Participants Announced for 2019 Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera

The Dallas Opera is Proud to Announce the
Conductors, Administrators, and Observers for The Fifth Annual
Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for
Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera
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Oct. 27 – Nov. 9, 2019 in Dallas, Texas
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Distinguished 2019 Hart Institute Conducting Faculty Include
Emmanuel Villaume, Nicole Paiement, and Carlo Montanaro
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Initial Support from the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation
Additional Support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,
Baker Botts LLP, Cindy and Charlie Feld, Jenifer and Peter Flynn, Susan and Mark Geyer, Holly and Tom Mayer,
Betty and Steve Suellentrop, and Martha and Max Wells
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Made Possible by an OPERA America Innovation Grant
Supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation
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Hart Institute Public Concert: Saturday, November 9, 2019
The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House
DALLAS, MAY 29, 2019 – The Dallas Opera is proud to announce the names of the twelve distinguished professionals (six conductors, three administrators, and four American observers) selected to participate in the fifth annual residency of the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera taking place Oct. 27 – Nov. 9, 2019 in Dallas, Texas:
- Tiffany Chang (USA)
- Jiannan Cheng (China)
- Tamara Dworetz (USA)
- Marta Kluczyńska (Poland)
- Madeline Tsai (Taiwan)
- Molly Turner (USA)
Working to address a long-standing issue at the podium, The Dallas Opera in 2015 launched a unique multifaceted program—one of a mere handful in the world—designed to provide training and career support for distinctively talented women conductors on the cusp of major international careers. Female conductors, as well as accomplished women singers, opera coaches, accompanists, and instrumentalists with established careers seeking to further develop their skills at the podium, were encouraged to apply.
“Big D is my Big W,” observed Polish conductor Marta Kluczyńska. “I feel awesome.”
“I was beyond thrilled to hear of my acceptance to the 2019 Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute” wrote U.S. participant Tamara Dworetz. “The opportunity to learn from world-class conductors, instrumentalists, opera singers and leaders will strengthen my skills and broaden my dimensionalism as a conductor while bolstering my career and professional network; I cannot thank Linda and Mitch Hart and the Dallas Opera enough for initiating and supporting this progressive and powerfully impactful program.”
This groundbreaking initiative received vital foundational support from the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation. Naming support came through the generosity of Linda and Mitch Hart.
Additional support for the 2019 Hart Institute comes from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Baker Botts LLP, Cindy and Charlie Feld, Jenifer and Peter Flynn, Susan and Mark Geyer, Holly and Tom Mayer, Betty and Steve Suellentrop, and Martha and Max Wells.
Made possible by an OPERA America Innovation Grant, supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.
Ian Derrer, The Dallas Opera’s Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO explains: “One of the ways we advance our art form and engage more people is by providing career advancement opportunities for gifted women conductors, ensuring they have the chance to compete for top-level positions in classical music.
“That’s why the Hart Institute was founded and why it will be needed for years to come.
“The support and passion of the TDO Family is behind this effort—more than ever.”
A total of 90 women conductors and professional musicians heeded the call in 2019, despite even more stringent admissions requirements initiated last year. Applicants from 27 countries included music directors, principal and assistant conductors, concertmasters and music staff from top-ranked symphonies, opera companies, and conservatories.
“Even for the most talented artists, a journey to the forefront of the conducting profession is difficult, and particularly so for women,” wrote Taiwanese conductor Madeline Tsai. “The Dallas Opera’s Linda and Mitch Hart Institute gives its residents a strong gust of wind forward as they sail toward their dreams on the horizon.
“I am immensely grateful and honored for this incredible opportunity to learn from an amazing faculty and other talented artists at the Institute.”
As is the case each year, four talented U.S. Observers were chosen to audit the 2019 Institute: Rebecca Henry, Jane Kim, Vera Volchansky and Rachel Waddell.
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The 2019 Linda and Mitch Hart Institute will consist of hands-on master classes with the Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director, Emmanuel Villaume; TDO’s Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Principal Guest Conductor Nicole Paiement and Carlo Montanaro, a renowned Italian conductor last seen on our podium conducting three world-class tenors (Michael Fabiano, Bryan Hymel and Matthew Polenzani) in TDO’s “One Night Only Gala.”
Sessions include career advancement seminars with experienced professionals; topical industry discussions; intensive one-on-ones and networking opportunities; as well as the chance to conduct The Dallas Opera Orchestra in a public concert in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center on the evening of November 9, 2019 (additional details to be announced at a later date).
This year’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors is partnering with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s inaugural “Women in Classical Music Symposium” taking place November 6-9, 2019 in the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, in order to provide even greater resources and connections for women in the field.
“I am delighted to work alongside our colleagues at The Dallas Opera as the Dallas Symphony launches its Women in Classical Music Symposium. The Hart Institute has established itself as an important event for women conductors, and their input while designing the symposium has been invaluable,” said Kim Noltemy, President & CEO of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. “Together, we are showing that the Dallas performing arts community is committing to a sustained effort to make changes in the industry.”
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American conductor Molly Turner noted: “As a young conductor, getting into the Hart Institute opens so many doors traditionally left open only for older and often male conductors.”
“I’m humbled to have such a dedicated opportunity to focus on a genre and repertoire that are least familiar to me and to engage artistically with the excellent musicians and administration of The Dallas Opera” added US conductor Tiffany Chang.
“The Hart Institute appears to be having a pronounced positive impact on the field, with alumnae being singled out for important appointments, projects, and commissions in both the opera and symphonic world,” notes TDO’s Director of Artistic Administration David Lomeli.
Marc A. Scorca, President and CEO of OPERA America, earlier remarked: “The Dallas Opera continues to expand its influence and stature among American opera companies, as shown by this exciting new initiative. The company is to be applauded for taking a significant step to remedy the existing gender imbalance on the podium. This effort complements OPERA America’s support of the work of female opera composers and promises to enrich the art form by encouraging more gifted artists to express themselves through opera.”
Chinese conductor Jiannan Cheng summed up: “I am honored and thrilled to be selected to participate in the Hart Institute at the Dallas Opera and I am looking forward to growing as a conductor through this world-class experience!”
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While the Hart Institute began with a focus on supporting talented conductors, the challenges faced by women opera administrators are equally daunting. To address this imbalance, The Dallas Opera last year added a new component to the Hart Institute: through 2022, TDO will invite between two and four American opera administrators to participate each season. These women will be selected on the basis of their potential to become leaders of one of America’s top opera companies at some point in their careers.
The 2019 Hart Institute Administrators are:
- Kristen Bigham (Lyric Opera of Chicago)
- Beverly Love (Wilbanks Partners)
- Suzanne Vinnik (artist & entrepreneur—founder of Shoperatic)
The selected opera administrators will have access to all group sessions and special sessions during the annual residency in Dallas. This curriculum includes the role of the board, leadership development, personal branding, media and PR training, effective artist management, and navigating recruiting processes for senior level positions. To continue to develop their musical skills, which is essential for any opera executive, the administrators will observe rehearsals with The Dallas Opera Orchestra and conducting master classes. Special sessions on Development, Finance, and Marketing will be offered as well.
One of the goals of the program is to construct a wide network of influential female leaders in the administrative offices of performing arts organizations, both large and small, as well as onstage and in the orchestra pit.
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2019 Hart Institute Conductors
TIFFANY CHANG (USA)
Taiwanese-American conductor Tiffany Chang is the Visiting Assistant Professor of Conducting and Conductor at Oberlin Conservatory and Assistant Professor at the Berklee College of Music. She also served impactful terms as Interim Director of Orchestral Studies at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory and Acting Director of Orchestral Activities at Boston University. A 2017 Winner of The American Prize in Opera Conducting, Chang has been engaged by NEMPAC Opera Project, BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, OperaHub, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, ALEA III, Xanthos Ensemble, Brookline Symphony Orchestra, international music festivals such as IASAS and AMIS, among others. She studied with David Hoose and Bridget-Michaele Reischl, receiving a DMA in orchestral conducting from Boston University and several degrees in cello performance, music education, composition, and music theory from Oberlin Conservatory.
