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Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel mar 19, 20, 21, 22 Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel with the Minnesota Orchestra Sarah Hicks, conductor The Great American Musical Thursday, March 19, 2015, 11 am Friday, March 20, 2015, 8 pm Saturday, March 21, 2015, 8 pm Sunday, March 22, 2015, 2 pm Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II Orchestra Hall Orchestra Hall Orchestra Hall Orchestra Hall Carousel, complete semi-staged musical ca. 120’ Carousel is performed with one 20-minute intermission. Billy Bigelow Gabriel Preisser Julie Jordan Sarah Lawrence Carrie Pipperidge Enoch Snow Nettie Fowler Kathleen Humphrey Jigger Craigin Riley McNutt Louise Bigelow Penelope Freeh Mr. Bascombe/Starkeeper/Dr. Seldon Mrs. Mullin Louise’s Friend Kersten Rodau Paul R. Coate Gary Briggle Vera Mariner Matthew Keefe Ensemble Mathias Anderson | Nathan Bird | Joe Botten | Meredith Cain | Jennifer Eckes | Phil Gonzales Emily Gunyou Halaas | Reid Harmsen | Rachael Hudson | Ty Hudson | Amanda Jenkins Beth Leona King | David Kozisek | Lauri Kraft | Timothy Kuehl | Lars Lee Jennifer Maren | Erik Pearson | Jill Sandager | Quinn Shadko Robert Neu, stage director | Penelope Freeh, choreographer Katie Hawkinson, stage manager | Samantha Fromm Haddow, costume designer Ann Gumpper, set designer | Deborah Ervin, assistant stage manager Stephanie Mueller, costume assistant | Cal Metts, props | Andy Fleser, rehearsal accompanist Minnesota Orchestra concerts are broadcast live on Friday evenings on stations of Minnesota Public Radio, including KSJN 99.5 FM in the Twin Cities. M ARCH / APRI L 2015 M I NNES O TA O RCHEST R A 27 mar 19, 20, 21, 22 Sarah Hicks, conductor Profile appears on page 25. CAST Gabriel Preisser, Billy Bigelow Gabriel Preisser has appeared with companies and orchestras across the U.S. He last performed with the Minnesota Orchestra in 2014, as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, and in 2012 as Marullo in Rigoletto. Recent, upcoming: He created the role of Lieutenant Gordon in the Minnesota Opera’s world premiere of Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer-winning Silent Night, earning acclaim then and in subsequent performances with Opera Philadelphia and Cincinnati Opera. In future engagements he plays Escamillo in Carmen with Lyric Opera of the North, Figaro in The Barber of Seville with St. Petersburg Opera, Farmer Bean in Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox with San Antonio Opera and Odyssey Opera in Boston, Sciarrone in Tosca with the Orlando Philharmonic, and Angelotti/ Jailor in Tosca with the Colorado Symphony. More: gabrielpreisser.com. Artists Sarah Lawrence, Julie Jordan Soprano Sarah Lawrence, who appeared as Adele in the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2014 production of Die Fledermaus, has also performed leading roles in productions ranging from Handel’s Semele and Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with Lyric Opera of the North to Bernstein’s Wonderful Town with Skylark Opera. Recent, upcoming: Lawrence has portrayed a broad spectrum of roles on the stages of the Duluth Playhouse, Opera Omaha, Madison Opera and Light Opera Oklahoma, and with the symphony orchestras of Madison, Omaha, Milwaukee and Boise, among others. Her future engagements include singing in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra and The Music Man at the Guthrie Theater, and, with Andrew Litton and the Colorado Symphony, taking another turn as Adele in Die Fledermaus. More: sarahelawrence.com. Kersten Rodau, Carrie Pipperidge Kersten Rodau returns to Orchestra Hall following her appearances in “Springtime in Paris,” Bernstein’s Mass and Grieg’s Peer Gynt. Most recently she appeared in the Ordway’s production of A Christmas Story, the Musical. Locally: Rodau has performed with area companies including the Guthrie Theater, Park Square Theater, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Jungle Theater, Skylark Opera and Bloomington Civic Theatre, in productions such as Pirates of Penzance, Sweeney Todd, Ragtime, Les Misérables, The Sound of Music, Urinetown, Funny Girl and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. She was also in Nautilus Music Theater’s Ordinary Days, which was recognized at the 2014 Ivey Awards for overall excellence. Paul R. Coate, Enoch Snow Paul R. Coate has appeared in two previous Minnesota Orchestra productions: as Dr. Blind in a Sommerfest 2014 performance of Die Fledermaus and in 2011 as Monostatos in The Magic Flute. He recently played in Children’s Theatre Company productions of Shrek the Musical and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Local, regional: Coate has performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Omaha Symphony Orchestra, Opera Omaha and Skylark Opera, in works ranging from Wonderful Town and The Fantasticks to My Fair Lady and The Tender Land. He has performed a wide range of roles with Park Square Theatre, History Theatre, Theatre Latté Da, Nebraska Shakespeare, Nebraska Repertory Theatre and other companies. More: paulrcoate.com. one-minute note Rodgers and Hammerstein: Carousel Carousel, the second musical from the beloved theatrical tandem of Rodgers and Hammerstein, follows the story of carnival barker Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan, a young millworker, as they meet at a carnival, wed and navigate the joys and sorrows of their new life together. Characters in their orbit include Julie’s friend Carrie Pipperidge and Carrie’s love interest Enoch Snow, Julie’s kind cousin Nettie, the ne’er-do-well Jigger Craigin, a mysterious “Starkeeper” and Louise, a young character critical to the closing scenes. The opening “Carousel Waltz” is among the memorable passages, as are the poignant ballad “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” the immortal romantic duet “If I Loved You” and the show-stopping dance number “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over.” The denouement, both bittersweet and surprising, closes a remarkable piece of American theater that Time magazine named “best musical of the 20th century.” 28 MINN E S O T A O R CH EST RA SHOWC A SE Artists mar 19, 20, 21, 22 Kathleen Humphrey, Nettie Fowler Penelope Freeh, choregrapher, Louise Singer and actress Kathleen Humphrey last performed with the Minnesota Orchestra in the Mozart Requiem, conducted by Osmo Vänskä; she also sang at Orchestra Hall in Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony under the baton of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski in Elegy, the tribute concert presented by the Twin Cities arts community after the September 11 attacks. Minnesota: A highlight of Humphrey’s many Minnesota Opera roles was singing in the world premiere of Doubt, creating the roles of Sister Veronica and Mrs. Shields. She has also appeared with Theatre Latté Da, Skylark Opera, Guthrie Theater, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Children’s Theatre Company, Theatre de la Jeune Lune and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Penelope Freeh is an award-winning dancer and choreographer who has choreographed many Minnesota Orchestra productions over the past 15 years, including La Création du Monde, Carmen, The Firebird, La Traviata and The Rite of Spring. She has twice received both a McKnight Artist Fellowship for Choreographers and a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant, as well as a SAGE award for Outstanding Performer and a McKnight Artist Fellowship for Dancers. Of interest: For 17 years Freeh danced for James Sewell Ballet, where she also held the post of artistic associate for five years. With Jocelyn Hagen she co-created a chamber dance opera, Test Pilot, that premiered on the O’Shaughnessy Women of Substance series. Riley McNutt, Jigger Craigin Gary Briggle, Mr. Bascombe/ Starkeeper/Dr. Seldon Matthew Keefe, Louise’s Friend Gary Briggle, a versatile singer, actor, director and educator, debuted with the Minnesota Orchestra in March 2014, narrating comments of Edward Elgar during a performance of the Enigma Variations. Currently: He recently appeared in productions of The Threepenny Opera at Frank Theater; Winesburg, Ohio at Nautilus Music-Theater; Candide at Skylark Opera; Broadway Songbook and A Christmas Story at the Ordway; and Dead Man Walking at Dayton Opera. He will appear in the Ordway’s upcoming productions of both Damn Yankees and The Pirates of Penzance. Of interest: Briggle has performed or directed with several companies across the country; in academia he has headed opera and musical theater departments. Matthew Keefe has been active in dance for more than 20 years, as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, administrator, production/stage manager, consultant, board member and artistic director. He has been a member of companies including James Sewell Ballet, Louisville Ballet and BalletMet Columbus and has been a guest artist with major opera and dance companies nationwide. He has also choreographed extensively for professional and student ensembles. Non-profit work: He held various leadership positions while serving six years on the board of Dance/USA. In another recent post, as artistic and school director of the Rockford Dance Company, he increased enrollment and created innovative productions. Riley McNutt, now welcomed for his Minnesota Orchestra debut, recently appeared in La Cage Aux Folles at the Bloomington Theatre and Art Center, where he has also been seen