Sunday, November 26, 2006

Fort Worth Opera to move to Festival Format in 2007

By Pegasus News wire

After 60 years of producing operas singularly over a fall and winter season, Fort Worth Opera has announced a major change in its presentation format: it will condense its entire schedule to an annual festival – with all of its operas and concerts being presented over a four week period (see attached schedule). The inaugural Fort Worth Opera Festival is scheduled to commence in May 2007. The 2007 Festival will be in lieu of a fall/winter schedule for 2006/2007.

The repertoire for the inaugural 2007 Fort Worth Opera Festival includes a much anticipated world premiere by Thomas Pasatieri, who is returning to opera after 20 years of working in Hollywood on movie scores. The new opera, entitled Frau Margot, will be directed by Frank Corsaro, who is also writing the libretto, taken from an original play he authored. The other operas are Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Verdi’s Falstaff. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will perform for each opera. Fort Worth Opera is also partnering with the Van Cliburn Foundation to produce a concert version of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, along with other events planned to celebrate its inaugural Festival.

A schedule change of this magnitude is unprecedented for an established opera company in the United States. According to Darren Woods, Fort Worth Opera’s General Director, the company has been actively exploring the change for about three years, conducting research and involving city leaders in the decision. The reasons behind the change are many, but the primary factors are:

• More efficient and cost-effective use of time in Bass Performance Hall, where the company performs

• Fort Worth and the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area is already an attractive destination for

tourists interested in culture and the arts

• Benefits the local economy

• Being able to focus performances on weekends without using multiple casts (opera singers need a day

of rest between performing major roles)

• Eliminates scheduling conflicts with nearby Dallas Opera

Press Release

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