JIANNAN CHENG (CHINA)
Jiannan Cheng, a native Chinese conductor, served as an assistant in the 2018 Opernfestspiele Heidenheim in Germany where she conducted a performance of Verdi’s Nabucco with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. Recently, Cheng worked with the City Lyric Opera in New York City as the répétiteur and the assistant conductor in a production of La Tragédie de Carmen. Cheng was the 2018 Conducting Fellow of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and served as the Music Director in the CCM production of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito and the 2019 Interim Music Director of the CCM Concert Orchestra. Cheng was a candidate for the 2017 German Conductors’ Award, second prize winner of the 2016 4×4 Competition for Composers & Conductors and studied with Kurt Masur at the 2015 Aurora Music Festival in Sweden.
TAMARA DWORETZ (USA)
Tamara Dworetz is a 2019 Conducting Fellow for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Her upcoming commitments include serving as assistant conductor to Bramwell Tovey, Principal Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra at the BBC Proms in London. Recently, Tamara was awarded 2nd prize in the Boston Pops’ Bernstein-inspired conducting competition. Previous positions include Assistant Conductor for the Austin Symphony Orchestra and the Butler Opera Center. A dedicated music educator, Tamara was the conductor for the Austin Youth Orchestra, University of Texas University Orchestra and Lakeside High School Orchestra program in Atlanta, Georgia. Tamara attended Indiana University, the University of Texas at Austin, and she is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at Boston University.
MARTA KLUCZYŃSKA (POLAND)
Marta Kluczyńska graduated with degrees in Symphony and Opera Conducting and Piano Studies from The Fryderyk Chopin University of Music Warsaw. At the age of 24 she made her opera debut at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw where she, as a resident conductor, has conducted numerous opera and ballet performances including A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten, The Haunted Manor by Stanisław Moniuszko, The Nutcracker by Peter Tchaikovsky, and Romeo and Juliet by Sergej Prokofiev. In 2017, Kluczyńska made her critically acclaimed debuts at the Wrocław Opera with La Cenerentola and at Landestheater Coburg (Germany) with Le nozze di Figaro. She has led concerts with orchestras such as Sinfonia Varsovia, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice), Polish Radio Orchestra (Warsaw) and the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus.
MADELINE TSAI (TAIWAN)
Chi-Chen Madeline Tsai is a versatile musician who has been trained as a conductor, pianist, singer, organist, and timpanist. She was the only Asian female invited to the Solti International Conducting Competition in Hungary, where she won the People’s Choice Award. Following this award, she conducted the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra in Bulgaria and the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra in Taiwan. She has also conducted the St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra Berlin, the Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lithuanian State Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Radio Orchestra Bucharest. As a coach and accompanist, she assisted Grace Bumbry for her masterclasses on Aida and Cavalleria Rusticana in Vienna. Ms. Tsai is currently completing a doctorate in orchestral conducting at the University of Cincinnati.
MOLLY TURNER (USA)
Molly Turner is an emerging young conductor from Seattle, Washington. She recently completed her Bachelors in Music Composition at Rice University and will pursue a Masters in Orchestral Conducting at Juilliard in the fall. Her primary conducting mentors include Larry Rachleff, Gerard Schwarz, and Jerry Hou. At Juilliard, she will be working with David Robertson. Recently, she has been featured with the Rice Campanile Orchestra, the Eastern Festival Orchestra, and the Shepherd Undergraduate Opera Scenes. She has also conducted The Philharmonia Orchestra (UK) and the Bay Area Youth Symphony (Houston). A strong advocate for new music, Ms. Turner regularly collaborates with Rice’s New Music Ensemble “Hear & Now” as a composer, violist, and conductor. She enjoys writing for the voice and conducts her own works.
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2019 Hart Institute Administrators
KRISTEN BIGHAM (USA)
Kristen Bigham is the Gift Planning Associate at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Combining over five years of experience in the financial services industry with her background as a trained vocalist and director, she works to enhance and expand Lyric’s robust legacy giving program and community, The Overture Society. A native of Fort Worth, TX, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Texas and her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Dedicated to promoting the presence, creativity, and leadership of women within the performing arts, Kristen is a passionate arts advocate and development professional, and has worked with numerous arts organizations throughout Chicago, including Rough House Theater, Piven Theatre, Links Hall, and Forte Chicago.
BEVERLY LOVE (USA)
Beverly Love is currently a search consultant and Chief Operations & Administrative Officer with Wilbanks Partners, a boutique asset management executive search firm. She previously worked in the office of the Chief Economist and Asia Chairman of Morgan Stanley & Company and subsequently spent three years in Russell Reynolds Associates’ asset and wealth management practice. Prior to that, Beverly was the founding Director of the Greater Atlanta Christian School of Music. A jugendlich dramatischer soprano, she has performed throughout the US and in Italy and Austria. She earned a Masters in Voice/Opera Performance from Southern Methodist University, summa cum laude and Phi Kappa Lambda, and a Bachelors in Vocal Performance from Abilene Christian University, where she graduated with Honors, summa cum laude, and Valedictorian.
SUZANNE VINNIK
Suzanne Vinnik is an award-winning international opera singer, photographer and arts entrepreneur known for her innate musical phrasing, daring fashion sense and ability to provide innovative marketing solutions to artists, brands and arts organizations. The soprano saw a need for a specialized social media network and marketplace for women in classical music thus creating, Shoperatic. The community stands at over 11k female identifying women in opera (the largest in the industry) and is responsible for generating well over $450k in income for artists since 2017 with zero outside funding or paid advertisement. As a cultural affiliate, the soprano enjoys volunteering and co-producing events with Sing For Hope. Vinnik is an alumnus of the Opera Studio di Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy.
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2019 Hart Institute Observers
REBECCA HENRY (USA)
Rebecca Henry began the 2018-2019 season as Music Director for Georgetown Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s production of Ruddigore. This summer, she will be serving on the voice faculty of the Performing Arts Institute at Wyoming Seminary. A proponent of new music, Rebecca was music director for the world premiere of Do Not Disturb (Forgotten Opera Company) and premiered works in New Works Fest with Opera on Tap. Additional conducting credits include The Mikado, La Perichole, HMS Pinafore, Ruddigore, and Robin Hood (Victorian Lyric Opera Company). Future engagements include an appointment as Associate Conductor for Bel Canto in Tuscany. When she is not conducting, she can be seen performing as a mezzo-soprano throughout the country and abroad. She received her Undergraduate degree from Rice University and her Masters from McGill University in Montreal.
JANE KIM (USA)
Jane Kim is the recipient of the 2018 Charles Schiff Conducting Prize. She currently serves as Assistant Conductor with the Little Orchestra Society. She has appeared with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, and, as cover conductor, she works with the New York Philharmonic, Canadian Opera Company, Juilliard Orchestra, and other ensembles. Previously, Jane served as Music Director of the Juilliard Pre-College String Ensemble and conductor of the Juilliard Lab Orchestra. Her summer activities include Aspen Music Festival, which she attended as a Conducting Fellow, and Pierre Monteux Music Festival, where she was named a Bernard Osher Scholar. Jane holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School.
VERA VOLCHANSKY (USA)
Vera Volchansky, described as conductor of “impeccable taste…whose artistic ability transforms a performance into a meaningful event,” has performed in the United States, Europe, Asia and Russia. Ms. Volchansky is the 2013 American Prize finalist in Conducting, and holds a master’s degree in Conducting from the Eastman School. She was chosen as Conducting Fellow with the American Academy of Conducting in Aspen. As a winner of the Fulbright Award, she studied music of the Russian Avant-Garde and the style of the St. Petersburg school of conducting. Her favorite performances include Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale, Lucia di Lammermoor, and a sold-out concert celebrating the newly-installed Reuter Organ with Grammy-Winning organist Paul Jacobs. Vera was also recently featured on the Moving Forward Podcast with John Lim.
RACHEL WADDELL (USA)
Rachel L. Waddell is an American conductor rapidly gaining acclaim for her innovative concert programming, and commitment to new music, education, and collaboration. In recognition of her concert programs, Waddell was recently named a finalist for the American Prize’s 2019 Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming. Waddell is entering her third season as the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Rochester in New York. She previously served as the Associate Conductor of the Canton Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the award-winning Canton Youth Symphonies. While with Canton, Waddell conducted over eighty performances. Additionally, she has guest conducted around the country, including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland’s Suburban Symphony Orchestra, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and the Flagstaff Light Opera Company.
