Barihunks Andrew Garland and Craig Irvin in Bolcom world premiere

Craig Irvin and Andrew Garland

Minnesota Opera is presenting the world premiere of William Bolcom's Dinner at Eight as part of their New Works Initiative. The initiative was launched in 2008 with a goal of invigorating the opera repertoire with an infusion of new and contemporary works. The opera, which has a libretto by Mark Campbell is based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber. It will have its world premiere on Saturday, March 11, 2017.

Dinner at Eight caught our eye as it has six baritones and basses in the cast, including two of our regularly featured barihunks, Andrew Garland and Craig Irvin. They'll be joined by baritone Stephen Powell, soprano Brenda Harris, soprano Susannh Biller, tenor Richard Troxell, mezzo-soprano Adriana Zabala, soprano Siena Forest, bass Benjamin Sieverding, baritone Thomas Glass II, baritone William Lee Bryan, mezzo-soprano Nadia Fayad, soprano Alexandra Razskazoff and soprano Mary Evelyn Hangley.

The opera is set in Manhattan during the Great Depression and centers on the tension between a husband coping with financial problems and his wife who is planning an elaborate dinner party for visiting British nobility.