FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 MAY 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
What: Webcast of Susan Kander's The Giver (based on the novel by Lois Lowry)
Sung in English with English captions projected beside the stage.
Recommended for ages 8 and above.
Where: operamusicbroadcast.com
When: Friday, May 18, 7pm* and Wednesday, May 23, 1pm*
(*Showtimes relative to all timezones.)
Minneapolis – Minnesota Opera announces its second opera webcast – Project Opera's production of The Giver. The webcast will be streamed on Friday, May 18, 2012 at 7pm, and Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 1pm, at operamusicbroadcast.com. There will also be a live chat during Wednesday's webcast so viewers can participate in the experience and ask questions about the performance.
The Giver, a new opera by Susan Kander based on the popular novel by Lois Lowry, was a co-commission by Minnesota Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. It had its Minnesota premiere April 27-29, 2012, in a fully staged production performed by Project Opera at the Minnesota Opera Center in Minneapolis.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 APRIL 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minneapolis – Minnesota Opera congratulates composer Kevin Puts, who was awarded today the Pulitzer Prize in Music for Silent Night.
The citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board reads: “Awarded to Kevin Puts for ‘Silent Night: Opera in Two Acts,’ commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Opera in Minneapolis on November 12, 2011, a stirring opera that recounts the true story of a spontaneous cease-fire among Scottish, French and Germans during World War I, displaying versatility of style and cutting straight to the heart. Libretto by Mark Campbell (Aperto Press).”
“I am beyond thrilled by this news,” said Artistic Director Dale Johnson. “Kevin is an extraordinary talent, and this opera – his first – was so richly deserving of this award.”
Johnson, who was struck by power and sentimentality of the 2006 film Joyeux Noël, decided to commission an adaptation of that telling of the Christmas truce of 1914. “I thought it would be a terrific opera,” recalled Johnson. “When I first heard Kevin’s orchestral music on a CD in my car, I had to pull over immediately. Though he’d never written an opera before, I knew immediately he was the one for this job.”
Silent Night marked the first commission and fourth production of Minnesota Opera’s groundbreaking New Works Initiative, a multi-year program designed to infuse the operatic art form with new commissions and revivals of contemporary American works. Minnesota Opera’s next commission, Doubt, by composer Douglas J. Cuomo and librettist John Patrick Shanley, will receive its world premiere on January 26, 2013, as the centerpiece of the company’s 50th anniversary season.
“We’re honored that Silent Night, the first New Works Initiative commission has been recognized with this prestigious award,” said Managing Director Kevin Ramach. “We’re also incredibly grateful for the generosity of our early supporters of the Initiative. We expect to announce the successful completion of the $7 million campaign and news about two future commissions by the end of the year.”
The Minnesota Opera’s mission is to produce opera and opera education programs at the highest artistic level that inspire and entertain our audiences and enrich the cultural life of our community.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3 APRIL 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Project Opera commission based on Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning novel
Community-supported Kickstarter campaign has raised more than $20k
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What: Susan Kander's The Giver (based on the novel by Lois Lowry)
Sung in English with English captions projected beside the stage.
Where: Minnesota Opera Center, 620 North First Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401
When: Friday, April 27, 7pm; Saturday, April 28, 10am, 2pm and 7pm; Sunday, April 29, 1pm
Tickets: $18/Adult and $8/children under 18. Recommended for ages 8 and above. Call the Minnesota Opera Ticket Office at 612.333.6669, Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm.
Media/Bloggers: On Thursday, April 26, Minnesota Opera will host an official press night, including a meet-and-greet reception with author Lois Lowry and composer/librettist Susan Kander at 6pm and Project Opera's final dress rehearsal of The Giver at 7pm. Contact Communications Manager, Daniel Zillmann, to R.S.V.P. for press tickets or inquire of interview, photo and video opportunities.
Minneapolis–Project Opera's first commissioned opera, The Giver, will have its Minnesota premiere April 27–29, 2012, in a fully staged production performed by Project Opera at the Minnesota Opera Center in Minneapolis. This new opera by Susan Kander is based on the popular novel by Lois Lowry, and was a co-commission with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
26 MARCH 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera's 2011-2012 season closes with Kelly Kaduce and Yunah Lee alternating as the tragic heroine Butterfly in this remount of Colin Graham's celebrated production
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What: Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly
Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.
