CARMEN, THE LITTLE PRINCE and More Set for Dallas Opera 2025-26 Season

Dallas Opera has revealed its 2025/2026 Season at the Winspear Opera House. The Dallas Opera’s 68th season features four mainstage productions, all new to Dallas as company or U.S. premieres. The Fall operas span the French opera catalogue, from Bizet’s iconic Carmen (1875) to Poulenc’s tragic Dialogues of the Carmelites (1957), while the Spring offers Rachel Portman’s charming 2003 setting of the classic French novella The Little Prince and a new production of Verdi’s dark and masterful Don Carlo, last seen in Dallas in more than three decades ago.

Annual events in the 2025/2026 Season include the Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Family Recital, featuring acclaimed coloratura soprano Erin Morley; two family operas: The Little Prince and The Three Little Pigs; the National Vocal Competition; and a special anniversary edition of the Hart Institute for Women Conductors, to celebrate its 10th season. Subscriptions are available for renewal starting today.

MAINSTAGE PRODUCTIONS

The premiere of Bizet’s Carmen—one of the most iconic love stories in all of opera—took place 150 years ago in Paris. In celebration of this landmark anniversary, The Dallas Opera presents the United States premiere of a new production that recreates the original Opéra-Comique production with sets and costumes faithfully designed as they were in 1875. Directed by Romain Gilbert, who returns to TDO after directing Romeo and Juliet in 2024, 2025 Grammy Award-winner Marina Viotti and Saimir Pirgu star as Carmen and Don José, in their Dallas Opera debuts. Soprano Teresa Perrotta makes her Dallas Opera debut in the role of Micaëla, and baritone Gihoon Kim returns to TDO as the matador Escamillo. Antoine Fontaine and Christian Lacroix make their TDO debuts as set and costume designers, respectively. Emmanuel Villaume leads The Dallas Opera Orchestra and Chorus in five performances: Opening Night on October 17, and October 19, 22, 25, and 26, 2025.

Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites—a tragic drama about the martyrdom of more than a dozen nuns during the French Revolution—premiered 80 years after Carmen. This new-to-Dallas production stars Joyce El-Khoury, Patricia Racette, Deanna Breiwick, and Stéphanie D’Oustrac—a relative of Poulenc—as well as Leah Hawkins in her TDO debut. The original production by Olivier Py is directed here by Daniel Izzo, both also in their TDO debuts. Emmanuel Villaume conducts. (November 7, 9, 12, and 15, 2025)

In February, French literature takes center stage with The Dallas Opera premiere of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince, based on the classic French novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, with a libretto by Nicholas Wright. Notably, this production marks the first time that TDO has presented an opera by a female composer. The Little Prince stars Kyle Miller as The Pilot; Jacob Abrahamse, Tessa Fackelmann, Ashley Townsley, and Keron Jackson in their TDO debuts as The Snake/The Vain Man, The Fox, The Rose, and The King, respectively; and Diana Newman as The Water. Additional casting will be announced later this year. Originally directed by Francesca Zambello, this production is directed and choreographed by Anna Maria Bruzzese. Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Principal Guest Conductor Nicole Paiement conducts. (February 6, 8, 11, and 14, 2026)

The Little Prince will also be adapted to a 50-minute family opera this season. The season’s mainstage operas conclude with a new TDO production of Verdi’s Don Carlo. The 1884 four-act production, sung in Italian, stars tenor Stephen Costello as the conflicted title character, Don Carlo; soprano Nicole Car as Elizabeth de Valois; baritone Etienne Dupuis, in his TDO debut as Rodrigo; mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine as Princess Eboli; Christian Van Horn as Philip II; and bass-baritone Morris Robinson as The Grand Inquisitor. Louis Désiré makes his TDO debut as director, and Diego Méndez Casariego makes his TDO debut designing sets and costumes for this new production. Emmanuel Villaume conducts. (February 27, and March 1, 4, and 7, 2026)

Villaume, who conducts three operas in 2025/2026, looks forward to the season: “I never tire of exploring the treasures of Carmen, with its powerful balance of perfectly crafted music, raw, earth-shaking emotion, and subtle poetry,” he said. “Dialogues of the Carmelites is also a unique gem in our repertoire, showcasing a very original yet perfect alloy of drama and music, supported by sumptuous orchestral magic. Verdi’s Don Carlo, which also explores historical events and profound questions of religion and faith, has always been at the top of my personal list for its emotional depth and musical brilliance. With the charming and lyrical The Little Prince, this season promises to be perfectly balanced and thrilling.”

LINDA AND MITCH HART INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN CONDUCTORS

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this season, the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors remains one of a kind. Since 2015, this signature TDO program has trained more than 60 women conductors and administrators. The Hart Institute will announce its participants and 10th-anniversary celebration details later this year.

FAMILY AND OTHER PRESENTATIONS

Family operas return in the Fall and Spring of 2025/2026 with afternoon performances of The Little Prince, in a new production, adapted from the mainstage opera, and The Three Little Pigs, featuring music by Mozart. Each opera has a shorter run time and family content that is suitable for all ages. (October 18, November 15, 2025; February 15 and 28, 2026)

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