SearchCounting the Days
Terrific coverage this week on the grand opening of AT&T Performing Arts Center and we are all looking forward to the Dallas Opera’s season opener, Verdi’s OTELLO, the first production in the new Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, which will be unveiled to the public when the Guillermo Kuitca curtain goes up on Friday, October 23rd. Check out this advance story by WFAA’s Gary Cogill.
Oh, and don’t forget to come early – you first-nighters. Opening ceremonies at the Winspear start at 7:00 PM and you won’t want to miss it.
Suzanne Calvin, Assoc. Dir. of Marketing, The Dallas Opera
An interview with Otello Production Designer Anthony Baker
How Old is Too…Buff?
Take a good look at this guy. Know him? He swims every day, pumps iron at the gym four times a week and plays a round of 18 holes on the weekend. And now, he’s bucking to become the oldest Otello on record at the age of 77.
Photo Courtesy of The Times
He’s a Wagner/Verdi specialist who hasn’t sung a starring role in over 25 years; however, New Zealand-born Jon Andrew has kept in tip-top shape, vocally and otherwise, and has agreed to tackle the role for a small opera company performing in Bournemouth this June. Should he make it through the night, it’ll be one for the record books: Andrew will become the oldest Otello ever to successfully tackle the part.
Our guess is this guy’s up to the demands: He’s known–not only for his muscular singing–but for accidentally breaking the thumb of a co-star during a staged fight scene in “Carmen.”
Thumb-breaking opera singers…Hmmm…I’d applaud with BOTH hands, if I were you.
Suzanne Calvin, Assoc. Dir. of Marketing, The Dallas Opera