All in Time Bonus Content
MSAB Grant Project Survey
Whether you are an audience member, the performers and creative team behind the premiere, or the composer himself, your feedback is crucial to this grant-funded project! Please click this link to be directed to a survey which will help the Minnesota State Arts Board understand the impact its grant funding has on you and the broader community, Thank you for considering helping gather information on you including your relationship to the project, piece, and other participants. - PJR
Scenes and Musical Selections
Scene I - Where It All Began
“It’s Tuesday Night” (Ensemble)
“I Haven’t Seen Much” (Giles)
“Another Night, Another Song” (Giles & Willabel)
“I’ve Been Around a Busy Block” (Willabel)
“This Constant” (Giles & Willabel)
Scene 2 - The Will to Carry On
Scene 3 - The Celebration
“A New Tuesday Night” (Ensemble)
“Say Goodbye” (Linda)
“What This Choir Gives Us All” (Aldie & Vivian)
“All In Time” (Ensemble)
Cast Biographies
James Ahrens, tenor, has worked as a singer/actor in the Twin Cities for more years than he cares to remember. He has appeared with many local and regional companies, including Children’s Theatre, Skylark Opera, Jungle Theatre, and many others. Jim has also performed as a soloist with several organizations, including Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis Pops Orchestra, and Des Moines Symphony. He is the tenor soloist at Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in downtown Minneapolis.
Robert Beverage, tenor, is delighted to make his debut with Raison d’Être Opéra. He has performed at The Guthrie Theatre in Sweeney Todd, 1776, and Merrily We Roll Along; Chanhassen productions of Mary Poppins, Hello, Dolly!, and Drood!; Wedding Band at Penumbra Theatre; and Assassins at History Theatre. Bob is also the author of Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story and co-author of the hit musical, Sisters of Swing.
Deborah Carbaugh, soprano, is a former Metropolitan Opera district winner and has performed leading roles with numerous opera companies, among them Pittsburgh Chamber Opera, Hidden Valley Opera, Syracuse Opera, and Artpark Opera.
Deborah teaches voice at Augsburg University, and is a section leader with Minnesota Chorale and the choir of Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Steve Dahlberg, bass/baritone, actively performs with Minnesota Opera and Minnesota Chorale, and has done so since the mid-1990s. He is a recently retired Minneapolis Public Schools music teacher, having taught primarily grades K-5 over 32 years. He has a B.A. degree in Music Education and an M.M. degree in Choral Conducting. He also sings as the bass section leader at Chapel Hills UCC in Edina. He has studied voice with the late Barbara Kierig, Larry Weller, and currently studies with Pat Kent.
Andy Elfenbein, baritone, has been singing and performing in the Twin Cities for over thirty years, and has worked with Minnesota Opera, Lyric Arts, Journey North Opera, and others. He is thrilled to be making his debut with Raison d’Être Opéra.
Naomi Karstad, soprano, has appeared with Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Picnic Operetta, Lakeshore Players, Minnesota Centennial Showboat, and Theatre 55. She loves helping people find their voice, and enjoys teaching voice at MacPhail and directing the choir at Saint Anne's Episcopal Church.
Patricia Kent, mezzo soprano, is an active performer in opera, chamber music, recitals, and oratorio. Patricia performed the role of The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Minnesota Orchestra, Madame Verlaine in The Illuminations at the Southern Theatre, and the Mother in Menotti’s The Consul with AOT An Opera Theater. She sang with Minnesota Opera chorus for over twenty years. Highlights include the role of Sister Raymond in the world premiere of Doubt and one of Casanova’s paramours in Casanova’s Homecoming. At the University of Minnesota, she played Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos, Aminta in Il Re Pastore and Lady Billows in Albert Herring.
Sandra Penning, soprano, has been active on the opera and concert stage performing a wide range of repertoire ranging from world premieres to Bach. She sang the role of Minnie in Raison d’Être Opéra’s inaugural production of The Village Singer. She has appeared in more than 50 productions with Minnesota Opera including the ensemble of the world premiere of The Grapes of Wrath and in the role of New Ofglen in the American premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale. With Austin Symphony she appeared in the role of The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and as soloist in Messiah and Mozart's Requiem.
Barbara Prince, mezzo soprano, has appeared as soloist with many area music organizations, including Raison d’Être Opéra in its 2024 production of Stephen Paulus’ The Village Singer. Happy to be recently retired from her “day gig”, Barbara is a section leader with Minnesota Chorale, among other joyous pursuits.
