FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, May 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 PRESENTS
THE NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2012
“MARIA CALLAS DEBUT ARTIST OF THE YEAR”
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RENEWING SUBSCRIBERS WILL RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS
ENABLING THEM TO CAST THEIR VOTES ONLINE
DALLAS, MAY 7, 2012 – The Dallas Opera is proud to announce the ten artists from around the world who are vying for the prestigious “Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year” Award. The winner will be announced at the annual Dallas Opera Board and Trustee Appreciation Dinner on Thursday, May 17th at 6:30 PM in the Crescent Ballroom of the Rosewood Crescent Hotel, 400 Crescent Court in Uptown Dallas.
The award is bestowed annually by renewing Dallas Opera subscribers to a single performer each season for a particularly remarkable and memorable company debut. The deadline for casting your vote is Monday, May 14, 2012 at 5:00 PM.
“The ten singers who debuted with The Dallas Opera in leading roles this season represent eight different countries, which must be some sort of record” says Dallas Opera Artistic Director Jonathan Pell. “Three of these artists were also making their U.S. stage debuts. We had debut artists from the United States, of course, but also from Italy, France, Romania, Greece, Finland, Iceland and the Slovak Republic, each representing different operatic traditions, but all exhibiting extraordinary vocal and dramatic qualities. I do not envy our subscribers having to select just one of these remarkable artists to receive this year’s Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year.”
“The wealth of talented artists to choose from,” explains Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny “is exceeded only by the impressive musical range displayed from one production to the next. Dallas Opera patrons were mesmerized this season by phenomenal displays of bel canto pyrotechnics, unsettling yet riveting modern music, and profoundly moving highlights from both the classical and romantic repertoires.
“The challenge facing our subscribers today,” adds Mr. Cerny “is determining how to compare these exceedingly different debuts and select one—and only one—to be honored. Rarely has that choice appeared so difficult.”
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Balloting for the award will be conducted entirely online. Any Dallas Opera subscriber, full or FLEX, who has renewed for the upcoming 2012-2013 Season is eligible to vote and will receive an email with complete instructions on how and where to do so. The results will be verified by the independent accounting firm of Travis, Wolff & Company, L.L.P., prior to being announced.
The winner will receive an etched-crystal plaque, created for the Dallas Opera by award-winning designers from Tiffany & Co., which bears the likeness of legendary soprano Maria Callas, who launched the company in 1957 with an unforgettable recital at the Music Hall in Fair Park.
NOMINEES FOR 2012 AWARD
Jordan Bisch, bass – “Raimondo” in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Luca Grassi, baritone – “Enrico” in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Bryan Hymel, tenor – “Edgardo” in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Shawn Mathey, tenor – “Tamino” in THE MAGIC FLUTE
Elena Mosuc, soprano – “Lucia” in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Laurent Naouri, baritone – “Germont” in LA TRAVIATA
Myrtò Papatanasiu, soprano – “Violetta” in LA TRAVIATA
Jukka Rasilainen, baritone – “Kurwenal” in TRISTAN & ISOLDE
Kristinn Sigmundsson, bass – “King Marke” in TRISTAN & ISOLDE
L’ubica Vargicova, soprano – “Queen of the Night” in THE MAGIC FLUTE
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The Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award was launched during the 1991-1992 Dallas Opera Season.
Sharon Sweet was the first recipient for her impressive performance in the title role of Aida. The list of subsequent winners reads like an opera’s “Who’s Who” from Cecilia Bartoli, Mary Dunleavy, Elizabeth Futral, Hei-Kyung Hong, Denyce Graves, Indira Mahajan, Mary Mills, Patricia Racette, Latonia Moore, Christopher Ventris, Catherine Naglestad, James Valenti, and Ben Heppner, to last year’s winner, Texas Born Soprano Laura Claycomb (Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto).