Where: Ordway, 345 Washington Street, Saint Paul, MN 55102
When: Saturday, April 14, 7:30pm; Sunday, April 15, 2pm; Tuesday, April 17, 7:30pm; Wednesday, April 18, 7:30pm; Thursday, April 19, 7:30pm; Friday, April 20, 7:30pm; Saturday, April 21, 7:30pm; Sunday, April 22, 2pm
Tickets: $20 – $200. Call the Minnesota Opera Ticket Office at 612.333.6669, Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm, or purchase online at mnopera.org.
Media: An online press kit is available now at mnopera.org/butterflykit, which includes full bios, links to view design renderings, production photos and other useful resources.
Contact Communications Manager, Daniel Zillmann, to take advantage of the following interview, photo and video opportunities:
Wednesday, April 11, 7pm (Kaduce cast), Thursday, April 12, 7:30pm (Kaduce cast) and Friday, April 13, 11am (Lee cast).
Bloggers: Minnesota Opera hosts its final Blogger Preview Night of the season, including a reception with Minnesota Opera's new Music Director Michael Christie and exclusive access to the dress rehearsal on Thursday, April 12, 6pm. Email Daniel at dzillmann@mnopera.org to R.S.V.P.
Minneapolis–Minnesota Opera is pleased to announce the remounting of Colin Graham’s 2004 production of Madame Butterfly. Kelly Kaduce and Yunah Lee alternate as the tragic heroine in this celebrated staging, which evokes the beauty and romance of Puccini’s gorgeous, unforgettable classic. Seduced by the handsome American naval officer Pinkerton, a young geisha falls deeply in love, but his betrayal leads to one of opera’s most heartrending conclusions.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
21 MARCH 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera announces executive change
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Minneapolis – Minnesota Opera today announced the resignation of its president and general director Allan Naplan for personal reasons. Naplan joined the company in March, 2011.
“I am grateful to the extended Minnesota Opera community for making my young family feel so welcome during my time with the company,” Naplan stated. “Minnesota Opera has a tremendous profile in the Twin Cities and throughout the opera industry, and I feel privileged to have been associated with this fine organization.”
“We are sorry to see Allan leave, as he is a person of immense talent and ability,” said Minnesota Opera Board Chair Sidney Emery, Jr. “While Allan’s departure is regrettable, Minnesota Opera is in fine shape. We are well into the preparation of the season’s finale Madame Butterfly, which we expect to be a box office hit, have announced a wonderful program for the 2012–2013 season and have exciting plans for the company’s 50th anniversary celebration next year.”
The company’s Board of Directors has appointed Kevin Ramach as interim managing director. Ramach has been the company’s production director for the past six years and served with both Kentucky Opera and Minnesota Opera in production/technical roles over the past 23 years. Emery stated, “We are fortunate to have an individual of Kevin’s caliber and experience stepping into the leadership role.”
During Naplan’s tenure, Minnesota Opera marked a number of milestones, including: the world premiere of Silent Night by Kevin Puts; the commissioning of another world premiere, Doubt by Douglas Cuomo; the engagement of the company’s first music director, Michael Christie; and the company’s first webcast, Werther, in February. In addition, the company balanced its budget, achieved a 10-year high in season subscriptions and launched its education and outreach series, Opera Up Close.
Naplan was previously general director of Madison Opera, where he served for six seasons. During his tenure there, Madison Opera achieved record box office sales, enhanced education and outreach programming, increased fundraising and an expansion of the company’s season. Prior to his work at Madison Opera, he held key artistic positions at Pittsburgh Opera and Houston Grand Opera. An accomplished composer, his compositions have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Avery Fisher Hall, The White House and in 36 foreign countries.
The Minnesota Opera’s mission is to produce opera and opera education programs at the highest artistic level that inspire and entertain our audiences and enrich the cultural life of our community.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 MARCH 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera achieves a 10-year subscription high
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Minneapolis – Minnesota Opera is pleased to announce that its 2011–2012 season subscription campaign closed at a 10-year high with 6,044 subscribers, the vast majority in full-season packages.
“Though it is a popular sentiment that the subscription model is dead, it’s not what Minnesota Opera has experienced,” said President and General Director Allan Naplan. “Our large, loyal subscription audience base grants the company a degree of stability, and allows and expects us to explore and expand the art form.”
The company’s subscription campaign for its 2012–2013 season, the company’s 50th, launched in late January and is showing early signs of strong renewal by current season ticket holders as well as interest from new subscribers.
