Poster Jacquelyn Wagner
Soprano Jacquelyn Wagner
Photo by Mary DuPrie
Minnesota Opera

Wagner meets Strauss: Jacquelyn Wagner sings Richard Strauss' Arabella at Minnesota Opera

Minnesota Opera: Arabella

Jacquelyn Wagner returns to Minnesota Opera this week for her debut as Arabella, the beautiful woman torn between her desire to marry for love and her family's need for her to marry for money.

It's a romantic comedy, so the outcome is hardly a surprise, but along the way we enjoy some gorgeous music on a par with Strauss' masterpiece, Der Rosenkavalier.

It's a debut role for a soprano who's no stranger to Minnesota Opera (she sang Fiordiligi a few seasons ago in Cosi fan tutte), nor to opera stages from her home base in Berlin to stages throughout Europe.

Arabella, cast, Minnesota Opera
Minnesota Opera's 'Arabella' 2013 cast, L to R: Brian Jagde (Matteo), Elizabeth Futral (Zdenka), Jacquelyn Wagner (Arabella), Craig Irvin (Mandryka)
© Aleutian Calabay for Minnesota Opera

Perhaps Jacquelyn Wagner's affinity for Richard Strauss is a family affair. Strauss' father was a famous French horn player in the Bavarian Court Opera; Jacquelyn Wagner's father is a famous French horn player from the Detroit Symphony.

Hear that affinity yourself: Jacquelyn and Minnesota Opera President Kevin Ramach came to Classical MPR to talk about the production and to sing a drop-dead-gorgeous aria — about a glass of water!

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