One of opera’s most talented and treasured duos returns to DFW in a Dallas Opera recital at the Eisemann Center. Read on!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214.443.1014
Or Celeste Hart 214.443.1071
suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org celeste.hart@dallasopera.org

THE DALLAS OPERA IS THRILLED TO PRESENT

AILYN PÉREZ AND STEPHEN COSTELLO
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PERFORMING SELECTIONS FROM THEIR NEW CD
“LOVE DUETS” IN AN EXCLUSIVE RECITAL!
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 AT 2:00 PM
AT BANK OF AMERICA THEATRE
EISEMANN CENTER, RICHARDSON, TEXAS
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$25 TICKETS NOW ON SALE AT DALLASOPERA.ORG

DALLAS, JULY 15, 2014 – The Dallas Opera is delighted to bring the hottest young couple in opera back to North Texas for a ravishing recital in a fabulous new venue for TDO: the Eisemann Center. These acclaimed American artists, soprano Ailyn Pérez (Don Giovanni) and tenor Stephen Costello (Moby-Dick) will perform selections from their newly released Warner Classics CD, Love Duets.
Ms. Pérez and Mr. Costello, who are married, have thrilled audiences across the globe, both on and off the opera stage. Now music lovers have an exciting opportunity to experience their combined artistry, up close and personal, on Sunday, September 14, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. in the intimate setting of the Bank of America Theatre at the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations, (2351 Performance Dr, Richardson, TX 75082).
The program will include works featured on the CD from the operas La bohème, La traviata, and The Elixir of Love, as well as classic love songs from Broadway’s Carousel and Bernstein’s West Side Story. Additional romantic favorites from composers Hahn, Falla, Tosti, and Heggie will also be performed.
Ms. Pérez and Mr. Costello will be accompanied by pianist Danielle Orlando. General admission tickets, priced at just $25, are available now through the Dallas Opera Ticket Office at 214.443.1000 or online, 24/7, at www.dallasopera.org.

“It’s a great pleasure to be able to bring these two extremely popular artists back to North Texas for this romantic recital,” says Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny. “Their performances on the opera and concert stage consistently earn rave reviews and legions of fans, so there’s much to look forward to in this exclusive and intimate event.”
“The talent, chemistry and the chosen repertoire of this extraordinary duo will make for a spectacular recital—one sure to please opera lovers as well as those merely seeking an afternoon of marvelous entertainment,” adds Mr. Cerny.

“I’m excited to be singing alongside Stephen in Dallas for the first time! They have such a great audience there, and I can’t wait to share this wonderful music with them,” exclaims Ailyn Pérez.

“It’s going to be great to be back in Dallas,” says Stephen Costello. They were one of the first companies to hire me and it’s always been a pleasure to return there – especially this time with Ailyn and the wonderful Danielle Orlando.”

Ms. Pérez appeared with the Dallas Opera in 2010 as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. This latest project continues to help catapult her career. According to the Associated Press, “Perez’s lyric soprano is pure and honeyed in tone, and she deploys it with elegance and tenderness.” Hailed by the New York Times as “a beautiful woman who commands the stage” and “a major soprano,” Ailyn Pérez is increasingly in demand at the world’s leading opera houses and cultural capitals. She has won both the 15th annual Plácido Domingo Award and the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, thereby becoming the only Hispanic recipient in the award’s 35-year history. As Opera News observes, “The phrase ‘an embarrassment of riches’ might have been invented to describe the combination of talents that belong to Ailyn Pérez…who truly seems to have it all.”
Mr. Costello has frequently performed at the Dallas Opera since his debut here as Robert Dudley in 2007’s Mary Queen of Scots and his career continues to skyrocket. As the Associated Press observes, Stephen Costello is “a prodigiously gifted singer whose voice makes an immediate impact.” The Philadelphia-born tenor quickly established a reputation as a “first-class talent” (Opera News) after coming to national attention in 2007, when, at age 26, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut on the company’s season-opening night. Two years later Costello won the prestigious Richard Tucker Award, and he has since appeared at many of the world’s most important opera houses and music festivals, including London’s Royal Opera House; Covent Garden; the Deutsche Oper Berlin; the Vienna State Opera; and the Salzburg Festival. In 2010 he created the role of Greenhorn (Ishmael) in the Dallas Opera’s celebrated world-premiere production of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s Moby-Dick, prompting Opera magazine to hail him as “a tenor of ineffable sensitivity, with unfailing elegance in singing and a disconcerting ease in producing notes in head-voice.”
Danielle Orlando, pianist and master vocal coach, is enjoying an active career as an accompanist to many international opera singers as well as serving as a distinguished vocal coach and artistic consultant to many prestigious organizations throughout the musical world. She is presently the Principal Opera Coach of The Curtis Institute of Music and a Master Coach for the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Ms. Orlando has collaborated with Luciano Pavarotti on his international voice competitions and worked extensively with Gian Carlo Menotti on the Festival Dei Due Mondi.
After debuting at number three on the United Kingdom Classical Chart in May, Love Duets had its digital release in the U.S. on June 3 and the CD release on June 10. This is the first recording together for “America’s fastest-rising husband-and-wife opera stars” (Associated Press). The new Warner Classics album has already taken London by storm, being named “Album of the Week” by the Mail on Sunday, Classic FM, and the Sunday Times, which proclaimed it “a disc that should win these hugely likeable young stars a lot of new friends.” In Tune pronounced them “opera’s most in-demand couple.”

