Dallas Opera Presents 'Dallas Opera Perspectives' Today

The Dallas Opera, in partnership with the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University, is delighted to introduce the first in a series of new programs hosted by Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny and designed to present informed personal perspectives on the arts.

Our first edition of "Dallas Opera Perspectives" taking place tonight, October 8, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. in the Meadows Museum, will introduce Dallas to TDO's acclaimed new music director, Maestro Emmanuel Villaume, who will apply his keen interest in the visual arts to works in the Spanish collection that "speak to him" in a special way as he prepares to conduct our season-opening production of Georges Bizet's CARMEN.

"I look forward to October 25th with a sense of anticipation and excitement tempered by a comfortable sense of the familiar," explains Maestro Villaume.

"The pressure will be on in my first podium appearance as Music Director of the Dallas Opera. However, Carmen, as a mainstay of the French repertoire, is a work I have conducted throughout my career. Over the years, familiarity with Bizet's masterpiece has generated within me an even greater respect for his musical vision, and I always seek something fresh and revelatory in my approach to the score to bring to every performance.

"One of the great privileges of this career is the ability to travel and discover new cities-in particular, their museums. Dallas, fortunately, is endowed with several world class collections and I am eager to explore them all.

"Studying visual arts is a stimulating activity for me, as it touches on some of the same fundamental artistic and spiritual issues as music, although from a totally different angle. It's a pastime I find to be as refreshing as it is enlightening."

The Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University opened in 1965 to house an extraordinary collection of Spanish Art acquired by Texas philanthropist and oil financier Algur H. Meadows. Today, the museum houses one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of Spanish art in the world, covering a thousand years of Spanish heritage. This internationally renowned museum collection includes masterpieces by El Greco, Velázquez, Ribera, Murillo, Goya, Miró and Picasso. At the base of the plaza on which the museum stands is a 40-by-90 foot moving sculpture designed bySantiago Calatrava entitled, Wave (2001).

This FREE program will take place in the Bob and Jean Smith Auditorium at the Meadows from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. and will include an opportunity for audience questions and comments.

Attendees will then be invited to participate in a special Gallery Tour, which includes the artworks personally selected by Emmanuel Villaume for public discussion.

"The Meadows Museum is one of most extraordinary museums in the state," says Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny. "It's an exceptionally curated collection of Spanish masterpieces that rivals those in the Prado in Madrid. I can't think of a more exciting backdrop for a discussion regarding the impact of Spain (and its dance, music and art traditions) on French composer Georges Bizet, as well as on our upcoming production of CARMEN.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to explore these topics with our dynamic new music director, Emmanuel Villaume-to introduce him to the people of Dallas (his new home) and to share his refined taste and insights with art lovers from throughout North Texas."

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Seating for the Meadows Museum "Dallas Opera Perspectives" is limited. To secure your spot for this one-night-only event, call 214.443.1000 or reserve your seats online, 24/7, at dallasopera.org/rsvp.

The Meadows Museum is located on the SMU Campus at 5900 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, TX 75205.

Both the program and special docent-led, VIP gallery tour are absolutely free, and complimentary covered parking is available.

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KEY BIOS

GENERAL DIRECTOR AND CEO KEITH CERNY:

Dallas Opera General Director and CEO Keith Cerny has enjoyed a diverse and highly successful career in business, arts administration and music performance. Mr. Cerny's business experience includes three years as Executive Director (COO) and CFO of the San Francisco Opera, the CEO role at sheetmusicplus.com, six years with McKinsey & Company, and a Partner role with Accenture in strategy and business architecture consulting.

He is a regular panel participant and speaker at Opera America conferences and special events, including the National Performing Arts Convention. His past pro bono consulting activities include work for English National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera America, Washington National Opera, Atlanta Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, Los Angeles Opera, and - most recently - Houston Grand Opera where he led a multifaceted pro bono initiative on key marketing areas. In 2011, he was elected to the Board of Directors of Opera America, where he also serves as Chair of the Strategy Committee. Since taking over as General Director & CEO of The Dallas Opera, Mr. Cerny has worked to stabilize the company's financials, commissioned two major new opera projects, launched the company's free public simulcast performances, and broadened the company's repertoire to include more 20th and 21st century works.

DALLAS OPERA MUSIC DIRECTOR EMMANUEL VILLAUME:

Maestro Emmanuel Villaume has appeared at many of the world's most important opera houses. Appearances include with the Metropolitan Opera for Madama Butterfly, Samson et Dalila, and Carmen; with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for Les Contes d'Hoffmann and La Rondine; the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Samson et Dalila, Manon, and The Merry Widow; Washington National Opera for La Rondine, Norma, Le Cid, Les Contes d'Hoffmann and Lucia di Lammermoor; San Francisco Opera for Madama Butterfly and Werther; Los Angeles Opera for La Rondine and Grande Duchesse; Santa Fe Opera for Carmen and Grande Duchesse; Bastille Opera for Rigoletto; Toulouse Opera for Mignon; Opéra Marseilles forPelléas et Mélisande, Samson, Carmen and Norma; La Fenice in Venice for Thaïs and Il Crociato; Deutsche Oper Berlin for Tosca; Hamburg Staatsoper for Der Fliegende Holländer; Teatro Real in Madrid for Hoffmann and Werther; Tokyo Bunka Kaikan for Der Rosenkavalier; and the Klangbogen Festival for Don Quichotte and Menotti's Goya with Plácido Domingo.

