A pair of complementary coincidences head my list of 2007 highlights. First were two equally satisfying performances of Puccini's "La Bohème." Minnesota Orchestra's semi-staged performance as the Sommerfest finale benefited from a sumptuous orchestral performance and the ideal Mimi in Maureen O'Flynn. Theatre Latté Da's production this fall brought compelling new theatrical insights.
Minnesota Opera's traditional and deeply felt production of Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" juxtaposed nicely with Theatre de la June Leune's "Figaro," an innovative blending of the opera with Beaumarchais' play, which boasted some stellar singing from Bradley Greenwald, Jennifer Baldwin Peden and Christina Baldwin.
Finnish soprano Karita Mattila's Schubert Club recital, Emmanuel Ax's performance of the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 with Minnesota Orchestra and Leila Josefowicz's amazing execution of the Adams Violin Concerto with SPCO were high points of performances by international artists.
Some of the best work of local choruses was preserved on CD this year. VocalEssence premiered and recorded Carol Barnett's amazing "The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass." And Rose Ensemble's "Hawai'i Revealed: Music from the Soul of the Hawaiian Saga" unearthed music that proved revelatory.
William Randall Beard is a Minneapolis writer.
