The Dallas Opera Family Series 

With Generous Support from Presenting Sponsor

Texas Instruments

 And the Betty and Steve Suellentrop

Educational Outreach Fund

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Part of “The Perot Foundation Education and Community Outreach Programs”

With additional support from Lockheed Martin

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CONDUCTED BY MAESTRO PETER MANNING

 

“THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF”

Sunday, July 26, 2015, 2:00 p.m.

Dallas Children’s Theater

Mary Dibbern, accompanist

 

Saturday, April 16, 2016, 2:00 p.m.

Margot & Bill Winspear Opera House

AT&T Performing Arts Center

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“ROSSINI AND COMPANY”

A DALLAS OPERA FAMILY CONCERT

FEATURING THE DALLAS OPERA ORCHESTRA

Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, 2:00 p.m. and

Sunday, March 13, 2016, 2:00 p.m.

Margot & Bill Winspear Opera House

 

“BASTIEN AND BASTIENNE” by W.A. Mozart

$5 FAMILY PERFORMANCE

FEATURING THE DALLAS OPERA ORCHESTRA

Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015, 2:00 p.m. and

Saturday, Mar. 5, 2016, 2:00 p.m.

Margot & Bill Winspear Opera House

 

DALLAS, MAY 29, 2015 –   Put those computers, tablets, and smart phones aside and take advantage of budget-minded, live, kid-friendly performances offered by The Dallas Opera (TDO) in our upcoming season!

The always popular Dallas Opera Family Performance Series is proudly presented by Texas Instruments, and made possible with additional generous support from the Betty and Steve Suellentrop Educational Outreach Fund and Lockheed Martin.

Budget-minded Family Performance subscriptions become available to the public on Monday, June 1 for just $12 – for all three performances.  Call the patron service specialists at The Dallas Opera Ticket Office, 214-443-1000, or purchase online at your convenience at dallasopera.org/family.

 

THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF is an adaptation of the popular folk tale by John Davies, based on scenes from operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gaetano Donizetti, and Gioachino Rossini. Incorporated into each lively performance are key messages for students, including the importance of attending school regularly and the need to be kind.

The performances will take place on Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at Dallas Children’s Theater (located at 5938 Skillman, Dallas – to attend this special performance, $5 single tickets are available through The Dallas Opera.  This DCT performance is not included in the TDO Family Performance Series subscription).

THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF will be performed a second time on Saturday, April 16, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. in the Margot & Bill Winspear Opera House (located at 2403 Flora Street, Dallas 75201).  Both performances will be sung in English, accompanied by collaborative pianist and Music Director of TDO Education and Family Programs, Mary Dibbern.

There are two casts for THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF, featuring soprano Agostina Migoni and mezzo-soprano Brandi Estwick in the role of Lucy; mezzo-sopranos Laura Gastinel and Farah Padamsee in the role of Ernesto; tenors Christopher Leach and Martin Clark, Jr. in the role of Dandini; as well as bass Travis McGuire and baritone Malcolm Payne, Jr. in the role of Osmin.

Prior to the April 16^th performance, The Dallas Opera will offer a host of hands-on crafts and activities.  These will take place in the C. Vincent Prothro Lobby of the Margot & Bill Winspear Opera House in the AT&T Performing Arts Center which will open at 12:30 p.m.

Single tickets for this event are on sale June 1^st for just $5 apiece!  Three-performance subscriptions for Winspear Opera House performances are just $12!

 

The FAMILY CONCERT: “ROSSINI AND COMPANY” is a parade of Gioachino Rossini’s greatest hits including a wide variety of arias and overtures by this 19^th century Italian composer. Patrons may be surprised at just how many pieces they already know and love and this event is sure to be enjoyed by fans of all ages.  Featuring The Dallas Opera Orchestra and led by the acclaimed British conductor and violinist, Maestro Peter Manning, Guest Conductor and Concertmaster for The Dallas Opera, these concert performances will be presented on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.

Prior to the concert The C. Vincent Prothro Lobby of the Margot & Bill Winspear Opera House in the AT&T Performing Arts Center will open at 12:30 p.m. for a host of hands-on crafts and activities for children, followed by the performance at 2:00 p.m.

Just $5 per ticket!  $12 per subscription!  Buy Family Performance Series tickets online, 24/7, beginning June 1^st at dallasopera.org or call 214.443.1000.  What better chance to introduce the extraordinary music, the magic, and the incredible excitement of live theater and opera to your children, grandchildren or loved ones!

