Salome

April 10,15, 18, 20, 24, 2010

Obsession, served on a silver platter.

Scandalously erotic, Strauss's infamous opera tells the Biblical story of obsession and vengeance. Salome lusts after the imprisoned prophet John the Baptist, who rejects her advances. Her lecherous stepfather, King Herod, vows to pay any price to watch her dance. She agrees, and perversely claims the prophet's head as her reward. Mlada Khudoley (Il trovatore) returns as the Biblical temptress.

Dates + Performances

Pre-Show Activities

Join us for Opera Insights, a free prologue one hour prior to each opera performance. These entertaining and informative half-hour sessions, hosted by Artistic Director Dale Johnson or other artistic staffers in Ordway Center's mezzanine lobby. They give an overview of the characters and music, provide historical and cultural context for the opera and highlight certain aspects to watch for during the show.

The Creative Team

The Cast

The Setting

Brad Benoit (Third Jew)

Tenor Brad Benoit joined the Minnesota Opera's Resident Artist Program last fall, after attending the prestigious Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist Program, where he covered the role of the Novice in Billy Budd. Other training programs to his credit include those at the Chicago Opera Theater and the Staunton Music Festival. Mr. Benoit is a graduate of Chicago College of the Performing Arts and has sung several roles there: Cecco in Il mondo della luna, the Lyric Tenor in Postcard from Morocco, the Prologue in The Turn of the Screw and La Théièry in L'enfant et les sortilèges. He has also performed the roles of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera in the Ozarks and Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and Hadji in Lakmé at his undergraduate alma mater, Loyala University. This past summer he performed in The Tender Land with Sugar Creek Symphony & Song.

On the concert platform, Mr. Benoit has been a guest soloist in Bach's Magnificat for Music by the Lake, Bach's Cantata No. 140 for the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra and the Midsummer Night Benefit for the Young Musicians for Young Humanitarians in Calistoga, California. For The Minnesota Opera last season, Brad sang Ruiz in Il trovatore, Arlecchino and Lampwick in The Adventures of Pinocchio and Count Almaviva in the alternate cast of The Barber of Seville. For his second season in Minnesota, Brad will appear as Gabriele in Casanova's Homecoming, Lord Cecil in Roberto Devereux, Parpingol in La bohème and the First Jew in Salome. Next season he returns in productions of La traviata and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.

Elizabeth Byrne (Herodias)

Established as one of the most exciting dramatic sopranos of her generation, the success of Elizabeth Byrne's first integral performances of the role of Brünnhilde in the new Tim Albery production of Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Scottish Opera was recognized by a Royal Philharmonic Society Award Nomination. Of her performances, The Scotsman reported, "This epic cycle has made a star out of soprano Elizabeth Byrne who has grown both vocally and dramatically into the role of Brünnhilde with electrifying results. She never fai ls to create a frisson of excitement whenever she appears on stage – a wily and tense heroine whose power is understated but never in doubt." And of her appearance in Die Walküre at the Edinburgh Festival, Paul Griffiths of The New York Times wrote that "Ms. Byrne has a voice of flame and accuracy, the voice of a young person keenly in tune with herself, quick and 100 percent in her emotional responses. She also had vitality in her stage presence."

Particularly suited to the German repertoire Ms. Byrne has been seen as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer with Portland Opera, Arizona Opera, Austin Lyric Opera and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro James Levine. In operas from Wagner's Ring Cycle she has been seen as Brünnhilde in Siegfried with the Staatstheater Stuttgart, Brünnhilde in Die Walküre at the Austin Lyric Opera, Sieglinde in Die Walküre in concert with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, as well as Gutrune and Gerhilde in the Lyric Opera of Chicago's first complete Ring Cycle, conducted by Zubin Mehta. Ms. Byrne has also covered the roles of both Brünnhilde in Die Walküre and Leonora in Fidelio at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde for San Francisco Opera. Other career highlights include Kostelnička in Jonathan Miller's production of Jenůfa and the title role in Salome at Glimmerglass Opera, the Composer in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos with Dallas Opera and Leonora in Fidelio with the Scottish Opera. At the Metropolitan Opera, she has been seen as the Duchess of Parma in Busoni's Doktor Faust and the Fourth Maid in Elektra, and at the Lyric Opera of Chicago she performed the role of the Overseer in the Götz Friedrich production of Elektra. Most recently, Ms. Byrne was seen as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Indianapolis Opera, after previously having sung the Mother with the Phoenix Symphony. Upcoming engagements include her role debuts of both Fricka in Das Rheingold with Indianapolis Opera and Herodias in Salome with Minnesota Opera, as well as singing the role of Gertrude in Portland Opera's Hansel and Gretel.

An excellent musician, Elizabeth Byrne is noted for her performances of contemporary operas, having sung the world premiere performances of the role of Blanca in James MacMillan's opera Inés de Castro at the Edinburgh Festival. The work was also performed in Glasgow and in Oporto, Portugal. Jonathan Moore directed the Scottish Opera production, which was broadcast on BBC-TV. In concert, Elizabeth Byrne has performed Mahler's Symphony No. 8 at Royal Al bert Hall and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 14 at Canada's National Arts Centre. She made her Avery Fisher Hall debut performing Zemlinsky's rarely-heard Lyric Symphony with Leon Botstein and with the American Symphony Orchestra. She has performed the Verdi Requiem with the Alabama Symphony and the Greensboro Symphony, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the symphony orchestras of Utah, Seattle, Richmond and South Bend Symphony. She has appeared in concert at the Buxton Festival and at the Prague Festival, with the New Seoul Symphony in Korea, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Fort Wayne Symphony and with the Northwest Indiana Symphony. Her first performances of the Liebestod by Richard Strauss were with the Valdosta Symphony.

