The Dallas Opera 2021-2022 - Madame Butterfly/Flight

Welcome to The Dallas Opera and our 2021/2022 Season. We are thrilled to finally return to the Winspear Opera House with fully staged live operas! The buzz is palpable both onstage and backstage as we gear up to produce four operas this spring! The joyous cacophony of instruments tuning, voices warming up, calls to the stage, and technical tests never fails to energize the performance, just before the curtain rises. This spring we welcome the sensational soprano Latonia Moore back to TDO in the title role of Puccini’s beloved Madame Butterfly , along with the TDO debuts of several fellow castmembers: Evan LeRoy Johnson, Michael Adams, Martin Bakari, and Gabrielle Gilliam. In Flight —itself a TDO premiere—Dallas favorite John Holiday returns to our stage, with a who’s who cast of incredible artists— both rising and renowned: including Will Liverman, Karita Mattila, Jessica Pratt, Elena Villalón, and Zachary James. We hope you enjoy these two presentations and are able to experience the same joy listening and watching that we all do in bringing these works to life. Happy New Year! FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR AND BOARD CHAIR Happy New Year! I’m delighted to be able to welcome you to The Dallas Opera’s home. TDO is proud to have had success this fall with Opera’s Greatest Hits , the National Vocal Competition, OperaTruck in the community, education work, and the outstanding Hart Institute for Women Conductors Showcase Concert. But it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to gather together like this for a full opera production, and that makes these spring presentations all the more special. I’m so looking forward to hearing both a favorite of the repertoire—Puccini’s Madame Butterfly —along with an opera that is new to me, Flight , which we are proud to bring to The Dallas Opera for the first time. What an inspiring juxtaposition of offerings this is, saluting the traditional works from the past while also expanding the opera catalogue for audiences today and into the future. The Dallas Opera is particularly fortunate to have such dedicated and steadfast supporters, and we salute all of you who have helped us weather this difficult time. We are grateful for your loyalty to the company and to the art form that we all hold dear, and hope that being here in this marvelous opera house with these stellar casts and our own orchestra brings you great happiness. I know I speak for the Board, staff, crew, and artists when I say thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. Cheers to the year ahead! PHOTOS: LAUREN BLOOM, GITTINGS COVER: MARTY SOHL ANN STUART, PH.D. Board Chair IAN DERRER The Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO 2 THE DALLAS OPERA | 2021/2022 SEASON