2007 - 2008 Season

Opera to die for!

It’s almost axiomatic that in opera someone has to die! And yet opera is really about life—life in all its splendor and poverty, its violence and its tenderness, its dreams and despair. Like no other art form, opera has the potential to express the greatest passions of the human spirit in an extraordinary conflation of orchestra, voice, movement, and text magically and inextricably interwoven—all of it enhanced and supported by visual metaphors comprising scenery, costume and lighting.

This year, we are presenting one of the most diverse and intriguing seasons since my arrival at the University of Minnesota. The double bill of Kurt Weill/Berthold Brecht’s Seven Deadly Sins and Puccini’s Suor Angelica this fall may seem an odd one at first glance. Yet, despite a very different musical style and story, the theme of lost innocence connects them intimately. For our spring performances, we are venturing into the world of baroque opera for the first time in my tenure here. It would be easy to sell our version of The Coronation of Poppea as a lurid tale of sexual politics set in the fading splendor of the Roman Empire. This would insult your intelligence and not at all do justice to this fascinating and gorgeously composed opera. If you love Shakespeare and you love beautiful melodies, this opera is for you!

So, I invite all of you who love great theatre and great music to be a part of Opera Theatre’s 2007-2008 season of fabulous and compelling music drama in the splendid ambience of the Ted Mann Concert Hall!

See you there!
David Walsh

Fall Production (Double Bill)

Kurt Weill/Berthold Brecht’s Seven Deadly Sins
Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica

Spring Production

Claudio Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea