Minnesota Opera
An American opera company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, known for English-language productions, unusual repertoire, and commissioned contemporary works.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Minnesota Opera is a nonprofit opera company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with performances presented primarily at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul. Founded in 1963 as the Center Opera Company by the Walker Art Center, the organization emerged from an effort to establish a forward-looking performance institution connected to the visual and theatrical experimentation of the Minneapolis arts community. Early financial support came from the Rockefeller Foundation, and the company's initial performances were staged at the Guthrie Theater, another institution associated with the Walker Art Center. From its beginning, the company distinguished itself through an interest in modern and contemporary opera rather than relying exclusively on the established nineteenth-century canon. Its early artistic model brought together composers, directors, designers, and visual artists. Martin Friedman, then director of the Walker Art Center, was among the organization's founding figures, while stage director Wesley Balk played a long-term role in shaping its theatrical identity. The company also worked with artists such as Robert Indiana on costumes and scenery, reflecting an approach that treated opera as an integrated visual and dramatic art form. The organization became independent of the Walker Art Center in 1968 and subsequently adopted the Minnesota Opera name. Its programming has continued to combine familiar works with rare, newly rediscovered, and newly commissioned operas. Productions have included works by composers such as Benjamin Britten, Dominick Argento, John Adams, Stephen Sondheim, Richard Strauss, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gaetano Donizetti, and Antonín Dvořák, alongside American or world premieres and contemporary commissions. The company has generally performed its productions in English, making accessibility and theatrical communication central elements of its presentation model. Minnesota Opera has developed a particularly strong reputation for developing new American opera. Its projects have included The Grapes of Wrath by Ricky Ian Gordon, Silent Night by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell, The Manchurian Candidate by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell, Doubt by Douglas J. Cuomo and John Patrick Shanley, and The Shining by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell. Silent Night, commissioned by Minnesota Opera and first produced by the company in 2011, subsequently received the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music. The company's New Works Initiative has provided a continuing framework for commissioning and producing large-scale contemporary operas. The company has also presented American premieres and other significant first performances, including works such as The Handmaid's Tale, Postcard from Morocco, Armida, Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, The Fortunes of King Croesus, Jonathan Dove's Pinocchio, and Bernard Herrmann's Wuthering Heights. Its programming has therefore functioned both as a traditional opera season and as a platform for expanding the repertory available to American audiences. In addition to its regular Minneapolis–Saint Paul season, Minnesota Opera has undertaken touring activity. In 1971, while still operating as the Center Opera Company, it made a national tour that included a performance of Faust Counter Faust in San Francisco and also toured Minnesota with Gertrude Stein's The Mother of Us All. According to Opera America information cited in reference material, the company has ranked among the largest opera companies in the United States. Its current leadership includes President and General Director Ryan Taylor. The organization remains active as a regional opera company with a national profile in commissioning, producing, and presenting innovative opera.
History
Minnesota Opera was established in 1963 as the Center Opera Company by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The project benefited from Rockefeller Foundation funding and initially performed at the Guthrie Theater. Its founding environment connected opera with the broader cultural experimentation of the Walker Art Center, and the company initially emphasized contemporary and theatrically innovative work. Martin Friedman, director of the Walker Art Center, was among the founding figures. The company also developed an important artistic relationship with stage director Wesley Balk. Its early productions brought visual artists into opera production, including Robert Indiana, who contributed to costume and scenic design. This interdisciplinary approach helped distinguish the company from organizations focused solely on conventional repertory. The first season included Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring and a double bill of Dominick Argento's A Masque of Angels and John Blow's Venus and Adonis. In 1968, the company separated from the Walker Art Center and became an independent organization. It later adopted the Minnesota Opera name and established itself as a principal opera institution in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region. The company's early growth included touring. In 1971, still using the Center Opera Company name, it performed Faust Counter Faust in San Francisco during its first national tour and toured within Minnesota with Gertrude Stein's The Mother of Us All. Over subsequent decades, Minnesota Opera combined standard repertory with unusual works, rediscoveries, and American premieres. Its seasons have included operas by Mozart, Donizetti, Rossini, Offenbach, Dvořák, John Adams, Stephen Sondheim, and other established composers, as well as works by living composers. Minnesota Opera's reputation has increasingly been associated with new work. The company presented American premieres of works including The Handmaid's Tale, Postcard from Morocco, Armida, Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, The Fortunes of King Croesus, and Jonathan Dove's Pinocchio. In the 2006–07 season, it gave the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath, a commission based on John Steinbeck's novel. In 2011, it produced Silent Night by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell. The work was commissioned by Minnesota Opera and later won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Further commissioning activity produced Doubt in 2013, with music by Douglas J. Cuomo and a libretto by John Patrick Shanley, followed by the 2015 premiere of The Manchurian Candidate by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell. In 2016, the company presented The Shining, a newly commissioned opera by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell based on Stephen King's novel. These projects formed part of the company's New Works Initiative, which supports the creation and staging of contemporary American opera. The company has also pursued unusual repertory outside its commissioning program. Productions have included Casanova's Homecoming, Roberto Devereux, The Pearl Fishers, Rusalka, La donna del lago, The Tales of Hoffmann, Lakmé, Lucrezia Borgia, Passion, Little Women, Street Scene, and Bernard Herrmann's Wuthering Heights. Its 2011 staging of Wuthering Heights was notable because the production presented the complete opera after an earlier official premiere had been performed in abridged form. Performances are now associated with the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul. Minnesota Opera presents its work primarily in English and continues to operate as a professional regional opera company serving the Twin Cities and wider Minnesota audience. Reference material identifies it as one of the larger opera companies in the United States, while its artistic identity remains particularly tied to new commissions, emerging artists, and adventurous repertory. Ryan Taylor is identified as the company's President and General Director.