Mary Rempalski Riehle, soprano, created the role of “The Diva” (Donna Anna) for Theatre de la Jeune Lune’s Don Juan Giovanni at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California, and the company’s home in Minneapolis. She toured with Minnesota Opera and Skylight Opera (Milwaukee) and performed leading roles with North Star Opera and Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera, among others. She has served for 35 years as soprano soloist, cantor, and section leader in Twin Cities churches, contracted singer with Minnesota Chorale and chorister in Minnesota Opera Chorus. Her voice teachers include Emma Small and Patricia Kent.
James Roseborough, baritone, is an enthusiastic member of local choral groups such as Minnesota Chorale, Oratorio Society of Minnesota, Sonomento, and MacPhail Chamber Choir. He plays various brass instruments in groups such as 53rd Street Brass, Meller Brass, and church services. Past experience includes dance bands, jazz bands, marching bands as well as musical theater and barbershop.
Garth Schumacher, baritone, is thrilled to be in this wonderful new opera with RDO! It’s been over 25 years since he’s been on stage, with previous roles at the History Theater, Children’s Theater, Chanhassen, Minnesota Opera, and in several movies. In the years since, Garth earned his MDiv and served as a United Church of Christ minister in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and is now retired. Returning to the stage with RDO is a significant and joyful moment for him, and he delights in embracing this “third stage” of life and career, being “on the boards” once again.
Lucy Thrasher, soprano, has been a voice professor (Concordia College—Moorhead); young artist program director (Pine Mountain Music Festival); opera soprano (Susanna, Despina, Gretel, Musetta); and soloist with symphonies, musicals, cabarets, and recitals. She last appeared with RDO as Candace in Paulus' The Village Singer (2024).
Production Staff Biographies
Charles Ash, cello, performs throughout Minnesota on music from the baroque to contemporary eras. He stems from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts studies at University of Minnesota in 2017. He completed his Master of Music degree at Juilliard, and Bachelor of Music degree at Northwestern University in Music Performance and German Literature. He performs with Lyra Baroque Orchestra and Bach Society of Minnesota, as well as with many other local performing organizations.
Kate Bender, stage manager, is a veteran Stage Manager in the Minneapolis area, and is happy to be asked to work on this show for Raison d’Être Opéra! She finished up It’s a Wonderful Life at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, WI, and is currently looking for her next stage management gig.
Gary Briggle, Executive Director, is a nationally renowned singer-actor, stage director and coach, with a professional career as freelance artist spanning 50 years, in the full range of music-theatre genres. He has served as artistic director of Lyric Opera Cleveland and Skylark Opera, Director of Opera at the University of Iowa and co-chair of the Music-Theatre department at SPCPA. He directed the RDO production of The Village Singer, appeared in The Mother of Us All, and is currently directing the GSVLOC production of The Yeoman of the Guard.
Jill Dawe, music director and piano, enjoys a wide variety of music and has an affinity for collaboration and developing new work. She has worked with Nautilus Music-Theater, Bucket Brigade, Ballet of the Dolls, Zeitgeist and as a soloist and chamber musician with various community orchestras, ensembles and artists. She teaches at Augsburg University and is thrilled to be part of this RDO commission!
Daniel Friberg, clarinet, has performed widely across the United States and internationally in South Korea, Russia, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Hungary, Austria, Italy, and France. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. In addition to performing and teaching, Daniel manages the printed music department of Groth Music. He collects and plays historical clarinets and chalumeaux, and is the author of the pedagogical duet book Clarinet Excerpts in Context: Duets for Ensemble Mastery.
Ron Peluso, stage director - As Artistic Director (1995-2022) at History Theatre, Ron commissioned and produced/directed more than 100 original works – including Star Tribune’s Best Play of the Decade, Glensheen, by Jeffrey Hatcher & Chan Poling, and featuring our own Gary Briggle! Ron has directed at Florida Stage, Riverside Theatre, Pennsylvania Opera Theater, Mixed Blood Theater, and Minnesota Opera’s 1987 touring production of Carmen. He has also served as the Artistic Director for Minnesota Festival Theatre for eight seasons. Ron holds an MFA in Directing from the U of M, where he was the TA for H. Wesley Balk in 1982-83. In 2023 and 2024, Ron returned to the U of M to teach "Real Stories for the Stage." Recently, Ron directed Anastasia and Shrek for Concordia University. Last year, he commissioned playwright Laurie Flanigan Hegge and composer Jonathan Brooke to create a musical based on Sheila O’Connor’s award-winning novel, Evidence of V. The musical received a workshop reading at the U of M, and History Theatre has scheduled it for 2027.
Paul John Rudoi, composer-librettist, is an award-winning composer, vocalist, conductor, entrepreneur, and advocate for the arts, most notably as a member of the full-time vocal ensemble Cantus. Paul lives with his better half, Brittany, and his three cats in West Saint Paul. For more information, visit www.pauljohnrudoi.com.