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Opera is the culmination of all the great performing arts and must be experienced to be believed |
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Opera shouldn’t be scary or intimidating – it’s the most exciting combination of singing, orchestral music, chorus work, theatrical stagecraft, costuming and dance on the planet! Opera is the culmination of all the great performing arts and must be experienced to be believed! Opera is:
Outrageous.
There’s nothing tame or timid about stupendously talented artists performing spellbinding stories in glorious costumes and settings. Add thrilling stagecraft and you begin to experience the magic of world-class opera.
Passionate.
There is never a dull moment. Opera is filled with hot-blooded men and women who live, love, and lust with extraordinary feeling and abandon. And some of them even live to tell the tale.
Entertaining.
Unforgettable singing, sweeping orchestral interludes, and genuinely touching performances spell entertainment with a capital “E.” Opera is not musical spinach. It’s genuine “Soul-Food,” filling and utterly delicious – but without the carbs!
Riveting.
Opera is the story of us, and what could be more interesting? Real people – highborn and low – contending with real-life problems and situations or sharing their exhilarating highs. Opera tackles it all with tremendous gusto. Boredom is not an option.
Awesome.
Entertainment choices can stimulate your eye, ear, or mind. Others are made to lift your spirit and a few are capable of inspiring your most heartfelt emotions. Only one does it all. An unforgettable night at the opera will always rank as one of the greatest experiences a roomful of people can share. Are your friends still missing out?
Maximize all the pleasures of great opera by taking the time to discover the people, the personalities, and the music beforehand. And at The Dallas Opera, there are so many opportunities to sit back, relax, and learn something new.
Opera Overtures
For an even more satisfying Dallas Opera experience, come early for our FREE and fascinating “Opera Overtures” lecture, underwritten by the Boshell Family Foundation, beginning one hour before curtain at every performance.
MACBETH - Assistant Conductor Anthony Barrese
THE MERRY WIDOW - UNT Professor Stephen Dubberly
SALOME - Assistant Conductor Anthony Barrese
PORGY AND BESS - Director of Education Margery Anderson-Clive
TOSCA - UNT Professor Stephen Dubberly
Friday, Mid-week and Saturday talks begin at 6:30 pm.
Sunday matinée talk begins at 1:00 pm in the Music Hall.
Opera Insights
For a more interactive experience, join The Dallas Opera Guild at 4 pm the Sunday afternoon before each opening night for “Opera Insights.” This lively panel discussion, featuring singers, directors and designers, invites your questions and participation. “Opera Insights” is an exceptional behind-the-scenes look at each Dallas Opera production, designed to enrich your opera-going experience.
Lecture Times
Sunday afternoon program and reception offered one week prior to opening night, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
Cost: FREE for Guild members. $10 for non-members.
Women's Board Founders Lecture Series
With Professor Jim Yancey - University of Texas at Tyler
How can you add to your enjoyment and appreciation of opera? By learning all you can about each production (in the most entertaining fashion) before you ever set foot in the Music Hall! Fortunately, The Women’s Board of The Dallas Opera provides an annual series of lectures for just this purpose.
The Tuesday or Wednesday evening before each opening night, The Women’s Board hosts a stimulating lecture in the delightful surroundings of the Dallas Country Club. Professor Jim Yancey will share – not only his passion for opera – but the knowledge, insights, fascinating stories and anecdotes about operas, composers, productions and singers, gathered in the course of a lifetime spent loving and learning everything there is to know about this greatest of all art forms.
Coffee and dessert are served at 6:45 pm with the lecture scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm. Professor Yancey's lectures include musical excerpts from the finest, rarest and most important performances in the world’s great opera houses and recording studios. Attendance is open to all opera lovers and people who are soon to become opera lovers!
The work that defined Viennese operetta at the height of its Golden Age. Marked by one memorable hit after another, you’ll be swaying to these much-loved melodies long after the performance is done. The Dom Pérignon of opera.
Ah, to be independently wealthy, handsome and loved! Life looks pretty good to Gabriel von Eisenstein until he, his lovely wife, and their rambunctious maid are caught in a practical joke that exposes all their secrets! Mistaken identities, royal balls, and too much Champagne without a designated driver create merriment galore! Listen to the complete audio synopsis, interviews and more at www.dallasopera.org.
Opera is the plural of the Latin word opus, meaning, “work” (each piece written by a composer is called an opus). Opera is often defined as a play in which the words are sung rather than spoken, but this definition is too simplistic. A better definition is drama through music. The music is a partner; it does not merely accompany the drama, it contributes to it. Time stands still at times for the vocal sections in which the characters express their emotions. While opera combines music, plot and the spectacle provided by the sets, costumes and staging, the result is much more than the sum of the parts. It is truly an audio-visual art form.
