A 17th-century plague doctor wearing a mask equipped with long breathing tubes and spices to drive away foul aromas, which were thought to convey sickness. A host of local arts organizations have cancelled or suspended performances and other programming. The Children's Theatre Company, the Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, Saint Paul Chamber
Opera
REVIEW: Pleasant, Low-Calorie Most Happy Fella (Skylark Opera Theatre)
REVIEW: Powerful, Bloody Elektra (Minnesota Opera)
A scene from Minnesota Opera's new production of Elektra, which opened Saturday in St. Paul, MN. Photo by Cory Weaver. Before there was Kill Bill, there was Elektra: a drama from Classical Greece whose culmination is a well-telegraphed murder. Did your father kill your sister and your mother kill your father?
PHOTOS: Minnesota Opera’s Elektra
A scene from Minnesota Opera's new production of Elektra, which opens tonight in St. Paul, MN. Photo by Cory Weaver. Minnesota Opera's production of Elektra opens tonight at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, MN. This production of an opera by Richard Strauss treats Greek myth with
INTERVIEW: Sabine Hogrefe on Battling the Soprano-Wrecker in Elektra
Costume sketches by Mathew LeFebvre for Minnesota Opera's upcoming production of Richard Strauss's opera Elektra. The Soprano-Wrecker. The End of Harmony. The Most Horrific Tragedy in Opera. The First Freudian Opera. These are but a few of the nicknames for the opera Elektra. Composed by Richard Strauss, the opera first took
REVIEW: Journey North Opera Company Bounds Back with Powerful Rape of Lucretia
A promotional photo for Journey North Opera Company's production of The Rape of Lucretia. Photo by Justin Sims Photography. Journey North Opera Company's been in hibernation for a long time. Not since 2015 has the company produced in the Twin Cities, back when it was still called Twin Cities Fringe Opera.
REVIEW: Rare Dafne Brought to Light (Twin Cities Early Music Festival)
A 16th-century painting of the Greek legend of Apollo and Daphne by Paolo Veronese, showing Daphne morphing into a tree in front of Apollo's anguished eyes. The featured portions of the Twin Cities Early Music Festival launched yesterday with a performance of Marco da Gagliano's 1608 opera La Dafne. The rarely performed
REVIEW: La Serva Padrona Ascends at Icehouse (Mill City Summer Opera)
Rodolfo Nieto (center) and Madison Holtze (right) in Mill City Summer Opera's production of the opera La serva padrona. Photo by Jasmin Kemp. Mill City Summer Opera leaped onto its first-ever second stage last night. The company's compact production of La serva padrona is a light-hearted, entertaining gem staged at the
BREAKING NEWS: Stephen Lord Resigns From Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Following last night's publication of an investigative feature on Stephen Lord, the American conductor has resigned from his positions at Michigan Opera Theatre and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Statements from both organizations follow. MOT's complete statement reads: Michigan Opera Theatre announced today that its Principal Conductor Stephen Lord has resigned from
FEATURE: Threats, Quid Pro Quo Harassment, & Obscene Messages: Abuse on an Operatic Scale
Photo by Toni Maksan. [Editor's update: Following the June 18th publication of this article, Stephen Lord resigned from Michigan Opera Theatre and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.] [Warning: This article includes a detailed discussion of sexual harassment.] "If you sleep with me, you would have so many jobs." "I could cast you in so