Elizabeth Byrne was born in Lancashire, England and is a permanent resident of the United States of America. She lives in Chicago with her husband, James.

Jennifer Caprio (costume designer) 

Broadway: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (also original National Tour, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston). Off-Broaday: In Transit (Primary Stages),Modern & Postmodern Living (La MaMa ETC), Signs of Life (Amas), Fugitive Songs (Dreamlight), Two Rooms (Theatre Row), Masked (DR2), Striking 12 (The Daryl Roth Theatre), Girl's Room starring Donna McKechnie & Carol Lawrence (QTIP), Wanda's World (Amas), Serendib (Ensemble Studio Theater), The Atheist (Center Stages, starring Star Trek's Chris Pine), Broadway Bares (BC/EFA), The Blowin' of Baile Gall (Gabriel Byrne). International: The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, The Great American Trailer Park Musical (Edinburgh Festival). Regional: Opera Boston, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Williamstown Theater Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Dallas Theatre Center, Geva Theatre Center, Cleveland Playhouse, Vineyard Theatre, North Shore Music Theater, among others. Minnesota Opera: Roméo et Juliette; La bohème; Salome.

Dan Dressen (First Jew)

It was twenty-five years ago that tenor Dan Dressen first sang in a Minnesota Opera production. Since then he has performed many times with the Minnesota Opera, most recently the roles of the Marquis de Lisle in Casanova's Homecoming, Elcius in the American premiere of The Fortunes of King Croesus, Grampa in the world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath, the Doctor in Poul Ruder's The Handmaid's Tale, Gastone in La traviata, Abraham Kaplan inStreet Scene, Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro, Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalierand Sellem in The Rake's Progress. Other opera engagements include performances with Washington Opera and its productions of Carmen and the world premiere of Dominick Argento's The Dream of Valentino and with The Lyric Opera of Cleveland in La bohème. Mr. Dressen is an original member of Nautilus Music Theater with which he performed the role of the Man in Snow Leopard by William Harper and the role of the Baker in Sondheim's Into The Woods.

He is a frequent soloist with VocalEssence, with which he sang the title roles in Britten's St. Nicolas Cantata, Handel's Samson, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, Dominick Argento's Jonah and the Whale and Revelations of St. John, Mass in D by Dame Ethel Smythe, the role of Rajar in the world premiere of The Fourth Wiseman by Randall Davidson and Geral Finzi's Intimations of Immortality in the first United States Finzi Festival. Recently he performed with VocalEssence in the world premiere of The Passion of Jesus of Nazareth by Francis Grier and this past spring sang with VocalEssence in William Bolcom's Songs of Innocence and Experience.

Mr. Dressen has appeared at several Aldeburgh Festivals in England. Performances there include the tenor solos in Britten's The Company of Heaven, which he also has recorded in London. In Minneapolis and St. Paul he has performed with The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Chorale, Dale Warland Singers, Bach Society and appeared several times with Garrison Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion.

A Professor of Music and Associate Dean for the Fine Arts at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Mr. Dressen teaches voice and lyric diction. He is editor of a seven-volume anthology series of opera arias by Benjamin Britten for Boosey & Hawkes publishing company and currently serves on the Commission for Accreditation for the National Association of Schools of Music.

Oben Floan (Second Nazarene)

Tenor Obed Floan began his singing career at the very early age of 3. Through his studies as a music major at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Obed performed in numerous opera productions including the Second Priest in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro and the Mayor in Britten's Albert Herring. As a recipient of the Berneking Fellowship, in 2008, he was accepted into the Master's Degree program at the University of Minnesota and has since performed the role of Laça in the university's production of Janácek's Jenůfa.

Elsewhere, Mr. Floan has been a guest artist with the St. Martin Chamber Players in Peoria, Illinois, and sang the role of King Kasper in its production of Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors and tenor soloist for the Philadelphia Chamber Chorus' performance of Schubert's Mass in A Flat and Handel's Messiah. He was also the tenor soloist at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware, in the Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio. Floan performed the role of Judge Gray in the Philadelphia staged debut Leslie Burrs' opera Vanqui and the role of Florestan for The Other Company's production of Beethoven's Fidelio in association with the Philly Fringe Festival.

In 2007, Mr. Floan sang the roles of Arturo and Normanno in Center Stage Opera Company's Lucia di Lammermoor, the title role in La clemenza di Tito with the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra in Bel Air, Maryland, and Arrigo in Verdi's La battaglia di Legnano.

