First Night Designer Abi Ferrin designed the dress inspired for the “Tragic Obsessions” opera Tristan & Isolde modeled by Tanya Foster. Tristan opens in February of 2012. Tickets available at 214.443.1000 or https://dallasopera.org/tickets
First Night Designer Abi Ferrin designed the dress inspired for the “Tragic Obsessions” opera Tristan & Isolde modeled by Tanya Foster. Tristan opens in February of 2012. Tickets available at 214.443.1000 or https://dallasopera.org/tickets
Word from the Division of Music, Meadows School of the Arts at SMU that tenor Clifton Forbis, last heard here in the title role in our inaugural production of Verdi’s OTELLO in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, has been appointed Chair of the Voice Department. Mr. Forbis succeeds Joan Heller, who is retiring from the post. Get more details in this story from “Dallas Art News.”
Of course, you can catch the talented Mr. Forbis in his upcoming TDO performances as Tristan this February…subs still on sale, beginning at $76, and single tickets are on sale for as little as $25.
Suzanne Calvin, Manager/Director Media & PR, Dallas Opera
Richard Wagner would be delighted to know that more than 125 years after his death, his signature Festspielhaus in Bayreuth still plays to sold-out audiences, with 10-year waiting lists to buy tickets. Thanks to the generosity of the Dallas Wagner Society, its President Roger Carroll, and its Treasurer Greg McConeghy, I was privileged to attend all five operas in this year’s festival – its 100th.
This year’s productions included Die Meistersinger, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde.
As is common today in many German opera companies, the stage directors and set and costume designers of most of the five productions departed considerably from a conventional interpretation of the libretto. Tannhäuser, for example, was brought forward from 13th century Wartburg to modern day, and set in an elaborate recycling facility with multi-colored tanks, vacuum kettles and flexible hoses. Tristan had the most conventional staging of the five operas, but even then the stage descended through three levels over the course of the evening, from ship deck to building lobby to hospital, with each level persisting as the subsequent one was added. Most effective for me was a highly innovative Lohengrin directed by Hans Neuenfels with sets and costumes by Reinhard von der Thannen. In this production, the large chorus was dressed in sequentially numbered, full size rat costumes, complete with rat paws, tails and feet, and masks adorned with blinking red eyes. While I was skeptical of the approach at first, I was quickly won over by the dramatic concept and supporting video by Björn Verloh. The clean lines of the set made a very positive impression on me, and the stage action was clear and easy to follow. Klaus Florian Vogt was a highly compelling Lohengrin, and the orchestra sounded glorious under the baton of Andris Nelsons.
Speaking of the orchestra, what a delight! As any Bayreuth veteran knows, Wagner personally designed the orchestra pit to minimize visual distraction of the audience and optimize both balance and blend of the orchestra, although there have been subsequent modifications since. Much of the orchestra – especially the brass – sits at least partially under the stage, which means that even when the brass is playing full volume, the balance between strings and the rest of the orchestra is excellent. In addition, there is a low wall at the front of the pit, which prevents the audience from seeing the orchestra (as Wagner intended), but this pit design also deflects the sound back and towards the singers. By the time the sound reaches the audience, it has blended together in a unique way.
The chorus, too, sounded wonderful. Drawn from all over Germany, it has a size, power and vocal quality that is the envy of many opera houses all over the world. During Walter’s prize song in Meistersinger, the chorus mirrored the paying audience, and sat on a set of terraced seats that rose up through the stage. They numbered 10 rows of 18 singers each, all elegantly attired in black tie and gowns. Few American opera houses could present a chorus of this size and quality. The chorus master, Eberhard Friedrich, richly deserved the rapturous applause that he received each night.
