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    From the Desk of Artistic Director Jonathan Pell, Santa Fe Part V

    This is the fifth time in forty years that the Santa Fe Opera has mounted a production of Offenbach’s satirical operetta THE GRAND DUCHESS OF GEROLSTEIN, but this time it was done for mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, who looked stunning in the lush period costumes, sang exquisitely (most notably in the beautiful aria “Dites-lui” which is one of the few quiet moments in this rollicking comedy) and delivered the English language dialogue with great panache and delicious comic timing.

    This role and this opera couldn’t have been a greater contrast to THE ASPERN PAPERS in which Susan Graham triumphed in Dallas a few months ago (and for which subscriber’s selected her as the recipient of this year’s Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award.). Read more →

    A “Sweet” Article by Our FIRST NIGHT Chair

    FIRST NIGHT/FIRST SIGHT Chair Lynn Mock lends a warm-yet-elegant air to the proceedings wherever she goes–whether in the real world or in cyberspace. She gives us her personal take on the newly developed FIRST SIGHT high fashion event, the inspiring Dallas Opera season, and the black-tie extravaganza that is FIRST NIGHT on Jeanne Prejean’s must-read philanthropy blog: “My Sweet Charity.”

    Enjoy the article right here.
    Suzanne Calvin, Director of Media and Public Relations

    Is Everything Relative After All?

    An interesting conversation (or fight) starter from author Norman Lebrecht on his “Slpped Disc” blog. When directors create hated and despised new productions, does anybody else benefit from their “folly”? Lebrecht says “yes,” but I’ll let him tell you more of his theory on that.  Perhaps I should go back and check the conductor’s reviews from our notorious “pink” Figaro.  Or, perhaps I should leave well enough alone, eh?

    Suzanne Calvin, Director of Media and Public Relations

    From the Desk of Artistic Director Jonathan Pell, Santa Fe – Part IV

    Although I had heard it in concert several years ago, until last night I had never seen a staged performance of Rossini’s “opera seria” (as opposed to his more celebrated comic operas) LA DONNA DEL LAGO, based on Sir Walter Scott’s THE LADY OF THE LAKE.

    To be perfectly honest, I have never been much of a fan of Scott’s historical romances (I could barely get through IVANHOE when I had to read it in school) but this turgid novel seems to have inspired Rossini to write some of his most glorious music.

    The production in Santa Fe was mounted to showcase a dazzling Joyce DiDonato in the title role, and she was sensational.  Not only did she sing superbly, she was actually able to make us care about the fate of her character because of her extraordinary skills as an actress.

    Dallas audiences will have the opportunity to hear her for themselves when she opens the 2015 Dallas Opera season in Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally’s new opera GREAT SCOTT, commissioned by The Dallas Opera. Read more →

    Hot Ticket!

    It’s not just the weather that’s heating up, it’s the first events of the fall season at the Dallas Opera – including a new “Music & Masterpieces” program in partnership with the Dallas Museum of Art. Details to follow:

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
    Wednesday, August 14, 2013
    Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214.443.1014 Or Megan Meister 214.443.1071
    suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org   megan.meister@dallasopera.org

    THE DALLAS OPERA PRESENTS
    IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
    THE DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART

    AN ENCORE SEASON OF
    “MUSIC & MASTERPIECES”
    ~~~~
    TENOR DAVID PORTILLO IN RECITAL
    ~~~~
    Special Gallery Tour of Hispanic Art and Artists
    In the DMA Collection
    ~~~~
    Sunday, September 15, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.
    Horchow Auditorium, Dallas Museum of Art