as Marius in Les Misérables and as Ernst Ludwig in Cabaret. Previously: McNutt has performed with the Minnesota Opera in The Magic Flute, La Fanciulla del West and the premiere of Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night. His credits also include performances with Skylark Opera and the Ordway Theater in productions such as Candide, Wonderful Town and Beauty and the Beast. M ARCH / APRI L 2015 Vera Mariner, Mrs. Mullin Singer, actor and narrator Vera Mariner has appeared regularly with the Minnesota Orchestra, giving memorable portrayals of the Witch in Hansel and Gretel and appearing in Grieg’s Peer Gynt, Bernstein’s Mass and Candide and other works. She has also performed with major orchestras across the U.S., including those of Boston, Cleveland and Philadelphia. Theater, film: Mariner, a versatile actor, is an active member of the Twin Cities theater community, and has appeared in widely ranging roles with the Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company and many additional companies. In film, she has done both on-camera work and voice-overs. Of interest: Mariner is a nationally recognized photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries and has won awards. M I NNES O TA O RCHEST R A 29 mar 19, 20, 21, 22 ENSEMBLE Mathias Anderson has sung locally at the Guthrie Theater and Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. He has also appeared off-Broadway with the Actors Fund and the Public Theater, on a national tour with the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and on stages in Chicago, Denver and many other cities. Tenor Nathan Bird is a versatile performer, voice teacher and concert producer in the Twin Cities. He has sung with Cantus and the Minnesota Opera and performed at the Guthrie Theater. He sings with the Apollo Male Chorus and teaches at the St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists. Joe Botten, who recently performed in Frank Theatre’s Threepenny Opera, has also appeared locally with the Guthrie Theater, Theatre in the Round, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Theater Latté Da and other companies, in productions ranging from A Christmas Carol to Jerry Springer: The Opera. Meredith Cain has performed at Chautauqua in New York and festivals in Michigan and Virginia, numerous regional venues, and locally with Skylark Opera, Mixed Precipitation and Bedlam Theatre. She was nominated as Outstanding Female Performer at the 2010 Minnesota Fringe Festival. Jennifer Eckes, a Minnesota Opera Chorus member, has performed with Skylark Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, Bloomington Civic Theatre and other companies, in roles including Fantine in Les Misérables and title roles in Gypsy and Evita. She co-wrote and performs in Pop Up Musical at the Plymouth Playhouse. 30 M INN ES O T A O R CH ESTRA Artists Phil Gonzales, a writer, director and performer, recently appeared in the title role of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with Chameleon Theatre Circle. He has directed and co-written shows for the Minnesota Fringe Festival, including 2010’s ROBO-Homa! He will next appear onstage in Gemma Irish’s The White Hot. Amanda Jenkins has appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra in Bernstein’s Mass and as Papagena in Mozart’s Magic Flute. She has also performed with the Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera, Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company and Theatre Latté Da, in works ranging from La Bohème to On the Town. Emily Gunyou Halaas has performed with the Guthrie Theater, Theatre Latté Da and many other companies, including in a co-production of The Deception by Theatre de la Jeune Lune and La Jolla Playhouse. She received the 2009 Emerging Artist IVEY Award and a 2013 IVEY for ensemble work in Clybourne Park. Beth Leona King has performed locally with companies including Skylark Opera, Bloomington Civic Theatre and Lyric Arts, in productions such as Candide, Sunday in the Park with George and Hello Dolly! She holds master’s degrees in vocal performance and in acting from the University of Nebraska– Lincoln. Reid Harmsen has performed with the Children’s Theatre Company, Guthrie Theater, Theater Latté Da and numerous other companies, in productions including Hamlet, Cinderella and Gypsy. This summer he performs at the Ordway in The Broadway Songbook of Rock & Roll, Damn Yankees and Pirates of Penzance. Rachael Hudson, now making her Minnesota Orchestra debut, last appeared in The Laramie Project with Lyric Arts. She has enjoyed playing Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Jenny in The Shape of Things and Annie in Evil Dead: The Musical, and, in her free time, directs theater at Northfield Middle School. Ty Hudson, a