A cast change for the Dallas Opera’s upcoming production of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s “Die tote Stadt” puts an exciting American soprano in the dual role of Marie/Marietta. Critically acclaimed American soprano Mardi Byers as Marie/Marietta, has replaced Danish soprano Ann Petersen.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214.443.1014 or Celeste Hart 214.443.1072
suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org or celeste.hart@dallasopera.org
THE DALLAS OPERA PRESENTS
SOPRANO MARDI BYERS
AS MARIE/MARIETTA IN ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD’S EARLY 20TH CENTURY MASTERPIECE DIE TOTE STADT (“THE DEAD CITY”)
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CONDUCTED BY MAESTRO SEBASTIAN LANG-LESSING
STAGED AND DESIGNED BY THE RENOWNED MIKAEL MELBYE
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ONLY FIVE PERFORMANCES!
MARCH 21, 23(m), 26, 29 & APRIL 6(m), 2014
IN THE MARGOT AND BILL WINSPEAR OPERA HOUSE
AT THE AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
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DIE TOTE STADT IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY:
MARNIE AND KERN WILDENTHAL
SEASON PRESENTED BY
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS FOUNDATION
DALLAS, FEBRUARY 25, 2014 – The Dallas Opera has announced a cast change for the third production of the company’s 2013-2014 “By Love Transformed” Season, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s late-Romantic masterpiece, DIE TOTE STADT (“The Dead City”).
DIE TOTE STADT will open on Friday, March 21, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in the Dallas Arts District.
Die tote Stadt features an extraordinary international ensemble cast that includes tenor Jay Hunter Morris in the role of Paul, fresh from his triumphs as Ahab in the San Francisco Opera revival of Moby-Dick and as Siegfried in the Met’s new Ring Cycle, and critically acclaimed American soprano Mardi Byers as Marie/Marietta, replacing Danish soprano Ann Petersen who reluctantly withdrew from the production due to back problems.
Ms. Byers was praised by Opera News for her Bolshoi Theater performances as Marie in Wozzeck, “coloring phrases with a fine expressive sense;” and by The New York Times for her “memorable” characterization – “singing with a wealth of vocal colors.” The Colorado-born soprano (who now resides in Switzerland) has a repertoire that includes Wagner, Verdi, Puccini and Richard Strauss – as well as Korngold. This production will mark Ms. Byers’ TDO debut.
Before Alfred Hitchcock filmed the 1958 James Stewart / Kim Novak classic, “Vertigo,” Erich Wolfgang Korngold created Die tote Stadt, the tale of one man’s dark obsession with the woman he loved and lost. Dallas Morning News Classical Music Critic Scott Cantrell recently wrote “No opera ever composed has music more gorgeous, more sumptuous.” This hauntingly beautiful Dallas Opera production was originally created for Royal Danish Opera by Mikael Melbye.
Production underwriters are Marnie and Kern Wildenthal.
DIE TOTE STADT will be sung in the original German with English language translations projected above the stage. Additional performances are planned for March 23(m), 26 and 29, concluding with a final Sunday afternoon matinee on April 6, 2014 in the magnificent Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Single tickets range from $19 to $250 (box seats may be higher for select performances).
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Single tickets for The Dallas Opera’s 2013-2014 Season start at just $19 and are available by visiting www.dallasopera.org or by consulting with TDO’s ticket office professionals at 214-443-1000.
BIO:
Mardi Byers (Marie/Marietta )
American soprano Mardi Byers is making her Dallas Opera debut with these performances. She has already made her mark on international opera and concert stages including appearances with the Hamburg State Opera, the Bregenz Festival, Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater, Opera Frankfurt, Finnish National Opera and at the New York City Opera. Her triumphant opera debut as Floria Tosca at Theater Lübeck in 2003 earned her both critical and public acclaim, prompting invitations from leading opera houses to sing such roles as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra at the Hamburg State Opera, Aida at Finnish National Opera, Opera Toulon, as well as in Graham Vick’s production for the Bregenz Festival, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni for Opera Frankfurt and with the New York City Opera directed by Harold Prince, Giorgetta and Suor Angelica Il trittico for New Orleans Opera, Elisabetta in Don Carlo for Theater Basel directed by Calixto Beito, Marietta in Die tote Stadt, the title role of Tosca, and Elisabeth Tannhäuser at the Nürnberg State Theater. In 2011 she was nominated for Russia’s most prestigious theater award, “The Golden Mask” for her portrayal of Marie in the Dmitri Tcherniakov’s celebrated production of Wozzeck with the Bolshoi Theater conducted by Teodor Currentzis.