Jason Howard (Jokanaan)

Jason Howard was born and raised in the rich singing tradition of South Wales. Having sung a wide repertoire from Mozart through Puccini to contemporary music, he now focuses on the Verdi repertoire and is noted for his portrayals of Rigoletto and Macbeth in particular. In addition to his long and fruitful relationship with his native Welsh National Opera, Jason Howard has worked with all the United Kingdom regional companies as well as the English National Opera and Covent Garden

Jason is a graduate of Trinity College of Music and the Royal College of Music Opera School. An outstanding performer, Jason Howard's appearances have generated unanimous critical acclaim. These performances include Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, and Germont in La traviata, all with Scottish Opera, the title role in Billy Budd and Showboat, both with Opera North.

Jason Howard's past operatic engagements include the title role of Rigoletto at Scottish Opera; Mourning becomes Elektra at the Seattle Opera and New York City Opera; Ned Keene/Peter Grimes at the Bastille; Germont/La traviata at English National Opera, Minnesota Opera, New York City Opera, Opéra de Nantes and at Cincinnati Opera; Posa/Don Carlos in Minnesota; the title role of Rigoletto in Edmonton; the title role in Eugene Onegin for Welsh National Opera and in Ontario; Les pêcheurs des perles in Seattle; Marcello/La bohème at Covent Garden and in Geneva, Stuttgart, Opéra de Bastille – Paris, Toulouse and Seattle; Silvio/I pagliacci and Valentin/Faust at Welsh National Opera; di Luna/Il trovatore and Sharpless/Madama Butterfly at Scottish Opera; Escamillo/Carmen in Hamilton and at L'Opéra de Nancy.

Jason Howard's concert appearances include Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder and with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Die erste Walpurgisnacht with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Elgar's The Kingdom at the Royal Festival Hall, Peter Grimes under the baton of Rostropovich with the London Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous opera galas in London. He has also appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis in performances of Les Troyens, and in The Gondoliers at the BBC Proms.

His recordings include The Student Prince, The Song of Norway, A Little Night Music, Showboat, Calamity Jane and The King & I for TER, and alongside José Carreras and Josephine Barstow in recital discs for Sony and Decca respectively. A compact disc of Jason Howard, singing songs from Hollywood musicals, has recently been released on Silva Screen Records.

Past engagements include The Tempest (Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg), Death in Venice (Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires), Alfio/Cavalleria rusticana and Tonio/I Pagliacci at Welsh National Opera, Wotan/Das Rheingold (Opèra National du Rhin, Strasbourg), Escamillo/Carmen (Edmonton Opera), Orestes/Elektra and Wotan/Die Walküre (Opéra National du Rhin) and Carbon 12 (a new commission by leading Welsh composer Errolyn Warren) with Welsh National Opera.

Last season Jason sang the Dutchman in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer with Edmonton Opera, Wotan/Siegfried for Opéra National du Rhin and Jokanaan/Salome (Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos in Lisbon) and Marcello/La bohème (Welsh National Opera). He also sang the role of Emile de Becque in a national tour of South Pacific, an engagement he will reprise this season.

This season, Jason will sing the role of Jokanaan/Salomé for Minnesota Opera and Wotan/Die Walküre with Longborough Opera.

Future plans include Scarpia/Tosca and Jack Rance/La fanciulla del West, both for Oper Stadtische Buhnen in Frankfurt.

Emmanuel Joel-Hornak (conductor) 

Renowned French conductor Emmanuel Joel-Hornak has led major orchestras around the world in opera and orchestral works. He recently conducted productions with English National Opera, Aix-en -Provence Festival, NBR New Zealand Opera, Scottish Opera, New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, L'Opéra National de Paris-Bastille, the Wexford Festival, as well as the conducting the leading opera companies of Lyon, Nantes, Montpellier, Toulouse, Sydney and Strasbourg. He made his United States opera debut in San Francisco Opera's production of Carmen during the 1996-1997 Season, and was immediately re-engaged to conduct San Francisco's productions of Don Carlo and La bohème in the following seasons.

Maestro Joel-Hornak's American career continues in recent years with La traviata at the New York City Opera, Werther at the Los Angeles Opera with Ramon Vargas,Faust with Cincinnati Opera, Don Pasquale with Simone Alaimo and Ruth Ann Swenson at the Los Angeles Opera, Manon with Elisabeth Futral at the Houston Grand Opera, Samson et Dalila with Olga Borodina and Sergey Larin with the San Francisco Opera, Vanessa at the Washington National Opera with Kiri Te Kanawa,Roméo et Juliette at the Pittsburgh Opera with Marcello Giordani, La grande duchesse de Gérolstein with Opera Company of Philadelphia, and a return to the Houston Grand Opera for Roméo et Juliette with Ramón Vargas and Ana Maria Martinez.

In the fall 2008, he returned to Opera Australia in Sydney for Les pêcheurs de perles, marking his eighth engagement with the company, as well as conducting a new production of La traviata at the Scottish Opera directed by David McVicar. For the Christmas Holidays 2008, Maestro Joel-Hornak conducted a new production of La Périchole at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, and in the spring 2009, he conducted Les contes d'Hoffmann at Opéra de Nice, La traviata at Scottish Opera and Carmen at the New Israeli Opera of Tel Aviv. In the 2009–2010 season, engagements include Les contes d'Hoffmann at Opera Colorado, Les brigands at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, La Périchole at Opéra de Lausanne, and La bohèmeand Salome at Minnesota Opera, as well as Il trovatore at the Opéra National de Bordeaux in 2011.

