Familiar Faces Return for A Holiday Special — Live!
Alumni of Project Opera and the Resident Artist Program return for a very special holiday concert.
The holiday season might look a little different this year, but the holiday spirit remains the same. The holidays often represent different things to different people, but no matter what, if or how you celebrate, Minnesota Opera is here to provide a little extra cheer during what has otherwise been a chaotic and stressful year.
As the final installment of our Fall 2020 Season, Minnesota Opera will present A Holiday Special — Live! on Sunday, December 13, broadcasting from the Ordway at 7pm and available online through Sunday, December 27. The program itself will feature treasured holiday classics from various traditions and other festive musical selections.
Two of the faces that will grace the Ordway stage for this concert ought to be familiar to Minnesota Opera regulars: Thomas Glass and Daniel Montenegro, both of whom are alumni of Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist Program. In recent years, Montenegro, a tenor, has performed roles such as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opera Columbus and Alfredo in La Traviata with Arizona Opera. Glass, a baritone, has performed recent roles such as Marcello in La bohème and Alvaro in Florencia en el Amazonas — both with Houston Grand Opera — as well as the title role in Don Giovanni.
“This opportunity to return to the Ordway stage means more to me than I can articulate,” said Glass. “The first time I performed with Minnesota Opera was actually before my time in the Resident Artist Program — I was in the chorus of Così fan tutte in 2011. Coming back to this stage five years after that as a Resident Artist was certainly special, and now returning during the middle of the pandemic to sing some of my favorite songs while almost every other opera house is shut down feels absolutely momentous to me. I feel incredibly fortunate for the opportunities Minnesota Opera has given me and how they’ve supported the alumni of their training programs over the years.”
Glass has established himself as a household name throughout the opera world after being named a grand prize winner at the 2019 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
“The auditions were some of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had singing opera,” he said. “The actual performance was a blur, but I’ll never forget when my name got announced last as the fifth of the five winners.”
Other performers will include Liv Redpath (soprano leggero) and Zoie Reams (mezzo-soprano), both of whom boast impressive chops and are launching noteworthy careers. Redpath, an alumna of Project Opera, has recently performed the role of Marguerite de Valois in the debut of Les Huguenots at Deutsche Oper Berlin and covered the role of Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss at the Metropolitan Opera. Reams, meanwhile, has recently performed roles including Maddalena in Rigoletto at Houston Grand Opera and Georgia Davenport in the world premiere of Freedom Ride at Chicago Opera Theater.
“I love the range of selections for this concert,” Reams said of the upcoming performance at the Ordway. “I get to perform Christmas favorites as well as songs I’ve never even heard of, which is fun for me. This program really sets itself apart, and it’s exciting to get to learn new songs and have a new interpretation of music that’s fit for a holiday concert.”
Offering opera fans a brief respite from these difficult times during the holidays is a subtle win for Minnesota Opera and these magnificent performers. Tune in for the live performance at 7pm on Sunday, December 13 or stream it on-demand after that until Sunday, December 27. Learn more at mnopera.org/holiday-special.