TICKET INFORMATION

General admission tickets for the Eisemann Center recital are priced at $25 and may be purchased through the Dallas Opera website, www.dallasopera.org or by contacting the friendly customer service professionals in the Dallas Opera Ticket Office at 214-443-1000.
The Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts and Corporate Presentations is conveniently located in the Galatyn Park Urban Center in the heart of Richardson’s business and technology area. This recital will be held in the 395-seat Bank of America Theatre.
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KEY BIOS

AILYN PÉREZ (Soprano)

After singing Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with James Conlon and the Chicago Symphony at this summer’s Ravinia Festival, Pérez looks forward to making her house and role debuts next season as Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello at Houston Grand Opera and as Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera. Besides headlining a new production of La traviata at Zurich Opera, in 2014-15 she will also sing Mimì in La bohème at Hamburg State Opera, and portray a pair of Donizetti heroines – Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Norina in Don Pasquale – at the Bavarian State Opera and Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, respectively. In concert, the soprano will join her husband and frequent co-star, tenor Stephen Costello, for programs of operatic duets at Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera, and Opera Philadelphia, where they launch the company’s 40th Anniversary Season with a special gala performance in the city where they first fell in love.
Already something of a calling card for Pérez, the role of Violetta in La traviata was the vehicle for five of her operatic engagements in 2013-14. She launched the new season at the Hamburg State Opera, opposite Costello, before revisiting Verdi’s doomed heroine at Spain’s Ópera de Oviedo and the Bavarian State Opera. Pérez and Costello reunited in those roles at San Francisco Opera and London’s Royal Opera House, where Pérez had already been hailed as “an ideal Violetta” (Observer, UK). She returned to Covent Garden to undertake the title part of Massenet’s Manon in Laurent Pelly’s celebrated treatment, and to make her role debut as Liù in Puccini’s Turandot, before closing the opera season as she began it, opposite Costello in Verdi at Hamburg State Opera, this time as Gilda to his Duke in Rigoletto. She made her U.S. solo recital debut at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, and graced a “dream team of opera singers” (New York Times) at the Richard Tucker Music Foundation gala at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Dubbed “America’s fastest-rising husband-and-wife opera stars” (Associated Press) and praised for their “palpable chemistry”(New York Times), Pérez and Costello teamed up for operatic duets at the “Classic FM Live” gala at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and released their Warner Classics album debut, Love Duets, which was recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Patrick Summers.

