Minnesota Opera Announces Updates to 2013-14 Season

March 1, 6, 8 and 9, 2014

Sung in English with English captions projected above the stage.

A Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative production.

A sultry young dancer is transformed from an unknown immigrant into a silent film sensation. Rudolph Valentino's stardom blazes across the silver screen but is quickly consumed by the same forces that ignited it. Seduction and scandal swirl in Dominick Argento's tango-tinged opera about an artist discovered and destroyed by Hollywood. Composed by Argento with a libretto by Charles Nolte as a joint commission between Washington and Dallas operas, the work received its world premiere in 1994 at The Kennedy Center, where it was described by the Chicago Tribune as "visually and theatrically ... a thumping success."

"I have known Dominick since my first season when Minnesota Opera premiered Casanova's Homecoming in 1985 and have always admired the freshness and vibrancy of his works," saidArtistic Director Dale Johnson. "The Dream of Valentino is the only major Argento opera that we have not staged, and I thought it imperative, as we began the New Works Initiative, that we invest in producing his entire canon. After I approached Dominick to discuss this revival, he spent the summer making major changes to literally give Valentino a new beginning. By reworking the dramaturgy and focusing more on Valentino the artist, Dominick feels that the work will better embody how Hollywood uses its stars and tosses them away when they are no longer convenient."

Internationally acclaimed tenor James Valenti (Werther) reimagines the role of the 1920s film icon and sex symbol, Rudolph Valentino. As the catalyst of his meteoric rise to fame, sopranoBrenda Harris sings the role of June Mathis, a screenwriter. Mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti(debut) sings the role of Alla Nazimova, a celebrated movie star, and Alan Held (The Aspern Papers) is The Mogul. Eric Simonson (The Grapes of Wrath, Silent Night) directs a production by Erhard Rom (sets), Kärin Kopischke (costumes) and Robert Wierzel (lighting). Maestro Christoph Campestrini (Werther) conducts this Minnesota Opera New Works Initiative production. The Dream of Valentino is part of Minnesota Opera's New Works Initiative, a landmark program designed to invigorate the operatic repertoire with an infusion of contemporary works. Produced as part of the Initiative: an American premiere, The Adventures of Pinocchio (Dove); two revivals, Casanova's Homecoming (Argento) and Wuthering Heights (Herrmann); and two world premieres, the Pulitzer Prize Award-winning Silent Night(Puts/Campbell) and Doubt, composed by Douglas J. Cuomo with libretto by John Patrick Shanley. Following The Dream of Valentino, the world premiere of The Manchurian Candidate, with music by Kevin Puts and libretto by Mark Campbell, will complete the seventh and final year of the Initiative in the 2014-2015 season. Since fundraising began in March 2008, Minnesota Opera has raised more than $6.77 million to support the New Works Initiative.

April 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23 and 27, 2014

Sung in German with English translations projected above the stage.

A Minnesota Opera and LA Opera co-production.

Minnesota Opera will co-produce this North American premiere of a dynamic and engaging staging of Mozart's The Magic Flute with LA Opera. The original production at Komische Oper Berlin in 2012 was created by the British theatre group 1927. Mozart's masterful comedy about love, truth and the pursuit of enlightenment is richly reimagined in this boundary-busting production. Connecting the tale's enduring meaning with modern metaphor, this extraordinary staging delves deeply into the opera's surreal magic, odd characters and crazy love.