MN Opera pushes back major new commission

The Minnesota Opera is pushing back the opening of a major new commission by two years.

"The Garden of the Finzi-Continis" was scheduled to round out the upcoming season. It will now likely be scheduled for spring 2013.

The opera is based on an award-winning novel and movie about a Jewish family in Italy facing the rise of fascism in the 1930's.

Minnesota Opera Artistic Director Dale Johnson says the production's timetable was always ambitious, and after a workshop last month they decided it would benefit from more time.

"We just didn't want to rush it to the end because we also feel the piece is too important," Johnson said. "It's an important story and i think it's a rather deep story."

The new opera is being written by the same creative team that produced "The Grapes of Wrath" in 2007. It will be replaced by a production of "Wuthering Heights," based on the classic Emily Bronte novel.

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