Why settle for one celebrated art form when you can just as easily enjoy two? The Dallas Opera and the Dallas Museum of Art are working in partnership to bring you a brand-new series, “Music & Masterpieces.” Details in the release that follows. (Image courtesy of dreamstime.com)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214.443.1014 / suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org
Or Megan Meister 214.443.1071 /megan.meister@dallasopera.org
THE DALLAS OPERA ANNOUNCES
“MUSIC & MASTERPIECES”
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
THE DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART
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SOPRANO NATHALIE PAULIN IN RECITAL
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POSTERS OF PARIS
Gallery Tour
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Saturday, November 10, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.
Horchow Auditorium, Dallas Museum of Art
DALLAS, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012 – The Dallas Opera is delighted to announce an outstanding new program, “Music & Masterpieces,” in partnership with the Dallas Museum of Art. “Music and Masterpieces”, an arts enhancement project developed by these two leading arts organizations, seeks to partner the performing and visual arts by style, era, or country of origin to create a more fully rounded understanding of both. Experts from the field of opera and the visual arts will underscore subtle connections and define movements within the culture that influenced their creation, in addition to underscoring the way we experience these great masterpieces on canvas, in stone, or onstage today.
This ambitious experimental partnership combining great music and the visual arts will be launched on Saturday, November 10th at 2:00 p.m. at the DMA’s Horchow Auditorium with a special program devoted to the exhibition Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec and His Contemporaries. French-Canadian soprano Nathalie Paulin will perform in a recital with pronounced Gallic roots, accompanied by Michael Heaston, Head of the Music Staff at TDO. Nathalie Paulin has sung with TDO in productions as varied as The Magic Flute, The Cunning Little Vixen, Manon and The Merry Widow. Heidi Waleson of The Wall Street Journal wrote that Miss Paulin “displayed a rich, creamy soprano and excellent comic timing.”
“When it was suggested that we bring a singer who could enhance our understanding of mid-to-late nineteenth-century French posters soon to be on exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art,” explains Dallas Opera Artistic Director Jonathan Pell, “Nathalie was the very first artist who came to mind.
“Since making her U.S. stage debut with TDO as Frasquita in Carmen (1996), and in her return engagements in roles like Pousette in 2001’s Manon and Valencienne in our 2007 production of The Merry Widow, the utterly beguiling Miss Paulin has shown a gift that enables her not merely to express authentic French style and charm—but somehow to embody it through her music making.”
Highlights from the afternoon program—picked to enhance the DMA’s exhibition Posters of Paris—will include Maurice Ravel’s “Cinq Mèlodies Populaires Grecques” (“Five Popular Greek Songs”). Also on the program will be a selection of Reynaldo Hahn art songs. One very popular song Ms. Paulin will sing is “Si mes vers avaient des ailes” (“If My Verses Had Wings”). Hahn wrote this piece when he was just fifteen years old and is one of his earliest compositions. Another of Hahn’s early songs included on the program is “Rêverie” with poetry by that titan of nineteenth-century French Literature, Victor Hugo. In 1851, Camille Saint-Säens used the same text for his version of “Rêverie.”
Erik Satie’s songs “J’avais un ami,” “Je te veux,” and “La Diva de l’empire” will be on this afternoon program. Both “Je te veux” and “La Diva de l’empire” were written and performed by Paulette Darty, known in her day as the “Queen of the Slow Waltz.”
The program will create an atmosphere for a special gallery tour of Posters of Paris: Toulouse-Lautrec and His Contemporaries, an exhibition exploring the earliest days of the affiche artistique (artistic poster) and its flowering in Paris, first under Jules Chéret in the 1870s and 1880s, and then with a new generation of artists including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Pierre Bonnard. These artists brought the poster to new heights in the 1890s.
On view October 14, 2012 through January 20, 2013, the exhibition brings together the finest French examples from the golden age of the poster.
“Art critics praised the artistic posters for giving Paris a free ‘museum for the masses’ that changed daily as new posters were pasted up,” said Heather MacDonald, The Lillian and James H. Clark Associate Curator of European Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, and curator of the Dallas presentation.
The Dallas Museum of Art and the Dallas Opera are also announcing two additional programs in this series—“Music & Masterpieces”—scheduled for Sunday, January 27, 2013 (Diference?, featuring contemporary women artists) and on Saturday, May 4, 2013 (Cindy Sherman). The singers taking part will be announced at a later time.
KEY BIOS:
NATHALIE PAULIN (Soprano)
Soprano Nathalie Paulin has established herself in the United States, Canada, Europe and the Far East as an interpretive artist of the very first rank. Winner of a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Opera Performance, she has collaborated with internationally renowned conductors including Jane Glover, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Antony Walker, Sir Roger Norrington, Andrew Parrott, Jonathan Darlington, Hervé Niquet, David Agler, Richard Bradshaw, Bernard Labadie, Mario Bernardi, Graeme Jenkins, Andrew Litton and Yoav Talmi on both the concert platform and in opera. As well, critics have been lavish in their praise. Reviewing from Chicago, John van Rhein noted that “Paulin in particular is a real find; her rich, agile voice possesses great depth and allure, her manner radiates sensuous charm.” Ms. Paulin debuted for L’Opéra de Montréal as Mélisande in PÉLLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE and for Chicago Opera Theater as Galatea in ACIS AND GALATEA. She was re-engaged by Chicago Opera Theater for the title role in SEMELE and for Mary in LA RESURREZIONE, both by Handel. She has also been heard as Constance in DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES for Calgary Opera, Zerlina in DON GIOVANNI for L’Opéra de Québec, and Susanna in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO for Cincinnati Opera. The Dallas Opera featured her in CARMEN and CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN.
In the summer of 2012, Ms Paulin debuts for Bard Summerscape (New York) in Chabrier’s LE ROI MALGRE LUI, a production that will be seen at the Wexford Festival in the fall. Further engagements include performances of Mozart’s REQUIEM for Tafelmusik and the Alberta Ballet (Calgary and Edmonton), LALA ROUKH for Opera Lafayette, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for Orchestra London Canada and a return to the Aldeburgh Connection for ‘Madame Bizet’.
Ms. Paulin’s 11/12 season included MESSIAH for the Seattle Symphony, her debut for Ireland’s Wexford Festival as La Baronne in LA COUR DE CELIMENE, Handel’s HERCULES for Tafelmusik, Hetu’s LES CLARTES DE LA NUIT for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, MATTHÄUS PASSION and Bach Cantatas for the Calgary Philharmonic, Marcellina in FIDELIO for Edmonton Opera, the title role in RODELINDA for Houston’s Mercury Baroque and CARMINA BURANA for the Québec Symphony.
In the summer of 2010, Ms. Paulin made her Rotterdam Philharmonic debut in L’ENFANT PRODIGUE with Nézet-Séguin, who was also her conductor for Mahler’s SYMPHONY No. 8 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and Place des Arts in Montréal. She was featured in the Elora Festival’s Beethoven MASS IN C with Noel Edison in and began the fall season as Susanna in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO for Opera Hamilton, followed immediately by the title role in RODELINDA for Pacific Opera Victoria. Highlights of her concert schedule included MESSIAH in Portland and Trois Rivières, LES INDES GALANTES for Boston Baroque, Vivier’s LONELY CHILD for the Windsor Symphony, recitals for Toronto’s Aldeburgh Connection, Toronto Summer Music, Camp Musical in Quebec, Caraquet in New Brunswick and Indian River, PEI and the role of Emmy in DER VAMPYR for the Lanaudiere Festival.
Summer activities in 2009 included a number of events built around the Congres Mondiale d’Acadien in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, while further into the season, she sang the title role in Massenet’s MANON for Calgary Opera and reprised the role for Opera Lyra Ottawa. She rounded out her fall with
MESSIAH for the Brott-McGill Chamber Orchestra. The balance of the season was an exciting lineup including Haydn’s DIE JAHRESZEITEN for the Calgary Philharmonic (Taurins), performances for Opera Lafayette in Washington D.C. and New York (LES ARTS FLORISSANTS and ARMIDE) and MESSIAHs in Montreal and works of Graupner for Les Idées Heureures.
The 2008-2009 season was notable for her Atlanta Symphony debut in Mozart’s REQUIEM, Haydn with Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society and Washington Concert Opera concerts co-starring with Stephanie Blythe. Also on her schedule were SEMELE for Pacific Opera Victoria, Handel’s HERCULES with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque, Mahler’s SYMPHONY #4 with Somerville and the Hamilton Philharmonic as well as concerts with the Fredericton Chamber Music Festival, Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Scotia Festival (MALHER # 2) and the CBC Vancouver Radio Orchestra.
