A world premiere from the team that created "The Grapes of Wrath" highlights the Minnesota Opera's 2010-11 season, just announced. Composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Michael Korie will unveil "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" on April, 16, 2011, as part of the company's New Works Initiative. Director Eric Simonson, who also staged "Grapes" in 2007, will return, as will singers Kelly Kaduce and Jesse Blumberg. The opera is based on Giorgio Bassani's novel (made into a movie in 1970) about relationships among Italian Jews during the Fascist era.

The season opens Sept. 25 with "Orpheus and Eurydice," Cristoph Gluck's 18th-century meditation on the Greek myth. Countertenor David Daniels makes his Minnesota debut with Susanna Phillips, who sang in "The Fortunes of King Croesus" two seasons ago. Conductor Harry Bicket returns to lead the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

On Oct. 30, Romanian mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu makes her American debut opposite tenor John Tessier in Rossini's "Cinderella." Doug Varone, who staged last season's "Faust," returns to direct, with conductor Christopher Franklin making his Minnesota debut.

Soprano Brenda Harris, who opened this weekend singing Queen Elizabeth I in "Roberto Devereux" will return next January for the second installment of Donizetti's Tudor trilogy, "Mary Stuart." Judith Howarth will sing the Queen of Scots, and tenor Eric Cutler makes his Minnesota debut as Leicester, the third member of a love triangle. Kevin Newbury, who directed "Devereux," again is slated for this production, opening Jan. 29, 2011.

Verdi's "La Traviata" provides the most familiar title of the company's season, opening March 5. Soprano Elizabeth Futral returns to Minnesota to sing Violetta in the famous love story of a courtesan who falls for a younger man. Conductor Michael Christie makes his Minnesota debut.

Then comes the new work by Gordon and Korie. This is the first commission of the New Works Initiative, a seven-year program started in 2008 to bring new and rarely produced recent works to the stage. "The Adventures of Pinocchio" last season and "Casanova's Homecoming" by Dominick Argento were the first two installments. Artistic director Dale Johnson said in 2008 that "Grapes of Wrath" was the impetus for the initiative.

More information at 612-333-6669 or www.mnopera.org.

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299