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ABOUT THE DALLAS OPERA
Founded in 1957, The Dallas Opera is an internationally-recognized innovator dedicated to the overall advancement of the operatic art form and the support of established and emerging artists, as well as the education and development of new opera audiences in North Texas—and beyond. These goals are achieved by commissioning and producing world-class opera; through ground-breaking institutes, national competitions and topical programs; and by presenting opera in both traditional and non-traditional formats and venues in order to attract patrons of every age, background, educational level, and ethnicity—while engaging with more than 87,000 people in our community each year. TDO is equally committed to the task of responsible stewardship and is managed with efficiency and accountability, to the highest possible standards.
2019-2020 SEASON SPONSOR
The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family
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EVENTS, GUESTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPHS
Contact Suzanne Calvin, Director of Media and PR at suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org
The Dallas Opera is supported, in part, by funds from: Elsa von Seggern Foundation;
Texas Instruments Foundation; the 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.
TICKET INFORMATION FOR THE 2019-2020 DALLAS OPERA SEASON
All performances are in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center unless otherwise indicated. Full and Flex Subscriptions are on sale now; single Tickets range from $19 to $289 and go on sale to the public on July 15, 2019. Family performance tickets are just $5. For more information or to make your purchase, contact The Dallas Opera Ticket Office at 214.443.1000 or visit us online, 24/7, at www.dallasopera.org.
THE DALLAS OPERA 2019-2020 MAINSTAGE SEASON
The Dallas Opera celebrates its 63rd 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. With the exception of FIRST NIGHT, The Joy and Ronald Mankoff Pre-Opera Talk will begin one hour prior to curtain, at most performances.
THE MAGIC FLUTE by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
October 18, 20(m), 23, 26, November 1 & 3(m), 2019
This magical production from LA Opera and Seattle Opera opens the season on a high note!
Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder
Time: Ancient times
Place: An Egyptian-inspired mythological land
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Original Director: Sir Peter Hall
Director: Kyle Lang*
Set and Costume Designer: Gerald Scarfe
Lighting Designer: TBA
Wig & Make-up Designer: Dawn Rivard
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Paolo Fanale* (Tamino), Andrea Carroll* (Pamina), Olga Pudova* (The Queen of the Night), Morris Robinson (Sarastro), Markus Werba* (Papageno), Diana Newman* (First Lady), Samantha Hankey* (Second Lady), Hannah Ludwig* (Third Lady), Brian Frutiger* (Monastatos), Jeni Houser* (Papagena), David Pittsinger (The Speaker), Aaron Short* (1st Man in Armor) and Ryan Kuster (2nd Man in Armor).
THE GOLDEN COCKEREL by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
October 25, 27(m), 30, and November 2, 2019
A Dallas Opera co-production that opened to rave reviews in Santa Fe!
Libretto by Vladimir Belsky based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin
Time: 19th century
Place: The thrice-tenth tsardom, a faraway place in Russian folklore
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Director and Choreographer: Paul Curran
Set and Costume Designer: Gary McCann
Lighting Designer: Paul Hackenmueller
Projections Designer: Driscoll Otto
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Wig and Make-up Designer: Dawn Rivard
Starring: Venera Gimadieva* (Queen of Shemakha), Nikolay Didenko* (King Dodon), Viktor Antipenko* (Prince Guidon), Corey Crider (Prince Afron), Kevin Burdette (General Polkan), Barry Banks* (The Astrologer), Lindsay Ammann (Amelfa), and Jeni Houser (The Golden Cockerel).
DON CARLO by Giuseppe Verdi in Concert/Semi-Staged
March 20, 22(m), 25 & 28, 2020
Father against son; Catholic against Protestant; friend against friend in this epic opera.
Libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle after Friedrich von Schiller’s poem “Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien”
Time: Around 1560
Place: France and Spain
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Director: Edward Berkeley
Lighting Designer: Krista Billings
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Leah Crocetto* (Elizabeth de Valois), Jamie Barton* (Princess Eboli), Robert Watson* (Don Carlo), Mariusz Kwiecien (Rodrigo), Morris Robinson (Philip II), Andrea Silvestrelli (The Grand Inquisitor), David Leigh (A Monk), Ewa Plonka* (Tebaldo), Elizabeth Sutphen* (A Heavenly Voice), and Angel Vargas (Count Lerma/The Royal Herald).
PULCINELLA / THE HUMAN VOICE (La voix humaine) – a new Dallas Opera production!
Pulcinella, a ballet with song in One Act by Igor Stravinsky
La voix humaine an opera by Francis Poulenc with a libretto by Jean Cocteau (from his stage play)
April 3, 4, 5(m) & 8, 2020
PULCINELLA (100TH Anniversary Production)
Conductor: Nicole Paiement
Director: Candace Evans
Set and Costume Designer: TBA
Lighting Designer: Krista Billings
Choreographer: Sean Smith
Wig & Make-up Designer: Dawn Rivard
Starring: Sean Smith (Pulcinella), Lindsay Metzger (Rosetta), Richard Ollarsaba* (Fourbo & Dottore), Matthew White* (Caviello) with soloists and corp dancers from Dallas Black Dance Theatre.
THE HUMAN VOICE (La voix humaine)
Time: 20th century
Place: Paris, France
Conductor: Nicole Paiement
Director: Patricia Racette
Set Designer: Tommy Bourgeois
Lighting Designer: Krista Billings
Wig & Make-up Designer: TBA
Starring: Patricia Racette (Elle)
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE by Gioachino Rossini
April 24, 26(m), 29, May 2, 8 & 10(m), 2020
Your heart will be racing—but not for the exit!
Libretto by Cesare Sterbini based on Beaumarchais’ play Le Barbier de Séville
Time: 18th century
Place: Seville, Spain and the surrounding countryside
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Director: Christopher Mattaliano
Set Designer: Allen Moyer
Costume Designer: Jamie Scott
Lighting Designer: Krista Billings
Wig & Make-up Designer: Dawn Rivard
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Lucas Meachem (Figaro), Pretty Yende* (Rosina), Lawrence Brownlee* (Count Almaviva April 29 through May 19), Xabier Anduaga* (Count Almaviva April 24 & 26), Renato Girolami* (Doctor Bartolo), Adam Lau (Don Basilio), and Margaret Gawrysiak* (Berta).
* Dallas Opera Debut
** American Debut
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Participants Selected for 2016 Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors
Monday, June 20, 2016
Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214.443.1014 Or Celeste Hart 214.443.1071
suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org celeste.hart@dallasopera.org
Participants Named for Second Annual
Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for
Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera
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Nov. 26 – Dec. 11, 2016 in Dallas, Texas
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Six Selected for Elite Opera Program from
156 Applicants Representing 31 Countries
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Distinguished Faculty include Marin Alsop, Nicole Paiement, Carlo Montanaro and Alec Treuhaft
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Initial Support from the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation Additional Support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,
Baker Botts LLP, Susan and Mark Geyer, Holly and Tom Mayer, Martha and Max Wells, and the TACA Bowden & Embrey Family Foundations Artist Residency Fund
DALLAS, JUNE 20, 2016 – The Dallas Opera is proud to announce the names of the six distinguished professionals selected to participate in the second annual session of the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera taking place November 26 – December 11, 2016 in Dallas, Texas:
- Elizabeth Askren (USA)
- Mihaela Cesa-Goje (Romania)
- Alexandra Cravero (France)
- Tianyi Lu (New Zealand)
- Chaowen Ting (USA/Taiwan)
- Zoe Zeniodi (Greece)
Working to address a long-standing career issue in the opera world, The Dallas Opera in 2015 launched a unique, new residential program—one of only three in the world—designed to provide training and career support for distinctively talented women conductors. Female conductors, as well as accomplished women singers, opera coaches, accompanists, and instrumentalists with established careers seeking to develop new skills at the podium, were encouraged to apply.
