Opera Athena

Opera Athena Planting the olive trees of operatic dreams one little baby seed at a time. Serving the Greater Twin Cities area.

Congrats to and for performing Sesto and Vitellia to perfection today at the MN opera center! 👏 🎶
11/23/2025

Congrats to and for performing Sesto and Vitellia to perfection today at the MN opera center! 👏 🎶

THANK YOU to everyone who came to The Miller’s Daughter last weekend! 💚 A show is never complete without an audience, an...
09/18/2025

THANK YOU to everyone who came to The Miller’s Daughter last weekend! 💚 A show is never complete without an audience, and ours were amazing.

Did you like what you saw? Do you want to see more art like this in Minnesota?

Then DONATE to Opera Athena by clicking the link below!
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Support art in Minnesota. Support opera. Support music that makes you feel deeply. We need it now more than ever.

Stage director:
Music director/pianist:
Stage manager:
Photographer:

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Victoria Erickson is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

It’s not too late to come to The Miller’s Daughter! Meet our last Brookie, 🩵Friday, 9/12 @ 7:30 pm: Urness Recital Hall...
09/12/2025

It’s not too late to come to The Miller’s Daughter! Meet our last Brookie, 🩵

Friday, 9/12 @ 7:30 pm:
Urness Recital Hall, St. Olaf College, Northfield
Buy tickets: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/opera-athena/688e2c6ee529ea5189b1bf67

Saturday, 9/13 @ 7:00 pm:
Trinity Lutheran Church, FREE, no tickets necessary

Stefanie Margaret Tranchida is a full lyric soprano originally from metro Detroit, now based in Rochester, Minnesota, where she draws on her bel canto training from the Conservatorio G. Tartini in Trieste, Italy, where she earned her Master’s Degree in Music Education with a focus in voice and choral conducting. Recent soprano solo credits include Rochester Pops Orchestra’s Journey to Ireland, Thompon’s The Peaceable Kingdom, Handel’s Messiah, and Rutter’s Requiem with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Austin MN Symphony Orchestra, respectively. Stefanie enjoys performing in both opera and musical theatre with recent roles including Puccini’s Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with the Hometown Opera Company, Nicola in Kinky Boots, and Eamon (Girl US) in Once with Calliope Theatre Company. In addition to her work as a performer, Stefanie is an experienced vocal director—recent credits include Newsies, Anastasia, and upcoming Frozen with the Rochester Civic Theatre. She serves as the Artistic Director of Rochester’s Hometown Opera Company and works as Adjunct Professor of Voice at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

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Victoria Erickson is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Let’s wish the cast, orchestra, and crew a fabulous opening night!! Don’t miss out on this special show-Friday, 9/12 @ 7...
09/12/2025

Let’s wish the cast, orchestra, and crew a fabulous opening night!!

Don’t miss out on this special show-

Friday, 9/12 @ 7:30 pm:
Urness Recital Hall, St. Olaf College, Northfield
Buy tickets: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/opera-athena/688e2c6ee529ea5189b1bf67

Saturday, 9/13 @ 7:00 pm:
Trinity Lutheran Church, FREE, no tickets necessary

A familiar face from Green Thumbed returns to stage manage The Miller’s Daughter— welcome back, 🩵Friday, 9/12 @ 7:30 pm...
09/11/2025

A familiar face from Green Thumbed returns to stage manage The Miller’s Daughter— welcome back, 🩵

Friday, 9/12 @ 7:30 pm:
Urness Recital Hall, St. Olaf College, Northfield
Buy tickets: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/opera-athena/688e2c6ee529ea5189b1bf67

Saturday, 9/13 @ 7:00 pm:
Trinity Lutheran Church, FREE, no tickets necessary

Sage McVay is delighted to be working with OPERA ATHENA on THE MILLER’S DAUGHTER. They have previously worked with OPERA ATHENA on
GREEN THUMBED, and worked at CEDAR RAPIDS OPERA on TOSCA. They helped organize the WISCONSIN HIGH SCHOOL THEATER FEST 2024. They had the wonderful opportunity of traveling to Ireland and stage managing the original show
MEMENTO MORI, and was hired by UWM to stage manage LE NOZZE DE FIGARO, and is in their last semester at UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE getting a degree in Theatrical Stage Management. They want to thank their family, partner, friends, and mentor for their undying support of their pursuit of their career.

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Victoria Erickson is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

World-class cellist Julie Sturm returns as the cellist for our production of The Miller’s Daughter, and we are so lucky ...
09/11/2025

World-class cellist Julie Sturm returns as the cellist for our production of The Miller’s Daughter, and we are so lucky to have her!

Friday, 9/12 @ 7:30 pm:
Urness Recital Hall, St. Olaf College, Northfield
Buy tickets: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/opera-athena/688e2c6ee529ea5189b1bf67

Saturday, 9/13 @ 7:00 pm:
Trinity Lutheran Church, FREE, no tickets necessary

Julie Sturm joined the music theory faculty of the Department of Music at Iowa State University in 2010. Dr. Sturm is a Fulbright scholar, studying German Harmonielehre (instructional texts in music theory) from 1990-91. Her PhD in music theory is from the University of Arizona.

