Archives for March 2012
From the Desk of Artistic Director Jonathan Pell
March 31, 2012
I was in Denton at the University of North Texas on Monday and Tuesday working with some of the very talented students pursuing graduate degrees in voice. I did this two years ago, and was asked back by Stephen Dubberly and Paula Homer to select this year’s recipient of the bi-annual Winspear Opera Scholarship. It... Read more →
A TRUE CAST OF CHARACTERS
March 29, 2012
Seventeen ninety-one was a terrible year for Mozart personally, but a fabulous year for Western Music. The list of masterworks he composed during his final months is simply staggering. Some of the high points are Piano Concerto No. 27, String Quintet No. 6, the Clarinet Concerto, the opera seria, La clemenza di Tito, the incomplete... Read more →
You’re Invited – Tonight!
March 27, 2012
What’s so controversial about Arts Education? Mmmmm. Just about everything: Who funds it? Who needs it? Who gets it? Join Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny, D magazine Arts Editor Peter Simek, and an outstanding panel to discuss the future of education in the arts in America. More here from Liz Johnstone of... Read more →
25K – And Still Counting (Have you Reserved Your Seats?)
Time is running out to reserve your seat or seats for the Dallas Opera’s April 28th Cowboys Stadium simulcast, presented by The Dallas Foundation. However, the hot news of the day is that 25,000 of you have already signed up for tickets to attend the Saturday evening performance – live from the Winspear Opera House... Read more →
Simulcast Ticket Requests Top 25K!
If I said, “but who’s counting?” the answer would be – we are! Yes, indeed, we are. Keep scrolling; the latest on the April 28th simulcast can be found below. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Contact: Suzanne Calvin (214.443.1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org) Or Megan Meister (214.443.1071/megan.meister@dallasopera.org) REQUESTS FOR TICKETS TO THE DALLAS OPERA COWBOYS STADIUM ONE-NIGHT-ONLY... Read more →
Introducing “Three Questions for Keith”
March 23, 2012
THREE QUESTIONS FOR KEITH (Why? Because You Really Want to Know) This month’s questions for Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny are from James Faust, Artistic Director of Dallas Film Society and host of the DALLAS International Film Festival, April 12-22, 2012. He asks: 1. Is Opera for everyone? Opera at its heart... Read more →
Megan’s Musings Volume 7: Ethan Herschenfeld
March 22, 2012
Ethan Herschenfeld, Doctor Grenvil La Traviata I am sitting down with Ethan Herschenfeld, Doctor Grenvil in TDO’s production of La traviata opening on Friday, April 13th. Ethan is making his debut with us.
From the Desk of Artistic Director Jonathan Pell
Well, I can start to breathe again. Last Friday morning when I arrived in the office at 8:00 a.m. I found a deeply distressing e-mail from Myrtò Papatanasiu’s manager in Italy, informing me that there had been an accident on stage during a performance of Rusalka at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels on... Read more →
NOT Too Cool for School
March 21, 2012
It’s the official roll-out of the company’s education programs for this summer and the following school year. Read it and wish you were ten again: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 21, 2012 Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214-443-1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org THE DALLAS OPERA IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE The 2012-2013 Education Programs SERVING NORTH TEXAS STUDENTS AGE 5 TO ADULT... Read more →
TOP THIS!