A total of 156 women conductors and professional musicians heeded the call and applied by the April 22nd deadline. Of that number, approximately one-third of the IWC applicants (59) came from the United States.
Other nations represented in this year’s applicant pool were from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, and Mexico; as well as New Zealand, Poland, Finland, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Applicants from these 31 countries included music directors, principal and assistant conductors, concertmasters and music staff from top-ranked symphonies, opera companies, and conservatories.
As is the case each year, four U.S. observers were chosen to “audit” the 2016 Institute: Ching-Chun Lai, Michelle Rofrano, Carolyn Watson and Parisa Zaeri.
The institute had key, foundational support from the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation. Naming support came through the generosity of Linda and Mitch Hart. Additional vital support comes from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Baker Botts LLP, Susan and Mark Geyer, Holly and Tom Mayer, Martha and Max Wells, and the TACA Bowden & Embrey Family Foundations Artist Residency Fund.
The 2016 Linda and Mitch Hart Institute will consist of hands-on master classes with Marin Alsop (Music Director, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, and the only conductor ever to receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship); The Dallas Opera’s Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Principal Guest Conductor Nicole Paiement and Carlo Montanaro, a renowned Italian conductor.
The institute will include career advancement seminars with experienced professionals like Alec Treuhaft, former senior vice-president of IMG Artists; industry discussions; intensive one-on-ones and networking opportunities; as well as the chance to conduct The Dallas Opera Orchestra in two public concerts on the evenings of December 4th and December 10th (additional details to be announced at a later time).
As part of TDO’s 5-year commitment to each institute “class” of conductors, alumnae will be invited to summer reunions for additional masterclasses with piano and singers, and a series of introductory seminars about the business of music: General Management, Marketing and Communications, Development and Finance. In our inaugural program last December and the first round of follow-up discussions this spring, the 2015 class of conductors reiterated their interest in this type of training on multiple occasions.
Keith Cerny, The Dallas Opera’s Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO notes: “The Dallas Opera has demonstrated, in multiple ways, its commitment to reshaping the opera field through the use of innovative public outreach, by exploring new technologies, commissioning new works to expand the operatic repertoire, and programming with passion and imagination.”
“This much-needed program,” Mr. Cerny added, “will enable more women conductors to add their talents and perspectives to our collective understanding of this art form, while encouraging conversation about the necessity of women in leadership roles.”
The Dallas Opera’s Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Principal Guest Conductor, Nicole Paiement, who also serves as the Artistic Director and Conductor for San Francisco’s renowned contemporary opera company, Opera Parallèle, commented, “In tandem with my work as a professional conductor, I have spent many years striving to develop and support exceptional young talent, both onstage and in the orchestra pit. I am tremendously pleased to be able to continue this aspect of my career in a leadership role here in Dallas and I sincerely hope my work with the women in this institute can serve as a source of both valuable insights and inspiration.”
Nicole Paiement’s residency for the institute is supported by the TACA Bowden & Embrey Family Foundations Artist Residency Fund.
Marc A. Scorca, President and CEO of OPERA America, earlier remarked: “The Dallas Opera continues to expand its influence and stature among American opera companies, as shown by this exciting new initiative. The company is to be applauded for taking a significant step to remedy the existing gender imbalance on the podium. This effort complements OPERA America’s support of the work of female opera composers and promises to enrich the art form by encouraging more gifted artists to express themselves through opera.”
2016 IWC FELLOWS:
ELIZABETH ASKREN (USA)
Elizabeth Askren has worked as Assistant Music Director in leading European venues (Théâtre des Champs Elysées, The Concertgebouw, etc.) and has guest conducted orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Débuts for the 2015-16 season include concerts with the Romanian National Opera in Cluj and the Opera Orchestra of Toulon. Ms. Askren is a laureate of France’s ADAMI, and has received fellowships from the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Royaumont Foundation, and the Aldeburgh Festival. A finalist candidate for the Mahler Competition, she was invited by Lorin Maazel as “Apprentice Conductor” for the inaugural season of the Castleton Festival in Virginia. She is the subject of several radio and press interviews, and is currently a Young Leader of the French American Foundation. Ms. Askren holds diplomas in piano and conducting from the Juilliard School, Oberlin Conservatory, and the Conducting Institute of Bard in the United States, and the Schola Cantorum and the Ecole Normale de Musique in France.
MIHAELA CESA-GOJE (ROMANIA)
Mihaela Cesa-Goje gained widespread attention in 2009 as the winner of the Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship founded by Marin Alsop and in 2010, a Conducting Grant from the League of American Orchestras. In 2011, she was awarded the Dudamel Fellowship from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and later that same year, was selected from a field of 160 candidates for a masterclass with Bernard Haitink and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Earlier in her career, Ms. Cesa-Goje received the “Sandor Vegh Prize” from the Romanian Mozart Society for an outstanding performance of Mozart’s “Der Schauspiele Direktor” at the Cluj National Opera, Romania. In 2005, she completed her Conducting Diploma at the Royal Academy of Music in London and was awarded the Irene Burcher Prize. In 2013, she earned a graduate degree in conducting from Gh Dima Music Academy in Cluj, Romania, where she studied with Florentin Mihaescu. She also studied with Harold Farberman, Gustav Meier, Patrick Russill and Roland Börger. Ms. Cesa-Goje is regularly invited to Cluj National Opera. In her first season (2014) she conducted eight different titles.
ALEXANDRA CRAVERO (FRANCE)
As a musician of many talents with a charismatic personality and artistic sensibility, Alexandra Cravero has quickly earned the reputation of being one of this generation’s conductors to watch. With a National Diploma and Masters in viola and conducting from the National French Conservatory, Alexandra was also finalist at the Besancon, Pedrotti, and Cadaques competitions. She has assisted Pierre Boulez, Kurt Masur, Tito Ceccherini, Patrick Davin and directed the BBC, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, the Sofia Radio, the Theatre de La Monnaie and the Opera National du Rhin Orchestras. On the operatic stage, she has directed, among others, Annick Massis, Michael Spyres, Magdalena Kožená, and Etienne Dupuis. Her vast operatic repertoire spans many centuries: Carmen, The Pearl Fishers, Norma, Faust, Porgy and Bess, The Cunning Little Vixen, Reigen, and Doctor Atomic, to name a few. Upcoming engagements will see Alexandra Cravero direct The Tales of Hoffmann, Tosca, La traviata, and the Orchestre National de Lille at the Paris Philharmonic Hall.
TIANYI LU (NEW ZEALAND)
Now based in the United Kingdom, Tianyi Lu is the Junior Fellow in Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Music Director Designate of the Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra. She has been assistant conductor to Thomas Søndergård with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Sir Mark Elder with the Hallé, Alice Farnham with the Welsh National Youth Opera and Carlo Rizzi at the RWMCD. She is regularly engaged by orchestras throughout Wales and New Zealand and was Music Director of The Magic Flute with Opera Otago. Ms. Lu has studied with David Jones, John Hopkins and Uwe Grodd and has attended masterclasses with Bernard Haitink, Neemi Järvi, Sian Edwards, Alexander Polynichko, Marin Alsop and Kenneth Kiesler. She was voted as a finalist at the twelfth ‘Interaktion’ conducting workshop by players of the Berlin Philharmonic and professional players in Germany.
CHAOWEN TING (USA)
Winner of the 2009 International Conductors’ Workshop and Competition, Chaowen Ting currently serves as Conductor of the Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra. A protégé of Bernard Haitink, Ting studied with the maestro at Lucerne Festival and was later invited by Haitink to observe his work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Outside of the U.S., she has conducted the Lucerne Festival Strings (Switzerland), Mihail Jora Bac?u Philharmonic (Romania), Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra (Croatia), St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic (Russia), and Orquesta Filarmónica de Honduras (Honduras). She won the 2013 Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship and was a Conducting Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. In addition to her symphonic repertoire, opera productions she directed received honors from National Opera Association’s Opera Production Competitions for two consecutive years.
