General

Designed by Foster + Partners under Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster, the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House has been engineered specifically for opera and musical theater performances as well as having special stage design for ballet and other forms of dance. For more information, visit the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s website.

There are two clues to watch for: a wild outpouring of applause, cheers, and whistles and — simultaneously — the sight of select audience members sprinting up the aisles at the speed of light. If you feel elated following the performance, show it! Now’s your chance to cheer, whistle and stomp to your heart’s content! The artists love it, of course.

Intermissions at The Dallas Opera are twenty minutes long, unless the program indicates otherwise. You are encouraged to purchase additional tickets at the box office (open during the first intermission) or relax and enjoy a drink with your friends. Announcements will let you know that the intermission is ending and it’s time to turn off your phone and return to your seat. Once the doors are closed, you will not be allowed to enter the performance hall.

Please try to do so as discreetly and quietly as possible, for the sake of other patrons. And be aware that once you have left the auditorium, we cannot allow you to return until the next intermission; however, you are welcome to sit and view the performance on a closed-circuit monitor in Hamon Hall.

Yes, certainly, if it’s funny!

For an opera singer, the only thing better than giving a great performance, is to be acknowledged by an appreciative audience. However, your applause needs to wait until the performer has finished singing. If in doubt, hold your applause until the people around you begin to clap. If you are extra enthusiastic about what you’ve just heard, feel free to shout “Bravo!” if the singer is a man, and “Brava!” for a lady. Of course, there is always applause at the end of each act and opportunities for curtain calls, stamping, whistling and standing ovations at the end of each opera. Go for it!