March 20, 2012
The Dallas Opera Guild’s 24th Annual Vocal Competition for young opera singers ended on a high-note (somehow, it always does) on Saturday, March 10th in the Winspear Opera House, when ten outstanding finalists with Texas connections were awarded a total of $20,000 in prize monies, following a nearly unprecedented “battle of the sopranos.” 29-year-old soprano... Read more →
Glowing Reviews for The Lighthouse
March 19, 2012
The limited engagement of the Dallas Opera’s new production of THE LIGHTHOUSE is now history – but the accolades continue to roll in on the tide. Katie Womack of “The Observer” found it a “strange yet engrossing musical and theatrical experience.” Read more of her review here. Over at “Theater Jones,” critic Gregory Sullivan Isaacs proclaimed... Read more →
Spooky-Like, and a Whole Lot More
March 15, 2012
All explanations fall short. There’s no way to navigate the treacherous shoals of Peter Maxwell Davies’ THE LIGHTHOUSE, opening Friday, March 16th at 7:30 pm in the Wyly Theater, without actually experiencing it, seeing and hearing it for yourself. Classical Music Critic Scott Cantrell of “The Dallas Morning News” gives it a go right here. But it’s... Read more →
The Magic Flute Comes to TDO
March 14, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214-443-1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org THE DALLAS OPERA IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE FINALE OF THE “TRAGIC OBSESSIONS” SEASON: MOZART’S MAGNIFICENT MASTERPIECE! THE MAGIC FLUTE (Die Zauberflöte) Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder ~~~~ STARRING SOPRANO AVA PINE AS PAMINA TENOR SHAWN MATHEY IN HIS TDO DEBUT AS TAMINO BASS-BARITONE... Read more →
Idea for a New Opera? Before You Start…
If you’ve ever given a moment’s thought to creating a new work for the opera stage – this is a must read! Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny’s lastest edition of “Off the Cuff” for “Theater Jones” delves into the tricky business of commissioning new works. And you don’t have to be an... Read more →
Theater Jones Videos: To The Lighthouse, Parts 2 and 3
The fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at the Dallas Opera’s new production of THE LIGHTHOUSE continues to capture our attention at Theater Jones! Here’s Part Two followed by Part Three of the ongoing series. Kudos to Producer/Editor Emily Trube, Reporter Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, videographer Eric Shaddix, and Michael Warner. Tickets are available for this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon at... Read more →
Coming Soon to a Theater Near…Us!
March 13, 2012
Only the performance space has changed, not the artistic quality or content. I’m talking about THE LIGHTHOUSE, a 1980 chamber opera by Peter Maxwell Davies opening this Friday in the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre directly across Flora Street from our usual home in the Winspear Opera House. And THE LIGHTHOUSE is definitely distinctive in more ways... Read more →
Theater Jones Goes “Behind the Curtain”
March 12, 2012
Behind the curtain, down in the pit, at the publicity shoot, in the tech director’s office, talking with the conductor, the director and the stars: “Theater Jones” was everywhere, as the Dallas Opera and the Dallas Theater Center prepared for our chilling new production of THE LIGHTHOUSE, opening for a very limited engagement this Friday night,... Read more →
The Country Versus the Cough
Early this morning, four decades after it smashed box office records across the U.S., I finally got around to seeing “Love Story” when it snuck-up on my television screen. Aside from a head-snapping appearance by a youthful Tommy Lee Jones, the movie was everything I expected and less: sappy, over-the-top music score; “hoot-worthy” dialogue, and... Read more →
Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition Results
March 11, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Saturday, March 10, 2012 Contact: Suzanne Calvin (214.443.1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org) Or Megan Meister (214.443.1071/megan.meister@dallasopera.org) The 24th Annual “Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition” Awards $20,000 in Prize Monies! ~~~~ SOPRANO HEATHER HAWK Takes Top Prize and $8,000 Cash! ~~~~ Second Place ($5,000) and “People’s Choice Award” (An Additional $1,000) Goes to Soprano Amanda Woodbury ~~~~... Read more →
Unbridled Enthusiasm
March 8, 2012
There are a number of things I love in this world: kind-hearted children, pets that purr, well-designed furniture, glorious music enjoyed with the windows rolled down, walking anywhere, hundred-year-old linens, and the Meadows Museum–to name a few. But one of the things I’ve come to appreciate more and more is the man or woman who looks at... Read more →
“La traviata” Comes to TDO!