“One of the most exciting developments
during my five years in Dallas” explains General Director and CEO Keith Cerny, “has been our ability to expand our education and community outreach efforts to reach tens of thousands of people across North Texas. It has also enabled the Dallas Opera to invite newcomers – particularly children and families – to experience the richness, color and excitement of opera as it was meant to be experienced, in the magnificent Winspear Opera House.

“Thanks to our generous underwriters, this company is touching lives in a profound new way,” Cerny adds, “and reaching people who never knew that opera is easily accessible and highly entertaining.”

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BASTIEN AND BASTIENNE is a charming, short, fully-staged comic opera composed by a very, very young Mozart (he was only twelve!).  It centers on a lad and lassie with remarkably similar names who fall in love but are separated – at least briefly – by worldly enticements.  Bastienne, a shepherdess, believes her boyfriend, Bastien, has fallen for a girl he met in the big city.  Colas, the local magician, listens as Bastienne pours out her broken heart.  Could he possibly have something “up his sleeve” that will bring this loving couple back together?  The one-act opera was meant to serve as a gentle parody of the 18^th century pastoral works that were then all the rage onstage.

The renowned Peter Manning will conduct The Dallas Opera Orchestra in this delightful 1768 opera, which stars sopranos Alissa Roca and Anna Valcour sharing the role of Bastienne, and tenors Charles Karanja and Christopher Oglesby in separate casts as her beloved Bastien.  The opera also features bass-baritones Mason Jarboe and Langelihle Mngxati as Colas, a magician of some wisdom and questionable skills.

Although the first verified public performance didn’t take place until 1890, classical music audiences may recognize
the opening of the Overture, which uses the same theme as the much-later Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” by Beethoven.  Because of the unlikelihood that Beethoven ever saw this unpublished piece, it’s thought that both composers took the theme from another unknown composition.

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The set and costumes for THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF and BASTIEN AND BASTIENNE were designed by TDO Properties Designer and Costume Design Consultant Tommy Bourgeois.

Nancy Schaeffer of Dallas Children’s Theater staged THE BILLY GOATS GRUFF for The Dallas Opera.

 

Save on all three productions by purchasing your three-pack subscription in advance for just $12!  Single tickets go on sale for $5 apiece, beginning June 1, 2015. 

ARTISTIC/PRODUCTION KEY BIOS:

PETER MANNING – (Conductor – Dallas Opera Family Performances)

British conductor and violinist Peter Manning is Guest Conductor and Concertmaster with The Dallas Opera, Concertmaster of the Royal Opera House and Artistic Director & Conductor of the Manning Camerata.  Mr. Manning’s conducting career also includes work with the Royal Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Edsberg Chamber Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the Soloists of The Royal Opera House.  He was appointed Professor of New Work at Edinburgh University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2013. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Northern College of Music as well as an honorary member of the Royal College of Music.  Mr. Manning is internationally known as one of Britain’s finest musicians. His schedule includes tours to France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Scandinavia, the Far East, the USA, South America and Russia and appearances in many major venues. Peter is the recipient of the German Recording Industry’s Schallplattenpreis.  Peter attended Chetham’s School of Music and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Yossi Zivoni and with Josef Gingold and Nathan Milstein at Indiana University. In 1983 he was appointed leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra by Georg Solti. He was leader of the internationally renowned Britten Quartet 1986–96 and led the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 1997–99 and helped to reposition the orchestra.  He left the RPO when he was appointed as Concertmaster of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.  In 2005 he set up his own arts think-tank/ orchestra called, Manning Camerata, in an effort to create a wider dialogue around the arts in the UK and Europe. From its first concert event, his orchestra has worked throughout Europe delivering a catalogue of firsts: producing and giving the first opera in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in association with Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney to the first ever performance under the Pyramid of the Louvre in Paris. Manning also brought opera, chamber music, film realizations and the fusing of the creative arts—with music at the center—to the Chapel of Knights Hospitaller in Rome.  The orchestra has been involved in Climate Change 500, an initiative for governments, and was invited to create soundscapes for MASTER PIECE, the UK’s largest arts fair, attracting 40,000 patrons to the Chelsea Royal Hospital before opening a new residency series for development in Oxford.  Peter Manning accepted an invitation to serve as Music Director for St. Paul’s annual charity event with Maggies Centres where he will conduct Dame Ann Murray and Pumeza with Helena Bonham Carter, Rory Bremner and Adele in front of an audience of 2500 people, including royalty, in December.  Peter Manning is now well known as a conductor and has guided The BBCSO, The Odense Symphony Orchestra, The RPO, and The Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic from the podium.  He served as artistic director of Sweden’s oldest established chamber orchestra, Musica Vitae, for three successful seasons, winning back for them a national radio contract.  Sir Colin Davis and Sir Charles Mackerras were mentors in his conducting development.  Closer to home, Mr. Manning has experience in developing national companies and was asked to become the first Joint Professor between Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of Edinburgh; the idea being to populate the Edinburgh fringe with new work based on arts collaborations including dance, improvisation, film and technology while simultaneously evolving new media platforms.  His festival called “Oxygen” experienced a second successful year in Edinburgh and currently is developing strong partnerships in Scotland and elsewhere to promote Scottish arts.  Peter Manning recently recorded Mahler’s Fourth Symphony in the Glasgow concert hall with students from the RCS, due to be released on the Nimbus label next fall.  He was also the subject of an award-winning 2010 documentary entitled, Manning the Baton, an intimate look at his work with the musicians of Musica Vitae.  This season has seen Manning conduct for the ‘Concerto for the Commonwealth’ with Nicola Benedetti alongside invitations to conduct at Sadlers Wells for Sergei Polunin and other stars at a major Gala.  Peter also was invited by the City of Antwerp to conduct an official commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the birth of composer Richard Strauss.  He is passionate advocate for UK Arts and is a board member of the National Campaign for the Arts.  Peter Manning has led projects to bring younger people to opera with his ground-breaking format approach to delivering German Opera to the state school sector; collaborating with theatre director Rachel Grunwald to great acclaim. Peter is also working with the Mayor of London’s open space called, The Scoop, to widen access.  He is published by Universal Edition in Vienna and Schott in London.  His arrangement of the Tippett Quartets for Orchestra will be published next fall by Schott, in accordance with the wishes of the Tippett Estate.

