Fort Worth Opera (FWOpera) will kick off its 66th season and its sixth Festival with Puccini's blockbuster Tosca, followed by Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. Well-known for its reputation for programming contemporary works, the company will reinforce that commitment with not just one but two regional premieres: Mark Adamo's Lysistrata and Jake Heggie's Three Decembers. This is the second opera for each composer produced by Fort Worth Opera--Adamo's Little Women was staged in 2005 and Heggie's Dead Man Walking ran in 2009.
In announcing the 2012 season line-up, General Director Darren K. Woods said, "The casting in Tosca and Figaro is second-to-none, and it is a particular thrill to program works by Mark Adamo and Jake Heggie--two of our generation's leading opera composers--together in the same Festival. It will be the first time audiences can experience their incredible music in repertory together. After staging Little Women in 2005 and Dead Man Walking in 2009, I knew that we had to bring these gifted composers back to Fort Worth. Plus, we're pairing these operas with new directors who weren't involved with the premieres, and I can't wait to see their vision come to life: David Gately is perfect for Mark's comedic yet provocative satire Lysistrata, as is Candace Evans for Jake's touching family drama Three Decembers."
Continued Woods, "I'm excited that Carter Scott and Michael Chioldi are returning for Tosca--they are literally back by popular demand. Hers was a magnificent Tosca in 2005 and his Scarpia was searing. And our Marriage of Figaro is a perfect example of Fort Worth Opera's success at showcasing the best of today's young operatic talent, including the Opera Guild of Fort Worth's McCammon Competition alumni Donovan Singletary and Jonathan Beyer as Figaro and the Count, respectively, plus fellow up-and-comers Andrea Carroll as Susanna, Jan Cornelius as the Countess, and Wallis Giunta as Cherubino."
The 2012 Festival will run May 12 - June 3, 2012. Tosca, The Marriage of Figaro, and Lysistrata will be performed in world-renowned Bass Performance Hall. As part of Fort Worth Opera's ongoing dedication to performing in alternative venues, Three Decembers will play in the Scott Theatre, an intimate 500-seat venue at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center that is ideally suited to the chamber work and where the company performed Angels in America to great success in 2008.
TOSCAMusic by Giacomo Puccini and libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa
-- May 12, 20, 25, and June 2, 2012
-- Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth
-- In Italian with projectEd English and Spanish translations
The season kicks off with Tosca, Puccini's blockbuster opera about the fiery diva who makes a dreadful bargain with the lecherous Baron Scarpia in order to save her beloved Cavaradossi. Fort Worth Opera welcomes back soprano Carter Scott (Tosca) and baritone Michael Chioldi (Scarpia), whose performances in Fort Worth Opera's Tosca in 2005 were burned into the city's memory. "The intensity they projected was almost frightening," raved the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Tenor Roger Honeywell (Carmen, 2009) joins them as the passionate painter Cavaradossi. Music Director Joe Illick conducts and Daniel Pelzig (Turandot, 2008) directs Fort Worth Opera's period production.
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGAROMusic by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte* denotes Fort Worth Opera Debut Season
-- May 19, 27, and June 1, 2012
-- Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth
-- In Italian with projectEd English and Spanish translations
Considered revolutionary when it was written, Mozart's comedy The Marriage of Figaro is as fresh and relevant now as when it was premiered--and Fort Worth Opera has assembled a young cast packed with rising stars. Singing the title role is bass-baritone Donovan Singletary (Julius Caesar, 2011), who won both the 2010 George London Foundation Award and the Opera Guild of Fort Worth's 2010 McCammon Competition's Audience Choice Award. Making their house debuts are soprano Andrea Carroll* as Figaro's fiancee Susanna, 2010 McCammon winner and baritone Jonathan Beyer* as Count Almaviva, soprano Jan Cornelius* as the Countess, and mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta* as Cherubino. Stewart Robertson (Elixir of Love, 2010) returns to conduct, and Eric Einhorn* makes his house debut directing the period production.
