FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, September 19, 2011
Contact: Suzanne Calvin
214-443-1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org
OCTOBER SPARKLES
AT THE DALLAS OPERA!
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Season Launch: Friday, October 21 with Donizetti’s
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR—Indoors and Out!
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“Tragic Obsessions” Season Opens With an Exciting, Free Plazacast@theCenter, the Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Night Performance, and Dazzling FIRST NIGHT Season Celebrations Sponsored by Deloitte
DALLAS, SEPTEMBER 19, 2011 – The Dallas Opera is making you an offer you’d be downright crazy to refuse: free movies, free discussions, and a free, Opening Night performance of a wildly Romantic opera paired with a paparazzi-studded, red carpet, fashion event on the Dallas Opera’s FIRST NIGHT!
The 2011-2012 “Tragic Obsessions” Season, sponsored by Texas Instruments Foundation, opens on Friday, October 21st at 7:30 PM in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at AT&T Performing Arts Center with Donizetti’s 1835 bel canto jewel, LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR. Single tickets for the Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Night Performance and subsequent matinees and evening performances begin at just $25.
Full season subscriptions are now available for as little as $76 for all four outstanding mainstage productions!
However, the FIRST NIGHT festivities, generously sponsored by Deloitte, get underway at 6:00 p.m. on the red carpet. The emcees will be faces you know and love, and celebrity guests will include a contingent of top-tier fashion designers accompanying their head-turning models. Together, they will elevate people-watching to the status of art with their “opera-inspired” couture gowns!
All the action will be broadcast live to a giant outdoor screen in Sammons Park, immediately in front of the Winspear Opera House. The public is invited to bring a blanket and a picnic basket, stake their place, and enjoy the fashion buzz, followed by a free Plazacast@the Center, in partnership with the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Water will be provided by Smartwater and other food and dining options are available throughout the Arts District that evening.
The Dallas Opera’s breathtaking production of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR will get underway at 7:30 p.m. This 1835 masterpiece thunders, swoons, transfixes and haunts. The international ensemble cast will be lead by Romanian soprano Elena Mosuc in her Dallas Opera debut in the title role. American tenor Bryan Hymel will be making his debut as Sir Edgardo di Ravenwood, just coming off of a magical run of Faust at Santa Fe Opera. And highly-touted Italian baritone Luca Grassi makes his long-awaited American debut as Lord Enrico Ashton.
With English subtitles projected onto the screen, you won’t miss a moment of the passion, the treachery, or the madness!
October’s Calendar of Events includes two highly anticipated previews of the upcoming “Tragic Obsessions” Season: Saturday, October 1st, “The Magic Flute Mini-Movie Festival” and TRISTAN AND ISOLDE’s “Pick Your Poison” Beer and Wine Tasting at the Winspear Opera House.
Then, it’s another show-stopping “Dallas Opera Season Preview Day” on Sunday, October 16th, which includes a sneak peek at Peter Maxwell Davies’ 1980 supernaturally-charged thriller, THE LIGHTHOUSE, being performed in partnership with the Dallas Theater Center in March of 2012 to launch TDO’s new chamber opera series.
Participants will also get an in-depth look at our groundbreaking concert production of TRISTAN & ISOLDE, which will feature an all-star, international cast and video projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, who added so much to the visual impact of the Dallas Opera’s 2010 world premiere production of Moby-Dick.
A listing of the major Dallas Opera-sponsored-or-related events for the month of October may be accessed below or by visiting our website, dallasopera.org or by contacting the friendly professionals at Dallas Opera Ticket Services, 214.443.1000. You can access even more information online, 24/7, at dallasopera.org.
October Calendar of Events
1.) Saturday, October 1, 2011 (12:00 – 12:30 PM)
A special live edition of “Inside the Dallas Opera.” A monthly program that takes listeners backstage and behind-the-scenes for a look at timely issues and upcoming productions. Featuring Veletta Lill of the Arts District and hosted by Suzanne Calvin.