In the 2007–2008 season, he conducted Les contes d'Hoffmann and Les pêcheurs de perles with the Australian Opera in Melbourne, a new production of Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra de Toulon-Provence Méditerranée, a new production of Faust at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, La bohème with the NBR New Zealand Opera and a symphonic concert with the Auckland Philamornia Orchestra. The 2006–2007 season included two major company debuts: first, a new production of Faust in his NBR New-Zealand Opera debut in Wellington and Auckland, and then made his Pittsburgh Opera debut conducting Roméo et Juliette with Marcello Giordani. He then returned to the Opéra de Lausanne to conduct Paisiello's Il barbiere di Siviglia in the production of the Théâtre de la Monnaie-Bruxelles, as well as a symphonic concert with the Auckland Philarmonia Orchestra. In the 2005–2006, Maestro Joel-Hornak made his company debut at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden in Germany for a new production of Carmen, his Opera Leipzig debut in Les contes d'Hoffmann, returned to the English National Opera for La belle Hélène with Dame Felicity Lott in the Laurent Pelly production.

Additional noted engagements from recent seasons include Carmen at the Royal Opera of Stockholm, Thaïs at the Barbican of London with Elisabeth Futral, Massenet's Don Quixote, Les pêcheurs de perles and La bohème with the English National Opera, Werther at the Oslo Opera, Pelléas et Mélisande in Gothenburg,Manon and Il trovatore at the Sydney Opera, his Tiroler Landestheater debut in Innsbruck with Don Carlo and Massenet's Chérubin, Carmen at the Royal Opera of Stockholm, Pelléas et Mélisande in Toulouse, Dialogues des Carmélites in Gothenburg and Oslo, Ernani with the Nederland's Reise Opera, Il trittico in Nantes,Berlioz's Béatrice et Benedict in Lausanne, Faust in Marseilles, La fanciulla del Westin Montpellier, Roméo et Juliette at the Opéra National du Rhin-Strasbourg, Samson et Dalila and Barraud's Marouf in Marseilles and Orphée aux enfers at the Teatro Regio di Torino. In addition, he has lead productions of Thomas's Hamlet in Torino, La belle Hélène, Aïda and Nabucco with Scottish Opera in Edinburgh, Werther and Madama Butterfly with New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Chausson's Le roi Arthus and Samson et Dalila in Montpellier and Sydney, Carmen at the Jerusalem Festival andSemele and Les pêcheurs de perles with Melbourne's Victoria State Opera. At the L'Opéra National de Paris-Bastille, he made his debut with Offenbach's Les brigands, as well as his debut at the Wexford Festival in Boieldieu's La dame blanche and in Dublin for Delibes's Lakmé.

In concert, Maestro Joel-Hornak has led the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne at the Montreux Festival, Orchestre de Bretagne, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie in Brussels, Orchestre Colonne and Orchestre Philarmonique de Radio France in Paris, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lithuania at the Vilnius Festival, the Orchestra of the Teatro Regio di Torino, Het Gelders Orkest in Arnhem, the Philarmonisches Orchester Dortmund, l'Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse and Auckland Philamornia Orchestra.

Richard Lawrence Joseph (Second Jew)

Tenor Richard Lawrence Joseph recently made his Minnesota Opera role debut as the Charlatan in Casanova's Homecoming last fall. Previously, he has appeared as Bardolfo in Falstaff and Dudley in John Davis' Little Red's Most Unusual Day at his alma mater, Florida State University, where he also obtained his master's degree. Additionally, he has performed Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof for Clearwater Christian College.

Mr. Joseph was 2008 Gerdine Young Artist for Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where he covered the role of Giovanni in Martín y Soler's Una cosa rara and sang the Watchman in Walton's Troilus and Cressida. He currently teaches voice at Anoka-Ramsey Community College and Grace Music Academy.

Seth Keeton (First Nazarene)

Bass-baritone Seth Keeton's performances have been described by The New York Times as "driven" and "emotionally pointed." He has performed roles on the stages of the Minnesota Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Ft. Worth Opera, Central City Opera, Arizona Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Austin Lyric Opera and Opera Omaha, Chautauqua Opera, Opera North and Theater Bremen in Bremen, Germany.
 
A passionate recitalist and oratorio performer, Mr. Keeton has been seen on the concert stage as the bass soloist in Mozart's Requiem, Verdi's Requiem, Bach's Kantata #140, Bach's Magnificat, and Haydn's Creation. This season he will sing in Minnesota Opera's production of Salome, Beethoven's Symphony #9, Bach's St. Matthew Passion, frequently appears with the Rochester Aria Group and appeared as the baritone soloist in Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols. In 2006, he was a national finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has received awards from the Sullivan Foundation and the Eleanor McCollum Competition. Mr. Keeton received his Bachelor of Music from Illinois Wesleyan University and his Master of Music from Indiana University and is a Doctoral student in Voice at the University of Minnesota.       

Mlada Khudoley (Salome)

Born in Moscow, Mlada Khudoley graduated from the Russian Academy of Performing Arts as an actor and solo vocalist. Ms. Khudoley was the diploma winner of numerous different international vocal competitions. In 1998, Ms. Khudoley received the stipendium from the Wagner International Society in Bayreuth. Also in 1998, Ms. Khudoley made her Mariinsky Theatre stage debut in the title role of Salome and as Senta in Der fliegende Holländer.

