Name: Pagliacci University Night
Start: 2026-05-14T19:30:00
Location: Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Minnesota Opera

When the goddess of Death is cast down to Earth to live as a mortal named Laila Starr, the boundaries between the divine and the human begin to blur in this vivid, transporting world premiere from Kamala Sankaram and Minita Gandhi. The Many Deaths of Laila Starr was commissioned and developed through Minnesota Opera’s New Works Initiative, adapted from the acclaimed graphic novel by Ram V and Filipe Andrade. Infused with elements of Konnakol, Raga, and EDM, this fantasy on purpose and impermanence unfolds with both kinetic energy and striking clarity, as a god made mortal begins to see the world—and life itself—through fresh eyes.

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Prince Ariodante is set to marry his beloved Ginevra until scheming rivals threaten their joy. Deceptions abound and honor is called into question—will betrayal and shame consume the happy couple, or will truth and love prevail? From aching, heart-rending laments to dazzling displays of vocal virtuosity, Handel’s score traces a journey from devotion to heartbreak and back again.

Ariodante

Enter Sir John Falstaff, whose predilections toward excess lead him into the delusional pursuit of not one, but two married women. Thus ensues a tangled web of plots and counterplots, full of hilarious misunderstandings, as more and more parties are swept into the pandemonium. A cinematic score from an operatic legend imbues this feel-good comedy with warmth and buoyancy.

Falstaff

Minnesota Opera welcomes university and college students to a special night at the Ordway with 2 ways to save BIG on tickets for the Thursday, May 14th performance of Pagliacci!