“In a community with endless choices for high quality entertainment, it is humbling to recognize Minnesota Opera’s audience has not only stayed with us, but grown through the difficult economic times,” said Artistic Director Dale Johnson. “It speaks to the high degree of satisfaction with the quality of our programming. Heading into the next season with the strength of this endorsement is exciting and a great honor.”
The Minnesota Opera’s mission is to produce opera and opera education programs at the highest artistic level that inspire and entertain our audiences and enrich the cultural life of our community.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 MARCH 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera webcast of Werther reaches more than 77,000 households in 18 countries
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Minneapolis - Minnesota Opera is pleased to announce that its live webcast of Massenet’s Werther on February 5, 2012, starring James Valenti and Roxana Constantinescu, reached 77,016 households in 18 countries. This project, in collaboration with SoundQue and Opera Music Broadcast.com, furthered the company’s efforts to expand accessibility to the operatic art form and exposure toMinnesota Opera’s artistic excellence.
Thanks to major funding provided by the St. Paul Cultural STAR Program, this single live webcast reached more than 11 times the total number of audience members who saw Minnesota Opera’s Werther live throughout the week-long run of performances. This single performance ofWerther was watched by double the number of individuals expected to attend the 28 live performances of Minnesota Opera’s season.
Through this project, Minnesota Opera became the first major American opera company to webcast its works through this emerging distribution channel. Minnesota Opera’s partner on this project, Michigan-based production firm SoundQue, brought the project success by providing its vast experience of webcasting a wide variety of live events and its tremendous proficiency for attracting an internet audience through their ten different networks, including operamusicbroadcast.com.
“The Werther webcast was a great success for the company,” said Minnesota Opera President and General Director Allan Naplan. “Harnessing this technology, Minnesota Opera not only efficiently reached a much broader audience than what is possible in the house, but the webcast also distributed an operatic experience of the highest artistic quality that was absolutely free to the tens of thousands who saw it.We hope this has ignited a greater interest in Minnesota Opera and the art form in general.”
The Minnesota Opera’s mission is to produce opera and opera education programs at the highest artistic level that inspire and entertain our audiences and enrich the cultural life of our community.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14 FEBRUARY 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera’s acclaimed Bel Canto series continues with Donizetti’s masterpiece
Soprano Susanna Phillips returns in the title role with tenor Michael Spyres and baritone James Westman
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What: Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor
Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.
Where: Ordway, 345 Washington Street, Saint Paul, MN 55102
When: Saturday, March 3, 7:30pm; Sunday, March 4, 2pm; Tuesday, March 6, 7:30pm; Thursday, March 8, 7:30pm; Saturday, March 10, 7:30pm
Tickets: $20 – $200. Call the Minnesota Opera Ticket Office at 612.333.6669, Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm, or purchase online at mnopera.org.
Media: An online press kit is available now at mnopera.org/luciakit, which includes full bios, links to view design renderings, production photos and other useful resources.
Contact Communications Manager, Daniel Zillmann, to take advantage of the following interview, photo and video opportunities:
Wednesday, February 29, 7pm; Thursday, March 1, 7:30pm and Friday, March 2, 11am (dress rehearsals at Ordway).
Bloggers: Minnesota Opera will host a Blogger Preview Night, including a reception with conductor Leonardo Vordoni and exclusive access to the final dress rehearsal on Thursday, March 1, 6pm. Email dzillmann@mnopera.org to R.S.V.P.
