Opera Reading Project

Opera Reading Project Opera Reading Project is a Minnesota-based professional career development tool for singers.

Season 8 was incredible! So many firsts for ORP — including staged scenes, orchestra accompaniment, and table reads.Than...
06/01/2026

Season 8 was incredible! So many firsts for ORP — including staged scenes, orchestra accompaniment, and table reads.

Thank you for attending, and thank you to our performers for sharing unforgettable moments from "La Clemenza di Tito," "Hamlet," "Der Wald," "Peter Grimes," "Tosca," and "Hydrogen Jukebox."

Join our mailing list and see what's happening in the future: tinyurl.com/ORPmailinglist

We got into character, built worlds together, and so much more! Thanks to everyone who attended our Improv for Opera ser...
05/28/2026

We got into character, built worlds together, and so much more! Thanks to everyone who attended our Improv for Opera series — and thanks especially to our outstanding teacher Ashawnti Sakina Ford!

Join the mailing list and find your next opportunity to grow as a performer with ORP: tinyurl.com/ORPmailinglist

Develop as a performer with our final improv for opera class INTRO TO ENSEMBLE SCENES. Learn how to tell a unified story...
05/20/2026

Develop as a performer with our final improv for opera class INTRO TO ENSEMBLE SCENES. Learn how to tell a unified story with a group, no singing required!

🗓️: Monday, May 25 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
📍: Minnesota Opera Center, 620 N 1st St.
🎟️: tinyurl.com/operaimprov
💲: $30

About: This is offered as part of ORP’s mission to provide vocal artists with holistic educational experiences that focus on storytelling and fostering human connection. As such, these classes will NOT INVOLVE SINGING and will only focus on acting improvisation. Why no singing? While usually absent from a traditional operatic education, development of this kind can often have a profound effect on all major aspects of a singer’s work, including vocal technique. Each class is beginner-friendly and will have a special focus.

Instructor: Ashawnti Sakina Ford’s work has been seen on such notable stages including: Children’s Theatre Company, the Jungle Theater, Penumbra Theatre, History Theatre, and Pillsbury House and Theatre. She has taught Improv and theatre near and far, spanning her hometown Minneapolis to as far as Liberia, Germany, Norway, Holland, and more.

Join us on May 18 for improv exercises in WORLD BUILDING! Learn how to focus as a performer and create a bigger world on...
05/17/2026

Join us on May 18 for improv exercises in WORLD BUILDING! Learn how to focus as a performer and create a bigger world on the stage for your audience. All classes remaining in the series are just $30 each: tinyurl.com/operaimprov

➡️ May 18: Intro to World Building — Focusing on how to use the stage so your audience can imagine a bigger world.
➡️ TBD (being rescheduled): Intro to Ensemble Scenes — Focusing on how the whole group can tell a unified story.

About: This is offered as part of ORP’s mission to provide vocal artists with holistic educational experiences that focus on storytelling and fostering human connection. As such, these classes will NOT INVOLVE SINGING and will only focus on acting improvisation. Why no singing? While usually absent from a traditional operatic education, development of this kind can often have a profound effect on all major aspects of a singer’s work, including vocal technique. Each class is beginner-friendly and will have a special focus. Instructor: Ashawnti Sakina Ford’s work has been seen on such notable stages including: Children’s Theatre Company, the Jungle Theater, Penumbra Theatre, History Theatre, and Pillsbury House and Theatre. She has taught Improv and theatre near and far, spanning her hometown Minneapolis to as far as Liberia, Germany, Norway, Holland, and more.

2️⃣ classes remain! On May 18 we'll learn about WORLD BUILDING and how to focus as a performer and create a bigger world...
05/08/2026

2️⃣ classes remain! On May 18 we'll learn about WORLD BUILDING and how to focus as a performer and create a bigger world on the stage for your audience. You won't want to miss it! All classes remaining in the series are just $30 each: tinyurl.com/operaimprov

➡️ May 18: Intro to World Building — Focusing on how to use the stage so your audience can imagine a bigger world.
➡️TBD (being rescheduled): Intro to Ensemble Scenes — Focusing on how the whole group can tell a unified story.

About: This is offered as part of ORP’s mission to provide vocal artists with holistic educational experiences that focus on storytelling and fostering human connection. As such, these classes will NOT INVOLVE SINGING and will only focus on acting improvisation. Why no singing? While usually absent from a traditional operatic education, development of this kind can often have a profound effect on all major aspects of a singer’s work, including vocal technique. Each class is beginner-friendly and will have a special focus. Instructor: Ashawnti Sakina Ford’s work has been seen on such notable stages including: Children’s Theatre Company, the Jungle Theater, Penumbra Theatre, History Theatre, and Pillsbury House and Theatre. She has taught Improv and theatre near and far, spanning her hometown Minneapolis to as far as Liberia, Germany, Norway, Holland, and more

What an incredible night of music 💕 Thanks to all who attended "Hydrogen Jukebox" — let's stay in touch! tinyurl.com/ORP...
04/28/2026

What an incredible night of music 💕

Thanks to all who attended "Hydrogen Jukebox" — let's stay in touch! tinyurl.com/ORPmailinglist

We've had such a good time during rehearsals, it's going to be tough to say goodbye to this squad after tonight! See you...
04/27/2026

We've had such a good time during rehearsals, it's going to be tough to say goodbye to this squad after tonight! See you all tonight at the Frey Theater in St. Paul for the MN premiere of Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg's "Hydrogen Jukebox!"