Location: WRR, Classical 101.1 FM
2.) Saturday, October 1, 2011 – (2:45 – 6:30 PM)
Kicking off the month of ‘Art in October’, the Dallas Opera is joining the festivities with a “Magic Flute Mini-Movie Festival.” Enjoy “The Smurfs and the Magic Flute” and Ingmar Bergman’s “The Magic Flute”. We’re also partnering with Wolfgang Puck Catering, the official food and beverage purveyor for the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, for a TRISTAN & ISOLDE ‘Pick your Poison’ Beer and Wine Tasting.
Join the Dallas Opera for opening day activities:
“The Magic Flute Mini-Movie Festival”
Cost: Free, Open to the public, rsvp your seat at rsvp@dallasopera.org
Time: 2:45 – 7:00 pm
The Winspear Opera House, Hamon Hall, 2403 Flora Street, Dallas TX 75201
AND in the spirit of Tristan & Isolde: “Pick Your Poison Beer & Wine Tasting”
Cost $3 per tasting. Full servings available for purchase
Location: Outside of Hamon Hall on the Patio, 2403 Flora Street, Dallas TX 75201
3.) Friday, October 7, 2011 (7:30 PM)
NEW – Dallas Opera Family Performance – DOCTOR MIRACLE by Georges Bizet @ the Dallas Children’s Theater. Brought to you in partnership with the Dallas Children’s Theatre! Enjoy an entertaining 45-minute, one-act comic opera—for the whole family.
Location: Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman Street, Dallas TX 75231
Cost: Single tickets $12 by on-line at dallasopera.org/tickets or call 214.443.1000
4.) Saturday, October 8, 2011 (12:00 – 12:30 PM)
“Inside the Dallas Opera.” A monthly program that takes listeners backstage and behind-the-scenes for a look at upcoming productions. Lucia di Lammermoor hosted by Suzanne Calvin.
Location: WRR, Classical 101.1 FM
5.) Sunday, October 9, 2011 (3:00 – 4:30 PM)
The Dallas Opera Guild’s Opera Insights on LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR – Learn about Donizetti’s LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR while enjoying a lively, uncensored panel discussion with the cast and production team moderated by Suzanne Calvin.
Location: The Winspear Opera House, Hamon Hall, 2403 Flora Street, Dallas TX 75201
6.) Tuesday, October 11, 2011 (8:00 – 11:00 PM)
“Dallas Opera Encore Performance: Boris Godunov. One of the most critically acclaimed Dallas Opera productions in years in a one-time-only broadcast! Featuring an outstanding international cast.
Location: WRR, Classical 101.1 FM
7.) Friday, October 14, 2011 (7:30 PM)
NEW – Dallas Opera Family Performance – DOCTOR MIRACLE by Georges Bizet @ the Dallas Children’s Theater. Brought to you in partnership with the Dallas Children’s Theater enjoy an entertaining 45-minute 1-act opera.
Location: Dallas Children’s Theater, 5938 Skillman Street, Dallas TX 75231
Cost: Single tickets $12 by on-line at dallasopera.org/tickets or call 214.443.1000
8.) Sunday, October 16, 2011 (3:00 – 6:00 PM)
“Dallas Opera Season Preview Day” Listen and learn with a series of discussions and lectures and musical excerpts to give you a behind the scene peak at the upcoming season, ‘Tragic Obsessions’!
Cost: Free, RSVP your seat at rsvp@dallasopera.org
3:00 PM Technical Director Drew Field and Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Schuder discuss the use of projections in Tristan & Isolde and the future of technology in the Opera.
3:45 PM Musical selections-Tristan & Isolde
4:00 PM Discussion of Lucia di Lammermoor with Jamie Allen, Director of Education at the DSO
4:45 PM Musical selections-Lucia di Lammermoor with Young Artist in Residence Aaron Blake accompanied on piano by Michael Heaston
5:00 PM Discussion and model presentation of The Lighthouse with Suzanne Calvin and Director of Production John Toia.
COST: FREE, RSVP for your seat at rsvp@dallasopera.org or call 214.443.1044.