March 7, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, March 7, 2012 Contact: Suzanne Calvin (214.443.1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org) Or Megan Meister (214.443.1071/megan.meister@dallasopera.org) THE DALLAS OPERA IS PROUD TO PRESENT GIUSEPPE VERDI’S POIGNANT 1853 MASTERPIECE LA TRAVIATA LIBRETTO BY FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE ~~~~ STARRING GREEK SOPRANO MYRTÒ PAPATANASIU IN HER AMERICAN DEBUT AS VIOLETTA, AMERICAN TENOR JAMES VALENTI AS ALFREDO, AND FRENCH BARITONE... Read more →
All About THE LIGHTHOUSE
Excellent feature on the Dallas Public Library blog, “Booked Solid” about our upcoming production, THE LIGHTHOUSE, by Peter Maxwell Davies – a contemporary work that will inaugurate our new, dedicated chamber series in partnership with the Dallas Theater Center. Be sure to read it all the way to the end, as the final paragraph has a... Read more →
The Lighthouse is Looming
March 5, 2012
And it’s a new experience for every one of us to be working with members of the Dallas Theater Center’s production team (and vice versa!) under the direction of Maestra Nicole Paiement and stage director Kevin Moriarty. There’s some heavy lifting to be done, certainly, but it’s clearly a labor of love for all concerned... Read more →
Free, Public Roundtable on the Impact of the Arts on Education
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, March 5, 2012 Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214-443-1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org THE DALLAS OPERA IS PROUD TO PRESENT “THE GENERAL DIRECTOR’S ROUNDTABLE” ON “THE IMPORTANCE OF ARTS IN EDUCATION” FEATURING LEANN BINFORD, DIRECTOR, CREATIVE LEARNING WORKFORCE AT BIG THOUGHT, INC., AND ZANNIE VOSS, PhD PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF ARTS ADMINISTRATION, SMU’S COX SCHOOL OF BUSINESS... Read more →
“…And Come Back a Star!”
She was the 2005 “Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year” award winner for her Dallas Opera debut in the role of the long-suffering Micaela in “Carmen.” That was half-a-dozen years after winning the 1998 Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. And now, with about a day’s notice, Houston-born soprano Latonia Moore made her glorious Metropolitan... Read more →
A Week in the Life – And One to Remember Always!
Latonia Moore taking a solo bow after her triumphant Metroplitan Opera debut as Verdi’s AIDA on the Saturday afternoon radio broadcast, March 3, 2012 This has been an incredibly exciting week. Saturday night’s final performance of TRISTAN was a triumphant finale to perhaps the most highly praised production at The Dallas Opera in recent memory. ... Read more →
22,000 and Still Counting
March 2, 2012
There is still time to mark your calendar and plan to be there at Cowboys Stadium for the first ever Dallas Opera Simulcast in a sports venue. The production is Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE, featuring an all-star cast, and it’s a great introduction to opera. Get more details from KERA’s Jerome Weeks here or Classical... Read more →
So In Vogue
In the pages of this month’s “Vogue” magazine, an article on tenor Jonas Kaufmann (“Lord of the Ring”) that also touches on other members of the Met cast, including tenor Jay Hunter Morris (pictured, in the photo from NPR), who just had a spectacular run as Captain Ahab in the San Diego production of “Moby-Dick.”... Read more →
From the Desk of Artistic Director Jonathan Pell
I just heard from friends in New York that Latonia Moore is going to sing tomorrow’s Met radio broadcast of Aida! Latonia was the 1998 winner of the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition and the winner of the 2004 Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award at the Dallas Opera for her unforgettable “Micaela”... Read more →
OVER 21,000 TICKETS REQUESTED FOR THE DALLAS OPERA’S 2012 COWBOYS STADIUM SIMULCAST!
March 1, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 1, 2012 Contact: Suzanne Calvin (214.443.1014/suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org) Or Megan Meister (214.443.1071/megan.meister@dallasopera.org) OVER 21,000 TICKETS REQUESTED FOR THE DALLAS OPERA’S 2012 COWBOYS STADIUM SIMULCAST! ~~~~ MOZART’S THE MAGIC FLUTE LIVE! SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2012 at 7:30 PM STADIUM DOORS OPEN AT 6:00 PM ~~~~ FREE SEATING, FREE PARKING, PAID CONCESSIONS FREE... Read more →