regular on Twin Cities stages, has performed with Theatre in the Round, Bloomington Civic Theatre, Lyric Arts and Chameleon Theatre Circle, in productions including Summer and Smoke, Death of a Salesman, The Glass Menagerie, The Laramie Project, Sweeney Todd and Godspell. SHOWC A SE Tenor David Kozisek recently moved here from Washington, D.C., where he appeared frequently at the Kennedy Center with the Washington National Opera, Washington Chorus, Washington Concert Opera, Cathedral Choral Society and National Symphony Orchestra. Last season he sang with VocalEssence and soloed with the Minnesota Oratorio Society. Lauri Kraft has appeared locally with Theater Latté Da and Skylark Opera, in Wonderful Town, Vagabond King, On the Town and other productions, after performing with numerous theaters in the Washington, D.C., and Chicago areas, and touring nationally in A Chorus Line, directed by Baayork Lee. Timothy Kuehl appears regularly with Minneapolis Musical Theatre and Chameleon Theatre Circle, in roles such as Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard, Dr. Parker in BatBoy! The Musical, Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Rochester in Jane Eyre and Jesus in both Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. Artists Lars Lee has performed in The Crucible and A Christmas Carol at Hartford Stage, Connecticut, and in Legally Blonde and Brigadoon at the MacHaydn Theater in New York. He has performed in The Fantasticks at Theater in the Round, and he was a Burning Hill Singer in North Dakota’s Medora Musical. Jennifer Maren has performed with the Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, Skylark Opera and Park Square Theatre, in productions including The Sunshine Boys, Candide and 33 Variations. She studied at St. Olaf College and the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. Erik Pearson last appeared with the Orchestra in 2009 as a soloist in “Bernstein on Broadway” and with the Street Chorus in Bernstein’s Mass. He has played leading roles with the Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, Children’s Theatre Company and other companies; he spends summers with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. Jill Sandager, who has performed solos in the Orchestra’s “Scandinavian Christmas” and “Viva Latino” concerts, has appeared with Theater Latté Da, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Minnesota Opera, Skylark Opera, Great American History Theatre and numerous other companies, as well as with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. PRODUCTION Robert Neu, stage director Robert Neu has directed more than 60 productions of operas, musicals and plays in Minnesota and around the country. Productions he has directed for the Minnesota Orchestra include Peer Gynt, La Traviata, Bernstein’s Mass and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. He recently directed Don Pasquale and The Face on the Barroom Floor for Lyric Opera of the North; Art and Death of a Salesman for Bloomington Civic Theater; Hansel and Gretel for the Colorado Symphony; and On the Town, The Fantasticks and Candide for Skylark Opera. He will next direct Tosca for the Colorado Symphony and Putting It Together for Skylark. Neu, a graduate of the Juilliard School, also teaches master classes and audition techniques for the University of Minnesota’s opera department and is a resident director at Lyric Arts Theater. Katie Hawkinson, stage manager Katie Hawkinson has previously worked with Twin Cities companies including the Ordway Center (Cinderella), Minnesota Opera (Manon Lescaut, Arabella), History Theatre (God Girl, Radio Man, The Incredible Season of Ronnie Rabinovitz), Jungle Theater (The Heiress, Urinetown), Dark & Stormy Productions (The Hothouse, The Receptionist), Chanhassen Dinner Theatres mar 19, 20, 21, 22 (Our Hometown Christmas Pageant, Bye Bye Birdie), as well as many projects with the Playwrights’ Center, Cardinal Theatricals, Skylark Opera and Stages Theatre, among others. She will soon be working as assistant stage manager for the Ordway’s production of Damn Yankees. Samantha Fromm Haddow, costume designer Samantha Fromm Haddow was the costume designer for the Minnesota Orchestra’s production of Die Fledermaus during Sommerfest 2014. She has also designed for productions with Theater Latté Da, Lyric Arts in Anoka, Stages Theater in Hopkins, Hawaii Theater, Honolulu Theater for Youth, Gallery Players in New York City and other performing arts companies. In addition to designing, Haddow works for the Guthrie Theater costume shop as the dyer, milliner and crafts artisan. Ann Gumpper, set designer Ann Gumpper is the resident designer with Lyric Opera of the North (LOON), and recently formed the LOON Scenic Shop to facilitate the