 

MARY DIBBERN (Music Director of Education and Family Programs)

American pianist Mary Dibbern joined the Music Staff of The Dallas Opera as Music Director for Education and Family Programs in June 2012. She is an internationally known specialist in the field of vocal coaching, recital accompaniment, recordings, University level master classes, Young Artists Programs, television and radio appearances in Europe, the United States and Asia. Dibbern was graduated summa cum laude from SMU with a Master of Music in accompaniment under the direction of Maestro Paul Vellucci. She then moved to Paris to work with the great French musicians Nadia Boulanger and Pierre Bernac. She resided in France from 1978 to 2009, where she was guest coach for the Opéra National de Paris (Bastille), and the operas of Nice, Bordeaux, Lyons, Toulouse, Dijon, Châtelet, the Opéra-Comique, the Festival de Radio France-Montpellier and in Europe at the Théâtre Municipal de Lausanne, the Círculo Portuense de Opera, the Lithuanian National Opera (Vilnius), the Latvian National Opera (Riga) and at the Shanghai Opera House where she was in charge of musical and language preparation for the first French-language productions. In the US, she was guest coach at Seattle Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Memphis and Hawai’i Opera Theatre. She was Head of Music at Minnesota Opera for three seasons, where she collaborated closely with composer Kevin Puts and librettist Mark Campbell on their world premiere “Silent Night” which subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize for Music 2012. Mary Dibbern is the author of seven books on French music published by Pendragon Press and is the Editorial Consultant for Musik Fabrik’s publications of works by French composer Jacques Leguerney She is a recording artist for Harmonia Mundi France, Claves and Maguelone.

 

TOMMY BOURGEOIS (Production Designer)

Tommy Bourgeois has been associated with The Dallas Opera for over 25 years.  He has been an integral part of the Costume Shop and is the Head of the Properties Department.  Mr. Bourgeois has designed costumes and scenery for Ballet Austin, including Romeo and Juliette, The Nut Cracker and an original production of Taming of the Shrew commissioned by the Kennedy Center.  Other costume designs include Six Flags over Texas’ Christmas Show, Jazz land in New Orleans and Dixie Stamped in Tennessee. In addition to designing costumes for various theatres in Dallas, he served as Master Carpenter and Costumer for the Lyric Opera of Dallas for four years.  He is currently the set designer for the Order of the Alamo Coronation that takes place in San Antonio every spring during Fiesta.  Mr. Bourgeois earned a MA in Theatre Design and Dramatic Criticism at Southwest Texas University and went on to earn an MFA at Southern Methodist University where he studied with Bill and Jean Eckhart.  In New York, he was the assistant to Beni Montressor on ballets and operas in New York, NY and abroad and worked in the Fashion industry for Joseph Abboud and Emanuel Ungaro.