Her 2007-2008 season included DON CARLOS (Thibault) for the Canadian Opera Company, DIE LUSTIGE WITWE (Valencienne) for the Dallas Opera and DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (Pamina) for Arizona Opera and further engagements with the Phoenix Symphony, the Arion Ensemble of Montreal and the Laval Symphony. In 2006-2007 Ms. Paulin’s schedule included Handel’s ORLANDO for Washington Concert Opera, WEIHNACHTSORATORIUM for the Toronto Bach Consort conducted by Jane Glover, Pamina in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE for Vancouver Opera, Micaëla in CARMEN for Calgary Opera, Poulenc’s GLORIA for L’Orchestre Metropolitain du Grand Montréal and PEER GYNT for L’Orchestre symphonique de Québec. For the Brooklyn Philharmonic, she was featured in Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3 and Mozart’s EXULTATE JUBILATE and returned to Cincinnati for Despina in COSI FAN TUTTE.
Her 2005-2006 season included Constance in DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES and Zerlina in DON GIOVANNI (Vancouver Opera), Micaëla in CARMEN (L’Opéra de Québec), the title role in SEMELE for Arizona Opera and Laoula in L’ÉTOILE and Antonia in LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN (Cincinnati Opera). These were balanced by MESSIAH for the Toronto Symphony, Orchestra London and the Elora Festival Singers as well as Mozart’s REQUIEM for the Calgary Philharmonic and Bach’s MASS IN B MINOR for the Thunder Bay Symphony.
Notable debuts for 2004–2005 included her first appearance in New York City when she was featured in a Handel programme for the New York Collegium. Ms. Paulin’s Dora Award was for her portrayal of Belinda in Opera Atelier’s production of DIDO AND AENEAS and also on her schedule were Leila in LES PECHEURS DE PERLES for Festival Vancouver, Antigone in Sacchini’s OEDIPE A COLONNE for Washington D.C.’s Opera Lafayette and Norina in DON PASQUALE for L’Opéra de Montréal. On the concert stage, her schedule called for Mendelssohn’s LOBGESANG with L’Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Poulenc’s GLORIA with the Spokane Symphony and the works of Bach, Pergolesi and Vivaldi with the Calgary and Edmonton symphonies. On the festival circuit for 2005, Ms. Paulin was heard in Berlin, Montreal and Vancouver in Caldara’s LA CONVERSIONE DI CLODOVEO, RÈ DI FRANCIA, in Scarlatti’s STABAT MATER for the Elora Festival and at Lamèque for Handel’s LAUDATE PUERI and ODE TO SAINT CECILIA.
Other roles include Adina in L’ELISIR D’AMORE, Despina in COSI FAN TUTTE, Oscar in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, Andromède in Lully’s PERSÉE and Héro in BÉATRICE ET BÉNÉDICT. Further credits include the Montreal Symphony, the St. Lawrence Choir, Les Idées Heureuses, the Ottawa Choral Society, and she has toured Europe as a recitalist. Frequently heard on both the French and English CBC networks, she is a past winner of the Montréal Symphony Competition and holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Montréal. She won the Dvorak prize and has also received awards and prizes from the George London Foundation in New York, the Young Mozart Singers’ Competition in Toronto and the Canadian Music Competition.
MICHAEL HEASTON (Accompanist)
Michael Heaston is a collaborative pianist, vocal coach, and artistic administrator who principally divides his time between New York and Dallas. Maintaining active associations with The Dallas Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, and The Metropolitan Opera, he has quickly established himself as one of the most versatile artists of his generation.
Mr. Heaston returned to The Dallas Opera as Head of Music Staff and Assistant Conductor last season for critically acclaimed productions of Lucia di Lammermoor, Tristan und Isolde, The Lighthouse, La traviata, and Die Zauberflöte. In this, his sixth season with the company, he also celebrates the completion of more than twenty productions, including Salome, Porgy & Bess, Così fan tutte, Madama Butterfly, as well as the world premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s Moby-Dick.
Michael is the Director of the Young Artists Program and Head of Music Staff at The Glimmerglass Festival. Now in his fifth year, Mr. Heaston remains one of the youngest people to assume the directorship of any major training program to date. Last season marked the arrival of Francesca Zambello as the new Artistic & General Director of the company, as well as Deborah Voigt, who was the inaugural Artist in Residence with the Young Artists Program. Mr. Heaston also continues his work as Score Consultant for the Metropolitan Opera’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning “Live in HD” movie theater transmission series, including this season’s Faust and The Enchanted Island. Past “Live in HD” credits include Die Walküre, Il trovatore, Capriccio, La fanciulla del West, Der Rosenkavalier, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Tristan und Isolde, La Cenerentola, Hansel and Gretel, Dr. Atomic, and La rondine, to name a few.