ZOE ZENIODI (GREECE)
Zoe Zeniodi has conducted productions at the Florida Grand Opera, Greek National Opera, the Onassis Cultural Center and guest conducted all the major Greek orchestras as well as Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra, the Brno Philharmonic, Palm Beach Symphony, New Florida Philhamornic, and JONDE, among others. She is currently the Music Director of Broward Symphony Orchestra, Momentum Athens Chamber Orchestra and the Associate Music Director of the Festival of the Aegean. Previous positions include: Chief Conductor of MOYSA, Assistant/Cover Conductor for Florida Grand Opera, Music Director of Alhambra Orchestra and Associate Conductor of Frost Symphony Orchestra. She has released five CD recordings of contemporary music. Ms. Zeniodi holds a DMA in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Miami and also studied at the Royal College of Music and the Mozarteum, Salzburg.
(Headshots of this year’s class are available. Contact suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org)
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2016 IWC OBSERVERS:
CHING-CHUN LAI (USA)
Ching-Chun Lai, Director of Orchestras at the Crane School of Music, SUNY-Potsdam, has worked on opera productions of Pelléas et Mélisande, Don Pasquale, L’elisir d’amore, Maria Stuarda, Alcina, Thaïs, and The Turn of the Screw. Her performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion were described in Isthmus as “consistently excellent.” During her tenure, the Crane Symphony Orchestra has performed in Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Recent engagements include the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and its youth orchestra. Dr. Lai studied conducting with Gunther Schuller and James Smith. Additional studies include Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Academy, Gustav Meier, and JoAnn Falletta. She received her DMA degree from UW-Madison, where she received the Church Memorial Conducting Award, and earned her Master’s degree with Distinguish Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music.
MICHELLE ROFRANO (USA)
Michelle Rofrano recently completed her master’s degree in conducting at the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier, and Markand Thakar. She will serve as assistant conductor for the upcoming Oberlin in Italy 2016 summer festival. Ms. Rofrano recently led a production of Così fan tutte with D.C. Public opera, and she was the assistant conductor for Baltimore-based new music ensemble Symphony Number One during its 2015-16 Season. Previous engagements include serving as cover conductor for productions with Lyric Opera Baltimore and Opera Birmingham, performances with the Opera Project of New Jersey and Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, and masterclasses with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Rofrano holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Rutgers University.
CAROLYN WATSON (USA)
Conductor Carolyn Watson is Director of Orchestral Studies at Texas State University. From 2013-2015 she held the position of Conductor of the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra. A Fellow of the American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Music Festival, Ms. Watson was a major prizewinner at the 2012 Emmerich Kálmán International Operetta Conducting Competition in Budapest. She has participated in master classes with Peter Eötvös, Yoel Levi and Alex Polishchuk and conducted musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic in Interaktion. Ms. Watson is the recipient of the Brian Stacey Award for Emerging Australian Conductors, the Charles Mackerras Conducting Prize and Opera Foundation Australia’s Bayreuth Opera Award. She holds a PhD in Performance (Conducting) from the University of Sydney where her doctoral thesis was Gesture as Communication: The Art of Carlos Kleiber. www.carolyn-watson.com.
PARISA ZAERI (USA)
A native of Dallas, Texas, Parisa Zaeri maintains an active career as a conductor, collaborative pianist, and vocal coach. Her recent musical engagements include serving as Music Director for Boulder Opera’s upcoming production of Carmen (Fall 2016), as Cover Conductor for the American premiere of Philip Glass’s Witches of Venice at Opera Saratoga (Summer 2016), and as Assistant Conductor for the recent Southern Methodist University production of Die Zauberflöte (Spring 2016). Notable mentors include Paul Phillips and Grant Wenaus. Ms. Zaeri graduated with her Master’s degree in Piano Performance – Collaborative Piano from New York University in May 2015 and currently resides in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and two dogs.
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EVENTS, GUESTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DALLAS OPERA
IS 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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The Dallas Opera Family Performances are generously supported by
Texas Instruments and the Betty and Steve Suellentrop
Educational Outreach Fund.
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TDO Family Performances are a part of the
Perot Foundation Education and Community Outreach Programs
Ticket Information for the 2016-2017 Dallas Opera Season
All performances are in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center unless otherwise indicated. Single Tickets range from $19 to $275. Full Subscriptions start at $95, Flex Subscriptions (three-performances of your choice) begin at $75. Family performance tickets 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 2016-2017 FALL SEASON INFORMATION The Dallas Opera celebrates its Sixtieth Year 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 language 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.
EUGENE ONEGIN by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
October 28, 30(m), November 2, 5, 2016
A tumultuous and lush romantic opera!
Libretto by K.S. Shilovsky, after Pushkin
Time: Late Nineteenth Century
Place: Czarist Russia
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Stage Director: Jean-Claude Auvray*
Costume Designer: Maria Chiara Donato
Lighting Designer: Laurent Castaingt
Choreographer: Cooky Chiapalone
Wig & Make-up Designer:
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Andrei Bondarenko (Eugene Onegin), Svetlana Aksenova* (Tatyana), Stephen Costello (Lensky), Kai Rüütel** (Olga), Mikhail Kazakov (Prince Gremin), Elizabeth Batton (Larina), Meredith Arwady (Filipievna), Greg Fedderly (Triquet), Musa Ngqungwana* (Zaretski)
A classic, period production originally created for the Israeli Opera Tel-Aviv-Jaffa!
MOBY-DICK by Jake Heggie
November 4, 6(m), 9, 12, 18, & 20(m), 2016
Back by Popular Demand!
Libretto by Gene Scheer
Time: Nineteenth Century
Place: Whaling Ship on the High Seas
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Stage Director: Leonard Foglia
Set Designer: Robert Brill
Costume Designer: Jane Greenwood
Lighting Designer: Gavan Swift
Projections Designer: Elaine J. McCarthy
Wig and Make-up Designer:
Chorus Master: Alexander Rom
Starring: Jay Hunter Morris (Captain Ahab), Stephen Costello (Greenhorn), Morgan Smith (Starbuck), Musa Ngqungwana* (Queequeg), David Cangelosi (Flask), Jacqueline Echols* (Pip), Peter McGillivray* (Stubb)
Our internationally acclaimed 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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Deadline for 2016 Institute for Women Conductors – April 22!
The Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera
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2016 Program: Nov. 26 – Dec. 11 in Dallas, TX
Deadline to Apply: April 22, 2016
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Initial Support from the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation
Additional Support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the
TACA Bowden & Embrey Family Foundations Artist Residency Fund
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This Year’s Master Classes Will Be Led By:
Nicole Paiement
The Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Principal Guest Conductor
Carlo Montanaro
International Opera Conductor
And Marin Alsop
Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
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www.dallasopera.org/womenconductors
DALLAS, APRIL 13, 2016 – Working to address a long-standing career issue in the opera world, The Dallas Opera is accepting applications through 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Friday, April 22, 2016 for a unique residential program designed to provide training and career support for distinctively talented women conductors: The Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera.
Female conductors, as well as accomplished women singers, opera coaches and accompanists, and instrumentalists with established careers seeking a new career at the podium are encouraged to apply for the expanded institute, now in its second year. Although the emphasis is on women conductors on the cusp of major careers in opera, more seasoned applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors will reconvene for the second time November 26, 2016 through December 11, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. This year’s institute will include two public concerts (December 4th and 10th) in addition to intensive one-on-one’s, master classes, career advancement curriculum, and opportunities to conduct superb young singers and the highly regarded Dallas Opera Orchestra.
The institute, conceived by Dallas Opera Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO Keith Cerny, was created a year ago with initial support from the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation. Since that time, it has garnered additional generous support from Linda and Mitch Hart, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the TACA Bowden & Embrey Family Foundations Artist Residency Fund.
Stated Mr. Cerny: “The Dallas Opera has demonstrated, in multiple ways, its commitment to reshaping the opera field through the use of innovative public outreach, and by exploring new technologies, commissioning new works to expand the operatic repertoire, and programming with passion and imagination.
“This much-needed program, generously supported by benefactors here in Dallas and elsewhere,” Mr. Cerny adds, “will enable more women conductors to add their talents and insights to our collective understanding of this incredible art form.”
