Dallas Opera Leads Off 2011 with Roméo et Juliette, Followed by Rigoletto

The Dallas Opera's 2010-11 season revolves around "Dangerous Desires," a theme of romantic drama and political intrigue, and the February 11-27 production of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette in the celebrated Winspear Opera House presents that most iconic story of love and conflict, starring two vocal up-and-comers, Russian soprano Lyubov Petrova and New York-born tenor Charles Castronovo. The star-crossed lovers' tale will be followed by Verdi's tragi-comedy Rigoletto (March 25-April 10); a production originally created for London's Covent Garden, Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (April 1-17); and the premiere of a song cycle by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer (April 8). The Boris Godunov production will be the Dallas Opera's first staging of the Russian epic and the first time Mussorgsky's opera has been produced in Dallas in more than 30 years.

Starring as Juliette, Petrova previously appeared with the Dallas Opera in The Marriage of Figaro, her performances prompting Scott Cantrell of the Dallas Morning News to write: "Petrova is an adorable dynamo of a Susanna, as sweet as she is feisty and playful. ... Her soprano can blaze but also glow warmly." Her Romeo, Castronovo, is a frequent guest artist of Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Covent Garden and Paris Opera, and is now making his Dallas Opera debut. The tenor recently sang in La traviata opposite Anna Netrebko in San Francisco, and Opera Today captured the moment: "Netrebko nearly met her match in Charles Castronovo, who brought urgency, voluptuously sculpted text delivery, beauty of tone and a handsome stage presence."

The remainder of the Dallas Roméo et Juliette cast includes a range of international stars: British bass Robert Lloyd as Friar Lawrence; baritone Joshua Hopkins as Mercutio; mezzo-soprano Jane Bunnell as Gertrude; tenor Aaron Blake as Tybalt; bass Stephen Morscheck as Capulet; baritone Stephen LaBrie as Paris; and mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu in her Dallas debut as Stephano. Coming after lauded Dallas productions this season of Don Giovanni and Anna Bolena, the six performances of Roméo et Juliette will see conductor Marco Zambelli making his company debut leading the Dallas Opera Orchestra; the staging is directed by Michael Kahn, artistic director of Washington, D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre Company. This production, originally designed for Montréal Opera and never before seen in Dallas, is the creation of production designer Claude Girard and lighting designer Mark McCullough.

More Dangerous Desires

Rigoletto stars Italian baritone and world-renowned Verdi specialist Paulo Gavanelli in his company debut in the title role. Texas-born coloratura soprano Laura Claycomb will make her long-awaited Dallas Opera debut as Gilda. Tenor James Valenti, who wowed north Texas audiences as Rodolfo in the 2009 production of La bohème and won that season's Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award, portrays the magnetic but malevolent Duke. Bass Raymond Aceto returns to the Dallas Opera stage as the cold-blooded assassin, Sparafucile. Mezzo-soprano Kirstin Chávez makes her Dallas Opera debut as Maddalena, and tenor Aaron Blake-this season's Dallas Opera Resident Young Artist-appears as Matteo Borsa. On the podium will be Pietro Rizzo, who elicited excitement from local audiences when he made his American operatic debut leading the Dallas Opera's most recent revival of Puccini's La bohème. The staging is by director Harry Silverstein, with sets by Tony Award-winning designer Michael Yeargan, costumes by Peter J. Hall and lighting by Steven Strawbridge.

The season finale will be a historic one for the Dallas Opera, as the company presents for the very first time Mussorgsky's towering masterpiece Boris Godunov-absent from any stage in Dallas since a Metropolitan Opera tour in 1978. The stunning production is from the UK's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The Dallas Opera Orchestra will be under the direction of music director Graeme Jenkins, with the chorus prepared by chorus master Alexander Rom. The huge ensemble cast includes bass Mikhail Kazakov, a highly regarded star of Moscow's Bolshoi Theater, making his Dallas Opera debut in the title role. Mezzo-soprano Elena Bocharova, hailed for a voice that "blooms at both top and bottom," will make her company debut as Marina, and bass Vitaly Efanov makes his house debut as Pimen. This production also marks the return of one of the world's most renowned baritone voices to the Dallas Opera stage: Sergei Leiferkus, who gave searing performances in earlier house productions of Beethoven's Fidelio and Wagner's Lohengrin, will play the role of Rangoni.

Second Heggie Premiere

The Dallas Opera was the talk of the opera world last season, with the opening of its Winspear Opera House and the company's premiere of Jake Heggie's Moby-Dick with Ben Heppner, both events celebrated by the international media as game-changers for opera in Dallas. On April 8, at the Dallas Opera's 2011 gala, Heggie and his Moby-Dick librettist, Gene Scheer, will unveil their new Dallas Opera commission at Winspear: a song cycle written especially for star American baritone Nathan Gunn (who received glowing reviews for his performance in the 2010 Dallas revival of Donizetti's Don Pasquale). Heggie himself will accompany Gunn at the piano. Of Gunn, Heggie says: "He is a favorite artist of mine, an extraordinary singer, and somebody I've been aching to write for." As yet untitled, the new Heggie/Scheer cycle of original text and music is the fourth collection of songs they have written together and their first collaboration since creating Moby-Dick.

