MNOP+ PERFORMANCES
Deepen your connection to opera throughout the 2026-2027 Season.
A series of performances that bring audiences and artists closer together through personal, artist-curated concert experiences in the intimacy of the Luminary Arts Center.
Saturday, January 16, 2027 at 7pm
Argento in Song: Miss Manners On Music & Casa Guidi with Abi Levis and Peter Walsh
Saturday, February 13, 2027 at 7pm
Under Midwestern Skies: Argento & His Students with MN Opera Chorus and Celeste Marie Johnson
Saturday, March 27, 2027 at 7pm
Canciones argentinas y mexicanas: Octavio Moreno sings Guastavino & Grever with Octavio Moreno and Mario Antonio Marra
Saturday, April 10, 2027 at 7pm
The Art of the Chanteuse: Jazz Night @ MN Opera with Alicia Gianni, Kelley Kimball, and Joseph Li
Location
Luminary Arts Center
700 North 1st St
Minneapolis, MN
Presented by
ARTISTS
Learn MoreUPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Argento in Song:
Miss Manners On Music & Casa Guidi
Abi Levis & Peter Walsh
Saturday, January 16th, 2027
7pm, Luminary Arts Center
Composer Dominick Argento co-founded the Center Opera Company in 1963, now known as Minnesota Opera. 2027 is the centenary of his birth and Minnesota Opera celebrates his music and legacy.
Mezzo-soprano Abi Levis and pianist Peter Walsh will perform Argento’s timely and hilarious Miss Manners on Music, alongside the virtuosic cycle Casa Guidi. They will also perform a set of French songs by Gounod, Poulenc, and Bizet, and a set of English songs by Bolcom, Barab, Berg, and New Works Initiative composer B.E. Boykin.
Under Midwestern Skies: Argento & His Students
MN Opera Chorus & Celeste Marie Johnson
Saturday, February 13th, 2027
7pm, Luminary Arts Center
Minnesota Opera continues to celebrate the music of Dominick Argento at the centenary of his birth and his legacy both as a co-founder of the Center Opera Company in 1963, now known as Minnesota Opera, and educator for the next generation of composers.
A prolific composer in his own right, Argento’s musical influence extends beyond his own works to those of his students, many of whom also chose to make Minnesota their home. Led by Chorus Director Celeste Marie Johnson, the Minnesota Opera Chorus celebrates their compositions alongside Argento’s, featuring music by Libby Larsen, David Evan Thomas, Juliana Hall, and Stephen Paulus. Many of the poets on the program are also native Minnesotans, and their words help paint the landscape that holds a unique place in these composers’ hearts.
Canciones argentinas y mexicanas: Octavio Moreno sings Guastavino & Grever
Octavio Moreno & Mario Antonio Marra
Saturday, March 27th, 2027
7pm, Luminary Arts Center
Baritone Octavio Moreno (Cruzar la Cara de la Luna) will perform a specially curated concert of songs by Carlos Guastavino and María Grever with Mario Antonio Marra (Head of Music, Director of Resident Artist Program) at the piano.
Argentine composer Carlos Guastavino wrote around 150 songs for voice and piano, each reflecting his love of popular musical idioms and folksong and dances. While he wrote instrumental music extensively, singers in particular were drawn to his melodic writing and the heart so readily accessible in his music.
Mexican composer María Grever wrote over 800 songs, many of which became popular in both Latin America and the United States, and many of which marry her love of American jazz with Mexico’s rich musical traditions. Her 1934 hit “Cuando vuelva a tu lado” (later transliterated to “What a difference a day makes”) enshrined her artistic legacy and her compositions have been performed by vocal legends ranging from Enrico Caruso and Frank Sinatra to Aretha Franklin and Gloria Estefan.
The Art of the Chanteuse:
Jazz Night
@ MN Opera
Alicia Gianni, Kelley Kimball & Joseph Li
Saturday, April 10, 2027
7pm, Luminary Arts Center
Sopranos Alicia Gianni & Kelley Kimball reunite with pianist and Minnesota Opera VP, Artistic Joseph Li for an evening of jazz and cabaret songs for the final MNOP+ concert of the 2026-2027 season, singing everything from original tunes by Alicia Gianni to beloved standards by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and many others.
Joseph Li first met sopranos Alicia Gianni and Kelley Kimball as professional opera singers in Houston, TX – only later to discover a decades-long bond over applying their years of classical training to performing dozens of jazz and cabaret music concerts together at venues ranging from Houston Grand Opera and MATCH Houston to Sugar Hill Studios and Ovations Nightclub.