Location: The Winspear Opera House, Hamon Hall, 2403 Flora Street, Dallas TX 75201
9.) Friday, October 21, 2011 (7:30 – 10:30 PM)
“The Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Night Performance of the Dallas Opera: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR”
Donizetti’s brilliant drama LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR opens the 55th Season of The Dallas Opera. Exciting international stars led by Romanian soprano Elena Mosuc in her Dallas Opera debut. Call for tickets now!
Location: Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Cost: Single tickets start at $25 online. Subscriptions start at $76 for all four productions. Call 214.443.1000 or visit us online at dallasopera.org/tickets
10.) Friday, October 21, 2011 (11:00 – 12:00 AM)
“FIRST NIGHT: The Dallas Opera’s 2011 Opening Night Celebrations”
FIRST NIGHT sponsored by Deloitte, will celebrate the operas of the 55th season in numerous ways throughout the glamorous evening, beginning with a red-carpet extravaganza featuring exquisite creations from Dallas’ top designers. Top names in fashion have designed gowns inspired by the unforgettable divas from this season’s operas. Be there to applaud them and to enjoy the “fashion show”. There is much in store for the evening’s festivities, a fun and lively private pre-performance reception, and a cosmopolitan, late-night dining experience in a lavishly decorated tent. Join us for FIRST NIGHT and celebrate the opening of the Dallas Opera’s 55th anniversary season and the Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Performance. Tickets for FIRST NIGHT begin at $500 per person, please contact Morgan Vaughn, Special Events Manager at morgan.vaughn@dallasopera.org
Location: Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201
11.) Friday, October 21, 2011 (5:30 – 10:30 PM)
Plazacast@TheCenter: The Dallas Opera’s LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR – Opening Night Performance (curtain time: 7:30 p.m.) in partnership with the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Join us for the Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Night Performance for our 2nd FREE live simulcast! Bring a blanket, picnic basket and your friends and family to enjoy LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR broadcast live as it happens on stage. Come! Rain-or-shine, the show will go on and TDO will be ready with rain ponchos should the weather attempt to dampen the festivities. Some concessions will be available for purchase. Picnics welcome!
Cost: Free, open to the public, rsvp@dallasopera.org to receive a free electronic study guide
Location: Sammons Park Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora St, Dallas, TX 75201
12.) Sunday, October 23, 2011 (2:00 – 5:00 PM)
“LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: Sunday Matinee 1”
Donizetti’s brilliant drama LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR opens the 55th Season of The Dallas Opera. A host of international stars led by Romanian soprano Elena Mosuc in her Dallas Opera debut. Call for tickets now!
Location: Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Cost: Single tickets start at $25 online. Subscriptions start at $76 for all four productions. Call 214.443.1000 or visit us online at dallasopera.org/tickets
12.) Wednesday, October 26, 2011 (7:30 – 10:30 PM)
“LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: Midweek Performance”
Donizetti’s brilliant drama LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR opens the 55th Season of The Dallas Opera. A host of international stars led by Romanian soprano Elena Mosuc in her Dallas Opera debut. Call for tickets now!
Location: Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Cost: Single tickets start at $25 online. Subscriptions start at $76 for all four productions. Call 214.443.1000 or visit us online at dallasopera.org/tickets
13.) Saturday, October 29, 2011 (7:30 – 10:30 PM)
“LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: Saturday Night Performance”
Donizetti’s brilliant drama LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR opens the 55th Season of The Dallas Opera. A host of international stars led by Romanian soprano Elena Mosuc in her Dallas Opera debut. Call for tickets now! Singles start at just $25, subs at $75! 214.443.1000.
Location: Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Cost: Single tickets start at $25 online. Subscriptions start at $76 for all four productions. Call 214.443.1000 or visit us online at dallasopera.org/tickets
14.) Saturday, October 29, 2011 (7:30 – 11:30 PM)
“Twitter Challenge”
Donizetti’s LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR has 3 acts and the basic synopsis of the story is over 500 words. Can you tell the tale in 140 characters or less? Follow @thedallasopera and use hashtag #tdoplots, to share your synopsis. Prizes awarded to the most creative tweet. Unable to attend the performance? Residents in the DFW area can listen to live on WRR 101.1 FM starting at 7:30 PM
Time: 7:30pm to one hour after performance ends
Location: www.twitter.com/thedallasopera
15.) Saturday, October 29, 2011 (7:00 – 10:30 PM)
“Live Broadcast of Lucia di Lammermoor on WRR 101.1 FM”
Be thrilled by the sounds of a live performance when the Dallas Opera and WRR Classical 101.1 FM join forces to bring Donizetti’s masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor to the airwaves as it happens.