All performances are in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Subscriptions are now on sale to the general public, starting at just $76. Single Tickets starting at $19 and Flex Subscriptions are also on sale. Family performances are $5 (Family Performance Subs are $12 for three family performances) and are on sale now. For more information or to make your purchase, contact The Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214.443.1000 or visit us online, 24/7, at www.dallasopera.org.

THE DALLAS OPERA 2013-2014 SEASON INFORMATION

The Dallas Opera celebrates its Fifty-Seventh International Season in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in the Dallas Arts District. Evening performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees will begin at 2:00 p.m. unless otherwise stated. English translations will be projected above the stage at every performance and assistance is available for the hearing impaired.

CARMEN by Georges Bizet

October 25 (special time, 8:00 p.m.), October 27(m), 30, November 2, 8 & 10(m), 2013

The most irresistible bad girl in opera-How can you possibly say "non"?

An opera in four acts first performed in Paris on March 3, 1875

Text by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy based on the novella by Prosper Mérimée

Time: 19th century

Place: Seville, Spain

Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume

Stage Director: Chris Alexander

Scenic Design: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Costume Design: Werner Iverke

Lighting Design: Thomas Hase

Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman

Chorus Master: Alexander Rom

Children's Chorus Master: Melinda Cotten

Starring: Clémentine Margaine**(Carmen), Brandon Jovanovich (Don José Oct. 25, 27, 30), Bruno Ribeiro* (Don José Nov. 2, 8, 10), Mary Dunleavy (Micaëla), Dwayne Croft (Escamillo), Danielle Pastin*(Frasquita), Audrey Babcock*(Mercédès), Kyle Albertson*(Zuniga), Steven LaBrie (Le Dancaïre), William Ferguson* (Remendado), John David Boehr*(Moralès).

DEATH AND THE POWERS by Tod Machover

February 12, 14, 15 & 16(m), 2014

Science fiction and poignant family drama combine in a major regional premiere!

An opera in one act first performed in Monte Carlo, Monaco at the Salle Garnier on September 24, 2010.

Text by Robert Pinsky, based on a story by Pinsky and Randy Weiner

Time: Unknown time in the future

Place: Earth, the home of billionaire Simon Powers

Conductor: Nicole Paiement

Stage Director: Diane Paulus*

Associate Director: Andrew Eggert*

Scenic Design: Alex McDowell*

Costume Design: David Woolard*

Lighting Design: Don Holder

Choreography: Karole Armitage*

Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman

Starring: Robert Orth (Simon Powers/Robot One), Joélle Harvey (Miranda/Robot Four), Patricia Risley(Evvy/Robot Three), Hal Cazalet*(Nicholas/Robot Two), Frank Kelley*(The United Way), David Kravitz*(The United Nations), Tom McNichols*(The Administration).

DIE TOTE STADT ("THE DEAD CITY") by Erich Wolfgang Korngold

March 21, 23(m), 26, 29 and April 6(m), 2014

The Hitchcock-like tale of one man's dark obsession with the woman he loved and lost.

An opera in three acts first performed in Hamburg & Cologne, Germany on December 4, 1920

Text by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Paul Schott based on a novel by Georges Rodenbach, Bruges la morte

Time: End of the 19th century

Place: The city of Bruges in northwestern Belgium

Conductor: Sebastian Lang-Lessing*

Stage Director: Mikael Melbye

Scenic Design: Mikael Melbye*

Costume Design: Dierdre Clancy*

Video Design: Wendall Harrington*

Lighting Design: Mark McCullough

Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman

Choreography: Matthew Ferraro*

Chorus Master: Alexander Rom

Starring: Anne Petersen**(Marietta) , Jay Hunter Morris (Paul), Morgan Smith (Fritz), Weston Hurt (Frank), Katherine Tier*(Brigitta), Andrew Bidlack (Albert), Jan Lund**(Victorin), Jennifer Chung (Juliette), Angela Turner Wilson (Lucienne).

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE by Gioachino Rossini

March 28, 30(m), April 2, 5, 11 & 13(m), 2014

Figaro, a scheming barber and jack-of-all-trades plots to release a headstrong girl from her gilded cage!

An opera in two acts first performed in Rome on February 20, 1816

Text by Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais, from his comedy Le Barbier de Séville

Time: 18th century

Place: Seville, Spain

Conductor: Giuliano Carella*

Stage Director: Herb Kellner

Original Production: John Copley

Scenic Design: John Conklin

Costume Design: Michael Stennet

Lighting Design: TBD

Wig & make-up Design: David Zimmerman

Chorus Master: Alexander Rom

Starring: Nathan Gunn (Figaro), Isabel Leonard*(Rosina), Alek Shrader*(Count Almaviva), Donato DiStefano (Dr. Bartolo), Burak Bilgili*(Don Basilio), Nathan De'Shon Myers (Fiorello), Christian Teague*(Ambrogio).

DALLAS OPERA FAMILY PERFORMANCES

Jack and the Beanstalk: October 26, 2013 and April 5, 2014

Family Concerts: November 3, 2013 and February 1, 2014

The Elixir of Love: November 9, 2013 and April 12, 2014

* Dallas Opera Debut

** American Debut

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The Dallas Opera is supported, in part, by funds from: Texas Instruments Foundation, TACA, City of Dallas, Office of Cultural Affairs; theTexas 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. Advertising support from The Dallas Morning News. A special thanks to the Elsa von Seggern Foundation for its continuing support.