchardJudy and Kenneth DaytonDolly J. FitermanJohn and Ruth HussHeinz and Sisi HutterThe Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of

HRK FoundationConstance and Daniel KuninPatricia LundMr. and Mrs. Walter S. MeyersMrs. George T. PennockMary W. Vaughan

Gold AnonymousMary A. AndresAugust J. Aquila and Emily HaliziwKaren BachmanDavid Hanson and

William BiermaierMr. and Mrs. James BingerRod and Susan Boren Darlene J. and Richard P. Carroll Sally J. EconomonRolf and Nancy EnghN. Bud and Beverly Grossman

FoundationAlfred and Ingrid Lenz HarrisonLucy Rosenberry JonesBryce and Paula JohnsonMichael F. and Gretchen S. KellyWarren and Patty KellyEd and Pat KeransPeter J. KingThomas and Barbara McBurneyDiana and Joe Murphy

Mrs. John M. Musser†

Bruce and Sandra NelsonJose Peris and Diana GuldenRebecca Rand and

E. Thomas BingerConnie and Lew RemeleMr. and Mrs. Steven RothschildWalter B. SaundersFred and Gloria SewellVirginia L. and Edward C. StringerGregory C. SwinehartTanrydoon Fund of

The Saint Paul FoundationC. Angus and Margaret Wurtele

Silver Anonymous (2)John Andrus, IIIMartha and Bruce AtwaterPatricia and Mark BauerJoseph and Judy CarlsonWilliam Voedisch and

Laurie CarlsonRachelle Dockman ChaseBurt and Rusty CohenEllie and Tom Crosby, Jr.Rondi Erickson and Sandy LewisMr. and Mrs. John ForsytheConnie Fladeland and Steve FoxLeslie and Alain FréconJames FultonR. Thomas Greene, Jr.Stephen and Patricia HaynesRoger W. HollanderJay and Cynthia IhlenfeldGerald JohnsonStan and Jeanne KaginMrs. James S. KochirasMr. and Mrs. Ted Kolderie

Lynne LooneyLeland T. Lynch and Terry Saario Fund of

The Minneapolis FoundationRoy and Dorothy Ann MayeskeMary Bigelow McMillanRobb and Lynne MorinNelson Family Foundation on behalf of

Glen and Marilyn NelsonWilliam and Barbara PearceMarge and Dwight PetersonJodi and Todd PetersonLila and Bruce A. PriebeKim and John PuckettLois and John RogersE. Elaine and Roger SampsonFrank and Lynda SharbroughRenate M. SharpKevin and Lynn SmithMrs. Irene G. SteinerCharles Allen Ward Fund of

The Saint Paul Foundation

Bronze AnonymousChloe D. AckmanCordelia Anderson and

John HumlekerElizabeth AndrusMr. and Mrs. Edmund P. BabcockAlexandra O. BjorklundMr. and Mrs. Paul G. BoeningElwood F. and Florence A. CaldwellJoseph and Judy CarlsonDavid and Jane CooperDr. James E. and Gisela CorbettDr. Susan and Richard CrockettMrs. Thomas M. Crosby, Sr.Mary Lee and Wallace DaytonCy and Paula Decosse Fund of

The Minneapolis FoundationLori and Tom FoleyBradley A. Fuller and Elizabeth LincolnMr. and Mrs. R. James GesellIeva GrundmanisRosalie He∂elfinger Hall Fund of The

Minneapolis FoundationCli∂ton K. Hill and Jody RockwellDorothy J. Horns, M.D. and

James P. RichardsonElizabeth A. HueyJacqueline Nolte JonesLyndel and Blaine KingE. Robert and Margaret V. Kinney

Fund of The Minneapolis FoundationMr. and Mrs. William KlingBenjamin Y. H. and Helen C. LiuMr. and Mrs. Cargill MacMillan, Jr.David MacMillan and Judith Krow

James and Judith MellingerTom Murtha and Stephanie LenwaySusan OkieMr. and Mrs. William PhillipsNorm Rickeman and Kathy MurphyJohn RosseBurton G. Ross and

Cynthia Rosenblatt Ross Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation

Mr. and Mrs. John C. RowlandLucy and Mark SearlsStanislaw and Krystyna SkrowaczewskiJames and Susan SullivanMichael SymeonidesMr. and Mrs. George H. TesarCatie Tobin and Brian Naas

†deceased

Benefactors Anonymous Eric and Donna AanensonKim A. AndersonPaula A. AndersonAn Anonymous Gift from a DonorAdvised Fund of The Saint Paul Foundation

Dr. and Mrs. Thomas C. BagnoliAmy and Ford Watson Bell inhonor of Elinor W. Bell

John and Jennifer Bernstein Dr. and Mrs. Jim BurdineRalph and Kathleen CadmusJoann M. D. CierniakJe∂ and Barb Couture

John G. and Ida J. DaviesJudson and Elizabeth DaytonThe Denny Fund of The Minneapolis Foundation

Thomas and Mary Lou DetwilerMr. and Mrs. Steven A. DiedeMr. and Mrs. Carl B. Drake, Jr.Joyce and Hugh EdmondsonEster and John FeslerHenry and Anice FleshPatricia R. FreeburgLois and Larry GibsonMr. and Mrs. John F. GrundhoferDon and Arlene HelgesonCharlotte KarlenMr. and Mrs. Erwin KelenMaria Kochiras

Lisa C. KochirasHelen L. KuehnMr. and Mrs. Clinton LeeIlo and Margaret LeppikJerry and Joyce LillquistBill LongMrs. Malcolm S. MackayDan and Sue MalinaMargery MartinSamuel D. and Patricia McCullough

