Dallas Opera's CARMEN to Open 10/25

The Dallas Opera is extremely proud to present the opening production of the 2013-2014 "By Love Transformed" Season: Georges Bizet's colorful, sensual and passionate 19th century masterpiece, CARMEN, one of the most beloved and popular works in the entire opera canon. CARMEN opens on Friday, October 25, 2013 in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in the Dallas Arts District.

The Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Night Performance will begin at 8:00 PM; it will be preceded by FIRST NIGHT red carpet arrivals and pre-performance dinner (beginning at 6:00 PM), chaired by Mary Beth and Jay Marshall.

The performance itself will be followed by the sensational after-party hosted by Chairs Rhonda and Fraser Marcus.

Subsequent performances of CARMEN are scheduled for October 27(m), 30, November 2, 8, and 10(m), 2013, with generous support from Alice W. and Richard D. Bass, Joy S. and Ronald Mankoff, Betty and Steve Suellentrop, Joanna and Peter Townsend, and James R. Seitz, Jr..

Full season subscriptions are still available, beginning at just $76, and single tickets start at a new low price of $19. Contact the Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214.443.1000 or purchase online, 24/7, at dallasopera.org.

She's the woman no man can resist and, as performed by renowned French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine in her American debut, who would want to say "non"? Hailed as "Best Newcomer" in the 2011 French Classical Music Awards, Margaine will have her hands full with two head-turning, heart-melting Don Josés: tenors Brandon Jovanovich, who last captivated us as Pinkerton in the Dallas Opera's 2010 production of Madame Butterfly, and Bruno Ribeiro (an acclaimed international star from Portugal) making his eagerly anticipated company debut.

This truly phenomenal cast, from American soprano Mary Dunleavy in the role of Micaëla to bass-baritone DWayne Croft as Escamillo the Toreador, will bring on the sizzle-as well as the steak! Featuring classic Jean-Pierre Ponnelle scenery from the San Francisco Opera, this production conducted by Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director EmManuel Villaume will make all the other good/bad girls of opera seem tame, if not lame, in comparison.

Georges Bizet's 1875 masterpiece will be staged by American director Chris Alexander, The James R. Seitz, Jr., Stage Director in Honor of John Gage, who dazzled in his 2005 Dallas Opera debut with his staging of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, starring Mary Dunleavy and Marcus Haddock; returning in the spring of 2009 to direct the company's final performances in the Music Hall at Fair Park: a delightful and daffy rendering of Rossini's The Italian Girl in Algiers (L'italiana in Algeri).

American tenor Brandon Jovanovich will sing the role of Don José on Oct. 25, 27, and 30, while TDO newcomer, Portuguese tenorBruno Ribeiro will portray the obsessed lover on Nov. 2, 8 and 10, 2013.

This outstanding international cast includes soprano Danielle Pastin in her company debut as Frasquita; mezzo Audrey Babcock in her Dallas Opera debut as Mercédès; bass Kyle Albertson (another company debut) as Zuniga; baritone Stephen LaBrie as the smuggler, La Dancaire; tenor William Ferguson in his Dallas Opera debut as Remendado and baritone John David Boehr in his TDO debut as Moralès.

Mr. Jovanovich, who enthralled Dallas audiences in our 2010 production of Madame Butterfly (described by Huffington Post's Rodney Punt as the definitive Pinkerton of our time), has been dazzling critics recently in the title role of Wagner's Lohengrin. San Francisco ChronicleClassical Music Critic Joshua Kosman wrote: "Jovanovich combined sweet-toned lyricism and ardent heroism in just the proportions required for this tricky role. His singing was thrillingly pure and tireless, his stage presence simultaneously tender and aloof."

Portuguese tenor Bruno Ribeiro, on the other hand, "gives rich voice to soulful pleadings" and has been praised for allowing "vulnerability to color his expressive tenor" (examiner.com).

