Archives for July 2009
Quote of the Day
July 30, 2009
It comes in today’s New York Times from former University of Colorado Fullback Keith Miller on getting off the sidelines and onto the opera stage: “I was still a jock at the time,” he’s quoted as saying “and I thought, you can pick up chicks if you speak Italian.” One of the best reasons I’ve ever heard... Read more →
That’s Mozart Ringing in Your Ears!
July 29, 2009
The bells in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” are usually performed on a celeste in modern day performances. But, just once, wouldn’t you like to hear it just as the master intended? The “Sydney Morning Herald” has an intriguing article on one man’s successful quest for the true glockenspiel sound. Be absolutely certain you don’t miss... Read more →
Arlene and John Dayton: 2009 Legends, It’s Official!
July 27, 2009
Company-wide congratulations to Dallas Opera Board members Arlene and John Dayton, who are being honored by The Dallas Contemporary for their outstanding lead roles in the creation of a brand-new international cultural landmark: The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. The Daytons will be among a select group honored with the annual “Legends Award” designed to recognize... Read more →
Rod Gilfry a la Francaise
(photo courtesy of Broadwayworld.com) Rod Gilfry as a romantic leading man: Check! As a terrific choice to lead a national tour of an exciting revival of a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical theater icon: Check! Check! As a Frenchman: Uh……..well, let me think about that a moment. This is the Lincoln Center Theater production of SOUTH... Read more →
When Going Out on the Town Becomes a Pain in the ….
July 21, 2009
“The Stage,” a British publication devoted to…well, obviously…the theatre (with an ‘re’), has a rather interesting story of a marketing outfit that used focus groups to determine why London’s West End theaters are having such a hard time attracting and keeping audiences. The essential reason is: pain. It seems that tushes – both foreign and domestic... Read more →
Where One Ends and the Other Begins; That is the Question
July 17, 2009
(Image courtesy of ofletters.com) Mark Swed posted an interesting essay on the LA Times’ Culture Monster blog about the hand-wringing among some local bureaucrats over the mounting of a new Ring Cycle and an accompanying Wagner Festival scheduled to take center stage next spring in the City of Angels. Evidently, fearing that Angelenos might spontaneously shape-shift under Richard Wagner’s pernicious influence... Read more →
A Whale of a Replacement
July 15, 2009
Sometimes you luck out. Although no one was happy to see Dallas native Michael Yeargan withdraw from the production team for the world premiere of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s MOBY-DICK (for personal reasons), we were exceptionally pleased to learn that a terrific talent was stepping into the breach: two-time Tony Award nominee Robert Brill. Most recently, Brill... Read more →
In the good old summertime…
July 14, 2009
Soprano Ava Pine Thank goodness for the Google Alert service. It allows me to better keep up with what is going on in the industry and with our artists. Just today I received these alerts featuring some of our 2008-2009 season alumni. Our first Young Artist in Residence, Ava Pine, is part of the “luxury... Read more →
The Countdown has Begun
July 10, 2009
(Photo courtesy of Foster + Partners) We are less than a hundred days away from the opening of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and WFAA’s “Good Morning Texas” host (and one of our favorite media fellows) Gary Cogill, recently accompanied Dallas Opera Board Member Donald Winspear on a hard hat tour of the... Read more →
British Camillias for Renee
July 8, 2009
Sold-out performances and sterling reviews. Looks like Renee has conquered another role, this time, Dumas’ infamous “Lady of the Camilias” that she first took on a few seasons back in Houston and at the Met. Tony Tommasini, reporting from London on the Royal Opera production, finds it an “impressive company achievement.” (photo by Catherine Ashmore, courtesy of... Read more →
“A Cramp–My, er, Foot!”
July 7, 2009
What a trooper. During the Royal Opera’s first performance of a revival of “The Barber of Seville,” American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato (singing the role of Rosina) slipped during a scene change towards the end of Act One and broke her leg! According to this report in “The Guardian” (UK), thinking that she’d merely sprained her... Read more →