Minneapolis–Minnesota Opera is pleased to announce the continuation of its acclaimed Bel Canto series with Donizetti’s masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor featuring the return of Susanna Phillips in the title role. In this powerful and gripping opera, Lucia secretly loves Edgardo, her clan’s enemy. Scheming to restore the family’s fortune, her brother forces her into a loveless marriage – with disastrous consequences. Interpretations of this famous heroine by opera’s greatest superstar sopranos, such as Maria Callas, Beverly Sills and Joan Sutherland, have thrilled audiences and rendered them legends. The intensity of this piece and the cast assembled for it should not be missed.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
28 JANUARY 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera announces its 50th anniversary season
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Highlights of the 2012-2013 season include:
Michael Christie’s debut as Music Director
Company premiere of Verdi’s Nabucco starring Jason Howard and Brenda Harris
Tudor trilogy concludes with Donizetti’s Anna Bolena
World Premiere of Douglas J. Cuomo and John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt
French Grand Opera masterpiece, Ambroise Thomas’ Hamlet
Dazzling new production of Puccini’s Turandot
Introduction of Opera in the Park
Minneapolis - Minnesota Opera announces its 2012–2013 season, a bold 50th anniversary season honoring the company’s half-century commitment to opera’s full spectrum and featuring classic favorites, a Bel Canto masterpiece and a world premiere. Highlights include the second commission of the Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative – the world premiere of Doubt, by Douglas J. Cuomo (composer) and John Patrick Shanley (librettist), based on his Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play. The season boasts five new productions – four company premieres and a powerhouse finale with Puccini’s Turandot. Also included in the 2012–2013 season is Verdi’s monumental Nabucco, the conclusion to Donizetti’s Bel Canto Tudor trilogy, Anna Bolena, and Ambroise Thomas’ rarely performed French Grand Opera masterpiece Hamlet. In a special summer encore, Minnesota Opera proudly introduces a new outdoor tradition to Minneapolis – Opera in the Park, a gift to the Twin Cities community that has nurtured the company for five decades.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
19 JANUARY 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera appoints Michael Christie as Music Director
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Minneapolis – Minnesota Opera announced today the appointment of Michael Christie as Music Director, a new strategic role for the company. Maestro Christie is charged with enhancing the company’s artistic product through his work with the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, as well as providing leadership by conducting a majority of each season’s operas, beginning with the 2012–2013 season (details of the company’s 50th anniversary season to be announced on January 28).
“On behalf of myself, Artistic Director Dale Johnson and Minnesota Opera’s staff and our Board of Directors, I’m pleased to welcome Michael Christie to our team,” said President and General Director Allan Naplan. “His orchestra-building success leading The Phoenix Symphony and Colorado Music Festival, his championing of new works and his excellent musical leadership of our productions of La traviata, Wuthering Heights and Silent Night, confirmed for us that he is the right person to fill this exciting new role.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
18 JANUARY 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera presents premiere webcast of Werther on February 5
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Minneapolis – Minnesota Opera announces it will webcast its new production of Massenet’s Werther on Sunday, February 5, at 2pm. This project, in collaboration with SoundQue, will further the company’s efforts to expand accessibility to the operatic artform and exposure to Minnesota Opera’s artistic excellence. These efforts utilizing new media began in the 2010–2011 season with the HD video shoot of Wuthering Heights. The webcast, available at operamusicbroadcast.com, will be offered free of charge, removing barriers of price and location.
For the last three years, Minnesota Opera has made new media a priority, working with those at the vanguard of the fast-changing field of digital distribution for opera. This project is an opportunity for Minnesota Opera to become the first major American opera company to webcast its works through this emerging distribution channel. Thanks to major funding provided by the St. Paul Cultural STAR Program, Minnesota Opera’s production of Werther has the potential to reach exponentially greater audience members than it could in its one-week engagement on the Ordway stage.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
17 JANUARY 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Winter Concert to be held on February 3 at Ordway
Minnesota premiere of The Giver April 27–29
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Minneapolis – Project Opera, Minnesota Opera's co-ed youth opera training program, will perform a winter concert at 7pm on February 3 at Ordway (345 Washington Street, Saint Paul, MN 55102) featuring: excerpts from Victor Hubert's Babes in Toyland and Susan Kander's The Giver. Both the Ragazzi (grades 4–8) and Giovani (grades 9–12) ensembles will join forces for this exciting concert, which is free and open to the public.
Project Opera, a training program for students in grades 4–12, is an important component of Minnesota Opera's expanding education program for young singers. The program features two ensembles – Ragazzi and Giovani. In addition to their own concert schedule, Ragazzi and Giovani participants perform in the Ordway lobby prior to each of the Opera's Sunday matinee performances. Led by Music Director Dale Kruse, Project Opera students learn healthy vocal technique, perform repertoire in the major operatic languages and study the fundamentals of acting technique throughout the year-long program. As enrichment activities, participants are also invited to attend the Opera's student matinees, its intensive Day at the Opera training program and a summer Opera Camp. Project Opera's most talented singers are invited to participate in the High School Apprentice Program, which includes individualized training and per- formance opportunities in main stage productions.
Project Opera's first commissioned opera, The Giver, will have its Minnesota premiere April 27–29, 2012, in a fully staged production at the Minnesota Opera Center in Minneapolis. This new opera by Susan Kander is based on the popular novel by Lois Lowry, and was a co-commission with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12 JANUARY 2012
CONTACT: Daniel Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
This new Minnesota Opera production, directed by Kevin Newbury, is the first Werther in the company’s history
International stars, tenor James Valenti and mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu, are paired for the first time on stage
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What: Jules Massenet’s Werther
Sung in French with English translations projected above the stage.