The 2016 Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors will provide a host of career-building opportunities:
- To rehearse and conduct The Dallas Opera Orchestra, a full-sized professional ensemble, with outstanding young opera artists
- Participate in master classes with Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Principal Guest Conductor Nicole Paiement, renowned Italian conductor Carlo Montanaro, and special guest Marin Alsop, Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra
- Attend seminars and discussions, guided by a variety of experts, on how women conductors can make a greater impact on their field and advance their conducting careers
- Network with peers and take part in a media “refresher” course
Six women will be selected from among those applying, along with four additional American observers.
Those attending are also eligible to take part in an annual summer networking event in Dallas. There is also the potential for one or more participants to be invited back to serve as Assistant Conductors on future Dallas Opera productions.
Nicole Paiement’s residency for this institute is supported by the TACA Bowden & Embrey Family Foundations Artist Residency Fund.
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The Dallas Opera’s Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Principal Guest Conductor, Nicole Paiement, who also serves as Artistic Director and Conductor for San Francisco’s renowned contemporary opera company, Opera Parallèle, was singled out for praise in a recent Musical America “Profile in Courage” which wrote: “Working in a profession that often leaves women scandalously underrepresented, Paiement has established stellar credentials.” This contemporary music specialist has conducted numerous new productions and world premieres to great critical acclaim.
As the subject of a 2015 article in Opera News (“The Mountain Climber” by Matthew Sigman), Paiement was described as “one of opera’s most adventurous spirits.” She also serves as Artistic Director of BluePrint, a contemporary music series at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she holds the Deléage Chair, and has broken important new ground in Dallas, where she was invited to conduct critically acclaimed performances of Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse, Death and the Powers by Tod Machover, and the recent successful world premiere of Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer’s Everest. She returns in 2017 to conduct Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. Next season’s engagements for Paiement include conducting at Glimmerglass Summer Festival, The Atlanta Opera, Washington National Opera, Other Minds (an annual new music festival in San Francisco) and the Monterrey Jazz Festival.
About the institute itself, Maestra Paiement commented, “In tandem with my work as a professional conductor, I have spent many years striving to develop and support exceptional young talent, both onstage and in the orchestra pit. I am tremendously pleased to be able to continue this aspect of my career and to help guide each carefully selected group through this still-evolving Dallas Opera program.
“I sincerely hope my work with the women in this institute can serve as a source of both valuable insights and inspiration.”
Maestro Carlo Montanaro, music director of Teatr Wielki in Warsaw, Poland from 2011 through 2014, has conducted both opera and concert repertoire on many of the world’s leading stages including La Scala, the Bastille Opera in Paris, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Seattle Opera, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Verona’s Arena, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Communale in Florence, Vienna State Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opera Australia, the Arturo Toscanini Foundation in Parma, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the New National Theatre in Tokyo, Munich Opera, Seattle Symphony, Monte Carlo Opera, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Teatro Verdi in Trieste (a collaboration which led to a Japanese tour with the orchestra).
Future opera engagements (already announced) include Madama Butterfly in Seattle, La bohème in Sydney, Carmen for San Francisco Opera, and Rigoletto in Frankfurt.
Maestra Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a Music Director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives”. She is recognized across the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages.
Her outstanding success as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007 has been recognized by two extensions in her tenure, now confirmed until 2021. As part of her artistic leadership in Baltimore, Marin Alsop has created bold initiatives that have contributed to the wider community and reached new audiences. Alsop took up the post of Principal Conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) in 2012 and became Music Director in July 2013.
In September 2013, Marin Alsop made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms in London. She returned to the Proms in 2015 to conduct the Last Night and an all-Brahms program with the OAE. 2015/16 highlights include a historic return for an American musician to Cuba, conducting Lang Lang and the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba. In March 2016, Alsop celebrated Carnegie Hall’s 125th anniversary conducting Bernstein’s West Side Story in the Knockdown Center, a restored factory in Queens.
Marin Alsop is the recipient of numerous awards and is the only conductor to receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, given to US residents in recognition of exceptional creative work. She was only classical musician to be included in the Guardian’s “Top 100 women”, celebrating the centenary of International Women’s Day in 2011. Alsop is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, London and the Royal Philharmonic Society and was recently appointed Director of Graduate Conducting Program at the Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute.
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Those chosen to participate in the institute will receive travel and housing benefits.
Marc A. Scorca, President and CEO of OPERA America, remarked earlier: “The Dallas Opera continues to expand its influence and stature among American opera companies, as shown by this exciting new initiative. The company is to be applauded for taking a significant step to remedy the existing gender imbalance on the podium. This effort complements OPERA America’s support of the work of female opera composers and promises to enrich the art form by encouraging more gifted artists to express themselves through opera.”
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The tremendous success of the inaugural institute became apparent by the evening of the concluding public concert attended by music lovers, opera VIPs and media.
Scott Cantrell, Classical Music Critic for The Dallas Morning News lavished praise on individual performances and wrote: “Some fine conducting talents were displayed; one hopes to see and hear more from them.”
The Senior Classical Music Critic for Theater Jones, Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, agreed: “They all did a fine job and got most of the details correct. Every one of them delivered involving performances and was, for the most part, right with the singers and clear in their stick technique. Most importantly, the orchestra responded to one and all with good ensemble playing and responsiveness to each conductor’s desires.”
The Institute experience continues to resonate with participants, many months later.
American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya wrote: “The opportunity to get to know a group of accomplished, talented women conductors was invigorating and inspiring. We all gained a group of colleagues from across the world and mentors to whom we can always turn for support and advice.”
Since the conclusion of the 2015 Linda and Mitch Hart Institute last fall, Ms. Yankovskaya became a finalist for the position of Music Director of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, where she will work as a guest conductor next season. She will also tour a production of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and scenes from Boris Godunov with New Opera NYC before conducting the world premiere of The Body Politic by Leo Hurley and Charles Osborne. Yankovskaya will also be launching her Refugee Orchestra Project in the very near future.
British conductor Natalie Murray Beale added, “The Institute was a fantastic opportunity to meet and work with a wide range of music professionals. The level of support given was truly amazing.”
In the months since the Institute, Ms. Murray Beale has conducted a new production of Le nozze di Figaro for the Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb, and served as Music Director for The Return at London’s Barbican, which earned five stars from The Guardian. This month, she will conduct the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, begin rehearsals on a new opera by composer John Barber, and then serve as assistant conductor to Esa-Pekka Salonen for the series, Myths & Rituals, exploring the music of Igor Stravinsky.
Noted German conductor Anna Skryleva, “The most important point I learned at the Institute for Women Conductors is the necessity of networking with others in our field. It’s not enough to improve your professional skills, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman—you must also build your professional community. Even today, in the 21st century, women tend to fight on alone.
“Recently, a great Russian maestro created controversy by comparing female conductors with weightlifters! Clearly, there is more work to be done, to change social attitudes towards women in positions of artistic leadership. The Dallas Opera Institute has taken a leading role in addressing these ongoing issues.”
Upcoming engagements for the Russian-born conductor include concerts with the Philharmonic Orchestra of the UNAM, Mexico, as well as Verdi & Company in Dallas. Skryleva is also preparing her second CLASSIC FOR PEACE event next August, supporting multicultural dialogue through classical music.
Conductor Jessica Gethin acknowledges, “There have been several aspects of the IWC that I have brought home to Australia with me. I have been able to try out some of the technical suggestions made by Emmanuel and Nicole, and am now incorporating them into my work on the podium. Just as valuable, however, were the discussions around the seminars we attended and the viewpoints of other female conductors of my generation working in all parts of the world. The Institute opened my eyes to see things from a wider global perspective. I arrived home inspired, empowered and with a new regard for my cultural identity, responsibility and opportunity.”
Since the Institute last December, Ms. Gethin has conducted several concerts for Perth Symphony and Perth Chamber Orchestra (Australia), including a tremendously well-received concert commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the 1916 Irish uprising—for which she arranged half the orchestral works and appeared as a soloist! Currently, Gethin is rehearsing her first fully staged opera as a conductor, Donizetti’s Anna Bolena for OperaBox, which will tour to Albany in West Australia in mid-April.