Time: 7:00 pm pre-performance 7:30 pm performance
Location: WRR 101.1 FM
16.) Sunday, October 30, 2011 (2:00 – 3:00 PM)
“$5 Family Matinee”
As part of the closing weekend festivities of Art in October the Dallas Opera presents DOCTOR MIRACLE by Georges Bizet Sung in English. Part of our new family friendly programming this 1-act comedic opera is presented in partnership with the SMU Vocal Department.
Cost: $5, discounted for this weekend performance
Location: Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center
2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201
Call 214.443.1000 or visit us online at dallasopera.org/tickets
Full season subscriptions (four performances) for the 2011-2012 Season range from $76 to $1,015. Inner Circle seating may be higher. FLEX subscriptions (3 performances) start at $75, single tickets at $25.
THE DALLAS OPERA GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES
THE TEXAS INSTRUMENTS FOUNDATION,
PRESENTER OF THE 2011-2012 SEASON
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EVENTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT “SEPTEMBER AT THE DALLAS OPERA”
IS CONVENIENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE, 24/7
VISIT WWW.DALLASOPERA.ORG AND CHECK THE CALENDAR LISTINGS
For high-resolution, digital photographs suitable for print
To arrange an interview
Or for additional information
Please contact Suzanne Calvin, Manager/Director Media & PR
214.443.1014 or suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org
THE DALLAS OPERA WISHES TO EXPRESS ITS GRATITUDE TO OUR EXCLUSIVE PARTNERS:
AMERICAN AIRLINES – OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF THE DALLAS OPERA
LEXUS – OFFICIAL VEHICLE OF THE DALLAS OPERA
CARTIER – OFFICIAL JEWELER & WATCHMAKER OF THE DALLAS OPERA
ROSEWOOD CRESCENT HOTEL – OFFICIAL HOTEL OF THE DALLAS OPERA
AMERICAN EXPRESS – SPONSOR OF THE LIGHTHOUSE
Ticket Information for the 2011-2012 Dallas Opera Season
All performances are in the acoustically acclaimed Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Season subscriptions start at just $76, FLEX subscriptions (three performances) begin at $75—and are on sale now. Single tickets go on sale in September. For more information, contact the friendly staff at The Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214.443.1000 or visit us online at www.dallasopera.org.
THE DALLAS OPERA 2011-2012 SEASON INFORMATION
The Dallas Opera celebrates its Fifty-Fifth International Season in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in downtown Dallas. With the exception of Tristan & Isolde, evening performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees will begin at 2:00 p.m. Tristan’s evening performances will start at 7:00 p.m. and matinees at 2:00 p.m. English translations will be projected above the stage at every performance. Assistance is available for the hearing impaired.
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR by Gaetano Donizetti
Dead Men DO Wear Plaid!
October 21, 23(m), 26 & 29, and November 6(m), 2011
An opera in three acts first performed at Teatro San Carlo, Naples on September 26, 1835.
Text by Salvatore Cammarano, based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel, The Bride of Lammermoor.
Time: Around 1700
Place: Scotland
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Stage Director: Garnett Bruce
Costume Design: Peter J. Hall
Lighting Design: Marie Barrett
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Fight Choreographer: Bill Lengfelder
Starring: Elena Mosuc* (Lucia Ashton), Bryan Hymel* (Sir Edgardo di Ravenwood), Luca Grassi** (Lord Enrico Ashton), Jordan Bisch* (Raimondo Bidebent), Scott Quinn (Normanno), Aaron Blake (Lord Arturo Bucklaw), and Cynthia Hanna* (Alisa).