🎟️: https://oshag.stkate.edu/event/opera-reading-project-presents-hydrogen-jukebox/frey-theater/
🗓️: Monday, April 27, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
📍: The Frey Theater at St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, MN

Tickets are available through The O’Shaughnessy ticket office by calling 651-690, visit oshag.stakate.edu, or in person at 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN.

Ticket prices are subject to a +2.75 online Etix fee. Tickets are $10 – $40 if booked directly through the Ticket Office in person or by phone at: 651-690-6700. Credit card transactions will also be charged a 3% processing fee. See Ticket Office information here. This event is General Admission seating and in The O’Shaughnessy’s Frey Theater. For accessibility information please click here: https://oshag.stkate.edu/plan-your-visit/accessibility/

MEET THE CAST OF "HYDROGEN JUKEBOX"🎶: Lara Bolton (General & Artistic Director)🎟️: https://oshag.stkate.edu/event/opera-...
04/27/2026

MEET THE CAST OF "HYDROGEN JUKEBOX"
🎶: Lara Bolton (General & Artistic Director)
🎟️: https://oshag.stkate.edu/event/opera-reading-project-presents-hydrogen-jukebox/frey-theater/
🗓️: Monday, April 27 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
📍: The Frey Theater at St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, MN

Lara Bolton is a dynamic and multi-faceted keyboardist, vocal coach, conductor, arranger, and recording artist. She is the General & Artistic Director of the Opera Reading Project and the Interim Professor of Collaborative Piano and Coaching at the University of Minnesota. Her work extends beyond the Twin Cities, with operatic engagements in San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Minnesota Opera, San Diego Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Quad Cities Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, Out of the Box Opera, West Bay Opera, Opera Colorado, and Amarillo Opera. Lara 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. In addition to classical music, she also regularly collaborates as a rock keyboardist and arranges and co-creates various conceptual and genre-bending fusion projects. Her most recent fusion project was music directing “Macbeth and the Weïrd Sisters,” a conceptual piece centering the opera “Macbeth” by Giuseppi Verdi.

Tickets are available through The O'Shaughnessy ticket office by calling 651-690, visit oshag.stakate.edu, or in person at 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN.

Each rehearsal has deepened our connection to this poignant and visceral music — can't wait for our one-night-only perf...
04/27/2026

Each rehearsal has deepened our connection to this poignant and visceral music — can't wait for our one-night-only performance tomorrow. You won't want to miss the Twin Cities premiere of "Hydrogen Jukebox!"

🎟️: https://oshag.stkate.edu/event/opera-reading-project-presents-hydrogen-jukebox/frey-theater/
🗓️: Monday, April 27, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
📍: The Frey Theater at St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, MN

Tickets are available through The O’Shaughnessy ticket office by calling 651-690, visit oshag.stakate.edu, or in person at 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN.

Ticket prices are subject to a +2.75 online Etix fee. Tickets are $10 – $40 if booked directly through the Ticket Office in person or by phone at: 651-690-6700. Credit card transactions will also be charged a 3% processing fee. See Ticket Office information here. This event is General Admission seating and in The O’Shaughnessy’s Frey Theater. For accessibility information please click here: https://oshag.stkate.edu/plan-your-visit/accessibility/

MEET THE CAST OF "HYDROGEN JUKEBOX"🎶: Wesley Frye (Synthesizer)🎟️: https://oshag.stkate.edu/event/opera-reading-project-...
04/26/2026

MEET THE CAST OF "HYDROGEN JUKEBOX"
🎶: Wesley Frye (Synthesizer)
🎟️: https://oshag.stkate.edu/event/opera-reading-project-presents-hydrogen-jukebox/frey-theater/
🗓️: Monday, April 27 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
📍: The Frey Theater at St. Catherine University, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, MN

Wesley Frye an in-demand music director, collaborative pianist, singer, and vocal coach throughout the Twin Cities and beyond. He has worked in these capacities with Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Theatre Latté Da, History Theatre, and Opera Naples, to name a few. Recent theatre credits include: "Strange Heart" (Open Eye Theatre); "I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change" (Chameleon Theatre); "My Fair Lady," "Passion," "Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella" (Theater Latté Da); "Big Fish" (Lyric Arts); and "Goosebumps: The Musical" (Park Square Theatre). Upcoming projects include "A Chorus Line" (Park Square Theatre) and "The Prom" (Lyric Arts).

Tickets are available through The O'Shaughnessy ticket office by calling 651-690, visit oshag.stakate.edu, or in person at 2004 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, MN.

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620 N 1st St
Minneapolis, MN
55401

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