We are greatly looking forward to our 2012 production of Tristan und Isolde, and I hope that Wagner fans in the metroplex will join us on February 16th, 19th, 22nd and 25th. Conducted by our Music Director, Graeme Jenkins, directed by Christian Räth, and with projections by Elaine McCarthy – who designed the projections for the world premiere of Moby-Dick – it will be a striking new take on one of my personal favorite operas. Heading up the cast will be Clifton Forbis as Tristan, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet as Isolde, and Kristinn Sigmundsson as King Marke. And, Jukka Rasilainen will reprise his outstanding performance as Kurwenal from Bayreuth in TDO’s production. Please join us!
I had lunch yesterday with Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet, who returns to Dallas in February as “Isolde” in our production of TRISTAN. She has just returned home to Santa Fe for a couple of weeks following an engagement in Barcelona, and is heading back to Europe on Sunday.
She is looking forward to reuniting with Clifton Forbis, who will be our “Tristan.” The two of them were last in Dallas together as “Siegmund” and “Sieglinde” in DIE WALKUERE, so it promises to be an exciting reunion.
Jeanne-Michele looks great (see photo) and is excited to be coming back to Dallas for her fifth production with our company.
I had dinner with stage director and choreographer Candace Evans, who is in Santa Fe this summer to work with the apprentice artists. She has directed three scenes for the Apprentice Concerts, and is preparing for a busy fall season which includes new productions of EUGENE ONEGIN and CANDIDE, and a debut at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires for THE MERRY WIDOW, in the same production she staged in Dallas a few years ago.
Last night’s opera was Gian Carlo Menotti’s THE LAST SAVAGE, which was being mounted as a tribute to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth and was being done for the first time since it was given at the Metropolitan Opera in 1964.
The opera is a comic trifle–imagine if Rossini had based an opera on a Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie and is about a willful young rich girl who fancies herself an anthropologist and goes looking for a “primitive man” in the jungles of India to bring back to Chicago society and “tame.”.
The production was simply delightful, wonderfully and imaginatively directed by Ned Canty in incredibly. clever designs by Allen Moyer.
The cast featured marvelous comic performances by Anna Christie as the spoiled heiress and Daniel Okulitch as her caveman. Dan was last in Dallas as Mozart’s FIGARO, and it was great to see him in something so completely different.
In fact, it was great to see him in anything at all, considering that he was in a very serious automobile accident in Los Angeles last spring from which he was lucky to walk away. He was in the hospital for a while and was still wearing a neck brace up until rehearsals started here (he had to cancel a DON GIOVANNI in Saint Louis earlier this summer.)
Sean Panikkar (“Cassio” in TDO’s OTELLO) was very good as the Maharajah’s son, as was Jamie Barton as the Maharanee, but almost stealing the show was Kevin Burdette as the wealthy father of the over indulged socialite “anthropologist.”
This souffle was whipped up from the pit by George Manahan who was obviously having as much fun with the score as everyone on stage and in the audience.
Backstage after the performance I ran into David Alden and Jon Morrell, who will be directing and designing a new production of Rossini’s MAOMETTO II for Santa Fe next summer and who were in town for a production presentation. It was great to see them and commiserate in person over the cancellation of their production of KATYA that was to open in Dallas in October. They were both very gracious about it and understanding of the necessity to cut back this season, and both hope to be invited back to Dallas soon.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Friday, August 12, 2011
Contact: Suzanne Calvin
214-443-1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org
THE DALLAS OPERA IS PROUD TO OFFER
SINGLE TICKETS
FOR THE GLORIOUSLY HAND-WRINGING
2011-2012“TRAGIC OBSESSIONS” SEASON
Presented by Texas Instruments Foundation
~~~~
Season Subscriptions under a Hundred Dollars are on Sale Now!
Single Tickets will Start at $25 and go on Sale Sept. 12, 2011
DALLAS, AUGUST 12, 2011 – The Dallas Opera is very pleased to announce
that single ticket sales to the general public for the action-packed 2011-2012 Season – our third in the magnificent Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center – will begin on Monday, September 12, 2010 at 10:00 am.
Single tickets will be priced, starting at $25 and may be purchased conveniently online at dallasopera.org or by calling the friendly staff at the Dallas Opera Ticket Services office at 214.443.1000.