American conductor Stephanie Rhodes, currently serving as an assistant conductor on Washington National Opera’s Ring Cycle, summed up the experience this way: “While the initial residency as an IWC Fellow was invaluable, the follow up and support from the company and program faculty have been an immense asset in evaluating my career and determining the best path of progress.
“Months later, I continue to benefit from the Institute.”
Ms. Rhodes will return to Dallas in the 2016-2017 Season as an assistant conductor after working on the San Francisco Opera world premiere of David Henry Hwang’s Dream of the Red Chamber this fall.
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EVENTS, GUESTS AND ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS CONVENIENTLY AVAILABLE ONLINE, 24/7
VISIT WWW.DALLASOPERA.ORG
For high-resolution digital photographs suitable for print
To arrange an interview or obtain additional information
Please contact Suzanne Calvin, Director of Media and Public Relations
214.443.1014 or suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org
Or Celeste Hart, Communications Manager
214.443.1071 or celeste.hart@dallasopera.org
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. Family performance tickets 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 SPRING 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.
Applications Now Accepted for 2016 Institute for Women Conductors!
The Dallas Opera is Proud to Announce Applications Are Now Being Accepted For The Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera
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Expanded 2016 Program: Nov. 26 – Dec. 11, 2016
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TDO Seeks to Create New Opportunities for Talented Young Women Conductors Making Their Mark in the Field of Opera
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Additional Support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, TACA Bowden & Embrey Family Foundations Artist Residency Fund and the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation
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www.dallasopera.org/womenconductors
DALLAS, FEBRUARY 22, 2016 – Working to address a long-standing career issue in the opera world, The Dallas Opera is delighted to announce that applications are now being accepted for a unique residential program designed to provide training and career support for distinctively talented women conductors: The Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera.
Female conductors, as well as accomplished women singers, opera coaches and accompanists, and instrumentalists with established careers seeking a new career at the podium are encouraged to apply for the expanded institute, now in its second year. Although the emphasis is on women conductors on the cusp of major careers in opera, more seasoned applicants will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors will reconvene on November 26, 2016 and run through December 11, 2016 in Dallas, Texas. This year’s institute will include two public concerts (details pending) in addition to intensive one-on-one’s, master classes, career advancement curriculum, and opportunities to conduct the highly regarded Dallas Opera Orchestra.

The institute, conceived by Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny, was created a year ago with initial support from the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation. Since that time, it has garnered additional generous support from Linda and Mitch Hart, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the TACA Bowden & Embrey Family Foundations Artist Residency Fund.
Thrilling Inaugural Concert – Women Conductors!
THE DALLAS OPERA IS PROUD TO PRESENT
The Inaugural Concert of the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2015
7:30 p.m. in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, Dallas, TX
Single Tickets $10
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IWC Underwriting Support from
Linda and Mitch Hart
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
And the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation
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Concert Support from Baker Botts and Cindy Feld
PHOTO CREDIT: Lidiya Yankovskaya Conducts at Harvard; Photo by Scott Bump
DALLAS, NOVEMBER 30, 2015 – The Dallas Opera is thrilled to present six women conductors of international stature making music with The Dallas Opera Orchestra and a host of outstanding young artists in one great evening designed to showcase the work of the inaugural Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera.
This extraordinary concert will take place on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center located in the Dallas Arts District. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased in advance at 214.443.1000 or at dallasopera.org (under “Upcoming Events” on the home page).
The on-stage concert will feature music by a wide variety of composers including Giacomo Puccini, Maurice Ravel, Georg.Friedrich Händel, Gian Carlo Menotti, Jake Heggie, W.A. Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, Mark Adamo, Giuseppe Verdi, Carlisle Floyd, Gaetano Donizetti, Jules Massenet, and Johann Strauss II.
Conducting these selections will be the 2015 Institute Fellows Jennifer Condon (Australia/Germany), Jessica Gethin (Australia), Natalie Murray Beale (United Kingdom), Stephanie Rhodes (USA), Anna Skryleva (Russia/Germany), and Lidiya Yankovskaya (USA).
Seven accomplished singers will share the spotlight with the conductors that evening. They are: baritone Theador Carlson, mezzo-soprano Heather Johnson, tenor Alasdair Kent, bass Adam Lau, tenor Don O’Neal LeBlanc, soprano Sarah Jane McMahon, and soprano Stacey Tappan.
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Crucial underwriting support for the institute comes from Linda and Mitch Hart and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Catalyst funding for the Women Conductors Institute comes from the Richard and Enika Schulze Foundation.
Concert support is from Baker Botts and Cindy Feld.
Conductor sponsors for the 2015 Institute are Patti Cody, Susan Geyer, Joy Mankoff, Joyce Mitchell, Lynn Mock and a sponsor who prefers to remain anonymous.
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2015 IWC FELLOWS:
JENNIFER CONDON (Australia/Germany)
Jennifer Condon has been passionate about opera from an absurdly young age – since her teens she has been fortunate to have fellow Australian, Simone Young, as mentor. Jennifer studied piano in Sydney, and conducting in Melbourne and Vienna before commencing work as a souffleuse at the Hamburg State Opera in 2008. She now has a repertoire of over 55 operas. During her time in Hamburg, Jennifer also brought Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ opera Sappho (1963) from the composer’s hand-written manuscript to the recording studio. The CD, with an eminent cast including Deborah Polaski, Sir John Tomlinson and Wolfgang Koch with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, has been released to considerable critical acclaim. Jennifer lives in Berlin and works as a free-lance vocal coach and prompt as she pursues a conducting career. Assistant conducting engagements to date include Lohengrin in Zurich and Salome in Vienna. Future engagements include Reimann’s Lear in Budapest and Ariadne auf Naxos in Tokyo.
JESSICA GETHIN (Australia)
Conductor Jessica Gethin, winner of the prestigious Brian Stacey Australian Emerging Conductor Award, has won praise from audiences and critics alike for her dynamic energy, outstanding musicianship and abounding presence on the podium. A graduate of the exclusive Symphony Australia Conductor Development Program, Ms. Gethin commenced her official appointment as Chief Conductor of the Perth Symphony Orchestra (Perth, Australia) in 2011. Jessica Gethin has performed on stages throughout Europe, USA, UK, Canada, Asia and Australia as conductor, concert presenter, program writer, orchestrator, guest lecturer, music educator and adjudicator. With a diverse background working across a variety of genres ranging from classical, jazz, opera and ballet to musical theatre, contemporary and film score; Jessica has recorded for numerous CDs, television documentaries, live radio broadcasts and television commercials. She was recently named one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Australia” for 2015 by the Australian Financial Review. Artist collaborations include conducting Welsh bass baritone Bryn Terfel, Divinyl’s Chrissy Amphlette, The Ten Tenors, soprano Rachelle Durkin, Australian screen star Lisa McCune, soprano Marina Prior, tenor David Hobson, jazz trumpeter James Morrison and Dutch violinist Rudolf Koelman, to name a few. Ms. Gethin currently resides in Western Australia with her husband and two children.
NATALIE MURRAY BEALE (UK)
Conductor Natalie Murray Beale is a BBC Performing Arts Fund Fellow and is being mentored by Esa-Pekka Salonen. She has performed with the Welsh National Opera, Opera Holland Park, Spitalfields Festival, Chamber Orchestra of London and the City of London Sinfonia. Ms. Murray Beale has also gained valuable experience as Assistant Conductor for the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Festival d’Aix, Wiener Festwochen and Den Nye Opera with the Philharmonia, Bergen Philharmonic, B’Rock Orchestra, Le Cercle de l’Harmonie and the Freiburger Barockorchester. Previous positions include serving on the music staff of Welsh National Opera; as coach at the Royal Opera House, Young Artist Programme; and as Guest Chorus Director of London Symphony Chorus. Ms. Murray Beale enjoys collaborating with composers and recently conducted the soundtracks to the video game Alien:Isolation (BAFTA nominated) and the British film Robot Overlords. Her performances of the new opera, We are Shadows, received a Royal Philharmonic Society award. This year she will make her debuts with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.
