Fort Worth Opera
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Fort Worth Opera is the oldest, continually performing opera company in the state of Texas and among the oldest in the United States. It performs 3-4 operas per year in Bass Performance Hall located in the downtown area of Fort Worth, Texas.
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[edit] History
Fort Worth Opera was founded by three women, Eloise Snyder and Betty Spain, both former opera singers, and Jeanne Axtell Walker. In seven months, the trio pulled together a full scale production of Verdi's La Traviata, performed on November 25, 1946 in a building now known as the Cowtown Coliseum located in the Fort Worth Stockyards. Fort Worth Opera went on to become an arts company of note, especially during the 1960's, when it helped launch the careers of Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills. Internal strife and mismanagement led to a general decline in the company’s reputation in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Fort Worth Opera claims to be making a comeback as ticket sales and donations have been, according to the company, increasing since 2003.
[edit] Festival
The 2008 Fort Worth Opera Festival, May 16 - June 8, 2008, includes Puccini’s Turandot, Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men, which will all be staged at Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth. The fourth opera, a new production of Angels in America by Peter Eötvös- based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tony Kushner- will be performed at the Scott Theatre.
In February, 2006, Fort Worth Opera announced it was converting to a festival format, condensing its entire season into a one-month period in late spring. The scheduling of performances is similar to that of established opera festivals like the Santa Fe Opera, where operas are performed alternately, allowing visitors to see multiple works within a few days.
The first festival opened in May, 2007, with three operas plus a Rossini choral work, including the world premiere performances of Frau Margot by composer Thomas Pasatieri, who made a comeback to opera after a 20-year hiatus.
