2014 Dallas Opera Stadium Simulcast to Feature THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, 4/11

Dallas, TX -- The Dallas Opera, in partnership with AT&T Stadium and with support from its presenting sponsor, The Dallas Foundation, will present company's third stadium simulcast-the seventh free Dallas Opera simulcast since 2010.

The Dallas Opera's 2014 AT&T Stadium Simulcast of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini's THE BARBER OF SEVILLE will take place the evening of Friday, April 11, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 p.m.) at the state-of-the-art home of the Dallas Cowboys-AT&T Stadium-located at One AT&T Way in Arlington, Texas. Patrons will be able to enjoy a complete live performance on the world's largest high-definition video board structure, comprised of four massive viewing screens (the largest, 72 feet tall and 160 feet wide) suspended directly above the playing field.

At 7:00 p.m., prior to the live performance, the Dallas Opera will present another of the world's largest cartoon screenings (based on screen size): a 1950 animation masterpiece from Warner Brothers Classics, "Rabbit of Seville" starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd and voted one of the greatest cartoons ever produced (in 1994, by a thousand members of the animation field).

Directed by animation legend Chuck Jones, the cartoon satirizes the opera house experience, both onstage and off, accompanied by the music of Rossini's most famous overture.

Free general admission tickets can be obtained through the Dallas Opera website, effective immediately, at www.dallasopera.org/simulcast.

"We are excited that for the third year the Dallas Opera will once again hold their simulcast at AT&T Stadium," adds Dallas Cowboys Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Anderson. "The Dallas Opera has displayed an impressive ability to create an event that takes unique planning, as well as imagination. It's a partnership in which everyone emerges a winner-especially people seeking access to outstanding cultural experiences right here in our own community for themselves and their children."

"It's been a personal goal of mine to engage remarkable world-class artists to create an unforgettable entertainment experience for people from all walks of life," commented Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny, "and nothing does this better than opera-a spectacular art form made even more so when viewed on the largest high-definition screens in the country.

what could be more "user friendly" than Gioachino Rossini's wildest and most popular romp? - his 1816 masterpiece, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. Disguises and false identities abound as men-young and old-vie for the hand of the beautiful Rosina in one of the funniest and most frenetic operas ever composed! The action centers on "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro!" a scheming barber and jack-of-all-trades, sung by Dallas Opera favorite Nathan Gunn, who plots with Count Almaviva to releaseDoctor Bartolo's ward from her gilded cage.

The all-star ensemble, with staging by renowned British director John Copley, will include acclaimed mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard (winner of the 2013 Richard Tucker Award) as the gorgeous-yet-spunky Rosina, lyric tenor Alek Shrader as the love-struck Almaviva, and commanding Turkish bass Burak Bilgili as Don Basilio in their much-anticipated TDO debuts. It also marks the welcome return of the inimitable Donato DiStefano, a comic genius (La Cenerentola) known from previous Dallas Opera productions of Barber in a role he has mastered for audiences around the world: Dr. Bartolo.

The cast also includes baritone Nathan De'Shon Myers as Fiorello and soprano Jennifer Aylmer in her company debut as Berta. Maestro Giuliano Carella will conduct in his company debut, with chorus preparation by Dallas Opera Chorus Master Alexander Rom. This John Copley production will be staged by director Herb Kellner with sets designed by John Conklin, costumes by Michael Stennett and lighting designed by Gary Marder. Wig and make-up design is by David Zimmerman.

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE remains one of opera's best-loved comedies. From the first notes of one of the world's most famous overtures to the final curtain, your heart will be racing-but not for the exit! Sung in Italian, with English language translations projected above the stage at the Winspear and onscreen at AT&T Stadium, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE can be experienced at one of five additional performances on March 28, 30 (m), April 2, 5, and April 13 (m), 2014.

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