- 2016
The Shining is produced
[1]Minnesota Opera presents The Shining, a new opera by Paul Moravec and Mark Campbell.
- 2015
The Manchurian Candidate premieres
[1]The company gives the premiere of The Manchurian Candidate by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell.
- 2013
Doubt is commissioned
[1]Minnesota Opera commissions Doubt by Douglas J. Cuomo and John Patrick Shanley.
- 2012
Silent Night receives the Pulitzer Prize
[1]Silent Night wins the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
- 2011
Silent Night is produced
[1]Minnesota Opera presents its commissioned production of Silent Night by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell.
- 2009
American premiere of Pinocchio
[1]The company presents the American premiere of Jonathan Dove's Pinocchio.
- 2007
The Grapes of Wrath premieres
[1]Minnesota Opera presents the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath.
- 1971
First national tour
[1]The company tours nationally with a performance of Faust Counter Faust in San Francisco and also tours Minnesota with The Mother of Us All.
- 1968
Company becomes independent
[1]The organization separates from the Walker Art Center and proceeds as an independent opera company.
- 1963
Center Opera Company is founded
[1]The Walker Art Center establishes the Center Opera Company in Minneapolis with support from the Rockefeller Foundation.
Products and positioning
A major regional American opera company positioned around adventurous programming, English-language presentation, theatrical innovation, and the development of new opera.
Opera performance · 1963
Mainstage opera season
Minnesota Opera's principal offering is a season of fully staged operas presented for audiences in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area, primarily at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul. The repertory combines established works with less frequently performed operas and contemporary productions.
New opera development
New Works Initiative
The New Works Initiative is the company's commissioning and development platform for contemporary opera. It has supported projects including Silent Night, The Manchurian Candidate, and The Shining, helping move new works from commission and development into full professional production.
Commissioned opera · 2011
Silent Night
Silent Night is an opera by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell commissioned by Minnesota Opera and first produced by the company in 2011. Inspired by the Christmas Truce of 1914, the work became the first opera commissioned by Minnesota Opera to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Commissioned opera · 2007
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath is an opera by Ricky Ian Gordon based on John Steinbeck's novel. Minnesota Opera commissioned the work and presented its world premiere during the 2006–07 season, reinforcing the company's role in developing large-scale American opera.
Commissioned opera · 2015
The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate is an opera by Kevin Puts with a libretto by Mark Campbell, adapted from Richard Condon's political thriller. Minnesota Opera presented its premiere in March 2015 as part of its continuing commitment to contemporary subject matter and new American work.
Commissioned opera · 2016
The Shining
The Shining is a two-act opera by composer Paul Moravec with a libretto by Mark Campbell, adapted from Stephen King's novel. Minnesota Opera presented the work in 2016 under its New Works Initiative.
Brand decisions
2013
Commission of DoubtProduct launchBackground
The company continued to use commissions to expand contemporary opera repertory.
Action taken
Minnesota Opera commissioned Doubt by Douglas J. Cuomo with a libretto by John Patrick Shanley.
Aftermath
The commission extended the company's new-works portfolio into an opera based on a modern dramatic text.
2011
Commission and production of Silent NightProduct launchBackground
Minnesota Opera had built a reputation for commissioning contemporary opera and broadening the American repertory.
Action taken
The company commissioned and produced Silent Night by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell.
Aftermath
The opera later won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Music, giving the company's new-work program national recognition.
1968
Separation from the Walker Art CenterStrategyBackground
The company had been founded as a Walker Art Center initiative and initially operated in an arts-center environment with Rockefeller Foundation support.
Action taken
Minnesota Opera separated from the Walker Art Center and continued as an independent organization.
Aftermath
The separation established the organizational independence that allowed the company to develop its own long-term artistic and operating identity.
Sources2 sources
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