Thirteenth Annual
Founders Day Dinner

Saturday 10 September 2011
5 :00 – 9:00 PM

Germanic – American Institute
301 Summit Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Click >HERE< for a map.

Please join us for a spectacular evening of Wagner's music with our star tenor Dennis Petersen who graciously agreed to sing for us again. Dennis just returned from singing with the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv and now is at the Bard Festival in up state New York. Along with Dennis, we will be hearing the fine tenor Matt O’Neill and both will be accompanied by the gifted pianist Lara Bolton. The three will demonstrate various leitmotifs before each piece, using arias and a few duets with Lara providing the explanations.

Program

• 5:00 to 5:30 - “Why Wagner set out to reform Germany” discussion led by Dr. David Cline
• 5:30 to 6:00 - Wagner Society Business meeting
• 6:00 to 6:30 -Social time with hors d’ouevres and sparkling wine
• 6:30 to 7:30 - Dennis Petersen, Matt O'Neill and Lara Bolton (Repertoire and Biographies are Below)
• 7:30 to 9:00 - Dinner, dessert, and socializing
  
  

Dinner Menu

Chilled cucumber soup with herbs and sour cream

Choice of Main Entree:

Almond/herb crusted salmon filet, salsa verde sauce, barley salad and fresh asparagus
OR
A vegetarian dish of potato gnocchi with sautéed kale and lemon zest and grape tomatoes

Dessert

Red and white wine selection (All wines are compliments of Udo Heinz Consult)

SPECIAL DISCOUNT!
Wagner Society and GAI Members –bring your friends and they pay MEMBER PRICE!!!

Cost: $60 Current RWSUM and GAI Members; $80 Non-members

Early Bird Discount - Purchase on or before 19 August 2011 and deduct $15:
$45 Current RWSUM or GAI Members; $65 Non-members

Above prices are inclusive of the entire evening including tax, gratuity, and parking.

All Reservations must be received by 02 September 2011
This is a catered event. Walk-ins cannot be accommodated for the Dinner portion of the evening

Reservations are not accepted by phone. Tickets may be purchased online by clicking on "Buy Tickets" below or by mailing a check with choice of Entree to

The Richard Wagner Society of the Upper Midwest
P. O. Box 3804
Minneapolis MN 55403

The list of repertoire is:

Erik's aria and Der Steuermann's aria from Der Fliegende Holländer

Dir tone Lob and the Pilgrim's Chorus from Tannhäuser

In fernem Land and Mein lieber Schwan from Lohengrin

Wie sie selig and the Sheperd's song from Tristan und Isolde

The Prize Song and David and Walter duet from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

First act finale of Siegfried with Mime and Siegfried and various arias from Der Ring des Nibelungen

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DENNIS PETERSEN

A performer of immense talent and style, Dennis Petersen's extensive career includes regular guest artist performances with numerous major opera houses and regional theaters, including Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Opera Pacific, Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Spoleto Festivals and Saito Kinen Festivals.

Through his innate sense of style, command of languages and superior acting abilities, tenor Dennis Petersen has distinguished himself in a variety of operatic roles, in addition to his appearances in concerts, recitals and oratorio performances. A partial list of conductors Mr. Petersen has sung with include James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Edo de Waart, Zubin Mehta, James Conlon, George Manahan, Andrew Davis, David Zinman, Mario Bernard, and Marco Armiliato.

Dennis just sang in Boris Gudunov and Tosca at the Met in 2010-11, and The Magic Flute at Israli Opera in May 2011. Other recent seasons saw him returning to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for The Magic Flute, Die Fledermaus and Dialogues of the Carmelites;   San Francisco Opera for Die Fledermaus and the new production of La Forza del Destino; Metropolitan Opera for Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa, and revivals of The Gambler and War and Peace. With Spoleto Festival USA he appeared in the new productions of Mahagonny and 2008’s Amistad.  Dennis' performance as Herod in the Minnesota Opera production of Salome in April 2010 brought rave reviews!

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MATTHEW O’NEILL

Tenor Matthey O'Neill is a former Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera. Since making his debut in 2006 he has returned for many subsequent Company productions including The Tannhäuser, Madama Butterfly, Lucia di Lammermoor, Boris Godunov, Il TabarroMakropoulos Case, Tristan und Isolde, Carmen, Manon Lescaut, Der Rosenkavalier,, and La Fanciulla del West.

The tenor’s recent engagements have included creating the role of Flask in Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick with the Dallas Opera; his debut at the Saito Kinen Festival for Salome; and a return to Los Angeles Opera for Il Turco in Italia. He is former regional finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. O’Neill holds a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in guitar from the University of Evansville.

A former first prize winner of the Schubert Club guitar competition, he was a national finalist in the American String Teachers Association guitar competition.

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LARA BOLTON

Lara Bolton is a freelance pianist and coach. She has worked in many opera houses across the country, including San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, San Diego Opera, Seattle Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater.

She is a former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and has been a Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist for the Washington National Opera. She also helped develop a Young Artist Program for Opera Santa Barbara.

Ms Bolton has been a pianist for the Merola Opera Program, Music Academy of the West, Brevard Music Festival, and Interlochen Arts Camp. After attending Interlochen Arts Academy for high school, she received a Bachelor of Music Theory degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the University of Maryland-College Park.

Here in the Twin Cities, when she’s not playing with her two young sons, Ms Bolton accompanies recitals at the MacPhail Center for Music and maintains a private coaching studio from her home in St. Paul.