 

NANCY SCHAEFFER (Stage Director – The Billy Goats Gruff)

Nancy Schaeffer has served Dallas Children’s Theater since its founding in 1984, first as a teacher and actor and now as Director of all Education Programs and outreach activities. A graduate of Western Kentucky University, Ms. Schaeffer has directed numerous DCT productions including Junie B. Jones…; How I Became a Pirate; don’t u luv me?; Madeline’s Christmas; EAT (It’s Not About Food); Goodnight Moon; The Secret Life of Girls; Stuart Little; If You Give a Mouse a Cookie; The Island of the Skog; Honk!; Babe, the Sheep-Pig; Jack & the Giant Beanstalk; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Bunnicula; Lyle the Crocodile; Miss Nelson is Missing (1999 &2010); Miss Nelson is Back!; If You Give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Pig a Party (both of which she adapted for the stage); and twelve productions of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!  Ms. Schaeffer also directed DCT’s highly successful touring production of The Stinky Cheeseman and Other Fair(l)y (Stoopid) Tales which toured the US and then traveled to Shanghai, China playing at the 2006 Shanghai International Children’s Culture and Arts Expo. As Education Director, Ms. Schaeffer oversees numerous programs including: DCT Academy, which offers year-round classes to more than 1,800 young people, ages 3 through 18; Curtains Up On Reading, an in-school residency program that integrates drama, literature, language arts, social studies, and history; After School and Summer Drama Classes that benefit “at-risk” youth through eight after-school satellite arts programs, and DCT’s Teen Scene, which nurtures the theater audiences and professionals of tomorrow by opening communication between teens, theater professionals and the community at large. 

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EVENTS, GUESTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT “MAY AT THE DALLAS OPERA”

IS CONVENIENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE, 24/7.  VISIT WWW.DALLASOPERA.ORG

 

FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPHS

Contact Suzanne Calvin, Director of Media and PR at suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org

Or Celeste Hart, Communications Manager at celeste.hart@dallasopera.org

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TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, 2015-2016 SEASON SPONSOR FOR THE DALLAS OPERA’S “SEEKING THE HUMAN ELEMENT” SEASON

Ticket Information for the 2015-2016 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 will be available July 15.  Full and Flex Subscriptions are on sale now starting at $75.  Family performance tickets (available June 1) 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 2015-2016 FALL SEASON INFORMATION

The Dallas Opera celebrates its Fifty-Ninth 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 will begin one hour prior to curtain, at most performances excluding FIRST NIGHT of the season.

GREAT SCOTT by Jake Heggie

October 30, November 1(m), 4, 7 & 15(m), 2015

A Thrilling Dallas Opera World Premiere!

Libretto by Terrence McNally*

Time: Present Day

Place: A Major American City

Conductor: Patrick Summers

Stage Director: Jack O’Brien*

Production Design: Bob Crowley

Lighting Design: Brian MacDevitt*

Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman

Chorus Master: Alexander Rom

Starring: Joyce DiDonato* (Arden Scott), Ailyn Pérez (Tatyana Bakst), Frederica von Stade (Mrs. Edward “Winnie” Flato), Nathan Gunn (Sid Taylor), Anthony Roth Costanzo* (Roane Heckle), Kevin Burdette (Eric Gold), Garrett Sorenson* (Anthony Candolino) and Michael Mayes* (Wendell Swan)

A Brand-New Dallas Opera Production!

 

TOSCA by Giacomo Puccini

November 6, 8(m), 11, 14, 20 & 22(m), 2015

A passionate and timeless masterpiece in a beloved period production

An opera in three acts first performed in Rome, Italy on January 14, 1900

Text by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa after Victorien Sardou’s 1887 French-language play, La Tosca

Time: Early 19^th century

Place: Locations in and around the City of Rome

Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume

Stage Director: Ellen Douglas Schlaefer*

Production Design: Ulisse Santicchi

Lighting Design: Marie Barrett

Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman

Chorus Master: Alexander Rom

Children’s Chorus Master: TBA

Starring: Emily Magee (Floria Tosca), Giancarlo Monsalve* (Mario Cavaradossi), Raymond Aceto (Baron Scarpia), William Ferguson (Spoletta), Dale Travis* (A Sacristan) and Ryan Kuster (Angelotti)

One of The Dallas Opera’s Most Popular!

 

BECOMING SANTA CLAUS by Mark Adamo

December 4, 6(m), 9 & 12, 2015

An Eagerly Awaited Dallas Opera World Premiere!

Libretto by the composer, Mark Adamo

Time: Where time divides into “before” and “after”

Place: An Elven kingdom in the far, far north

Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume

Stage Director: Paul Curran

Production Design: Gary McCann*

Video Design: Elaine J. McCarthy

Lighting Design: Paul Hackenmueller*

Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman

Chorus Master: Alexander Rom

Starring: Jennifer Rivera* (Queen Sophine), Juan José de León (Prince Claus), Matt Boehler* (Donkey)

Another New Dallas Opera Production

 

* 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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