    DALLAS, AUGUST 14, 2013 – The Dallas Opera is excited to announce details of the first performance of a new season of “Music & Masterpieces,” in partnership with the Dallas Museum of Art and in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. “Music and Masterpieces,” an increasingly popular project developed by these two leading arts organizations, seeks to partner the performing and visual arts by style, era, or country of origin to create a more fully rounded understanding of both. Experts from the field of opera and the visual arts will underscore subtle connections and define movements within the culture that influenced their creations—in addition to underscoring the way we experience these great masterpieces on canvas, in stone, or on stage today.
    Join the Dallas Opera on Sunday, September 15th at 2:00 p.m. at the DMA’s Horchow Auditorium when Texas-born Tenor David Portillo, accompanied by pianist Jason Smith, will perform a recital steeped in the complex and sophisticated Hispanic heritage of North, South and Latin America.
    Tours of the DMA’s collection at 3:00 pm will feature works of art ranging from pre-Columbian works from Mesoamerica and South America to modern Mexican paintings and mosaics.
    Metroplex audiences will remember David Portillo from his appearance last spring as Tonio in Fort Worth Opera’s production of The Daughter of the Regiment. John Norine Jr. of Theater Jones wrote that the singer was “Always at ease, always intensely musical—Portillo navigates the tricky score with ease. The real benchmark comes early for the role of Tonio with the aria ‘Ah! Mes Amis!’ (‘Ah! My Friends!’). This minefield of an aria ends with nine high C’s in the final section, coming in rapid succession. Its place in the opera doesn’t allow for the singer to warm into it; the notes are there or they’re not. On opening night, they were, wowing the audience and bringing the opera to a halt with the audience applause.”

    Highlights from the afternoon program will include Alberto Evaristo Ginastera’s “Cinco Canciones populares Argentinas” (“Five Popular Argentine Songs”). Also on the program will be several Carlos Gardel art songs. One very popular song that will be performed is “El Dia Que Me Quieras” (“The Day You Love Me”). Composer Gustavo Santaolalla proclaimed it “one of the most beautiful melodies ever written.”
    Joaquín Turina’s “Poema en forma de canciones” (“Poem in the Form of Songs”) also will be included in this memorable afternoon program; a work widely considered one of Turina’s best-known and best-loved songs.
    Also on the program will be three art songs by Maria Grever, the first successful Mexican woman composer. One of the songs to be performed is “Te quiero, dijiste” (“Magic Is the Moonlight”) written for the 1944 Esther Williams film Bathing Beauty. Among the legendary artists who recorded this song were Rosemary Clooney, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole.
    The program is carefully designed to enhance a special gallery tour of Hispanic art and artists represented in the DMA’s collection; a tour that will take place immediately following the recital on Sunday, September 15th.

    ~~~~

    Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
    The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period. The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico celebrates its independence day on September 16.

    ~~~~

    KEY BIOS:

    DAVID PORTILLO (Tenor)
    Texas tenor David Portillo has established a reputation as an accomplished vocalist with “honeyed, perfectly focused singing” (Chicago Tribune). The 2012-2013 season brought David’s return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, the premiere of Jean-Jacques Rousseau with Grand Theatre Geneve in Switzerland, his role and house debut as Percy in Anna Bolena with Minnesota Opera, Tonio in The Daughter of Regiment at Fort Worth Opera Festival followed by Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Central City Opera. The 2013-2014 season and beyond brings Gonzalve in L’heure Espagnole with the Seito-Kinen Festival in Japan, Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore with Arizona Opera, Narciso in Il Turco in Italia with both Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Opera Angers –Nantes, a reprise of his Almaviva for his Palm Beach Opera debut, his return to Opera Company of Philadelphia as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and to the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in The Dialogues of the Carmelites, and house debuts with Washington National Opera and the Aix-en-Provence Festival.
    In 2011 David split the summer between Don Ottavio with Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicci with the Castleton Festival in Virginia. David joined the roster of Teatro alla Scala last fall, where he covered the role of Don Ottavio. His other engagements for the 2011-2012 season included his house debut as Almaviva with Tulsa Opera, his role debut as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Pittsburgh Opera, his role debut as Renaud in Gluck’s Armide presented by the Metropolitan Opera and Juilliard School, and his return to Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Ferrando in Cosí fan tutte. He also sang the role of Ferdinand in Thomas Ades’ The Tempest for the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy.
    David recently sang Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Pittsburgh Opera, Ferrando in Cosí fan tutte for Virginia Opera, Tonio in La fille du Regiment for Dayton Opera, and returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing Trin in La Fanciulla del West and cover Hyllus in Hercules. David’s performance as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Fort Worth Opera was heralded by Opera News as “passionate and fully-fleshed, not the ineffective blusterer of many productions.” That same year, he returned to Wolf Trap Opera Company as Narciso in Il Turco in Italia and Francis Flute in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He also took the concert platform as soloist for Haydn’s Creation, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, and Verdi’s Requiem for the Colorado Music Festival, Phoenix Symphony, and Elmhurst Symphony, respectively. A graduate of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, he performed Gastone in La traviata and the Sailor in Tristan und Isolde for the company. He has also covered Fenton in Falstaff, Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles, and Conte Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
    David is also an alumnus of both the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera and Wolf Trap Opera in Vienna, Virginia where his performances were met with public and critical acclaim. Other roles to his credit include Albert Herring, Alfredo in La traviata, Sam Kaplan in Street Scene and the Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites.
    A versatile recitalist, David has appeared with Steven Blier and also performed a Schwabacher Debut Recital under the auspices of the San Francisco Opera Center. In response, the San Francisco Chronicle found that “His tenor rang out clearly and brightly, his diction was exemplary, and he moved with easy assurance from the 17th century to the 20th and through realms in between.” David is the recipient of numerous prizes for his artistry, including a 2009 Shoshana Foundation Grant, 2009 American Opera Society of Chicago Award, 2009 Sullivan Foundation Encouragement Award, 2008 Winner of the Men’s Prize of the Union League of Chicago Young Adult’s Music Competition, and 2009 Winner of the Bel Canto Scholarship Foundation Competition. He is also a two-time recipient of a Shouse Career Development Grant from the Wolf Trap Foundation.