creation of scenery and props for other performing arts companies. Her scenic designs have been seen in recent productions with Skylark Opera, Duluth Playhouse and Minnesota Ballet. Gumpper designed scenery for Minnesota Orchestra’s production of Die Fledermaus last July. From an early scene of the 1956 film Carousel: Billy Bigelow, played by Gordon MacRae, beckoning carnival goers to ride on the carousel. Quinn Shadko has performed in many genres and styles nationally and locally with the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, Skylark Opera, Bloomington Civic Theatre, Park Square Theatre and Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company. She holds degrees from Rice University and New York University. M ARCH / APRI L 2015 M I NNES O TA O RCHEST R A 31 mar 19, 20, 21, 22 Program Note Rodgers may be the most-played composer of any kind of music who ever lived. He wrote more than 900 songs, dozens of them known in nearly every American household and in many more throughout the world. “Right from the moment you hear a tune,” says conductor John Mauceri, “he’s invited you in. And yet, once you’re in this tune, he does these very subtle things that make the tune unique.” There is almost always a Rodgers show playing somewhere. Every year more than 4,000 productions of his musicals are mounted throughout the world. Richard Rodgers Oscar Hammerstein II Richard Rodgers Born: June 28, 1902, Long Island, New York Died: December 30, 1979, New York City Oscar Hammerstein II Born: July 12, 1895, New York City Died: August 23, 1960, Doylestown, Pennsylvania Carousel s uppose for a moment that after a chance meeting at your workplace, you quickly fall in love and marry. But having an ill temper and an assortment of vices, you aren’t exactly a model citizen, and becoming jobless adds extra strain. When tragedy strikes, all seems lost—but is it ever too late for redemption? This is the scenario that spins at the center of Carousel. Carousel was the second collaboration of Rodgers and Hammerstein—one the most phenomenal partnerships in the history of the arts, so strong and enduring that it is almost impossible to think of one member without the other, much like Gilbert and Sullivan, Lerner and Loewe or Laurel and Hardy. a winning team Composer Richard Rodgers and librettist-lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II wrote nine Broadway musicals together— five of them hits of the highest order. Their collaboration began in 1943 with Oklahoma! and ended 16 years later with The Sound of Music. In between came three more solid hits, Carousel, South Pacific and The King and I, along with four others that weren’t quite in the same league: Flower Drum Song, Allegro, Me and Juliet and Pipe Dream. They also crafted a film musical, State Fair, along with one for television, Cinderella. Together they collected 35 Tony Awards and 15 Academy Awards. 32 M INN ES O T A O R CH ESTRA SHOWC A SE As for Hammerstein, over the course of his life, he collaborated on 850 songs with composers like Jerome Kern, Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml, Sigmund Romberg and, above all, Richard Rodgers. As film and drama critic Judith Crist wrote: “Hammerstein brought more than skill as a lyricist. He brought an atmosphere of sincerity, a depth of emotion and a seriousness of both moral and dramatic values. Above all, he brought a sense of poetry and optimism that matched the gay evanescence and melodic lyricism of the composer.” Rodgers and Hammerstein first combined their talents during their college days at Columbia University in New York, but they were well along in their respective careers before they teamed up on Broadway. Then, working together on a regular basis, they began to break traditions, taboos and stereotypes. In an unusual reversal of standard procedure, Hammerstein wrote the lyrics first and Rodgers then set them to music. They dealt with controversial, serious subjects like racial prejudice, mixedrace relationships, death, the afterlife, violence against women and political oppression—but with a light touch. And what a change they brought! No longer did it suffice to build a string of unrelated songs, dances and choral numbers around a silly, plotless idea: now story, dialogue, song, dance, costumes, lighting and music were integrated into an artistic whole, a “symphony of sight and sound,” as Judith Crist put it. In other words, these were musical plays, not musical comedies. The story, not the stars or the songs, was preeminent. one hit after another Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first major collaboration, Oklahoma!, was a monster hit, running for 2,212 performances over more than five years. This created a challenge: what could they possibly do as a follow-up that would compare favorably? The solution came from an unexpected source—Liliom, a fantasy drama by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár that had premiered in Budapest in 1909 and gradually became very popular. It was mounted in New York City in English translation first in 1921 and again in 1940, this time starring Burgess Program Note Meredith and Ingrid Bergman. Rodgers and Hammerstein saw the play but declined to adapt it for a Broadway musical. The Budapest setting seemed wrong; World War II was raging; Hungary was under Axis control; and the story had an unhappy ending. Furthermore, Molnár had a reputation for refusing permission to adapt his works, even to such eminent composers as Puccini and Kurt Weill. Then Molnár saw Oklahoma!—and declared that if Rodgers and Hammerstein could do for Liliom what they had done for Green Grow the Lilacs, the play adapted for Oklahoma!, then he would grant them the rights. The other primary barrier collapsed when Rodgers suggested moving the locale to Maine. Hammerstein wrote of the idea: “I began to see an attractive ensemble—sailors, whalers, girls who worked in the mills up the river, clambakes on near-by islands, an amusement park on the seaboard, things people could do in crowds, people who were strong and alive and lusty, people who had always been depicted on the stage as thin-lipped puritans—a libel I was anxious to refute….As for the two leading characters, Julie with her courage and inner strength and outward simplicity seemed more indigenous to Maine than to Budapest. Liliom is, of course, an international character, indigenous to nowhere.” Carousel opened at the Majestic Theater on West 44th Street on April 19, 1945, almost exactly two years after Oklahoma!, which was still playing across the street at the St. James. Carousel ran for 890 performances, more than two years straight. It then went on the road for two years, visiting 20 states and two Canadian cities. It traveled 15,000 miles and was seen by nearly two million people. There have since been numerous revivals in America and in London. In 1956 the film version appeared, starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, and an abridged, made-for-television version aired in 1967. mar 19, 20, 21, 22 musical sequences and interludes, at time played under the dialogue, at times connecting one scene to the next one. In addition, a new dramatic expressiveness and a new spirituality begin to penetrate some of his musical thinking, as in ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ while at other times he proves capable of endowing some of his melodies with an encompassing humanity and tenderness not often encountered before this in his music (as in ‘When the Children Are Asleep’ or when, in ‘Soliloquy,’ Billy thinks about the possibility of having a daughter). In short, in Carousel, Rodgers is no longer merely a writer of wonderful melodies. He has finally become a musical dramatist.” Late in life, Rodgers admitted that Carousel was the favorite of his shows. “Oscar never wrote more meaningful or more moving lyrics,” he said, “and to me, my score is more satisfying that any I’ve ever written. It affects me deeply every time I see it performed.” One can understand this sentiment perfectly when the air resounds with the swirling, infectious strains of the “Carousel Waltz,” the elegant love duet “If I Loved You” for Billy and Julie, or the joyous “June is Bustin’ Out All Over.” Time magazine named Carousel the best musical of the 20th century. After hearing today’s performance, perhaps you’ll agree. Instrumentation: vocal soloists and mixed chorus with orchestra comprising 2 flutes (both doubling piccolo), oboe (doubling English horn), 2 clarinets, bassoon, 3 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, drum set, bells, cymbals, low bells, military snare drum, tambourine, triangle, vibraphone, wood blocks, xylophone, harp, piano and strings Program note by Robert Markow. ‘new heights of creativity’ David Ewen wrote of Rodgers’ accomplishment in The New Complete Book of the American Musical Theater: “Carousel represented new heights of creativity. [Rodgers’] musical writing acquired breadth and spaciousness—for example, the symphonic waltz prelude played under the opening scene, which has since become such a favorite of ‘pop’ and summer concerts, or the extended ‘Soliloquy,’ in which the usual musical comedy song…is expanded into a seven-minute musical episode, made up of eight different musical fragments. Now for the first time Rodgers begins to make the orchestra a commentator on what is occurring on the stage, to produce extended Jan Clayton and John Raitt as Julie and Billy in the original Broadway production of Carousel, 1945. M ARCH / APRI L 2015 M I NNES O TA O RCHEST R A 33