Ms. Khudoley has toured with the Mariinsky Company at Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, New Israeli Opera, Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Festspeilhaus Baden-Baden, the Cardiff Millennium Center, Bolshoi Theatre, the Amsterdam Concertgebow and others.

Ms. Khudoley has performed Lisa in Pique Dame at Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Senta in Der fliegende Hollander with Los Angeles Opera and Teatro Massimo (Palermo), and Elisabeth in Tannhäuser at Tokyo Opera Nomori. Ms. Khudoley has performed the title role of Salome with Dallas Opera, Gulbenkian Center (Lisbon, Portugal), Latvian National Opera, Lithuanian National Orchestra and Vancouver Opera. In the future, she will sing Salome with Minnesota Opera and the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto (Japan). 

Ms. Khudoley has been honored to perform with Valery Gergiev, Seigi Ozawa, Heinz Fricke, Lawrence Foster, Symon Bychkov, Antonello Allemandi, Gianadrea Noseda, Pavel Kogan, Alexander Rudin, Gabriele Ferro, Marco Boemi, Gintaras Rinkiavichus, Andrej Nelsons and many others.

Ms. Khudoley shared the stage with Maestro Plácido Domingo, Larissa Diadkova, Anna Netrebko, Elena Garanca, Vladimir Galouzine, Matti Salminen, Nicolai Putilin, Bernd Weikl, Kurt Rydl, Linda Watson, Michelle DeYoung, Stephen Gould, Judith Forst, Vassily Gerello, Gerald Finely, Andrea Silverstrelli and many others.

She is the recipient of the Singer of the Year Award from St. Petersburg Theatrical Society, for the role of Sieglinde, performed with Maestro Plácido Domingo in 2001.

Recently, Ms. Khudoley sang Salome's monologue at the Gala opening of the Opernhaus Graz season 2009–2010. This performance was telecast on Austrian television.

In the fall 2009, Ms. Khudoley debuted the roles Kaiserin Die Frau ohne Schatten, a new and Cassandre in Les Troyens, both new productions at the Mariinsky Theatre. Ms. Khudoley also recently sang with the Mariinsky Theatre in roles/productions of Aida/Aida, Lisa/Pique Dame, Renata/The Fiery Angel and a special concert performance of Die Walküre at the Cardiff Millennium Centre, starring Bryn Terfel (Wotan) and conducted by Maestro Gergiev.

On January 3, 2010, Ms. Khudoley recorded the Stravinsky ballet Les Noces with Maestro Valery Gergiev for future release on the Mariinsky recording label. She will perform this work with the New York Philharmonic in April.

January 2010, Ms. Khudoley sang Abigaille in Nabucco with Teatr Wielki (Warsaw). In February, she sang Aida at the 28th Annual Shalyapin International Opera Festival in Kazan, Russia.

In April 2010, Ms. Khudoley returns to Minnesota Opera performing the title role of Salome. She will later sing the role of Abigaille in Nabucco for the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen. In 2011, Ms. Khudoley will debut the role of Katerina in Lady McBeth at Mtsensk with Opernhaus Graz and Komische Oper Berlin.

This summer Mlada will record the role of Kaiserin in Die Frau ohne Schatten on the Mariinsky recording label, conducted by Maestro Valery Gergiev. The 2009 Mariinsky label recording of The Nose was nominated for a best classical recording for the Grammy Awards.

Jonathan Kimple (Second Soldier)

Bass-baritone Jonathan Kimple recently completed Portland Opera's Studio Artist Program, where he sang the roles of Giove in Cavalli's La Calisto, Count Ceprano inRigoletto and the Marchese d'Obigny in La traviata while covering the role of Don Pizarro in Fidelio. As a Santa Fe Apprentice Artist, Mr. Kimple covered the roles of Farasmane in Handel's Radamisto, the title role in Le nozze di Figaro and Alcindoro/Benoit in La bohème. For Sarasota Opera he has sung Count Ceprano inRigoletto and covered Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. Other credits include the Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance for Virginia Opera, Colline (cover) inLa bohème for Dicapo Opera and the Grand Prêtre in Antonio Sacchini's Oedipe à Colone for Opera Lafayette.

Originally from central Iowa, Mr. Kimple obtained his bachelor of music degree from the University of Maryland and his master of music degree from Manhattan School of Music, where he performed the roles of William Emmons in The Village Singerand Simone in Gianni Schicchi. He has also attended the Music Academy of the West, covering Don Profondo for its production of Il viaggio a Reims. As a Minnesota Opera Resident Artist, Mr. Kimple will sing Nourabad in The Pearl Fishers, the Second Inquisitor and Tartaglia in Casanova's Homecoming, Gualtiero Raleigh in Roberto Devereux, Colline in La bohème and the Second Soldier in Salome. Next season he returns for productions of Mary Stuart, La traviata and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.