Where: Ordway, 345 Washington Street, Saint Paul, MN 55102
When: Saturday, January 28, 7:30pm, Tuesday, January 31, 7:30pm, Thursday, February 2, 7:30pm, Saturday, February 4, 8pm*, Sunday, February 5, 2pm
Tickets: $20 – $200. Call the Minnesota Opera Ticket Office at 612.333.6669, Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm, or purchase online at mnopera.org.
Media: An online press kit is available now at mnopera.org/wertherkit which includes full bios, links to view design renderings and other useful resources.
Contact Communications Manager, Daniel Zillmann, to take advantage of the following interview, photo and video opportunities:
Wednesday, January 25, 7:30pm and Thursday, January 26, 7:30pm (Dress Rehearsals at Ordway, 345 Washington Street, Saint Paul, MN)
Bloggers: Minnesota Opera will host a Blogger Preview Night, including a reception with tenor Nathaniel Peake and exclusive access to the Final Dress Rehearsal on Thursday, January 26, 6pm. Admission by invitation only.
Minneapolis–Minnesota Opera is pleased to announce the first staging of Massenet’s Werther in company history with the pairing of international opera stars James Valenti and Roxana Constantinescu. Overflowing with yearning and heartbreaking melancholy, Massenet’s most romantic tragedy is inspired by a true story of unrequited love originally penned by the genius of modern German literature, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Werther is the story of the idealistic poet of the same name who cannot live without love, and the object of his obsession, Charlotte. Massenet is celebrated in 2012 by the centenary of his death. One of the greatest French composers in the late 19th century, his music brims with emotion and exquisite melody, and later influenced Puccini’s style of composition.
Starring as the title role is tenor James Valenti (La bohème), who recently “won over the audience with his robust, ardent singing” (The New York Times) in his Metropolitan Opera debut. He returns to Minnesota Opera where he began his career as a Resident Artist. Opposite him as Charlotte is mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu, who dazzled audiences in her American operatic stage debut in Minnesota Opera’s 2010 Cinderella. Aptly assessing that debut, Star Tribune said: “... it takes no clairvoyance to foresee a brilliant career for her.” Nathaniel Peake debuts in the title role on February 4. Soprano Angela Mortellaro and baritone Gabriel Preisser, both Resident Artists, sing the roles of Sophie and Albert. Austrian conductor Christoph Campestrini makes his Minnesota Opera debut, and Kevin Newbury, on the heels of his successful interpretations of the first two installments of Donizetti’s Tudor Trilogy, returns to direct. This gorgeous new production sets the action during the second industrial revolution, reflecting the elegant era in which the opera was composed. Sets are designed by Allen Moyer (The Grapes of Wrath, The Abduction from the Seraglio) with costumes by Jessica Jahn (Roberto Devereux, Mary Stuart).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
08 DECEMBER 2011
CONTACT: Daniel R. Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Plans for Transformation of Ordway Center for the Performing Arts Unveiled
New 1,100-seat Concert Hall to replace existing 306-seat McKnight Theatre
$51.575 million raised to date towards $75 million project
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SAINT PAUL, Minn. (Thursday December 8, 2011) – In an unveiling event today at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, leadership from the Arts Partnership (the Ordway, Minnesota Opera, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and The Schubert Club) unveiled the plans for a transformation of the Ordway – a new 1,100-seat Concert Hall to replace the existing 306-seat McKnight Theatre. The Arts Partnership announced it has raised $51.575 million to date toward the project’s $75 million capital campaign, which covers both the cost of construction and an endowment to ensure long-term, affordable access to the Ordway for the Arts Partnership organizations. The goal is to complete fundraising by the end of March 2012, so construction can begin in the spring and be completed by early 2014.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12 OCTOBER 2011
CONTACT: Daniel R. Zillmann, 612.342.1612 or dzillmann@mnopera.org
Minnesota Opera announces world premiere of Doubt
Composer Douglas J. Cuomo and librettist John Patrick Shanley create the opera based on the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play
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Minneapolis—Minnesota Opera announces its next commission, Doubt, which will have its world premiere in 2013 as part of the company's 50th anniversary season. Composed by Douglas J. Cuomo, the opera will have a libretto by John Patrick Shanley, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play and its subsequent Academy Award-nominated screenplay.