Soprano Mary Dunleavy "melds outstanding acting ability with a flexible and gorgeous voice" (William Thomas Walker, cvnc.org), characteristics on display in her tour de force portrayal of all four love interests in the Dallas Opera's 2005 production of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, earning rave reviews and that season's "Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award."

Bass-baritone DWayne Croft swept Dallas Opera goers off their feet as Marcello in our 2009 production of La bohème. A singer praised by The Classical Review for his "musical intelligence" and an onstage presence that is both "dashing and ardent."

Soprano Danielle Pastin impressed reviewer James O. Welsch with her "stunning lyrical beauty and tone." And Catherine Reese Newton of The St. Louis Tribune praised mezzo-soprano Audrey Babcock as "a vocal and dramatic knockout." Bass Kyle Albertson, on the other hand, was applauded by ConcertoNet for his "splendid interpretation" of the role of Henry Kissinger in Long Beach Opera's production ofNixon in China; while baritone Steven LaBrie caught the ear of The Opera Critic "with his rich yet flexible voice, good looks and charismatic personality" and tenor William Ferguson was praised as "a mellifluous, charismatic tenor," by Steve Smith of The New York Times. BaritoneJohn David Boehr earned the plaudits of Michael Anthony of MinnPost.com for his "welcome energy and adroit singing" at Minnesota Opera.

As for Maestro Villaume, Lawrence A. Johnson recently wrote that "he displayed his considerable bona fides in French repertoire once again, conducting a performance that conveyed the melodic richness of Bizet's music with elegance, delicacy and dramatic point as needed."

"I think Bizet was totally aware that he was breaking new ground in this work and it's part of what gives the opera such incredible intensity," explains Dallas Opera Music Director EmManuel Villaume. "At the same time, he pulls it off with taste, a great deal of elegance and, I wouldn't say "restraint" exactly, but there's always a frame around what's happening onstage that is quite interesting.

"Whenever you break new ground in the arts," Maestro Villaume adds, "the first one to get there is usually the same one who gets it right. Everyone who follows is simply looking to repeat or expand upon that success; to create the same magic-and that magic is this: every time you experience Carmen, the experience becomes unique."

Costume design is by Werner Iverke in his company debut, with lighting design by Thomas C. Hase.

The Dallas Opera Chorus will be prepared by Chorus Master Alexander Rom and the children's chorus by Children's Chorus MasterMelinda Cotten.

Performances will continue on October 27(m), 30, November 2, 8 & 10(m), 2013 in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, selected by Southern Living as the best new venue for opera. All evening performances besides the Opening Night of the Season will begin promptly at 8:00 PM. Sunday matinees begin at 2:00 PM.

A free, pre-performance lecture ("The Joy and Ronald Mankoff Pre-Opera Talks") will be conducted one hour prior to curtain at most performances-excluding the Linda and Mitch Hart Season Opening Night Performance. The Dallas Opera Guild also hosts "Opera Insights," a lively panel discussion featuring artists, directors and designers, on the Sunday afternoon prior to opening. For more details, visit dallasopera.org.

Parking onsite will be available in the Lexus Red Parking beneath the Winspear Opera House and the Lexus Silver Parking adjacent to the Wyly Theatre. Should those reach capacity, additional paid parking is available at nearby One Arts Plaza and in several surface lots. Prices range from $5 to $25 per vehicle.

Subscriptions for the mainstage productions of the Dallas Opera's "By Love Transformed" Season are on sale now, starting at just $76, through the Dallas Opera Ticket Services Office at 214.443.1000 or online at www.dallasopera.org. Student Rush best-available tickets can be purchased at the lobby box office for $25 or $50 (one per valid Student I.D.) ninety minutes prior to each performance. Single tickets start at just $19.

Tickets for the Dallas Opera's 2013 Opening Night Celebration, FIRST NIGHT, presented by NGP Energy Capital Management, are available through Dallas Opera Special Events Manager Tracy Mott at tracy.mott@dallasopera.org.

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