STEPHANIE RHODES (USA)
Stephanie Rhodes is a renowned opera collaborator, having served on the music staff of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, The Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera and Wolf Trap Opera, amongst others. She has garnered experience as a conductor, assistant conductor, prompter, chorus master, rehearsal pianist, orchestral keyboardist and diction coach. This summer she joins the Miami Summer Music Festival as the Studio Program Director and conductor of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, additionally participating as a fellow in the festival’s Orchestral Conducting Institute. As a Fulbright award recipient, Ms. Rhodes spent the 2012/13 season in Moscow specializing in Russian repertoire and pronunciation for non-native singers. She was recently commissioned by The Dallas Opera to transliterate Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and is currently working on a book to standardize Russian diction for singers. An alum of the Houston Grand Opera Studio and San Francisco’s Merola Opera program, she holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Utah State University in Collaborative Piano and Piano Performance.
ANNA SKRYLEVA (Russia/Germany)
Russian conductor Anna Skryleva has lived and worked in Germany for the past 15 years. Currently, Ms. Skryleva is engaged as principal resident conductor at The State Theatre, Darmstadt, in addition to performing as a concert pianist and a chamber musician in Russia, other European nations and Mexico. Anna Skryleva’s career as a conductor began in 2002 in Karlsruhe, where she was engaged at the Music College as music assistant of the conductor Prof. Alicja Mounk. From 2007 to 2012, Anna Skryleva was engaged at the State Opera Hamburg as musical assistant of Simone Young, where she acquired a wide repertoire, from German Romanticism to Italian bel canto to modern music of the 20th century. After successfully conducting Richard Strauss’ Salome at the State Theatre Darmstadt in 2013, Anna Skryleva was named Darmstadt’s Principal Resident Conductor. Since then, she has conducted new productions and revivals of works including Otello, Tristan und Isolde, Il trittico, Madame Butterfly, La traviata and many more. The German publication Main-Echo named Anna Skryleva “Person of the Year 2013.” Earlier this year, she was nominated for the “Emotion Award 2015” in the Category “Women in Leadership”; winners will be announced later this month.
LIDIYA YANKOVSKAYA (USA)
Lidiya Yankovskaya’s recent work as a symphonic and opera conductor has been hailed as “superb,” “expert,” and “coax[ing] every possible expressive note from the instrumentalists.” Currently, Ms. Yankovskaya serves as Music Director of Harvard University’s Lowell House Opera, Artistic Director of Juventas New Music Ensemble, and Music Director with Commonwealth Lyric Theater. She also works regularly with Gotham Chamber Opera, Center for Contemporary Opera, and New York Lyric Opera. Last summer, Ms. Yankovskaya served as a conducting fellow under renowned conductor Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival, where she had the privilege of assisting Maestro Maazel and filled in for him regularly in rehearsal and performance. Recent productions have received multiple awards ranging from The American Prize to the National Opera Association Award. In addition to her work as a conductor, Lidiya is a pianist and coach, recently serving as Music Director for Opera Boston’s education tours. Presently, she is working as a Russian Diction Coach and occasional rehearsal conductor for Tanglewood Festival Chorus (the chorus of the Boston Symphony). www.LidiyaYankovskaya.com
SINGERS, IWC INAUGURAL CONCERT
Theodor Carlson, baritone
Theodor Carlson sings operas of Verdi, Puccini, Wagner and Richard Strauss. Rigoletto, and The Flying Dutchman are among roles he’s sung in Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden, and Baden Baden, He earned a University of Michigan Bachelor in Music, studied at Juilliard, and earned a diploma from the Rome-Accademia-Musicale Ottorino Respighi. He took First Prize in Verviers and New York competitions and earned MET and Puccini Foundation prizes. He toured Germany with Schubert’s Die Winterreise. He was Soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Carlson gave a Liceu Opera recital and presented lectures on Franz Schubert for the German-College in Barcelona. Carlson is featured in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Thüringen Philharmonic in December and Galas with the Frankfurt Symphony in the coming year.
Heather Johnson, mezzo-soprano
Heather Johnson made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2013 as the Flower Maiden in the new production of Parsifal. She has sung with Sarasota Opera as Cenerentola, and in The Crucible, L’Amico Fritz, Rigoletto and Hansel and Gretel. With Boston Lyric Opera she has sung Don Giovanni, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and title role of Lizzie Borden in her Tanglewood Festival debut in 2014. Past and future engagements are Carmen with Volkstheater Rostock, Madama Butterfly and Hansel with PORT Opera, The Long Walk with Opera Saratoga, Little Women in Madison Opera, Salome and Becoming Santa Claus at The Dallas Opera. She has also been a regular with Opera Orchestra of New York and New York Choral Society in Carnegie Hall and with New York City Opera.
Alasdair Kent, tenor
Tenor Alasdair Kent is a Resident Artist at The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, where his performances have included L’italiana in Algeri, Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni. Mr. Kent made his professional debut as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola for Opera Queensland in his native Australia. As an Emerging Artist with Opera Philadelphia, he has performed in recital and will make his company debut in Cold Mountain in 2016. Mr. Kent has been part of the prestigious Merola Opera Program and the Martina Arroyo Foundation. In 2015, Mr. Kent won First Prize in the Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition. In 2016, Mr. Kent will perform Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with The Academy of Vocal Arts and as a Filene Young Artist with Wolf Trap Opera.
Adam Lau, bass
In the 2015-2016 season Adam Lau will debut with the San Francisco Symphony as the bass soloist in Händel’s Messiah. On the opera stage Mr. Lau will return to North Carolina Opera in il Barbiere di Siviglia and the Dallas Opera’s World Premiere of Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus. In the 2014-15 season, Mr. Lau made debuts with the Dallas Opera, and Opera Theater of St. Louis as Berardo in the American Premiere of Handel’s Riccardo Primo. In summer 2015, he created the role of Papa San in the World Premiere of Jack Perla’s opera, An American Dream with Seattle Opera. Mr. Lau has appeared with some of the nation’s leading festivals including The Hollywood Bowl with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Merola Opera Center, Aspen Opera Theater Center and Santa Fe Opera.
Don O’Neal LeBlanc, tenor
After a twenty-year hiatus, tenor Don O’Neal LeBlanc has returned to his life-long passion for singing. The San Benito, Texas native studied Vocal Performance at The University of North Texas. A 1990 regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Don performed leading roles in Gianni Schicchi, L’elisir d’Amore, Carmina Burana and numerous oratorios. Since returning to the stage, Don has been a frequent featured soloist with the UNT orchestra and chorus, Arlington-based Timeless Concerts, and various churches and arts organizations around the DFW area, including Opera on Tap, a non-profit of which he is co-manager. In 2015, in addition to joining The Dallas Opera chorus, Don was selected as a semi-finalist in the Professional Men’s Division of The American Prize in Vocal Performance.
Sarah Jane McMahon, soprano
Hailed by Opera News for her “golden sound,” Sarah Jane McMahon has sung on opera and concert stages throughout the U.S. and abroad, recently performing opposite Plácido Domingo, who selected her to join the Los Angeles Opera. A Masters graduate of Yale University, the many companies and orchestras she has performed with include the San Francisco Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Washington Concert Opera, and New York City Opera. Her performances have also taken her to Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Vienna Concert House, and the Santo Domingo Festival. Her recent and upcoming engagements include performances with New Orleans Opera, Portland Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Cleveland Pops, Dallas Opera, and Tulsa Opera.
Stacey Tappan, soprano
Stacey Tappan has distinguished herself as an exceptional musical artist in the United States and abroad. Recent engagements include the world premiere of Adamo’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene with San Francisco Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor with Arizona Opera; Clorinda in Cinderella and Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring with LA Opera; the Charmeuse in Thaïs at the Edinburgh Festival; and The Ring Cycle with San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Current engagements include Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire and Florestine in The Ghosts of Versailles with LA Opera; Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Jacksonville Symphony. In addition, she will be heard in Carmina Burana with Los Angeles Master Chorale and Omaha Symphony.
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TEXAS INSTRUMENTS, 2015-2016 SEASON SPONSOR FOR THE DALLAS OPERA’S “SEEKING THE HUMAN ELEMENT” SEASON
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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
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 indicated. Single Tickets range from $19 to $275. Full Subscriptions start at $99, Flex Subscriptions (three-performances of your choice) begin at $75. Family performance tickets 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.