Season subscriptions for all four productions start at just $76. FLEX three-performance subscriptions, and “Build Your Own” subscriptions starting at $75 are on sale now, as well! (Yes, you can add an opera for one, cool buck!)
The productions of the 2011-2012 “Tragic Obsessions” Season, presented by Texas Instruments Foundation, are:
· LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR by Gaetano Donizetti
(Oct. 21, 23m, 26, 29 & Nov. 6m, 2011)
· TRISTAN & ISOLDE by Richard Wagner (Opera in Concert)
(Feb. 16, 19m, 22 & 25, 2012)
· LA TRAVIATA by Giuseppe Verdi
(April 13, 15m, 18, 21, 27 & 29m, 2012)
· THE MAGIC FLUTE by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(April 20, 22m, 25, 28, May 4 & 6m, 2012)
Any remaining single tickets for the inaugural production of the Dallas Opera’s new Chamber Opera Series, The Lighthouse by Peter Maxwell Davies, will go on sale in December—after Dallas Opera and Dallas Theater Center subscribers have had a chance to make their purchases. Seating is limited.
“During the upcoming season,” explains Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny, “we’ll be exploring ways to refresh and re-imagine our approach to some of the most popular and compelling works in the repertoire. At the same time, we will also strive to keep the company on a bold, 21st century trajectory through the use of exciting new technologies, innovative use of the extraordinary production capabilities of the Winspear Opera House, and a renewed emphasis on strengthening connections with our existing patrons while also developing new audiences.”
A host of noteworthy Dallas Opera on-stage debuts this season include:
· Elena Mosuc. This remarkable Romanian soprano was selected her country’s “Woman of the Year” in 2009. She has been praised by Renata Scotto as “the ideal interpreter of Lucia di Lammermoor” and will make her company debut in this title role.
· Bryan Hymel, an “ardent and charismatic” New Orleans-born tenor with “an attractive warm timbre” (Allan Kozinn, The New York Times) is recognized as one of the most exciting lyric tenors onstage today; an artist who leaves audiences breathless! Look for his TDO debut as Edgardo di Ravenwood in our LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR.
· Luca Grassi, an Italian baritone making his American debut as Lord Enrico Ashton in our revival of LUCIA. “This guy is destined for a great career,” trumpeted Barihunks which also praised his “rich, dark top voice.”
· Jordan Bisch, “an impressive bass with an easy, smooth vocal production” (Judith Malafronte, Opera News) will sing the role of Raimondo Bidebent, also in LUCIA.
· Jukka Rasilainen, a renowned Wagnerian making his American debut in the role of Tristan’s retainer, Kurvenal, in our performances of TRISTAN & ISOLDE.
· Kristinn Sigmundsson, Iceland’s foremost bass, will make his Dallas Opera debut in the pivotal role of King Marke of Cornwall in our new TRISTAN, with projections by Elaine J. McCarthy, the creator of special video affects for our world premiere production of MOBY-DICK.
· Myrtò Papatanasiu, a Greek soprano who triumped in the leading role in LA TRAVIATA at both Welsh National Opera and in Rome. Praised for her “beautiful coloratura and balance” (Paolo Isotta, Corriere della Sera), she will make her American operatic debut as the doomed courtesan Violetta Valery.
· Laurent Naouri, a leading French baritone will make his TDO debut as Giorgio Germont in LA TRAVIATA. Praised by Chicago Classical Review “as fatherly yet compassionate and his memorable ‘Di provenza’ was a highlight of the evening.”
· Shawn Mathey, “a honeyed tenor” (Lawrence A. Johnson) and already a star in Europe, now conquering the American stage in a variety of roles including Mozart’s Tamino, in which he will make his company debut.
· L’ubica Vargicová, our “Queen of the Night” in THE MAGIC FLUTE is a gorgeous Slovakian coloratura soprano who has sung this challenging role in theaters around the world.
