Countdown for Herrmann's Wuthering Heights at Minnesota Opera

As we have been reporting, the premiere of this new production of Bernard Herrmann's Wuthering Heights opera opens next April 16 at the Minnesota Opera. Until then there are a series of related activities starting today March 28:

Monday, March 28, 2011 07:00 pm
Open Book, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis
Wuthering Heights: Is This Love?

Explore literature's most heartrending and complicated relationship. MinnPost's Book Club Club host Sally Williams will moderate a lively discussion focusing on Heathcliff and Catherine's romantic and family dynamics, patterns of repetition and how each generation plays out the unresolved issues of the previous ones. The distinguished panel includes Diana Postlethwaite, Chair of the St. Olaf English department and Brontë scholar; Sara Hoppe, co-owner and psychologist at Grove Psychotherapy in Minneapolis and stage director Eric Simonson. Minnesota Opera artists will present musical excerpts from the opera.

Co-presented by Minnesota Opera, MinnPost.com and the Loft Literary Center.

Admission: Free and open to the public
Call 612-333-6669 or RSVP by clicking the registration button below (please indicate your expected number of guests). More information in MinnPost.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 07:30 pm
In Context: Bernard Herrmann (Wuthering Heights)
Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis

Minnesota Opera, the Walker and Take-Up Productions bring fresh insights to Wuthering Heights and Herrmann's artistry in general through the screening of two classics preserved in the National Film Registry.

March 30 - Directed by William Wyler, Wuthering Heights is the Academy Award–winning 1939 film adaptation of Emily Brontë's haunting novel, starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. Join Walker film curator Sheryl Mousley and Eric Simonson, the opera's stage director and dramaturg, for a post-screening discussion on the novel's adaptations in film, television, and opera.
April 6 - Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles and part of the Walker's Ruben/Bentson Film and Video Study Collection, is widely lauded as the greatest movie ever made. Herrmann composed the score while the film was being shot, watching each reel as director Orson Welles completed it.

Co-presented by Minnesota Opera, Walker Art Center and Take-Up Productions.
Admission: $8 ($6 Walker members, Opera subscribers and students)
Call 612-375-7600 or purchase online at walkerart.org

Thursday, March 31, 2011 07:00 pm
Tempo Presents: Ghosts in the Graveyard
Joseph's Grill, 140 Wabasha Street S., St. Paul
6:00 p.m. - Happy Hour Gathering at Joseph's Grill7 p.m. - Tour Begins

Concealed in the shadows of history, hiding among folklore and legend, live tales of ghosts and hauntings. Passed down from generation to generation, whispered so as to not wake the dead, these tales endure the passage of time - refusing to go quietly into the night.
Gather up your courage and come along with Tempo on a haunted tour of Saint Paul, courtesy of Wabasha Street Caves. Join us as Academy Award-winning director Eric Simonson and Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Host John Birge discuss the supernatural elements of Wuthering Heights.
Spooky treats will be provided to guests brave enough to board the bus. BYOB for a little extra courage.
Park at Joseph's Grill located at 140 South Wabasha Street in St. Paul.
Film Festival: The Man Who Knew Too Much
Friday, April 1, 2011 07:00 pm
The Trylon, 3258 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis

Friday, April 1-Sunday, May 1
Herrmann: Eight Themes in the Key of Suspense
Beginning Friday, April 1, Minnesota Opera and Take-Up Productions will present a thrilling five-week festival of films featuring scores by Bernard Herrmann. Swap your Wuthering Heights opera ticket stub for a free small popcorn at any screening in the Herrmann series!
Riverview Theater, 3800 42nd Ave. S., Minneapolis
The Trylon, 3258 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis

More information in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. 

Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Opera, Wuthering Heights