    JASON SMITH (Accompanist)
    Jason Smith serves as a Vocal Coach on faculty at Southern Methodist University, a position he has held since 2007. He first came to Texas to serve as the Young Artist Coach and Pianist, then Principal Coach for the Ft. Worth Opera. Besides his responsibilities at SMU, he still is active on the musical rosters of both Ft. Worth and Dallas Opera companies. Jason has also been on the Vocal Coaching faculty at the Seagle Music Colony in the Adirondack State Park for ten consecutive summers. He received a Masters of Music in Opera Coaching from Florida State University after completing a two-year Young Artist appointment at the Utah Opera in Salt Lake City. His Bachelor’s in Music in Piano Performance comes from the University of Utah.

    EVENTS, GUESTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT “AUGUST AT THE DALLAS OPERA”
    IS CONVENIENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE, 24/7
    VISIT WWW.DALLASOPERA.ORG AND CHECK THE CALENDAR LISTINGS

    For high-resolution, digital photographs suitable for print
    To arrange an interview
    Or for additional information
    Please contact Suzanne Calvin, Manager/Director Media & PR
    214.443.1014 or suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org

    About the Dallas Museum of Art
    Established in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) ranks among the leading art institutions in the country and is distinguished by its innovative exhibitions and groundbreaking educational programs. At the heart of the Museum and its programs is its global collection, which encompasses more than 22,000 works and spans 5,000 years of history, representing a full range of world cultures. Located in the vibrant Arts District of downtown Dallas, the Museum welcomes more than half a million visitors annually and acts as a catalyst for community creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programming, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary events, and dramatic and dance presentations. In January 2013, the DMA returned to a free general admission policy, and launched DMA Friends, the first free museum membership program in the country.

    The Dallas Museum of Art is supported, in part, by the generosity of Museum Partners and donors and by the citizens of Dallas through the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

    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. Subscriptions are now on sale to the general public, starting at just $76. Single Tickets starting at $19 and Flex Subscriptions are also on sale. Family performances are $5 (Family Performance Subs are $12 for three family performances) and are on sale now. 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 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 will 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.

    CARMEN by Georges Bizet
    October 25 (special time, 8:00 p.m.), October 27(m), 30, November 2, 8 & 10(m), 2013
    The most irresistible bad girl in opera—How can you possibly say “non”?
    An opera in four acts first performed in Paris on March 3, 1875
    Text by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée
    Time: 19th century
    Place: Seville, Spain
    Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
    Stage Director: Chris Alexander
    Scenic Design: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
    Costume Design: Werner Iverke
    Lighting Design: Thomas Hase
    Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
    Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
    Children’s Chorus Master: Melinda Cotten
    Starring: Clémentine Margaine**(Carmen), Brandon Jovanovich (Don José Oct. 25, 27, 30), Bruno Ribeiro* (Don José Nov. 2, 8, 10), Mary Dunleavy (Micaëla), Dwayne Croft (Escamillo), Danielle Pastin*(Frasquita), Audrey Babcock*(Mercédès), Kyle Albertson*(Zuniga), Steven LaBrie (Le Dancaïre), William Ferguson* (Remendado), John David Boehr*(Moralès).