Although opera as we know it started during the Italian Renaissance, its roots go back to Greek drama. We don't know what it sounded like, but the ancient Greeks never thought of separating the poetry of their drama from music. The Greek plays were accompanied by strings or pipes and the words were sung or chanted. Dance was also part of the drama. The early church gave structure to chants and the accompanying music, supplying scales and notation. At first there were only single-line melodies, but later these were woven together to form polyphony (several different lines of music played or sung at one time) and thus, harmonies. By the end of the fifteenth-century, it was the custom in Italy to perform short musical dramas during intermissions of other plays. Small orchestras accompanied these intermezzi.
Court Masques, or elaborate dramas based on mythology or fables, became a very popular form of entertainment in the royal courts of Europe from the early sixteenth through seventeenth centuries. The stories were played out in pantomime to a background of orchestrated music, and the players were court members who spent lavish amounts of time and money on their costumes. Masques were intended to honor the head of the court where they were produced, and they were used to show the wealth and political power of the royal they honored. At this time, there was no real separation, as we know it, between theatre and opera, or between opera and ballet. These divisions started to become more obvious as musical composition developed.
Jacopo Peri (1561-1633) is credited for the first opera, Dafne, based on the Greek myth. Though famous throughout Europe at the time, it has since been lost. Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) is the earliest composer whose works are still performed. He blended the music and the poetry of the libretto to create a multi-faceted theatrical form. Such early operas were usually based on history or mythology. This kind of opera is called opera seria, in contrast to opera buffa, or comic opera, which would develop later. During this period, the words were most important, with the small orchestras providing a simple accompaniment. Separate musical lines were not written for the instrumentalists. Instead, they played the singers' lines; this meant that there was also no need for a conductor as we know of them now. Orchestras of the day usually functioned much the way current jazz ensembles often do; they looked to one player, often the keyboardist, to prompt them while playing.
Mozart (1756-1791) was one of the first composers to write not just for, but about the nobility and their servants. A great example of this type of work is The Marriage of Figaro. In the early nineteenth century, with the development of more complex orchestrations and the addition of more flexible woodwind and brass instruments, conductors became necessary to coordinate and mold the sound and tone of the whole.
By the end of the nineteenth century, opera was telling us stories on the steamier side of life among the lower classes, and the singing became more conversational. This type of opera is identified as verismo, or real. Puccini (1858-1924), who wrote his works during this time, gave us such important works as La bohème, Madama Butterfly and Turandot. Opera is still being written today, and new works about historical and colorful figures are being performed throughout the world. Some of the newest works tell the stories of Harvey Milk, Malcom X and Jacqueline Kennedy.
Every culture has developed its own style of singing. We may recognize specific vocal sound characteristics in the singing of the Chinese, the Japanese, the Indians (of India), various Middle Eastern and African groups, the Spanish zarzuela and the calypso of Trinidad.
The style we may refer to as operatic or classical singing developed in Europe. This style crystallized during the seventeenth century, as operatic music became increasingly complex and demanding. Its particular characteristics are a greatly extended range, especially at the top of the voice, and increased volume and projection. Music in the European tradition has developed highly mechanized musical instruments, capable of great ranges and volumes. In order to keep pace, singers were gradually trained to increase their capacities as well. Singing in Europe and America is now generally divided into classical and popular styles. The main differences at present concern volume. Essentially all singers in the "pop" fields depend upon the microphone as a matter of course. This enables the singers to deliver their message in a conversational or whispered style of great intimacy, as well as in a louder or more dramatic style.
The operatic singer in most cases still depends only on the unamplified voice; therefore the voice must be developed to its fullest capacity of projection. In order to make the large sound needed to fill an opera house without using a microphone, it is necessary that the singer use all the natural resonance of the upper chest cavities, as well as the sinus cavities in the face and head. These natural spaces serve as little amplifying "echo" chambers. The singer must breathe properly and must focus the tone so that the sound travels forward from the mouth. Proper breathing requires using the full capacity of the lungs. As the lungs are filled, they displace the diaphragm. Then, using the strength of the diaphragm, the singer uses the air to vibrate the vocal chords as the air is expelled. This gives the voice maximum projection. Proper breathing is also a major source of the vibrato (Italian, meaning "to vibrate"). All sound is the result of one object making contact with another: the vibrato (or vibrator) in a singer's voice increases the warmth and resonance of the tone, and also allows for accurate tuning.