On the concert stage, Mr. Heaston will appear with soprano Laura Claycomb and with baritone Rod Gilfry this season. He has partnered Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez. He also enjoys a long-term collaboration with Katharine Goeldner, mezzo soprano, and Amy Morris, flute as a founding member of The Prairie Song Project. The trio has performed to great acclaim in Scotland, England, Austria, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
Mr. Heaston is a judge for The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and The Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. A sought-after clinician, he has served as Artist in Residence, and presented master classes, at Southern Methodist University, Drake University, The University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Abilene Christian University, and Dordt College. He was invited by Opera America to serve as pianist for the master classes of Harolyn Blackwell and William Burden. Additionally, he has played for the master classes of baritone Håkan Hagegård and tenor Stanford Olson. Mr. Heaston has served as collaborative pianist for the studio of operatic luminary Diana Soviero in New York. He has also played in the studios of Ruth Falcon and Ruth Golden.
Mr. Heaston’s principal teachers have included Margo Garrett, Brian Zeger, Timothy Lovelace, and Chiu-Ling Lin. He has coached with Karl Paulnack. He holds the Master of Music in Accompanying & Coaching from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and completed undergraduate studies in Piano Pedagogy and Arts Administration at Drake University in his hometown of Des Moines, IA.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT “SEPTEMBER AT THE DALLAS OPERA”
IS CONVENIENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE, 24/7
VISIT WWW.DALLASOPERA.ORG AND CHECK THE CALENDAR LISTINGS
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Or for additional information
Please contact Suzanne Calvin, Manager/Director Media & PR
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The Dallas Opera’s 2012-2013 “Pursuits of Passion Season”
Is Presented by Texas Instruments Foundation
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Ticket Information for the 2012-2013 Dallas Opera Season
All performances are in the new Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Subscriptions start at just $75 and are on sale now. Single Tickets for AÏDA and family performances go on sale September 10th. For more information, contact The Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214.443.1000 or visit us online at www.dallasopera.org.
THE DALLAS OPERA 2012-2013 SEASON INFORMATION
The Dallas Opera celebrates its Fifty-Sixth International Season in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in downtown Dallas. Evening performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees will begin at 2:00 p.m. English translations will be projected above the stage at every performance. Assistance is available for the hearing impaired.
AÏDA by Giuseppe Verdi
October 26 –The Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Night Performance
Starring Latonia Moore, The Charron and Peter Denker Rising Star! (2012)
October 28(m), 31, November 3, 9, 11(m), 2012
Verdi’s Complex and Intimate Love Story Set in Spectacular Ancient Egypt!
An opera in four acts first performed at Khedivial Opera House, Cairo on December 24, 1871.
Text by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette.
Time: Old Kingdom
Place: Egypt
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Stage Director: Garnett Bruce
Costume Design: Peter J. Hall
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Latonia Moore (Aida), Antonello Palombi (Radames), Nadia Krasteva* (Amneris), Lester Lynch (Amonasro), Orlin Anastassov* (Ramfis), Ben Wager (The King of Egypt), Jonathan Yarrington* (Messenger), and NaGuanda Nobles* (Priestess).
TURANDOT by Giacomo Puccini
April 5, 7(m), 10, 13, 19 & 21(m), 2013
Puccini’s Last Masterpiece—Riddled with Passionate Romance and Unforgettable Music!
An opera in three acts first performed in Milan at La Scala, April 25, 1926
Text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, based on Carlo Gozzi’s fable, Turandot.
Time: Legendary times
Place: Peking, China
Conductor: Marco Zambelli
Stage Director: Garnett Bruce
Production Design: Allen Charles Klein
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Lise Lindstrom* (Princess Turandot), Antonello Palombi (Calaf), Hei-Kyung Hong (Liu), Christian Van Horn* (Timur), Jonathan Beyer (Ping), Joseph Hu (Pang), Daniel Montenegrio* (Pong), Ryan Kuster* (A Mandarin), Steven Haal (Emperor Altoum).
THE ASPERN PAPERS by Dominick Argento
April 12, 14(m), 17, 20, 28(m), 2013
The Games People Play—Both Young and Old—To Achieve Their Twisted Desires!
An opera in two acts first performed in Dallas, November 19, 1988.
Text by Dominick Argento, based on a Henry James novella.
Time: Legendary
Place: Lake Como, Italy
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Stage Director: Tim Albery
Scenic Design: Andrew Lieberman*
Costume Design: Constance Hoffman*
Lighting Design: Thomas Hase
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Assistant Director: Michael Mori
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Susan Graham* (Tina), Alexandra Deshorties (Julianna Bordereau), Nathan Gunn (The Lodger), Joseph Kaiser* (Aspern), Dean Peterson (Barelli), Sasha Cooke* (Sonia), Eric Jordan* (A painter), Jennifer Youngs* (Olimpia).
* 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. 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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