DALLAS OPERA MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, June 13, 2019
Contact: Suzanne Calvin 214.443.1014
suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org
THE DALLAS OPERA IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE
AMERICAN MEZZO-SOPRANO
STEPHANIE BLYTHE
HONORED TONIGHT AS THE 2019
“MARIA CALLAS DEBUT ARTIST OF THE YEAR”
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DELIGHTED NORTH TEXAS AUDIENCES IN FOUR STELLAR COMIC PERFORMANCES THIS SPRING
DALLAS, TX, JUNE 13, 2019 – The Dallas Opera is proud to announce the winner of the 2019 “Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year” Award: the incredible, one-of-a-kind American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, for her saucy, scene-stealing portrayal of Mistress Quickly in our critically-acclaimed spring production of Verdi’s Falstaff.
This prestigious award, named after one of the most renowned opera artists of the 20th century, is given to a single performer each season in recognition of a particularly memorable and outstanding company debut. The winner was announced earlier this evening at the annual Dallas Opera Board and Trustee Appreciation Dinner held in the Crescent Ballroom of the Hotel Crescent Court in Dallas, TX.
Musical America‘s Vocalist of the Year for 2009 was recently named the next Artistic Director of the Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard College Conservatory of Music—a position Ms. Blythe assumes in July. Other major awards for the accomplished and beloved singer include the 2007 Opera News Award (the youngest artist ever to receive this honor) and the 1999 Richard Tucker Award.
A native of Mongaup Valley, New York, Stephanie Blythe was first exposed to opera as a high school music student—participating in a field trip to the Metropolitan Opera to experience La bohème. She won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1994, joined the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program and made her official debut on the Met stage in a 1995 production of Parsifal.
However, her breakout role came the following season, when she substituted for Marilyn Horne as Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, garnering rave reviews from the New York music press.
More than a decade later, Jennifer Melick wrote in Opera News: “No matter how many times you’ve heard her before, its impact always comes as a shock. The way the sound hits you—crystal clear, majestic, powerful from top to bottom with more than a hint of brass, always razor-sharp in rhythm and unerringly precise in pitch…akin to jumping into an ice-cold Atlantic Ocean in May. There are no fuzzy edges, no soprano-ish overtones, no skating over notes in a phrase; it is high definition singing in every respect.”
Or, as Newcity Stage (Chicago) noted in 2014: “No singer can sing everything, with just one caveat: Stephanie Blythe.”
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Meanwhile in Dallas, critics responded to Miss Blythe’s 2019 TDO debut as Mistress Quickly, the conspiratorial inn-keeper in Tudor England, with equally high praise:
“Even though the show centers on Falstaff, this production is more about mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe’s matter-of-fact portrayal of Mistress Quickly. Hers is the performance you’ll cheer most when the curtain closes. She is a staple at the Met as well as opera houses worldwide and owns one of the greatest mezzo voices in the opera world. It is dark-tinged, rich and beautiful with the power of a train whistle. Her Quickly, with her hands on her waist, projects her innermost thoughts and broadcasts what she intends to do next.” (Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, Theater Jones)
“Stephanie Blythe’s Mistress Quickly steals the show. She’s a natural comedian whose every move, every facial shift, tells you she’s up to no good (in the most delicious ways). And that voice! It’s a powerful mezzo — almost more a true contralto — that can pour out the heavy cream but also cut loose with what sounds like a chorus of trombones.” (Scott Cantrell, The Dallas Morning News)
“Any artist performing Quickly is at an advantage, because Verdi, in Quickly’s encounters with Falstaff, has composed music that breeds hilarity. But Blythe’s (and Delavan’s) comic instincts and (the mezzo’s) strong command of the role’s lower range assured that these encounters were among the performance’s highlights.” (William Burnett, Opera Warhorses)
“From the moment she stepped onstage,” said Ian Derrer, The Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO, “Stephanie Blythe had the audience wrapped around her little finger. She instantly delighted us all with her booming mezzo, brilliant comic timing, and her irresistible charm.”
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Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe (The Phyllis A. McCasland and Thomas H. McCasland, Jr. Lead Soloist for the 2018-19 Dallas Opera Season) is considered to be one of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed artists of her generation.
She has sung in many of the renowned opera houses in the US and Europe including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris. Her many roles include the title roles in Carmen, Samson et Dalila , Orfeo ed Euridice, La Grande Duchesse, Tancredi, Mignon and Giulio Cesare; Frugola, Principessa, and Zita in Il Trittico, Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, Waltraute in Götterdämmerung, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress, Ježibaba in Rusalka, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Mere Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites; Mistress Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Ino/Juno in Semele. She also created the role of Gertrude Stein in Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, sang performances of Ms. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at the San Francisco Opera, and Nettie Fowler in Carousel at the Houston Grand Opera as well as with the New York Philharmonic.
In concert, Ms. Blythe has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York, Minnesota Orchestra, the Halle Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Ensemble Orchestre de Paris. She has also appeared at the Tanglewood, Cincinnati May, and Ravinia festivals, and performed at the popular BBC Proms.
The many conductors with whom she has worked include Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Mark Elder, Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Alan Gilbert, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Nicola Luisotti, Sir Charles Mackerras, John Nelson, Riccardo Frizza, Antonio Pappano, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Robert Spano, Patrick Summers, and Michael Tilson Thomas.