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE “PURSUITS OF PASSION” SEASON
IS CONVENIENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE
VISIT WWW.DALLASOPERA.ORG
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
THE DALLAS OPERA WISHES TO EXPRESS ITS GRATITUDE TO OUR EXCLUSIVE PARTNERS:
AMERICAN AIRLINES – OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF THEDALLAS OPERA
LEXUS – OFFICIAL VEHICLE OF THEDALLAS OPERA
CARTIER – OFFICIAL JEWELER & WATCHMAKER OF THEDALLAS OPERA
ROSEWOOD CRESCENT HOTEL – OFFICIAL HOTEL OF THEDALLAS OPERA
Ticket Information for the 2012-2013 Dallas Opera Season
All performances are in the new Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Subscriptions start at just $75 and are on sale now. For more information, contact The Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214.443.1000 or visit us online at www.dallasopera.org.
THE DALLAS OPERA 2012-2013 SEASON INFORMATION
The Dallas Opera celebrates its Fifty-SixthInternational Season in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in downtown Dallas. Evening performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees will begin at 2:00 p.m. English translations will be projected above the stage at every performance. Assistance is available for the hearing impaired.
AIDA by Giuseppe Verdi
Verdi’s Complex and Intimate Love Story Set in Spectacular Ancient Egypt!
October 26, 28(m), 31, November 3, 9, 11(m), 2012
An opera in four acts first performed at Khedivial Opera House, Cairo on December 24, 1871.
Text by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette.
Time: Old Kingdom
Place: Egypt
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Stage Director: John Copley
Costume Design: Peter J. Hall
Lighting Design: TBD
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Latonia Moore (Aida), Antonello Palombi (Radames), Nadia Krasteva* (Amneris), Lester Lynch (Amonasro), Orlin Anastassov* (Ramfis), Ben Wager (The King of Egypt), Jonathan Yarrington* (Messenger), and NaGuanda Nobles* (Priestess).
TURANDOT by Giacomo Puccini
April 5, 7(m), 10, 13, 19 & 21(m), 2013
Puccini’s Last Masterpiece—Riddled with Passionate Romance and Unforgettable Music!
An opera in three acts first performed in Milan at La Scala, April 25, 1926
Text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, based on Carlo Gozzi’s fable, Turandot.
Time: Legendary times
Place: Peking, China
Conductor: Marco Zambelli
Stage Director: Garnett Bruce
Production Design: Allen Charles Klein
Lighting Design: TBD
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Lise Lindstrom* (Princess Turandot), Antonello Palombi (Calaf), Hei-Kyung Hong (Liu), Christian Van Horn* (Timur), Jonathan Beyer (Ping), Joseph Hu (Pang), Daniel Montenegrio* (Pong), Ryan Kuster* (A Mandarin), Steven Haal (Emperor Altoum).
THE ASPERN PAPERS by Dominick Argento
April 12, 14(m), 17, 20, 28(m), 2013
The Games People Play—Both Young and Old—To Achieve Their Twisted Desires!
An opera in two acts first performed in Dallas, November 19, 1988.
Text by Dominick Argento based on Henry James’ short novel.
Time: Legendary
Place: Venice, Italy
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Stage Director: Tim Albery
Scenic Design: Andrew Lieberman*
Costume Design: Constance Hoffman*
Lighting Design: Thomas Hase
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Assistant Director: Michael Mori
Starring: Susan Graham* (Tina), Nathan Gunn (The Lodger), Joseph Kaiser* (Aspern), Dean Peterson (Barelli), Sasha Cooke* (Sonia), Eric Jordan* (A painter), Jennifer Youngs* (Olimpia).
*DallasOpera Debut
** American Debut
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The Dallas Opera is supported, in part, by funds from: City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs; TACA; 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. Cartier is the official jeweler and watchmaker of The Dallas Opera. Rosewood Crescent Hotel is the official hotel of The Dallas Opera. Advertising support from The Dallas Morning News. The T. Boone Pickens YMCA, Smartwater and Stephen Pyles Restaurant–supporting partners. A special thanks to Mrs. William W. Winspear and the Elsa von Seggern Foundation for their continuing support.
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