    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.
    Text 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
    Stage Director: Diane Paulus*
    Associate Director: Andrew Eggert*
    Scenic Design: Alex McDowell*
    Costume Design: David Woolard*
    Lighting Design: Don Holder
    Choreography: Karole Armitage*
    Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
    Starring: Robert Orth (Simon Powers/Robot One), Joélle Harvey (Miranda/Robot Four), Patricia Risley(Evvy/Robot Three), Hal Cazalet*(Nicholas/Robot Two), 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: Anne Petersen**(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: TBD
    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
    ______________________________________________________________________________________
    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.

    ###

    From the Desk of Artistic Director Jonathan Pell, Santa Fe Part III

    I am often asked to judge the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions around the country and several years ago I found myself in New Orleans where we were to select someone to go to New York to compete in the semi-finals.  The crop of singers that year wasn’t particularly good and at one point I turned to one of the other judges and said “Do we HAVE to send someone on?

    Then walked in a very young soprano from Baton Rouge named Lisette Oropesa, who was so promising that she, not only won in New Orleans, but won in New York and was immediately invited to join the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists Program.  She has subsequently gone on to an incredibly successful career sing leading roles at the Met and elsewhere.

    I mention all this only because she was the “Susanna” in last night’s THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, and you can only imagine how touched I was after the performance when she thanked me backstage for being one of the first people to believe in her.

    Lisette is wonderful in this role (which she has already sung at the Met) but she was only part of a terrific ensemble cast.

    Susanna Phillips was a touching “Countess” (the role which served as her Dallas Opera debut in 2008) and opposite her was Daniel Okulitch as the “Count.”  An interesting thing to mention here is that Dan was also in that Dallas Opera production of FIGARO, but then he sang the title role.  He is very good in both parts, so it will be interesting to see if he continues to alternate them or opts to sing one role over the other.

    The “Figaro” last night was Zachary Nelson, who was a delightful presence and sang beautifully.  A recent graduate of AVA in Philadelphia (the Academy of Vocal Arts) he must hold the record for the fastest ascent to stardom in the history of the Santa Fe Opera.  He was an apprentice here only last season, and now he is singing the leading role in an important production.

    Even Susanna Phillips, who was an apprentice in Santa Fe in 2004, had to wait until 2006 to sing “Pamina” in THE MAGIC FLUTE!

    Emily Fons, who I first heard as part of Lyric Opera’s Ryan Center young artists’ program, was the “Cherubino” and she was really charming and funny and also sang beautifully.  She will be coming to the Dallas Opera this season to sing in two family concerts and then will make her stage debut with us in the fall of 2014 in our opening production that year.  I hate being coy about what she will be singing, but we haven’t announced the season yet!

    Also in the cast was veteran mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer as “Marcellina” who launched her career in the early 80’s at the Dallas Opera, and returned to Dallas to sing “Dorabella” in COSI FAN TUTTE opposite Carol Vaness, and was also a heartbreaking CENERENTOLA at TDO in 1994.

    Keith Jameson, who sang the “Simpleton” in BORIS GODUNOV at Dallas Opera a couple of years ago, was the suitably unctuous “Don Basilio” and created another indelible cameo.

    This MARRIAGE OF FIGARO was a revival of a Jonathan Kent production first seen in Santa Fe a few year’s ago, but this time it was staged by Bruce Donnell who did a masterful job of telling the story of an opera with an incredibly convoluted plot.

    The conductor was John Nelson, who was returning to the company after many years (his debut in Santa Fe was leading a production of Britten’s OWEN WINGRAVE in 1973) and from the opening notes of the overture I knew we were in for a wonderful evening of Mozart’s extraordinary music.

    It was a delightful performance, and tonight I am looking forward to Rossini’s rarely produced LA DONNA DEL LAGO, which I have only heard in concert and never seen staged.