Breaking News - Mill City Summer Opera Coming to Mill City Museum Courtyard

THE NEW MILL CITY SUMMER OPERA COMPANY TO STAGE PAGLIACCI UNDER THE STARS, IN THE RUINS OF THE HISTORIC MILL DISTRICT JULY 12-20, 2012

A venerated opera staged among old city ruins may sound like an exciting event in Italy, or other parts of Europe. But coming in 2012, a newly formed Minnesota-based opera company called The Mill City Summer Opera (MCSO) is hoping to make its outdoor opera premier as enriching and as enjoyable as its location is accessible and memorable — under the stars inside the historic Ruin Courtyard of the Mill City Museum, along the Mississippi Riverfront!

Adding to the rich cultural life of the redeveloped Minneapolis milling district, The Mill City Summer Opera will present its first production, Leoncavallo's Pagliacci on July 12, 14, 15, 18, and 20, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. All performances will take place in the Mill City Museum courtyard. In the event of rain, performances will move inside the museum.

The production, which will include seating for 400 — will feature two staging areas connected by a bridge over the access ramp to the ruins space. Musicians performing the music for the opera will be above the staging, at a height of the second row of windows on the north wall, distanced from the production so as to not overpower the singers and audience with sound. The opera staging, including costuming and sets, will also reflect the era of the first fire at the mill in 1878.

The MCSO company and board, which includes Minnesota composer Libby Larsen and White Bear Lake native, Mezzo-soprano Heather Johnson, who this past summer performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, has appointed a superbly talented Artistic Team featuring Artistic Director David Lefkowich and Music Director Brian DeMaris. It also has formed an educational alliance with The Lundstrum Center for Performing Arts on Minneapolis’ north side, to help educate underserved engage students about opera and to engage them in the summer production.