Archives for 2012
Ending the Week on an Existential Note
November 30, 2012
Before we get all warm and fuzzy at the AT&T Performing Arts Center tree lighting and in response to all the wonderful reasons we have to celebrate during the month ahead, let’s talk for a moment about DEATH. D-E-A-T-H, as in “Death and the Powers,” a tremendously innovative contemporary opera by MIT Media Lab composer/inventor Tod Machover and poet... Read more →
The Word is Out!
November 27, 2012
Sara Heaton and Hal Cazalet in Death and the Powers. Photo by Paula Aguilera The word is out, about the Dallas Opera’s once-secret plans to bring Tod Machover’s groundbreaking “Death and the Powers” to the Winspear stage in 2014. Nope, we haven’t announced our next season, but the National Endowment for the Arts has announced its grant... Read more →
Inside the Mind of Jake Heggie
November 14, 2012
There are few things in the world of journalism more satisfying than a great interview and there’s a great interview with composer Jake Heggie in “The Cornell Daily Sun” conducted over the phone by Danyoung Kim. Jake and librettist Gene Scheer are going to be on campus for a master class and panel discussion. One... Read more →
Meet the Next General Manager of the Met
November 9, 2012
Not that there’s a vacancy at the top of the pyramid. However, there’s no doubt that this young man feels ready to tackle the opera world and he’s already making quite a name for himself. Read on in this feature from “The Christian Science Monitor.” (Photo by Whitney Eulich for the Monitor) Suzanne Calvin, Manager/Director... Read more →
Never Forget
Unofficial word out of Vienna today that to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 25th, a new opera focusing on the murders of children by the Nazi regime will premiere–in Austria’s Parliament. The work, by composer Peter Androsch, takes place in a Viennese psychiatric ward. There’s been no formal announcement of the project, as... Read more →
Like an Egyptian
Who isn’t interested in how grand spectacles like AIDA make it from the design table to the stage? Not to mention how you handle the “care and feeding” of vintage costume designs like those for this acclaimed production. Go backstage at the Winspear Opera House and get a better understanding of the role of radiator... Read more →
Raising a Glass to the Fellow Who Raises His Baton
The Women’s Board of the Dallas Opera organized a splendid “Toast to Graeme Jenkins” to mark the beginning of his final season as our music director. This marks the Maestro’s 20th season with TDO, so there were plenty of musical memories. I thought it was interesting that the Chorus chose to honor him with a... Read more →
Aida sings Rachmaninoff, Puccini, Tchaikovsky…
November 8, 2012
Tonight at 8:00 at the University of North Texas Murchison Performing Arts Center, renowned soprano Latonia Moore (currently dazzling critics and audiences in the title role of the Dallas Opera’s Aida) will do one of the many things she does best: stepping in for an ailing singer. As she did earlier this year at the... Read more →
Breathtaking Fashion
November 7, 2012
I just love the sense of being “in the moment” in these sumptuous shots by Kristi and Scot Redman, the fashion editors of “D magazine.” Enjoy “the moment” here. It truly was a FIRST NIGHT to remember. And don’t forget: the final performances of Verdi’s AIDA are taking place on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. It’s not... Read more →
AIDA – Still Making Waves
November 5, 2012
…in all the right directions. Latonia Moore’s performance in the title role has been universally acclaimed as “one for the ages.” But the strength of the other key principal roles has been noticed as well, as in Arts Editor Terry Mathews assessment of Antonello Palombi’s Radames: ” From the moment he began Celeste Aïda, Palombi... Read more →
Single Tickets for Dallas Opera’s Spring Productions – On Sale Nov. 14th
If your interest is in Puccini’s “Turandot” or Argento’s “The Aspern Papers,” your chance for single tickets is just over a week away. But you might want to give some thought to a terrific two-pack for less than fifty dollars, especially with two more performances of AIDA this coming weekend. Read on… FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:... Read more →
How do you spell “C-O-N-T-E-M-P-O-R-A-R-Y”?
Plenty of serious food for thought in General Director and CEO Keith Cerny’s latest “Off the Cuff” for “Theater Jones.” The topic is accessing modern and contemporary works to take their place in the opera season – and everything that entails. And if you think this is simply a matter of choosing “one from Column... Read more →
The View from the Top
November 2, 2012
The Dallas Observer’s” Katie Womack sat down with Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny and asked a lot of smart questions. The results turned up in today’s article, which you can access right here. (Photo of Keith and Jennifer Cerny attending FIRST NIGHT 2012 at the Winspear Opera House) Suzanne Calvin, Manager/Director... Read more →