STEPHEN COSTELLO (Tenor)

The 2014-15 season sees Costello return to San Francisco Opera to create the male lead in Francesca Zambello’s world premiere production of Two Women, a new opera by Marco Tutino, with Nicola Luisotti conducting. The tenor reprises his starring role in La traviata opposite Marina Rebeka’s Violetta at the Vienna State Opera and at the Met, where he also looks forward to joining Susan Graham for Susan Stroman’s new take on Lehar’s The Merry Widow under Fabio Luisi’s leadership. Other operatic highlights include his return to Houston Grand Opera to make his professional role debut as Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and his portrayal of the title role in Roméo et Juliette at Austin Lyric Opera. Costello rejoins his wife and frequent co-star, Ailyn Pérez, with whom he has been dubbed “the Jay-Z and Beyoncé” of opera (The Times, UK), to sing live selections from their Warner Classics debut, Love Duets, at London’s Barbican Centre with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and at Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera and Opera Philadelphia, where they launch the company’s 40th anniversary season with a special gala performance.
Last season Costello made his Washington National Opera debut with a reprise of Greenhorn in Moby-Dick, while the San Francisco Opera’s presentation of the Heggie/Scheer opera, in which the tenor made his house debut, was televised nationwide on PBS’s Great Performances and subsequently released on DVD. Other highlights of 2013-14 included Costello’s Houston Grand Opera debut as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto, in which he proved himself “one of the best lyric tenors in the business” (Theater Jones); his return to Carnegie Hall to headline Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux in concert; his Japanese debut in Falstaff at the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto; and his return to the Vienna State Opera in two favorite Donizetti roles: Percy in Anna Bolena and Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore. L’elisir also served as the vehicle for his second Washington National Opera engagement, in which he was joined by Ailyn Pérez, opposite whom he assumed another signature role – Alfredo in Verdi’s La traviata – in productions at London’s Royal Opera House and the San Francisco Opera. Costello reunited with his wife for gala concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall and Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, where they helped celebrate Richard Tucker’s centennial, and on their June CD release, Love Duets; recorded with Patrick Summers and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the best-selling album was immediately hailed as “a knockout” (Philadelphia Inquirer).
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EVENTS, GUESTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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

Ticket Information for the 2014-2015 Dallas Opera Season

All performances are in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center unless otherwise described (see above). Single Tickets range from $19 to $275 and go on sale July 14. Flex Subscriptions are on sale now, starting at $75. Family performance tickets are just $5 apiece. 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 2014-2015 SEASON INFORMATION
The Dallas Opera celebrates its Fifty-Eighth 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 excluding FIRST NIGHT of the season.

The 2014-2015 “Heights of Passion Season” is presented by Texas Instruments Foundation. The Dallas Opera Family Performances are generously supported by Texas Instruments and the Betty and Steve Suellentrop Educational Outreach Fund. TDO Family Performances are a part of the Perot Foundation Education and Community Outreach Programs.

THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
October 24, 26(m), 29, November 1, 7 and 9(m), 2014
In a single crazy, romantic day, doors will be locked and unlocked, disguised donned, kisses exchanged and innermost hearts revealed—to some of the most memorable music Mozart ever composed.
An opera in four acts first performed in Vienna on May 1, 1786
Text by Lorenzo Da Ponte after the 1784 play La folle journée, ou Le mariage de Figaro by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais
Time: The late 18th century
Place: Aguasfrescas near Seville, Spain, the Almaviva’s country house
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Stage Director: Kevin Moriarty
Production Design: John Bury*
Lighting Design: Mark McCullough
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Choreography: Joel Ferrell*
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Mirco Palazzi (Figaro) , Beate Ritter** (Susanna), Joshua Hopkins (Count Almaviva), Nicole Car** (Countess Almaviva), Emily Fons (Cherubino), Diana Montague* (Marcellina), Kevin Langan (Doctor Bartolo), Doug Jones (Don Basilio), Angela Mannino (Barbarina), Adam Lau* (Antonio) and Jon Kolbet (Don Curzio).
Production Owned by Lyric Opera of Chicago