The Dallas Opera
The Dallas Opera's 54th season sees the company with a burnished reputation and better-than-ever creative spirits. The Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center opened to hosannas in October 2009 with a production of Verdi's Otello. Jonathan Pell, artistic director of the Dallas Opera, told the Dallas Morning News: "The move into the Winspear Opera House represents a major milestone in the history of the Dallas Opera. For the first time, we will be performing in a purpose-built opera house, with an extraordinary sense of intimacy and superb acoustics. ... It will encourage the company to greater heights." The Washington Post reported that the world premiere of Heggie's Moby-Dick ratified those ambitions: "While new work is often seen by audiences as more a duty than a pleasure, the opening-night crowd in Dallas broke into spontaneous applause three times during the first half, and screamed and yelled its approval at the curtain calls. It was a wonderful and rare reminder that new opera truly can excite people if it's done right."
For tickets and information, call the Dallas Opera ticket services office at 214-443-1000 or visit us online at www.dallasopera.org.

Events and cast members may be subject to change

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THE DALLAS OPERA 2010-2011 SEASON PRESENTED BY COMERICA BANK
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For high-resolution, digital photographs suitable for print, to arrange an interview, or for additional information, please contact Suzanne Calvin, Manager/Director Media & PR: 214.443.1014 or suzanne.calvin@dallasopera.org

The Dallas Opera's Winter/Spring 2011

All performances are in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, in the heart of the Downtown Dallas Arts District at 2403 Flora St., Dallas, TX 75201. Subscriptions start at $90 and are on sale now. Single tickets, subject to availability, begin at $25. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees begin at 2:00 p.m. English translations are projected above the stage at every performance. Assistance is available for the hearing impaired; inquire at the front desk of the Winspear prior to the performance. For more information, contact the Dallas Opera ticket services office at 214.443.1000 or visit www.dallasopera.org.

ROMEO ET JULIETTE by Charles Gounod
February 11, 13(m), 16, 19, 25 & 27(m), 2011
Production from Montréal Opera
An opera in five acts first performed in Paris' Théâtre Lyrique, April 27, 1867.
Text by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré after William Shakespeare's play.
Conductor: Marco Zambelli*
Stage Director: Michael Kahn
Starring: Charles Castronovo* (Romeo), Lyubov Petrova (Juliet), Robert Lloyd (Friar Laurence), Joshua Hopkins* (Mercutio), Roxana Constantinescu* (Stephano), Stephen Morscheck (Capulet), Jane Bunnell (Gertrude), Mark McCrory (The Duke), Aaron Blake (Tybalt) and Stephen LaBrie* (Paris)

RIGOLETTO by Giuseppe Verdi
March 25, 27(m), 30, April 2, 7 & 10(m), 2011
A classic Dallas Opera revival
Text by Francesco Maria Piave after Victor Hugo's play, Le roi s'amuse.
Conductor: Pietro Rizzo
Stage Director: Harry Silverstein
Starring: Paolo Gavanelli* (Rigoletto), Laura Claycomb* (Gilda), James Valenti (The Duke), Raymond Aceto (Sparafucile), Kirsten Chavez* (Maddalena), Stephen Hartley* (Marullo), Aaron Blake (Borsa), Bradley Garvin* (Count Monterone), Quinn Patrick* (Giovanna) and Katie Bolding* (Countess Ceprano)

BORIS GODUNOV by Modest Mussorgsky
April 1, 3(m), 6, 9, 15 & 17(m), 2011
Text by the composer based on a tragedy by Alexander Pushkin and supplemented by materials from the historical works of Nikolay Mikhaylovich Karamzin and others.
Conductor: Graeme Jenkins
Original Production: Andrei Tarkovsky
Stage Director: Stephen Lawless
Starring: Mikail Kazakov* (Boris Godunov), Elena Bocharova* (Marina Mniszek), Evgeny Akimov* (The Pretender), Vitally Efanov* (Pimen), Mikhail Kolelishvili* (Varlaam), Sergei Leiferkus* (Rangoni), Allan Glassman (Shuysky), Oksana Shilova** (Xenia), Andrei Spekhov** (Schelkalov), Meredith Arwady* (The Hostess), Keith Jameson (The Simpleton) and Steven Haal (Missail)

* Dallas Opera debut
** American debut

The Dallas Opera is supported, in part, by funds from: City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs; TACA; the Texas Commission on the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). American Airlines is the official airline of The Dallas Opera. Lexus is the official vehicle of The Dallas Opera. Cartier is the official jeweler and watchmaker of The Dallas Opera. Rosewood Crescent Hotel is the official hotel of The Dallas Opera. Advertising support from The Dallas Morning News. The T. Boone Pickens YMCA, Smartwater and Stephen Pyles Restaurant - new supporting partners. A special thanks to Mrs. William W. Winspear and the Elsa von Seggern Foundation for their continuing support.

www.dallasopera.org

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