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EVENTS, GUESTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT “FEBRUARY AT THE DALLAS OPERA”
IS CONVENIENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE, 24/7
VISIT WWW.DALLASOPERA.ORG AND CHECK THE CALENDAR LISTINGS
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To arrange an interview
Or for additional information
Please contact Suzanne Calvin, Director Media & Public Relations
214.443.1014 or suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org
The Dallas Opera’s 2013-2014 “By Love Transformed” Season
Is Sponsored by Texas Instruments Foundation
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
Ticket Information for the 2013-2014 Dallas Opera Season
All performances are in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center unless otherwise described. Single Tickets range from $19 to $275 and Flex Subscriptions are on sale starting at $75. Family performance tickets are just $5. For more information or to make your purchase, contact The Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214.443.1000 or visit us online, 24/7, at www.dallasopera.org.
THE DALLAS OPERA 2013-2014 SPRING SEASON INFORMATION
The Dallas Opera celebrates its Fifty-Seventh International Season in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in the Dallas Arts District. Evening performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees begin at 2:00 p.m. unless otherwise stated. English translations will be projected above the stage at every performance and assistance is available for the hearing impaired. The Joy and Ronald Mankoff Pre-Opera Talk begins one hour prior to curtain at most performances.
DEATH AND THE POWERS by Tod Machover
February 12, 14, 15 & 16(m), 2014
Science fiction and poignant family drama combine in a major regional premiere!
An opera in one act first performed in Monte Carlo, Monaco at the Salle Garnier on September 24, 2010.
Libretto by Robert Pinsky, based on a story by Pinsky and Randy Weiner
Time: Unknown time in the future
Place: Earth, the home of billionaire Simon Powers
Conductor: Nicole Paiement
Original Direction: Diane Paulus*
Stage Director: Andrew Eggert*
Production Design: Alex McDowell*
Costume Design: David C. Woolard*
Lighting Design: Donald Holder
Sound Design: Chris Full*
Choreography: Karole Armitage*
Wig & make-up Supervision: David Zimmerman
Starring: Robert Orth (Simon Powers), Joélle Harvey (Miranda), Patricia Risley(Evvy), Hal Cazalet*(Nicholas), Frank Kelley*(The United Way), David Kravitz*(The United Nations), Tom McNichols*(The Administration).
DIE TOTE STADT (“THE DEAD CITY”) by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
March 21, 23(m), 26, 29 and April 6(m), 2014
The Hitchcock-like tale of one man’s dark obsession with the woman he loved and lost.
An opera in three acts first performed in Hamburg & Cologne, Germany on December 4, 1920
Text by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Paul Schott based on a novel by Georges Rodenbach, Bruges la morte
Time: End of the 19th century
Place: The city of Bruges in northwestern Belgium
Conductor: Sebastian Lang-Lessing*
Stage Director: Mikael Melbye
Scenic Design: Mikael Melbye*
Costume Design: Dierdre Clancy*
Video Design: Wendall Harrington*
Lighting Design: Mark McCullough
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Choreography: Matthew Ferraro*
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Mardi Byers*(Marie/Marietta) , Jay Hunter Morris (Paul), Morgan Smith (Fritz), Weston Hurt (Frank), Katherine Tier*(Brigitta), Andrew Bidlack (Albert), Jan Lund**(Victorin), Jennifer Chung (Juliette), Angela Turner Wilson (Lucienne).
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE by Gioachino Rossini
March 28, 30(m), April 2, 5, 11 & 13(m), 2014
Figaro, a scheming barber and jack-of-all-trades plots to release a headstrong girl from her gilded cage!
An opera in two acts first performed in Rome on February 20, 1816
Text by Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais, from his comedy Le Barbier de Séville
Time: 18th century
Place: Seville, Spain
Conductor: Giuliano Carella*
Stage Director: Herb Kellner
Original Production: John Copley
Scenic Design: John Conklin
Costume Design: Michael Stennet
Lighting Design: Gary Marder
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Nathan Gunn (Figaro), Isabel Leonard*(Rosina), Alek Shrader*(Count Almaviva), Donato DiStefano (Dr. Bartolo), Burak Bilgili*(Don Basilio), Nathan De’Shon Myers (Fiorello), Christian Teague*(Ambrogio).
DALLAS OPERA FAMILY PERFORMANCES
Jack and the Beanstalk: October 26, 2013 and April 5, 2014
Family Concerts: November 3, 2013 and February 1, 2014
The Elixir of Love: November 9, 2013 and April 12, 2014
* Dallas Opera Debut
** American Debut
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The Dallas Opera is supported, in part, by funds from: Texas Instruments Foundation, TACA, City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs; 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 the Elsa von Seggern Foundation for its continuing support.
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