Brian J. Kuhl (Fourth Jew)

Last season, tenor Brian Kuhl made his role debut as the Crow Doctor and the Bricklayer in Jonathan Dove's The Adventures of Pinocchio with the Minnesota Opera and returned earlier this season to sing Demofoonte and cover the role of Gabrille in Casanova's Homecoming. Most recently, he was heard singing Ferrando in St. Petersburg Opera's production of Così fan tutte in Florida. As a  soloist, Mr. Kuhl has appeared with a number of local and regional organizations, including Rochester Orchestra and Chorale, the Rochester Aria Group, and Minnesota Orchestra. Upcoming engagements include Elijah with Autumn Ridge Church in Rochester, Minnesota and Spoletta in Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest Opera Finale of Tosca.

Mr. Kuhl is a recent participant in the Des Moines Metro Opera's James M. Collier Apprentice Artist Program where he sang Billy in Mahagonny Songspiel. He also holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Minnesota as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Saint John's University.  

David Lefkowich (stage director and choreographer)

David Lefkowich is an accomplished stage director and fight choreographer and has enjoyed success with different companies including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Minnesota Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Colorado, Gotham Chamber Opera and Glimmerglass Opera. He has had the honor of working with visionaries including Julie Taymor, Robert Lepage, Robert Woodruff and John Conklin. Recent projects include directing The Rake's Progress at La Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown (off-Broadway), Don Giovanni at the Ravinia Music Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and L'histoire du soldat with the Juilliard School and the Ravinia Music Festival both with Maestro James Conlon conducting. Last year he made his European debut directing Le portrait de Manon at the Gran Teatre Liceu in Barcelona, Spain. Other new productions include directing and choreographing Roméo et Juliette (Minnesota Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Tampa), La traviata (Lake George Opera) and Le portrait de Manon (Glimmerglass Opera). He was also thrilled to fight direct the world premieres of Appomattox  (Philip Glass) at San Francisco Opera and Miss Lonelyhearts at the Juilliard Opera Center, La fanciulla del west at the New York City Opera and the New York off-Broadway run of A Clockwork Orange. David is a Lecturer at Ithaca College School of Music where he directs and teaches classes in acting and movement. He is a guest artist and performs master classes at several young artist programs and universities including Florida Grand Opera Young Artist Program, Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artist Program, the Juilliard School, San Francisco Conservatory and McGill School of Music. A graduate from Northwestern University with a bachelor's in the science in theatre, David has a certificate from École Jacques-Lecoq in Paris, France. Upcoming engagements include directing Il trovatore at Fort Worth Opera Festival, Le nozze di Figaro for the Ravinia Festival and Tosca for Boston Lyric Opera.

Jeffrey Madison (A cappadocian)

Baritone Jeffrey Madison is a dynamic performer equally at home on the operatic, musical theater and concert stage. Most recently, Mr. Madison performed the role of Father in Hänsel und Gretel with the Minnesota Orchestra, Marcello in the West Virginia Symphony's production of La bohème, Bottom for Seattle Opera Young Artist's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the title role of Falstaff as a guest artist with UCLA Opera Theater, Malatesta for Skylark Opera's production ofDon Pasquale, Albert in Werther with Chautauqua Opera and Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro with the Minnesota Opera. Upcoming performances include Danilo in The Merry Widow with Skylark Opera and Angelotti in Tosca with the Minnesota Orchestra. Mr. Madison returned to the Minnesota Opera this season as Shaunard in La bohème.

Rodolfo Nieto (First Soldier)

Bass-baritone Rodolfo Nieto most recently appeared as Don Alfonso for Cedar Rapids Opera Theater's production of Così fan tutte. Other roles for that company include the Imperial Commissioner in Madame Butterfly and Pooh-Bah in The Mikado. During the 2008 season he was an Opera Colorado Young Artist, where he sang the roles of Don Magnifico and Alidoro in Cinderella and Godofredo in La Curandera for its outreach program. In 2007, Mr. Nieto appeared as Gravitas in the world premiere of Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at Theatre@Boston Court.

Mr. Nieto attended Northwestern University, where he performed as Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte and Simone in Gianni Schicchi. At Luther College, he has sung the title role in The Marriage of Figaro, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. As a resident artist for the Minnesota Opera this season, Mr. Nieto appears as the Third Inquisitor and Spanish Captain in Casanova's Homecoming, the Friend of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux, Colline in La bohème and the First Guard in Salome. Next season he returns for productions ofMary Stuart, La traviata and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.

Michael Nyby (Fifth Jew)

Baritone Michael Nyby joins the Minnesota Opera's Resident Artist Program after having spent this past summer as a part of the prestigious Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist program. Previously, he has sung Moralès in Carmen for Vancouver Opera and Figaro in The Barber of Barkerville for Vancouver Opera in Schools. For Burnaby Lyric Opera, Mr. Nyby has sung Haly in The Italian Girl in Algiers and the title roles of Don Giovanni and Il barbiere di Siviglia for the European Music Academy of Teplice.

Mr. Nyby holds a master's degree in opera from the University of British Columbia, where he has sung the roles of Ford in Falstaff, Falke in Die Fledermaus and Cascada in The Merry Widow. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Ithaca College, performing such roles Cascada, David in A Hand of Bridge, the Secret Police Agent in The Consul and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. He also appeared as Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi for the Ithaca Opera Company. For the Minnesota Opera's 2009–2010 season, Mr. Nyby will be appearing as the Montebank inCasanova's Homecoming, the Page in Roberto Devereux, Schaunard in La bohème and the Fifth Jew in Salome. Next season he returns for productions of Mary Stuart, La traviata and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis.