TRISTAN & ISOLDE by Richard Wagner
February 16, 19(m), 22 & 25, 2012
A Special Opera-in-Concert, with projections by Moby-Dick’s Elaine McCarthy!
Ancient Myths, Modern Cine-Magic! And a special curtain time: 7:00 p.m.!
An opera in two acts first performed in Munich, June 10, 1865.
Text by Richard Wagner, based on an ancient Celtic and Icelandic legend.
Time: Legendary
Place: A ship at sea; outside King Marke’s palace, Cornwall; Tristan’s castle at Kareol
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Stage Director: Christian Räth
Video Design: Elaine McCarthy
Lighting Design: Alan Burrett
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet (Isolde), Clifton Forbis (Tristan), Mary Phillips (Brangäne), Jukka Rasilainen** (Kurvenal), Kristinn Sigmundsson* (King Marke), Erik Nelson Werner (Melot), and Aaron Blake (A Young Sailor/A Shepherd).
THE LIGHTHOUSE by Peter Maxwell Davies
Inaugural production of the Dallas Opera Chamber Series
Presented in collaboration with the Dallas Theater Center
In the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center
March 16, 17 & 18(m), 2012
A chilling supernatural and psychological thriller!
Time: December 1900
Place: Edinburgh Court of Enquiry, Fladda Isle Lighthouse off the Scottish coast
Conductor: Nicole Paiement*
Stage Director: Kevin Moriarty* (opera directorial debut)
Scenic Design: Beowulf Boritt*
Costume Design: Claudia Stephens*
LA TRAVIATA by Giuseppe Verdi
April 13, 15(m), 18, 21, 27 & 29(m), 2012
Let’s Party Like It’s 1849!
An opera in three acts first performed in Venice at Teatro La Fenice, March 6, 1853
Text by Francesco Maria Piave, based on Alexandre Dumas’ play, La dame aux camélias
Time: 19th century
Place: Paris
Conductor: Marco Guidarini
Stage Director: Bliss Hebert
Production Design: Allen Charles Klein
Lighting Design: Thomas Hase
Choreographer: Rosa Mercedes*
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Myrtò Papatanasiu** (Violetta Valéry), James Valenti (Alfredo Germont), Laurent Naouri* (Giorgio Germont), Amanda Crider* (Flora Bervoix), Timothy Mix* (Baron Douphol), Mark McCrory (Marchese D’Obigny), Ethan Herschenfeld* (Doctor Grenvil), and Susan Nicely (Annina).
THE MAGIC FLUTE by W.A. Mozart
April 20, 22(m), 25, 28, May 4 & 6(m), 2012
Hearts Tested, Tried and True!
An opera in two acts first performed in Vienna, September 30, 1791.
Text by Emanuel Schikaneder.
Time: Legendary
Place: Mythological Egypt
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Production: August Everding
Stage Director: Matthew Lata
Scenic Design: Jörg Zimmermann*
Costume Design: Renate Kalanke*
Lighting Design: Duane Schuler
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Children’s Chorus Master: Melinda Cotten
Starring: Ava Pine (Pamina), Shawn Mathey* (Tamina), Patrick Carfizzi (Papageno), L’ubica Vargicová* (The Queen of the Night), Raymond Aceto (Sarastro), Kevin Langan (The Speaker), David Cangelosi (Monostatos), Angela Mannino* (Papagena), Caitlin Lynch* (First Lady), Lauren McNeese* (Second Lady), Maya Lahyani* (Third Lady), Aaron Blake (First Man in Armour) and Darren K. Stokes* (Second Man in Armour).
* Dallas Opera Debut
** American Debut
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The Dallas Opera is supported, in part, by funds from: City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs; TACA; the Texas Commission on the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). American Airlines is the official airline of The Dallas Opera. Lexus is the official vehicle of The Dallas Opera. Cartier is the official jeweler and watchmaker of The Dallas Opera. Rosewood Crescent Hotel is the official hotel of The Dallas Opera. Advertising support from The Dallas Morning News. A special thanks to Mrs. William W. Winspear and the Elsa von Seggern Foundation for their continuing support.
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