SALOME by Richard Strauss
October 30, November 2(m), 5, 8, 2014
Once in a great while, the term “over the top” doesn’t seem nearly high enough.
An opera in one act first performed in Dresden, Germany on December 9, 1905
Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of Oscar Wilde’s French language play
Time: During the time of Jesus Christ
Place: King Herod’s palace on the Sea of Galilee
Conductor: Evan Rogister*
Stage Director: Francesca Zambello
Original Production: Francesca Zambello
Scenic Design: Peter J. Davison*
Costume Design: Anita Yavich
Lighting Design: Mark McCullough
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Choreography: Yael Levitin*
Starring: Deborah Voigt* (Salome), Robert Brubaker (Herod), Greer Grimsley* (Jokanaan), Susan Bickley* (Herodias), Scott Quinn (Narraboth), Heather Johnson* (Herodias’Page), Bradley Garvin (First Nazarene), Grigory Soloviov* (First Soldier), Jason Grant (Second Soldier), Joseph Hu (First Jew), Jay Gardner (Second Jew), John Robert Lindsey (Third Jew), Steven Haal (Fourth Jew), Patrick Guetti* (Fifth Jew), Tyler Simpson* (Second Nazarene), NaGuanda Nobles (A Slave) and Matthew Stump* (A Cappadocian).
Production Owned by Washington National Opera

A RARE DALLAS OPERA DOUBLE BILL:

LA WALLY by Alfredo Catalani
January 30, February 1(m), 4 and 7, 2015
The Climactic Final Act!
First performed in Milan, Italy on January 20, 1892
Text by Luigi Illica after Wilhelmine von Hillern’s story, Die Geyer-Wally
Time: Around the year 1800
Place: The Austrian Alps
Conductor: Anthony Barrese
Stage Director: Candace Evans
Scenic Design: TBD
Costume Design: TBD
Lighting Design: TBD
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Latonia Moore (Wally), Carl Tanner* (Giuseppe Hagenbach) and Jennifer Chung (Walter)
A Brand-New Dallas Opera Production!

With EVEREST by Joby Talbot
January 30, February 1(m), 4 and 7, 2015
A Dallas Opera World Premiere!
Text by Gene Scheer
Time: Modern Day
Place: In the Death Zone on Mount Everest
Conductor: Nicole Paiement
Stage Director: Leonard Foglia
Scenic Design: Robert Brill
Costume Design: TBD
Video Design: Elaine J. McCarthy
Lighting Design: TBD
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Andrew Bidlack (Rob Hall), Sasha Cooke (Jan Arnold), Kevin Burdette* (Beck Weathers) and Craig Verm* (Doug Hansen).

LA BOHÈME by Giacomo Puccini
March 13, 15(m), 18, 21, 27 and 29(m), 2015
A passionate and timeless masterpiece in a beloved period production
An opera in four acts first performed in Turin, Italy on February 1, 1896
Text by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica after Henry Murger’s novel Scènes de la vie de bohème
Time: mid-19th century
Place: The Latin Quarter of Paris, France
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza*
Stage Director: Peter Kazaras
Scenic Design: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle
Costume Design: Peter J. Hall
Lighting Design: Thomas C. Hase
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Children’s Chorus Master: Melinda Cotton
Starring: Ana Maria Martinez (Mimi), Bryan Hymel (Rodolfo), Davinia Rodriguez* (Musetta), Jonathan Beyer (Marcello), Alexander Vinogradov* (Colline), Stephen LaBrie (Schaunard) and Stefan Szkafarowsky (Benoit).
One of the Dallas Opera’s Most Popular!

IOLANTA by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
April 10, 12(m), 15 and 18, 2015
A rarely performed Tchaikovsky gem, set in Medieval Provence!
First performed in St. Petersburg, Russia on December 18, 1892
Text by Modest Tchaikovsky based on the Danish play King Rene’s Daughter by Henrik Hertz
Time: The 15th century
Place: Provence, a mountainous region in Southern France
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Stage Director: Christian Räth
Scenic Design: TBD
Costume Design: TBD
Video Design: Elaine J. McCarthy
Lighting Design: Thomas C. Hase
Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Ekaterina Scherbachenko* (Iolanta), Sergey Skorokhodov* (Count Vaudémont), Joanna Mongiardo* (Brigitta), Lauren McNeese (Laura), Tamara Mumford* (Marta), Andrei Bondarenko** (Robert, Duke of Burgandy), Mikhail Kolelishvili (Renè, King of Provence), Andrew Bidlack (Alméric), Vladislav Sulimsky** (Ibn-Hakia) and Jordan Bisch (Bertrand).
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 and the 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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