A frequent recitalist, Ms. Blythe has been presented in recital in New York by Carnegie Hall in both Stern Auditorium and Zankel Hall, Lincoln Center in both its Great Performers Series at Alice Tully Hall and its American Songbook Series at the Allen Room, Town Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has also been presented by the Vocal Arts Society and performed at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC; the Cleveland Art Song Festival, the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Shriver Hall in Baltimore, and San Francisco Performances.
A champion of American song, Ms. Blythe has premiered several song cycles written for her including Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson by the late James Legg, Covered Wagon Woman by Alan Smith which was commissioned by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and recorded with the ensemble (CMS Studio Recordings); and Vignettes: Ellis Island, also by Alan Smith and featured in a special television program entitled Vignettes: An Evening with Stephanie Blythe and Warren Jones.
Ms. Blythe starred in the Metropolitan Opera’s live HD broadcasts of Orfeo ed Euridice, Il Trittico, Rodelinda, Cendrillon, and the complete Ring Cycle. She also appeared in PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center broadcasts of the New York Philharmonic’s performance of Carousel and her acclaimed show, We’ll Meet Again: The Songs of Kate Smith. Her recordings include her solo album, as long as there are songs (Innova), and works by Mahler, Brahms, Wagner, Handel and Bach (Virgin Classics).
This season, Ms. Blythe returned to the Metropolitan Opera in Il Trittico and La Fille du Regiment, besides making her debut at The Dallas Opera in Falstaff.
Stephanie Blythe also serves as the Artistic Director of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar at the Crane School of Music.
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Ms. Blythe will receive a beautiful etched-crystal plaque created by award-winning designers from Tiffany & Co. for The Dallas Opera. This plaque bears the likeness of The Dallas Opera’s unofficial “Godmother,” iconic Greek soprano Maria Callas.
“La Divina” launched The Dallas Opera with a 1957 recital in the Music Hall at Fair Park and continued to grace TDO’s stage throughout those early years with a series of now-legendary performances.
The 2019 award winner responded to the news, by email, with a statement read to the dinner guests this evening by General Director Ian Derrer:
After twenty-five years of being a part of this incredible world of opera, I never cease to be amazed by the power of our art form. Most especially how it is engendered by the generosity and support of our subscribing audience. It is remarkable to see how opera can create such a beautiful and enthusiastic community—and the Dallas audience is just such a special community.
I wish you could all feel the power of your support as we feel it over the “footlights.” It is a palpable appreciation that feeds the heart and soul of singing!
I am so very grateful to be the recipient of this year’s Maria Callas Award, and only wish that I could be there to receive it in person.
I look forward to performing for the wonderful audiences of The Dallas Opera in the future, and I thank you for welcoming me with such enthusiasm and hospitality!
Many thanks,
Stephanie Blythe
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There were 27 additional 2018-2019 Season nominees for the Callas Award (artists making outstanding company debuts in a principal role last season)—listed below with the productions in which they starred:
ADDITIONAL NOMINEES FOR 2019 MARIA CALLAS AWARD
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN
Mark S. Doss (Daland)
Anja Kampe (Senta)
Andrew Stenson (Steersman)
CARMEN
Corey Crider (Le Dancaïre)
Gideon Dabi (Moralès)
Stéphanie d’Oustrac (Carmen)
Sara Gartland (Micaëla)
Lindsay Metzger (Mercédès)
Rafael Moras (Le Remendado)
Sarah Tucker (Frasquita)
MANON LESCAUT
Matthew Grills (Dance Master)
Jonas Hacker (Edmondo)
Clay Hilley (Lamplighter)
David Leigh (Naval Captain)
Kristin Lewis (Manon Lescaut)
Andrea Silvestrelli (Geronte di Revoir)
LA BOHÈME
Jean-François Borras (Rodolfo)
Nicholas Brownlee (Colline)
Gideon Dabi (Schaunard)
Anthony Clark Evans (Marcello)
Sara Gartland (Musetta)
Will Liverman (Schaunard)
Pumeza Matshikiza (Mimì)
FALSTAFF
Mark Delavan (Sir John Falstaff)
Mojca Erdmann (Nannetta)
Airam Hernández (Fenton)
Quinn Kelsey (Ford)
Alex Mansoori (Bardolfo)
Megan Marino (Meg Page)
Andrea Silvestrelli (Pistola)
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The “Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award” was created during the 1991-1992 Dallas Opera Season.
The first recipient of the award was Sharon Sweet for her impressive performance in the title role of Aida. The list of subsequent winners reads like an opera’s “Who’s Who” from Susan Graham, Cecilia Bartoli, Mary Dunleavy, Elizabeth Futral, Hei-Kyung Hong, Denyce Graves, Indira Mahajan, Mary Mills, Patricia Racette, Latonia Moore, Christopher Ventris, Catherine Naglestad, James Valenti, Laura Claycomb and Ben Heppner, to Greek-born Soprano Myrtò Papatanasiu (Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata), mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (Rosina in The Barber of Seville), Ekaterina Scherbachenko (the title role in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta), mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato for the title role in Great Scott (a 2015 Dallas Opera world premiere by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally), soprano Marina Costa-Jackson (Adalgisa – “the other woman” – in a critically acclaimed production of Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece, Norma) and last year’s winner, bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen, an unforgettable Leporello in 2018’s season finale, Don Giovanni.
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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.
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2018-2019 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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