Nicole Percifield (Herodias' page)

Mezzo-soprano Nicole Percifield is a recent graduate of New York's acclaimed Manhattan School of Music, where she performed a number of roles, including the Statue in Griffelkin, the title role in Araboolies of Liberty Street and Nancy Ford in The Village Singer. She has also been a Studio Artist at Central City Opera, singing the role of Esprit Cinq in Cendrillon and scenes from Werther (Charlotte) and Le Comte Ory (Isolier), at The Banff Centre and at the International Institute of Vocal Arts, singing the role of the Maestra delle Novizie in Suor Angelica and scenes from La Cenerentola (title role), Carmen (Mercédès), L'amico Fritz (Beppe) and Così fan tutte (Dorabella). At the New England Conservatory, Ms. Percifield performed the roles of Alma March in Little Women, La Principessa in Suor Angelica and the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel as well as scenes from The Ballad of Baby Doe (Augusta), Werther (Charlotte) and La Calisto (Diana). This past summer she was an apprentice artist in Opera Theatre of St. Louis' prestgious Gerdine Young Artists program. For the Minnesota Opera last season, Nicole was seen as Siébel in Faust and the Beetle Doctor in The Adventures of Pinocchio. For her second season as a resident artist, she returns to sing role the roles of Demofoonte in Casanova's Homecoming and the Page in Salome.

Dennis Petersen (Herod)

Through his innate sense of style, command of languages and superior acting abilities, tenor Dennis Petersen has distinguished himself in a variety of operatic roles, in addition to his appearances in concerts, recitals and oratorio performances.

His debut with the Seattle Opera as Mime in both Das Rheingold and Siegfried, August 2009, brought the highest accolades from Ring fans and critics alike ("... has emerged as one of the handful of superb character tenors, and his protrayal of the Siegfried Mime was masterful ... Petersen has a large attractive voice that one imagines could be employed in tenor lead roles in the French and early 19th centruy Italian repertories...." (August 2009, OperaWarhorses.com). Dennis toured Japan in summer 2008, singing the School Master in The Cunning Little Vixen under Seiji Ozawa at the Saito Kinen Festival. Recent seasons included the New York premiere of Dead Man Walking at New York City Opera, Turandot and Madama Butterfly for San Francisco Opera, Salome for Opera Pacific, the American premiere of The Handmaid's Tale with Minnesota Opera and Dead Man Walking for Michigan Opera Theatre. He appeared with San Francisco in Die Zauberflöte, Doktor Faust and The Cunning Little Vixen which he also sang with Lyric Opera of Chicago during the 2004–2005 season in addition to Mime in Das Rheingold. He returned to Chicago for additional performances of Rheingold and to the Met for Madame Butterfly and Salome before singing Mime in the 2009 Seattle Opera Ring Cycle.  

The tenor's recent seasons saw him returning to Lyric Opera of Chicago for Die Zauberflöte, Die Fledermaus and Dialogues of the Carmelites and San Francisco Opera for Die Fledermaus and the new production of La forza del destino and to the Metropolitan Opera for Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa as well as revivals of The Gambler and War and Peace. With Spoleto Festival USA he appeared in the new productions of Mahagonny and Amistad.

Since making his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1995 as the Drunken Lout in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, he has been seen there on a regular basis in such roles as Bob Boles in Peter Grimes, Monastatos in Die Zauberflöte, Mime in Das Rheingold and Siegfried, The Merry Widow and War and Peace.

He has sung with San Francisco Opera nearly every year since 1985 in a variety of operas including Pique Dame, Der Rosenkavalier, Salome, Tosca, Turandot, Madama Butterfly, Andrea Chénier, Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, Don Quichotte, Capriccio, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Pagliacci, Le nozze di Figaro, Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg, Roméo et Juliette, Boris Godunov, Lulu, L'incoronazione di Poppea, Prince Igor, Anna Bolena, Wozzeck and War and Peace. With the Lyric Opera of Chicago he has been in Die Fledermaus, Andrea Chénier, Salome, Das Rheingold and with the New York City Opera he has sung Lizzie Borden, Intermezzo and Roberto Devereux.

Mr. Petersen has appeared to great advantage with most of America's leading regional theaters: Opera Pacific (Der Rosenkavalier, Madame Butterfly, Salome), Minnesota Opera (George Antheil's Transatlantic, Der fliegende Holländer, Die Zauberflöte) Florida Grand Opera (Ariadne auf Naxos), New Orleans Opera (Tannhäuser, Le nozze di Figaro, Fidelio), Palm Beach Opera (Tannhäuser), Boston Lyric Opera (Herod in Salome),and the Spoleto Festival (Dido and Aeneas, Il duca d'Alba, Les contes d'Hoffmann). At Japan's Saito Kinen Festival he has sung Basilio in Figaro with Seiji Ozawa conducting. He has also sung concert performances of Tchaplitsky in Pique Dame and Salome with the Boston Symphony and Seiji Ozawa in Boston and in New York.

