Leader of the Minnesota Opera resigns

The president and executive director of the Minnesota Opera has resigned.

Kevin Ramach has led the Minnesota Opera since 2012, and served as production director for six years prior. He said he is stepping down to return to creative work.

"I just found a distance from the art in the position I had, which was, in the end not satisfying to me," Ramach said in a telephone interview Friday. "They need to go in a direction that doesn't include me and I think that's the right thing for both of us."

Ramach's tenure as director was highlighted by a 2013 production of The Magic Flute, which set box office records for the number of tickets sold.

Nina Archabal, who was most recently the director of the Minnesota Historical Society, will become interim director of the Minnesota Opera.