Mary McDiarmidJames P. McFarlandMrs. John H. MyersAlbin and Susan NelsonTimothy and Gayle OberAllegra Parker

Karen B. PaulFrances and George ReidKen and Nina RothchildMahlon and Karen SchneiderRalph S. Schneider and Margaret McNeil

Stephanie SimonHelen and Je∂ SlocumJulie Jackley SteinerDon and Leslie StilesDr. Joseph Tashjian and Kay SavikLois and Lance ThorkelsonBill Venne and Douglas KlineEllen and Fred WellsMr. and Mrs. F. T. Weyerhaeuser

The Minnesota Opera gratefully acknowledges the donors who have significantly increased their gifts in the last year. In the lists above these donors are recognized in bold print for their support.

These lists are current as of December 31, 2001, and include donors who gave gifts of $1000 or more to the Minnesota Opera Fund since January 1, 2001. If your name is not listed appropriately, please accept our apologies, and call Bill Venne, Development Director of The Minnesota Opera, at 612-342-9565.

A SpecialThank You!

The Minnesota Opera would like to extend a special thank you to Ecolab, sponsor for the

2001 Opening Night Gala, and to all those who participated in and contributed to the

evening’s festivities. The gala was a huge success, thanks to all those who attended - both

attendance and funds raised reached record levels. Don’t miss next season’s Opening

Night Gala on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2002!

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Corporations and Foundations

Minnesota Opera Sponsors

Platinum3MAccentureAmerican Express Minnesota

Philanthropic Program on behalf ofAmerican Express Financial Advisorsand American Express Travel RelatedServices Co.

Andersen FoundationJames Ford Bell FoundationBlandin FoundationThe Bush FoundationThe Cargill FoundationDeloitte & ToucheDeluxe Corporation FoundationEcolab FoundationGeneral Mills FoundationAnn and Gordon Getty FoundationAnna M. Heilmaier Charitable

FoundationHoneywell FoundationThe MAHADH Fund of HRK

FoundationThe McKnight FoundationMarshall Field’s Project ImagineThe Medtronic FoundationThe Andrew W. Mellon FoundationMinnesota MonthlyMinnesota State Arts BoardReliaStar Financial CorporationSkyway Publications, Inc.The St. Paul CompaniesTarget Stores, Marshall Field’s and

Mervyn’s with support from theTarget Foundation

TranstopTwin Cities Opera GuildU.S. BankWells Fargo Foundation on behalf of:

Wells Fargo Bank MinnesotaWells Fargo Brokerage ServicesWells Fargo Institutional

Investments Lowry HillWells Fargo Private Client

ServicesWest Group

GoldADC Telecommunications, Inc.Bemis Company FoundationDorsey & Whitney FoundationErnst & YoungR. C. Lilly FoundationLutheran Brotherhood FoundationMcGladrey & Pullen, LLPNational City BankAlice M. O’Brien FoundationPricewaterhouseCoopers LLPRahr FoundationRider, Bennett, Egan & ArundelRobins, Kaplan, Miller & CiresiSpencerStuartStar Tribune FoundationTarget StoresU.S. Bancorp Piper Ja∂ray Foundation

on behalf of U.S. Bancorp Piper Ja∂ray

Valspar FoundationXcel Energy Foundation

SilverThe Bayport FoundationBelford FoundationBest Buy Children’s FoundationBoss FoundationCurtis L. Carlson Family FoundationChadwick FoundationDellwood FoundationDigital Excellence Inc.Leonard, Street & DeinardJ & H Marsh & McLennanMalt-O-Meal CompanyMary Livingston Griggs and Mary

Griggs Burke FoundationMcNeely FoundationMoss & BarnettThe Nash FoundationThe Casey Albert T. O’Neil FoundationThe Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family

FoundationRBC Dain Rauscher FoundationMargaret Rivers FundSchwegman, Lundberg, Woessner &

Kluth, PASit Investment AssociatesTennant FoundationSchool Arts Fund of United

Arts/COMPASU.S. Trust CompanyWenger Foundation

Bronze Ceridian CorporationFaegre & BensonHogan & Hartson

Hutter Family FoundationMayo FoundationMcVay FoundationMinnesota Mutual FoundationLawrence M. and Elizabeth Ann

O’Shaughnessy Charitable IncomeTrust in honor of Lawrence M.O’Shaughnessy

The Jay and Rose Phillips FamilyFoundation

The Elizabeth C. Quinlan FoundationSt. Croix FoundationCharles B. Sweatt FoundationTilka DesignTozer FoundationWalcro Inc.

BenefactorsAlliance Capital ManagementElmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen

FoundationAthwin FoundationAvedaBrock-White Co., LLCH.B. Fuller Company FoundationHorton, Inc.The Hubbard FoundationKPMG LLPMiller Meester AdvertisingMinnesota Trading Co.MSI Insurance FoundationMusicland Group, Inc.The Ritz FoundationThe Southways Foundation

Season SponsorU.S. Bancorp Piper Ja∂ray

Gala Dinner SponsorEcolab

Production SponsorsLucia di Lammermoor, U.S. Bancorp Piper Ja∂ray

La clemenza di Tito, American Express Minnesota

Philanthropic Program

La bohème, Marshall Field’s Project Imagine

Little Women, RBC Dain Rauchser

Camerata DinnersRider, Bennett, Egan & Arundel

Opera Insight LecturesSpencerStuart

The Minnesota Opera Fund