Minnesota Opera

Today at 2 p.m., Minnesota Boychoir will perform at the MPR booth at the State Fair, located near the corner of Judson and Nelson. According to its website, the Minnesota Boychoir is the oldest boy choir in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, having been founded in 1962.

The Minnesota State Fair is almost here! The State Fair runs from Aug. 22-Sept. 2, and each day Classical MPR will host performances by classical music ensembles at our State Fair booth.

Classical MPR is now in its fourth year of welcoming Artists-in-Residence to schools throughout Minnesota. One of this year's featured artists is The Summit Hill Brass Quintet.

Tune into Classical MPR on Wednesday, February 27 at 8 p.m. to hear Minnesota Opera's staging of Massenet's Werther with the pairing of international opera stars James Valenti and Roxana Constantinescu.

Kevin Puts won the Pulitzer Prize for music with Silent Night, which received its world premiere by the Minnesota Opera in St. Paul. You can hear it on air Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. on Classical MPR.

We recently caught up with former Minnesota Varsity Featured and Showcase Artists, including singer Briana Moynihan: "Before Varsity, I had only thought of myself as a student studying music."

Everyday of this year's Minnesota State Fair -- August 23-September 3 -- MPR will host live broadcasts and performances by classical music ensembles. Friday, Aug. 31 is MPR Day at the Fair. Come enjoy a variety of events at the Carousel Park Stage, including host John Birge and Classical MPR's VocalEssence.

With guest conductor, Clinton Smith, the St Cloud Symphony Orchestra closed its season on May 12 with a spectacular concert titled: A Night at the Opera. One of the highlights of the performance was George Bizet's Carmen Suite No. 1. That performance (with a bonus: the Flower Duet from Delibes' Lakme) is in this week's Regional Spotlight.

Mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala has a voice to die for and she can also play any part she's asked to on stage. This weekend, she takes on a new role in the University of Minnesota Opera Theater's production of "Parables" from the Grammy Award winning team of Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein.

Kevin Puts has won the Pulitizer Prize for music with Silent Night, his first opera. The work received its world premiere in November in at Minnesota Opera in St. Paul.