Feature Friday

Michele Frisch (flute, Minnesota Opera Orchestra)

What made you decide on a career in the arts?

My father was a baseball player and my mother was determined that her seven children would be exposed to music, dance, theatre and the visual arts.  All the music lessons, youth orchestra, ballet, and museum art classes were her idea and my father faithfully drove us all to these countless lessons.  I’m a professional flutist by default, however.  I wanted to be the first girl to play in the Major Leagues long before I wanted to be a flutist.

How long have you been working with opera? 

I auditioned for principal flute in 1984, and I had played second flute for three years prior to that.  So, 27 yrs. as principal, 30 yrs altogether.

What do you think makes Minnesota Opera unique from other companies?

I think that this Opera company covers a huge amount of territory with great skill. Every season offers standard, audience-loving favorites, the staple of the opera repertoire.  But MN Opera has also successfully mounted many newly commissioned operas which have garnered considerable acclaim in the opera world, not to mention other contemporary operas which keep audience’s ears and tastes fresh.  Also, MN Opera’s ongoing commitment to staging a Bel Canto offering every season is noteworthy in itself.

What is your favorite Twin Cities destination?

My own backyard gives me peace, solitude, flora and fauna, and a place to unwind. In more ambitious moments: Valentine Lake in Arden Hills, the Arboretum, St. Croix Trail, Midway Stadium when the St. Paul Saints are playing.

If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring three things, what would they be? 

My Bible, my flute, and the Bach Partita in a minor.

What has been the most challenging piece you have worked on and why?

Anything J.S. Bach.  Simplicity is elusive, but magical if briefly achieved.  Gluck wrote: “I believe that my greatest efforts have been devoted to seeking a beautiful simplicity. I have avoided making displays of difficulty at the expense of clarity. Simplicity, truth, and naturalness are the great principles of beauty in all artistic manifestations.”

How has music changed your life?

I remember being 3 years old and sitting with my father, listening to the soundtrack LP of Mario Lanza as The Great Caruso.  Music has always been a part of my life, so I can only try to imagine what it would be like without music: incomprehensible.

If you had to choose a different field of work, what would you choose?

I would write poetry, presumably with greater skill as a vocation than as an avocation. Even yet, in the reading and writing, it has brought me a great deal of pleasure.

 Is there any “haute” backstage gossip you would like to share from this or previous performances?

The woodwind section has never, in my memory, completed the run of an opera without some offering of intermission chocolate from one of us. This is why tempos at the beginnings of certain Acts are often ambitiously lively…

What are your top three favorite operas?

Easy: Verdi’s La Traviata, because it is the first opera I ever heard, as a toddler; Bizet’s Carmen, because I met my husband, violinist Roger Frisch, while playing Carmen at Indiana University Music School, and Barber’s Vanessa, because of the divinely exquisite quintet in the Finale.

Amy Morris, flute Amy Morris (flute, Minnesota Opera Orchestra) What made you decide on a career in the arts? You’ll have to ask my mom – she picked out the flute for me. Once that was done, it was a foregone conclusion (thanks, Mom!). How long have you been working with opera? I’ve played since 1997, and been a core member of the orchestra since the 2000 season. What do you think makes Minnesota Opera unique from other companies? The company has a vision of opera that pays homage to the great works of the past, while sponsoring works of the future. It does it seamlessly, as opposed to poking you in the ribs with its odd ends. It’s very much like architecture that melds old bricks and mortar with new design elements but creates one, beautiful whole. What is your favorite Twin Cities destination? My home in Richfield, where my nice neighborhood, back porch, garden and cats are. If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring three things, what would they be? A boat, an oar and a GPS. What has been the most challenging piece you have worked on and why? For the opera, it has to be Der Rosenkavalier. It requires technical proficiency, musical passion, and exquisite ensemble playing. Pinocchio was probably the most technically challenging piece we (I) ever played, but that made it really fun. How has music changed your life? Music is my religion. It has the power to transform lives and the ability to be incredibly banal. The transforming moments make the banal ones sufferable. If you had to choose a different field of work, what would you choose? I would go out to Sonoma, CA and start pouring wine at one of the vineyards and hopefully learn the process of winemaking. What is your favorite thing about Minnesota? MSP flies non-stop to Amsterdam. Is there any “haute” backstage gossip you would like to share from this or previous performances? Sometimes we have other things besides bottled water in the orchestra pit. What are your top three favorite operas? Der Rosenkavalier. I love the rest equally. Have you ever had hot dish, and if so what is your favorite variety? Tater tot casserole (we call it casserole where I come from). How do you eat your eggs? Over easy. Besides opera, do you have any other favorite genres of music? What are some of your favorite artists from that genre? The Beatles, and I love Springsteen’s Seeger sessions with folk music. Do you have Twitter, a Facebook page or website fans can follow? all of the above. www.amy-morris.com; www.indande.com; and Facebook pages for Indande and The Prairie Song Project. What do you like to do when you aren’t busy creating great opera? Drink great wine, travel to great places, play great chamber music, hang out with great friends, play with my great cats.