Opera in Duluth

Posted at 9:01 AM on July 13, 2006 by Rex Levang

Bob Kelleher has a nice piece on the opera that’s going into production in Duluth. But this isn’t the first time that opera has been given there, as old Duluthians (such as yours truly) will remember.

A couple quick memories … seeing Tosca in the auditorium of Denfeld High School. My memory tells me that Teresa Stratas was in the lead – can that actually be so? But I’m pretty sure that we heard singers like Martina Arroyo and Sherrill Milnes.

And there was the time that the opera folks went to New York and signed up an outstanding soprano, though not a household name. As is usual, the contract was signed a few years in advance of the performance. But in the time that elapsed between the signing and the performance itself, the soprano got one of those magical career boosts that did indeed make her a household name – it was Beverly Sills.