Orchestral appearances have included Bach's Magnificat with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the symphonies of Eugene and Columbus, the Messiah, Magnificat and Mozart Mass in C and Requiem with The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under High Wolff, the Verdi Requiem with Cedar Rapids Symphony and St. Cloud Symphony, Haydn's Theresienmesse at both Spoleto Festivals, Michael Tippett's A Child of Our Times with New York Choral Society at Carnegie Hall and performances with the New Jersey Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and the Calgary Philharmonic.

A partial list of conductors Mr. Petersen has sung with include Seiji Ozawa, James Levine, Edo de Waart, Zubin Mehta, James Conlon, George Manahan, Andrew Davis, David Zinman, Mario Bernardi, John de Main, Fabio Luisi and Marco Armiliato.

A native of West Branch, Iowa he received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Iowa before joining San Francisco Opera's Merola Program in 1984, where he was awarded the Karl Kritz Memorial Scholarship. Dennis currently resides in the country outside of Northfield, Minnesota with his wife Denise and their two dogs. They have two wonderful sons, Nicholas and Noah.

Christian Reinert (Narraboth) 

Tenor Christian Reinert is quickly becoming known as an extremely talented and exciting tenor on the rise in the operatic world, his voice described by the New York Times as having "an appealing smoothness and assurance." Engagements for 2008–2009 included Cassio in Otello with Kentucky Opera, Edmondo in Manon Lescaut with New Orleans Opera and Alfredo in La traviata with Opera Birmingham. In 2010, Mr. Reinert will return to Minnesota Opera to sing Narraboth in its production of Salome and will cover the role of Ecclitico in Gotham Chamber Opera's production of Haydn's rarely seen Il mondo della luna.

In the summer of 2006, he gained critical acclaim after stepping into the role of Steva in Janacek's Jenůfa for an ailing colleague at Glimmerglass Opera where he was covering the role, as well as singing the Prussian Officer in the premiere performances of The Greater Good. He returned to Glimmerglass Opera in 2007 singing the roles of the Second Shepherd and Spirit in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo and covering the role of Heurtebise in Phillip Glass's Orphée. The 2007-2008 season saw him as a Resident Artist with The Minnesota Opera where he sang the roles of Armfelt in Un ballo in maschera, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette and Eliates in The Fortunes of King Croesus. In the summer of 2008, he sang the role of Arturo and covered Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor for Ft. Worth Opera and made his debut in the role of Don José for Ashlawn Opera's Carmen. Engagements for 2008–2009 included Cassio in Otello with Kentucky Opera, Edmondo in Manon Lescaut with New Orleans Opera and Alfredo in La traviata with Opera Birmingham.

While attending the Manhattan School of Music, Mr. Reinert was prominently featured in the school's opera productions having performed Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Lysander in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Bénédict in Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict. Additional operatic credits include Rodolfo in Puccini's La bohème and the title role in Gounod's Faust. In addition to Glimmerglass Opera and Minnesota Opera, he has been a part of the Baltimore Opera Studio and participated in outreach programs with Palm Beach Opera as well as being involved in summer opera festivals in Italy, Israel, Arkansas and New York.

On the concert platform Mr. Reinert has been heard as a soloist in Handel's Messiah, Verdi's Messa da Requiem, Dubois' The Seven Last Words of Christ, Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Randall's Peachable Kingdom and Beethoven's Choral Fantasia. He has been a winner of the Palm Beach International Opera Competition and has received numerous scholarships.

Miko S. Simmons (projections designer)

Miko Simmons is an international award-winning multimedia artists/composer who has been innovating in the convergence of film/animation and theater production for more than fifteen years. In Minnesota he has worked with the Guthrie Theater, Walker Art Center, Southern Theater and Intermedia Arts; nationally at Boston Computer Museum, MJJackson Productions Los Angeles, and internationally in Korea, Japan, Russia, Spain and Australia, to name a few.  An abbreviated production list includes: Theater/Dance: Count of Monte Cristo the Musical (Seoul Korea; Robert Johanson, director); Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Robert Johanson, director); Guthrie Theater productions, Caviar on Credit, Postcards from Earth, Confluence, Bring Love to my Doorstep (Marcela Lorca, director); Hiroshima Aftermath (Sachiko Nishiuchi, director), S'kin (Dawn Renae Jones, director);  Southern  Theater, Angels in the Castle (Risa Cohen, director); Zorongo Flamenco, Noche Oscura (Susana di Palma, director).  Galleries/Museums: Walker Art Center; Soviet National Academy of Sciences, Moscow; Boston Computer Museum; C.A.G.E Gallery, Cincinnati; Institutio de Estudios, Barcelona; Universidad de Salamanca Facultad de Balles Artes, Spain; Adelaide Fine Arts Festival, Australia.  Film/Television/other:  Earth Wind and Fire World Tour, Maya Angelou, Sinbad, Tim Reid Productions, New Millennium Studios, Tom Clancy Productions, Showtime Pictures Linc's (Debbie Allen Director).

Steve TenEyck (lighting designer)

Steve TenEyck design work in theatre, opera, performance art and live event has been seen both nationally and internationally. Companies include Syracuse Stage, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, TACT-NYC, Big Art Group NYC, Tacoma Opera, Syracuse Opera, The Kitchen Theatre Company, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, Tri-Cities Opera and The Herson Group. Beyond maintaining a busy freelance career, Steve teaches lighting design at Ithaca College in Ithaca New York. He received his MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle.