One-act opera “The Three Hermits” performed in celebration of sesquicentennial

03/30/2007

In celebration of Saint John’s 150-year anniversary, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University Music Department, with support from Saint John’s Abbey, presents Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus' opera The Three Hermits.

Performances are at 8 p.m. April 19-20, and 2 p.m. April 21-22 in the Great Hall, Saint John’s University, Collegeville.

The Three Hermits is based on a Leo Tolstoy short story and features a libretto by Michael Dennis Browne. The plot details the pilgrimage of a Russian Orthodox bishop who is taught the value of simple faith from three strange and saintly hermits. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the one-act opera presents a “deceptively simple score with luminous choral writing, ample atmospheric and dramatic effects from an orchestra of 11 pieces, and vocal lines for the principal characters that sing nicely but never mask the words.”

The opera is under the direction of Kaarin Johnston of the CSB/SJU Theater Department. It features a cast of faculty professionals, including Carolyn Finley, Patricia Kent, Marcie Hagen and Thomas Speckhard of CSB/SJU, and James McKeel of St. Olaf College.

The roles of the three hermits are played by SJU student Dana Kinsella and Saint John’s School of Theology students Aaron M. Brown and Alan Knack. The opera also features the CSB/SJU Chamber Choir, prepared by Axel Theimer, and a professional 11-piece orchestra conducted by David Arnott.

Tickets are available at the Stephen B. Humphrey Box Office, by phone at 320-363-3577 or online from Fine Arts Programming. General admission tickets are $16 for adults; $12 for CSB/SJU faculty/staff, visiting students and seniors (60+); $6 for CSB/SJU students and children ages 5-11 (minimum age of five years).