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| George Steel |
The opening of the 2008-09 Season of The Dallas Opera represents a combination of exciting beginnings mixed with poignant endings.
We are especially thrilled to welcome our new General Director, George Steel. George is a true “man for all seasons”: impresario, conductor, composer and businessman. His impressive management, academic and artistic credentials are just the beginning. Our new General Director is an innovative and thoughtful music programmer and producer who is highly regarded throughout the world of classical music. He brings a personal touch to his leadership, and his gift for self-expression is matched only by an even more unusual talent – a gift for listening.
At the same time that we embrace George Steel within the Dallas Opera family, we note with great sadness the death of one of our founders, Maestro Nicola Rescigno. Along with Larry Kelly, Maestro Rescigno established the exacting standards which have made our company world renowned. From the very beginning, he created operatic music that was unsurpassed. Our debt to him is immeasurable.
While the 52nd season of The Dallas Opera will bring a close to our illustrious history of performances at the Music Hall at Fair Park, it also will be a season of bold new beginnings. Preparations for the Company’s move into our permanent home in the new Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House in 2009 are well underway. As we look backward fondly at the glorious performances we have enjoyed at the Music Hall, we can be certain that what we will experience in the Winspear will be still more dazzling under the direction of George Steel and the extraordinarily talented personnel of The Dallas Opera.
While eagerly awaiting the excitement of opening the new Winspear Opera House, we’ll revel in the glories of an entrancing final year in the Music Hall – a Dallas Opera season that, like its predecessors and like those to come, will offer grand opera at its finest.
Dr. Kern Wildenthal, President, The Dallas Opera
