The Minnesota Opera has stayed close to home in choosing its new president and general director. Kevin Ramach, who has filled that role on an interim basis, was named Monday as the company's top executive.Ramach started at Minnesota Opera in 1988 and served for 11 years in production and operations. He left for Kentucky Opera as production manager in 1999 and stayed for seven years. He returned to Minnesota in 2006 as production director, in which he oversaw the physical aspect of the company's productions.Ramach also has handled labor relations and represented the Opera's interests in the ongoing operations of the Arts Partnership, a consortium of arts groups who use the Ordway Center. Last March, he stepped in as interim when Allan Naplan stepped down as president and general director."Kevin has been an effective part of the company's creative team for years," said artistic director Dale Johnson in a statement.The Minnesota Opera finished its 2011-12 season with a balanced budget and two notable artistic coups: Kevin Puts won the Pulitzer Prize for his new work "Silent Night," which debuted here last November; and the production of "Werther" was captured for webcast audiences, for the first time.Minnesota Opera's 50th anniversary season opens Sept. 22 with a new production of Verdi's "Nabucco."