The Marriage of Figaro
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The characters we loved in “The Barber of Seville” all grown up, with grown up problems that have to be resolved in one crazy day. Throw in a teenager with a major crush, a tipsy gardener, and schemers and dreamers looking for love and you have one of Mozart’s finest and funniest operas!
Considered revolutionary – both musically and politically – this lively romantic comedy begins with Figaro and Susanna preparing for their wedding night, not realizing how many people they’ll have to maneuver around in order to fall into each other’s arms! Filled with one breathtaking aria after another, this is Mozart at his most moving. Another revolutionary concept is The Dallas Opera’s FLEX subscription package: three nights, three shows, your choice! Call 214-443-1000 or visit dallasopera.org.
Dallas Opera Podcasts
There's no better way to find out what's really happening at The Dallas Opera than to get it straight from the source. We tried to think of the questions you might like answered by the people who make the magic, from the prop shop to the orchestra pit. If you think the characters onstage are colorful... you haven't seen anything yet!
t’s the most exciting combination of singing, orchestral music, chorus work, theatrical stagecraft, costuming and dance on the planet! Opera is the culmination of all the great performing arts and must be experienced to be believed! However, you can maximize your Dallas Opera experience by putting yourself “in the know” with just a few simple steps.
Subscriptions
The Dallas Opera offers a variety of subscriptions that fit any lifestyle, including 5-performance and 3-performance packages. Why miss out on a minute of the action or a moment of the glory when you can subscribe now and pay later? Never worry about a lost ticket or the need to change your performance night again! The best seats in the house are waiting for you – buy now!
A Dallas Opera Season Ticket includes:
* The chance to introduce someone new to the opera for FREE through our “Bring a Friend” program.
* Parking pass for the first 500 subscribers to each series.
* Discount prices on additional single ticket purchases all season long.
* Ticket exchange privileges so you can change your performance to suit your schedule.
* Exclusive subscriber invitations and events.
Buy online
Group Ticket Sales
Save 10 to 40% off the ticket price when you make a single purchase for groups of ten or more. We’ll even help you coordinate transportation to the Music Hall, dining, and special group perks.
Request Information | Bring a Group
Student Rush Ticket
Only
$25
It’s simple. Show up 90 minutes before curtain with a valid Student ID. Plunk down your $25. Get a ticket for the best available seat.
Bringing a date? Repeat – with their Student ID (one Student Rush Ticket per Student ID).
Parking at the Music Hall
The Dallas Opera offers a FREE Purple Parking Pass to early-bird Subscribers who purchase their subscriptions before the given deadline. If you did not purchase or renew your subscription in time to get the Purple Parking Pass, pre-paid parking is available for the season for $40 in the ACE Parking lot near the Music Hall. To reserve your spot, call 214-748-5535.
[Directions to the Music Hall at Fair Park]
For non-subscribers, parking is available through the Martin Luther King Jr. Gate 6 entrance. As always, we recommend allowing yourself extra time to arrive at the Music Hall and find your seat. There is no late seating once the performance has started.
Perhaps the best deal of all is The Dallas Opera Coach, available for the Sunday matinee and Wednesday evening performances. For just $50 per person – per season! – You can be dropped off and picked up at the Music Hall door with an iron-clad guarantee to arrive before the curtain goes up. The Dallas Opera Coach will pick up passengers outside the Barnes & Noble bookstore located at Montfort and Beltline Road. To reserve your seat, call 214-443-1000.
Questions? Call 214-443-1000 or e-mail info@dallasopera.org.
Parking Alert
[Suggested alternative route to the Music Hall at Fair Park] Due to construction of the new DART rail that is to run to Fair Park, there might be traffic delays in getting to the Music Hall via 2nd Ave.
An alternative route to the Music Hall is to take I45 south to the Martin Luther King exit. Take a left on Martin Luther King and enter through Gate 6, straight ahead.
Dallas Opera Podcasts
There's no better way to find out what's really happening at The Dallas Opera than to get it straight from the source. By clicking on any Podcast icon, you can download any or all of our past radio broadcasts, plus you'll automatically receive our future shows the moment they're released! Just want a quick listen? Simply click the Listen icon for an audio stream.
Contacting Us
Your feedback is important to us. Email us your feedback at info@dallasopera.org or visit our blog to tell us what you think.
Box Office Information:
Campbell Centre I
8350 North Central Expressway
Dallas, Texas 75206
214-443-1000
For more information, e-mail us. | For information on group sales, click here.
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