Tuomas Hiltunen

Fort Worth Opera's Board of Trustees announced today that they have accepted the submitted resignation of General Director Tuomas Hiltunen. Mr. Hiltunen joined Fort Worth Opera in July of 2017. During his tenure, he established security and growth by streamlining expenditures, reducing administrative costs and overhead, and maintaining a balanced operating budget.

Fort Worth Opera (FWO) is thrilled to announce two exciting world premiere productions for the company's 2019-2020 season. On November 16, 2019, FWO will present composer Joe Illick and Pulitzer Prize-winning librettist Mark Campbell's inspirational one-act children's opera, Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, at the historic Rose Marine Theater. On April 26, 2020, the company will unveil composer-librettist Héctor Armienta's exhilarating Zorro at the legendary Ridglea Theater, a swashbuckling adventure for the whole family, featuring one of pop culture's most iconic, sword-wielding vigilantes.

Fort Worth Opera (FWO) is pleased to announce today the news that Paula Parkman Parrish, a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), has joined the company as the new Director of Development. During her tenure as the Executive Director of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth Advancement Foundation, she advanced and inculcated a philanthropic culture throughout 90 parishes in 28 counties, managing the Board of Directors and overseeing assets of $125 million. Parrish comes to Fort Worth Opera with around thirty years of experience in fundraising, education, marketing, and communication. As the company prepares for its exciting 2019 Festival and looks towards its 75th Anniversary Season in 2020-2021, Paula Parrish's appointment as a development leader, further strengthens Fort Worth Opera's reinvigorated spirit and celebrates its great legacy.

Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) announced today that the company is launching a Board of Trustees-driven campaign, Thanks-a-Million! This two-year matching donation challenge by Trustee Mr. Ed Schollmaier, offers individuals the chance to double their contribution, while ensuring the future of FWOpera's mission to educate, entertain, and expand the horizons of current and future audiences and artists through variety and artistic integrity. As the company looks towards the 2019 season and the world premiere of The Last Dream of Frida and Diego in 2020, this significant campaign will create a solid foundation for FWOpera to strengthen its financial health, establish sustainable partnerships, augment its growing educational outreach programs, and continue to engage and serve the North Texas community for years to come.

For the first time in a decade, Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) will present Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Earlier this week, the 'Bathroom Bill,' a controversial bill that would require people to use restrooms and facilities that match the sex on their birth certificates, was back on the table for discussion in Texas. Performing Arts Fort Worth - the non-profit organization that manages Bass Performance Hall - commented that although they 'generally [shy] away from involvement in political or social issues, [they feel] particularly passionate about this topic,' inspiring PAFW President & CEO Dione Kennedy to send the below letter to Joe Straus, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. The letter was a collaborative letter, signed by several leaders in local arts organizations. The bill has since died in Texas Legislature, for now.

The 93rd season of the New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts (YPCs) will continue on Saturday, January 23, 2016, at 2:00 p.m. with the program 'Myths and Legends,' the second in this season's series, Once Upon a Time, which explores music inspired by stories, poems, and legends. The concert will feature Sibelius's Lemminka?inen's Return, Finlandia, and selections from En saga, as well as works by Very Young Composers of Finland and New York City. Philharmonic Assistant Conductor Joshua Gersen will lead the performance; Vice President, Education, Theodore Wiprud will host the event, which will be directed and scripted by Tom Dulack. The performance will feature actor Tuomas Hiltunen reciting selections from the Finnish epic poem Kalevala - the basis for many of Sibelius's works, including Lemminka?inen's Return - with runic singing.

On Sunday, March 11, as part of the Fukushima anniversary initiative Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, Scandinavian American Theater Company and Ping Chong & Company will co-present a reading of a play written in response to the disaster: Swedish playwright Jacob Hirdwall's Emperor Fukushima. The reading will take place at 7:00 P.M. at La MaMa (47 Great Jones Street). Admission requires a $10 donation at the door; the Japan Playwrights Association will disburse proceeds to the Japanese theater community affected by the disaster.

On Sunday, March 11, as part of the Fukushima anniversary initiative Shinsai: Theaters for Japan, Scandinavian American Theater Company and Ping Chong & Company will co-present a reading of a play written in response to the disaster: Swedish playwright Jacob Hirdwall's Emperor Fukushima. The reading will take place at 7:00 P.M. at La MaMa (47 Great Jones Street). Admission requires a $10 donation at the door; the Japan Playwrights Association will disburse proceeds to the Japanese theater community affected by the disaster.

February of 2008 has turned out to be a heck of a terrific month for non-traditional and daring Off-Broadway musicals. (Do we have any more opening by tomorrow night?) Following the exhilarating Next To Normal and the entrancingly Dadaist The Blue Flower we now have Joshua Schmidt (music and libretto) and Jason Loewith's (libretto) haunting chamber piece, Adding Machine, based on Elmer Rice's 1923 Expressionist drama. To call it 'old-fashioned' would be misleading, but one of the pleasures of Adding Machine is that it recalls a time when political and social protest musicals were not uncommon among Gotham's theatrical offerings.

Michael Domitrovich's new play Artf**kers, about the second generation artistic elite of Downtown Manhattan, will close following the matinee performance on Sunday, March 16. Directed by Eduardo Machado, the new Off-Broadway play transferred to the DR2 Theatre (103 East 15th Street) after a sold-out run at Theater for the New City and features Nicole LaLiberte, Will Janowitz, Asher Grodman, Jessica Kaye and Tuomas Hiltunen. Upon closing, the production will have played 14 previews and 22 performances.

Following its sold-out limited run at Theater for the New City, Michael Domitrovich's shockingly topical and seductive new play Artf**kers, directed by Eduardo Machado, officially opened Tuesday, February 26 at 7PM at DR2 Theatre

Following its sold-out limited run at Theater for the New City, Michael Domitrovich's shockingly topical and seductive new play Artf**kers, directed by Eduardo Machado, will begin previews at the DR2 Theatre (103 East 15th Street) on Saturday, February 9. Due to illness and technical challenges, Opening night has been rescheduled to Tuesday, February 26 at 7PM.