by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN For 25 years, the Ordway has been bringing contemporary performing artists from around the world to Minnesota through the Target® World Music & Dance Series. Since the initiative began in 1991, more than 900,000 P-12 students have attended performances. Thousands more have attended public performances, participated in workshops, and experienced pre-show…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN The Minnesota Opera’s production of Tosca included drama that is usually reserved for the opera itself. Only a few days before opening night, Hungarian soprano Csilla Boross backed out of the role of Tosca for “personal reasons.” Kelly Kaduce stepped in, having sung the part only once professionally (for the Houston…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN For 25 years, the Ordway has been bringing contemporary performing artists from around the world to Minnesota through the Target® World Music & Dance Series. Since the initiative began in 1991, more than 900,000 P-12 students have attended performances. Thousands more have attended public performances, participated in workshops, and experienced pre-show…
By ELLEN FERRY. Anyone in search of the perfect evening out this holiday season should certainly consider a stroll under the glittering lights of St. Paul’s Rice Park, followed by a visit to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. For a production as iconic as Rodger and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” I can…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos is an oddball opera, and requires a deft hand to stage. Understanding its conception helps provide some context for the compositional and constitutional strangeness. The opera was originally conceived as a thirty-minute divertissement intended to be performed at the end of a Molière adaptation. The opera ended…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN “A little glitter can turn your whole day around,” according to Junie B. Jones. And so can a children’s musical this good. Artistic Director Sandy Boren-Barrett and Director Cody R. Braudt have staged a whimsical, joyful production of the (in)famous Junie B. Jones’ experiences in 1st grade. Stages Theatre Company was…
By LIZ BYRON. It’s pretty simple: if the thought of pirates mixing in singing and dancing with their swashbuckling doesn’t sound awesome to you, then… well, first of all, I think you’re crazy. But second of all, you should probably stay clear of the Ordway between now and August 16, because their production of The…
by CHRISTINE SARKES SASSEVILLE Camelot, now at the Ordway through Sunday, offers a lush set design and costumes, classic Lerner and Loewe lyrics and the timeless Arthurian Knights of the Round Table fable of love, honor, chivalry and justice. The brilliant set design of the musical (Kevin Depinet) and orchestration (Marshall Keating) were freshly reimagined and updated to evoke a slightly…
By LIZ BYRON. Carmen is a classic opera whose music is so well-known that even opera virgins will probably recognise some of the songs. Indeed, I walked into the Ordway knowing nothing about the opera but that it featured a woman, presumably named Carmen, who might at some point wear a red dress. But it…
by MICHAEL J. OPPERMAN Act I opens on a piazza floating in a bucolic Italian countryside. As idyllic as a scene from a Sophia Loren movie. Field workers and townspeople move around the square. We see our first glimpse of Nemorino (Leonardo Capalbo), the erstwhile hero of the story. Expressive and charismatic, Capalbo wanders the…
Aisle Say - Twin Cities 