The benefits of becoming a Dallas Opera subscriber will take a significant leap during the 2011-2012 Season. In addition to perks that already include priority seating, lost ticket replacement, invitations to special events and dramatic savings over the price of single tickets, the company is adding two, new FREE incentives for full-season (four-performance) subscribers:
· An exclusive patron recital on November 9, 2011, “A Cabaret Evening with Patricia Racette,” featuring the luminous Miss Racette performing selections from the “Great American Songbook” in the intimacy of the Winspear Opera House.
· And a lively, fun-filled Family Concert on November 12, 2011, featuring stellar soprano Ava Pine, tenor Aaron Blake and mezzo Sasha Cooke in performance with the esteemed Dallas Opera Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Barrese.
Writing about a recent Patricia Racette cabaret performance, Joe Banno of The Washington Post found the singer “so magnetic, so naturally inside the style, she left other opera singers’ stiff-backed attempts at this repertoire in the dust…She needs to be heard in this material.”
And, as mentioned, subscribers will get “first crack” at tickets for the Dallas Opera’s thrilling new Chamber Opera Series, being inaugurated in February with Peter Maxwell Davies’ THE LIGHTHOUSE. This contemporary opera, being produced in collaboration with the Dallas Theater Center, will be conducted by the renowned Nicole Paiement and staged by the DTC’s acclaimed Artistic Director, Kevin Moriarty, in his opera debut!
Full season subscriptions (four performances) for the 2011-2012 Season range from $75 to $1,015. Inner Circle seating may be higher.
THE DALLAS OPERA GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES
THE TEXAS INSTRUMENTS FOUNDATION,
PRESENTER OF THE 2011-2012 SEASON
~~~~
EVENTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT “AUGUST 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
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), Elizabeth Bishop (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
______________________________________________________________________________________
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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I arrived in Lyon yesterday afternoon from Dallas (via Madrid, which, by the way, has a wonderful airport in which to have a layover) and got to my hotel at 5:00, barely giving me enough time to shower and change to make a 6:30 curtain for a highly acclaimed new production of Wagner’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE.
The opera starred Clifton Forbis (who will be repeating the role in Dallas in February) and Ann Petersen, who is scheduled to make her American debut in Dallas in the 2012-2013 season in a production we haven’t announced yet.
They were magnificent, and the production was really beautiful. The conductor was Kiril Petrenko, and the opera was staged by Alex Olle from the Catalan theater company “La fura dels Baus.”.
The stage was dominated by a huge (and I mean “fills the stage” huge) orb, that represnted the moon in Act I, and when reversed in Act II, was hollow, with windows, doors and stairs, and with magical projections became the world of the doomed lovers.
Cliff Forbis, who many of you know, started his career in the Dallas Opera chorus, must be the finest Tristan of our day. His performance was heroic, and his third act monologue was some of the most moving singing I have ever experienced. Leaving the theatre after the performance, Cliff said to me that he never dreamed that some twenty odd years after his very first professional audition, which was for me, by the way (in case you wondered, it was “Salut demeure” from Gounod’s FAUST) that the two of us would be walking along a deserted European street after one of his performances.
Kicking Cliff out of the chorus and telling him that he was too talented not to go out into the world and do something with his life may be the best advice I have ever given anyone !
I knew that Ann and Cliff were in the cast when I planned attending this performance, but a pleasant surprise was that Jochen Schmeckenbecher was making his role debut as Kurwenalin this production. Jochen has moved on from the lighter roles that he sang with The Dallas Opera (Papageno, Schaunard and Dr. Falke in DIE FLEDERMAUS) and has established himself in heavier repertoire in many important European theaters.
One great new discovery in the cast was German bass Christof Fischesser, who was completely unknown to me, as King Marke. He gave a very impressive performance, and I expect we will be hearing a lot more about him very soon.
I start hearing auditions in a little while (I expect to hear 50 or more singers over the next few days) and have to get ready.
More news soon.
Clifton Forbis and Jochen Schmeckenbecher following their performance in TRISTAN in Lyon