The Opera Tattler

Dallas Opera's 2012-2013 Season

October 26- November 11 2012: Aïda
April 5-21 2013: Turandot
April 12-28 2013: The Aspern Papers

Only 3 operas next season, down from 6 in 2011-2012. Latonia Moore sings the title role of Aïda, Lise Lindstrom the title role of Turandot, and Susan Graham has her Dallas Opera debut opposite Carol Vaness in Dominick Argento's The Aspern Papers.

2012-2013 Season | Official Site

Dallas Opera cancels Katya Kabanová

Dallas Opera has cancelled a production of Katya Kabanová scheduled for October 28 - November 13 2011. Patricia Racette was to sing the title role.

Front Row | Official Site

Cerny at Dallas Opera

Keith Cerny will be the next general director of Dallas Opera, starting May 24, 2010.

Press Release [PDF] | Official Site

Jonathan Pell News

Jonathan Pell has been named Artistic Director of Dallas Opera.

Official Site | Press Release [PDF]

Dallas Opera's 2009-2010 Season

October 23- November 8 2009: Otello
February 12-28 2010: Così fan tutte
February 19- March 7 2010 : Don Pasquale
April 30- May 16 2010: Moby-Dick
May 7-23 2010: Madama Butterfly

Star-Telegram Article | Official Site

Dallas Opera General Director News

George Steel is assuming the post of general director at the Dallas Opera on October 1st. Steel has been the executive director at Columbia University's Miller Theatre since 1997.

Press Release [PDF] | Biography

Moby-Dick Interview

"You know, the thing that's really remarkable about that book for the time period in which it was written is the improvisational, free-flowing nature of it. He goes from straight prose to something like love poetry to setting up scenes as though this were a play--and then, back again!"

I particularly like that this interview with Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer is prefaced (at least, at the time of writing, one assumes it will be corrected at some point) "A discussion with composer Jake Heggie and librettist Jake Heggie about the upcoming world-premiere production of Moby-Dick for The Dallas Opera." Personally, my favorite part of Melville's text is Chapter 55, "Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales," in which mistakes in depicting whales are discussed. Chapter 56, "Of the Less Erroneous Pictures of Whales, and the True Pictures of Whaling Scenes," is slightly less amusing. Doubtless these chapters will not appear in the opera, but one can live in hope.

Heggie/Scheer Interview | Dallas Opera | Moby-Dick Online

Laughter and Opera

Doubtless you have heard that the current Dallas Opera production of Salomé was laughed at last Friday. By coincidence, just after reading The Dallas Morning News article on Salomé, I heard Radiolab's latest show entirely devoted to laughter. Particularly interesting were the segments on Dr. Jaak Panksepp's research on tickling rats and Dr. Robert Provine's work on chimp laughter. Among the theories on why humans laugh presented were to signal safety or play.

I wonder exactly what the audience was laughing at in Salomé, if it was simply the absurdity of the staging or something else. Mlada Khudoley (pictured) certainly does not look inappropriate as the dancing seductress.

Listening to Radiolab reminded me that they aired an hour-long special about opera earlier this year. Entitled "The Ring and I: The Passion, The Myth, The Mania," the program discusses the Ring Cycle at the Met in 2004. The show starts with the statement "Opera people are all nuts," which seems quite apt indeed. Jad Abumrad interviews Alex Ross, Speight Jenkins, Tony Kushner, Jane Eaglen and others in this amusing piece about Wagner's epic work.

Dallas Opera's Salomé | The Dallas Morning News Review | Pegasus News Review | Laughter Episode on Radiolab | The Ring and I on Radiolab

Dallas Opera's 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 Seasons

November 14-22 2008: Le Nozze Di Figaro
December 5-13 2008: Die Fledermaus
January 23-21 2009: Roberto Devereux
February 13-21 2009: La Bohème
March 6-14 2009: L'Italiana in Algeri

James Valenti is having his Dallas Opera debut as Rodolfo. William Burden is singing Lindoro in L'Italiana in Algeri, in the production San Francisco Opera audiences saw in 2005, directed by Chris Alexander. The Fledermaus production from Seattle Opera, last performed there in 2006, was also produced by Alexander.

The 2009-2010 season was announced today:

October 2009: Otello
February 2010: Così fan tutte
February/March 2010: Don Pasquale
Late April 2010: Moby-Dick
May 2010: Madama Butterfly

The new Winspear Opera House will be open by then. Most interesting in this inaugural season is the world premiere of Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick, conducted by Patrick Summers and starring Ben Heppner. The work is a co-commission and co-production with San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, and Calgary Opera.

Press Release [PDF]