As a cellist with international experience including concertos, recitals and orchestral performances, Julie also holds degrees in cello performance from the San Francisco Conservatory and Indiana University. Among her many and varied performance credentials, she has collaborated with the Munich Philharmonic, has toured Israel, Germany and the Canary Islands with Orchester der Nationen, has been the soloist in Dvorak’s cello concerto in Taejon, South Korea, and has appeared as a recitalist in Mexico City, Berlin, Munich, Passau, Los Angeles and Boston, in addition to her more recent appearances in the cities of Iowa.

Dr. Sturm has held the principal cello chair of the Des Moines Symphony since 1998, during which time she has also held professorships at Drake University, Grinnell College where she has taught cello, chamber music and music theory. Prior to moving her career to Iowa, Julie directed the chamber music and theory programs at The Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts.

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Victoria Erickson is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Introducing our fabulous violinist, Jonathan Sturm! The Des Moines Symphony concertmaster played the premiere of the ope...
09/10/2025

Introducing our fabulous violinist, Jonathan Sturm! The Des Moines Symphony concertmaster played the premiere of the opera at ISU and is truly inimitable.

Friday, 9/12 @ 7:30 pm:
Urness Recital Hall, St. Olaf College, Northfield
Buy tickets: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/opera-athena/688e2c6ee529ea5189b1bf67

Saturday, 9/13 @ 7:00 pm:
Trinity Lutheran Church, FREE, no tickets necessary

Jonathan Sturm has been concertmaster of the Des Moines Symphony since 1991. He is the longest-serving concertmaster in the orchestra’s history, and has appeared as a soloist with the orchestra eleven times. He previously served as the concertmaster of the Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic. Jonathan is, additionally, a world-touring violist, and for 19 years he performed as violist in the Ames Piano Quartet with concerts in Russia, Cuba, South Africa, and across the United States and Canada. With them, he was heard on St. Paul Sunday and Performance Todayradio broadcasts, and recorded 11 compact discs on labels including Dorian, Sono Luminus, Fleur de Son, New Focus, Cesky, and Albany. His audio/video project entitled Fire and Romance—on which he arranged, conducted, performed, produced, and edited solo and accompanied violin repertoire—was a silver medal winner in the Global Music Awards in 2014. Interested listeners may hear him on YouTube by searching “Jonathan Sturm violin.” In 2022 he was awarded a Morrill Professorship in Music, Iowa State University’s highest honor for excellence in teaching, research and service, capping a distinguished 36-year career in higher education.

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Victoria Erickson is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Thanks to for inviting some of our artists to perform this morning as part of our outreach initiative! We were glad to ...
09/09/2025

Thanks to for inviting some of our artists to perform this morning as part of our outreach initiative! We were glad to share tunes from the show and golden age favorites with the community. 🩵

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Victoria Erickson is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Promo for The Miller’s Daughter will air on KYMN-AM (Northfield) this Thursday 9/11 at the during their 5-minute news up...
09/09/2025

Promo for The Miller’s Daughter will air on KYMN-AM (Northfield) this Thursday 9/11 at the during their 5-minute news update at the following times:

6 am
7 am
8:30 am
12 pm
3 pm
5 pm

Can’t tune in to 95.1 FM or 1080 AM live? It’ll also be on their website: https://kymnradio.net

Meet soprano Victoria Erickson, reprising her role as The Daughter! 💚 By the way…it’s the week of the show! Have you got...
09/08/2025

Meet soprano Victoria Erickson, reprising her role as The Daughter! đź’š

By the way…it’s the week of the show! Have you gotten your tickets yet? 🎫

Friday, 9/12 @ 7:30 pm:
Urness Recital Hall, St. Olaf College, Northfield
Buy tickets: https://www.onthestage.tickets/show/opera-athena/688e2c6ee529ea5189b1bf67

Saturday, 9/13 @ 7:00 pm:
Trinity Lutheran Church, FREE, no tickets necessary

Praised for her “beautifully ruby-throated quality” (Classical Voice North Carolina) and her “pointed wit and sparkling tone wielded with comedic potency” (Voix des Arts), Minnesota native Victoria Erickson is a uniquely promising and vibrant soprano. Recent roles include Nella in Gianni Schicchi (Hometown Opera), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Off-Brand Opera), Quinn in Alice Tierney (Opera Reading Project), and Juliette in the world premiere of The Eleanors (Savannah VOICE Festival.) As a champion of new works, Erickson sang the title role in the world premiere and Minnesota premiere of The Miller’s Daughter, a new opera reframing Schubert’s classic Die schöne Müllerin (Iowa State University, Opera Athena).

Selected performances include the title role in the world premiere of Harmony (Seagle Festival), Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites (Saltworks Opera), Liù in Turandot (North Carolina Summer Opera), Alice Ford in Falstaff and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (UNCG Opera Theatre), Hedy LaRue in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Rapunzel in Into the Woods (College Light Opera Company). She also toured Madagascar and France as a featured artist with Really Spicy Opera.

In addition to her stage capabilities, Ms. Erickson received a Respekt und Wertschätzung Grant from the DAAD-Stiftung to perform and research as a Visiting Fellow at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany, after which she served as an artist-in-residence in the collaboration between the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and Really Spicy Opera. For more information, visit victoriaericksonsoprano.com.

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