Dallas Arts District neighbors, The Dallas Opera and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, announced their 2019-2020 seasons featuring artistic collaborations, an introduction to new leadership, the return of an opera legend and the 30th anniversary celebration of Dallas’ beloved concert hall.
The Dallas Opera’s new season celebrating 10 years at the Winspear Opera House begins with the Sir Peter Hall production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” (October 18-November 3). Rounding out the fall offerings is Rimsky-Korsakov’s comedy “The Golden Cockerell (October 25 – November 2). The spring brings Verdi’s “Don Carlo” in concert (March 20 – 28) and Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” (April 24 – May 10). Stravinsky’s ballet with song “Pulcinella” and Poulenc and Couteau’s “La Voix Humaine” (April 3 – 8) will be performed in Dallas for the first time as part of a double-bill performance, with Dallas Black Dance Theatre collaborating on “Pulcinella.”
In 1961, Placido Domingo made his American opera debut at the Dallas Civic Opera, singing the role of Arturo with Joan Sutherland in “Lucia Di Lammermoor.” The legendary tenor is returning to Dallas to sing in an exclusive performance with Emmanuel Villaume, The Dallas Opera’s Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director, and The Dallas Opera Orchestra on March 11, 2020.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s 2019-2020 season celebrates the beginning of a new artistic chapter for the orchestra. Music Director Designate Fabio Luisi will lead the orchestra in five programs including Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony” (September 12-15), the Dallas premiere of Julia Wolfe’s “Fountain of Youth” (January 9 – 12), Strauss’ “Salome” presented as an opera-in-concert (January 31 and February 2), Schmidt’s “The Book with Seven Seals” (April 3 – 5) and Brahm’s Second Symphony (April 9 – 11).
Gemma New, the orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor, will make her debut during the 2019-2020 season, conducting concerts in November and March as well as the annual New Year’s Eve Concert. A few of the works New will be conducting include “Rainphase” by New Zealand female composer Salina Fisher and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Barber’s Piano Concerto with soloist Garrick Ohlsson.
The orchestra’s home, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, turns the big 3-0 this fall. To celebrate the symphony hall’s 30th anniversary, the orchestra will host several concerts including a $10 DSO concert on September 4 and the Dallas Symphony Chorus’ Celebration of Singing event on September 22. An Open House on September 14 will feature many of the Meyerson’s resident ensembles, members of the DSO and other Dallas Arts District organizations.
Both cultural institutions will host events supporting and promoting women in the classical music industry. The Dallas Opera will present six women conductors participating in the fifth annual Hart Institute for Women with a showcase on November 9 at the Winspear Opera House. That event is on the last day of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s first annual Women in Classical Music Symposium. Talks and panel discussions will be held throughout the Dallas Arts District from November 6 - 9.
It is every art organization’s frustration when applying for grants: most foundations and corporations do not offer funds for operating costs. The 2019 Arts General Operating Grants from The Arts Community Alliance (TACA) offer that rare support. This year, TACA distributed $753,000, an increase over last year’s $700,000, to 48 North Texas arts organizations. Grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 were awarded to theaters, music companies, dance companies, youth performance organizations, and for the first time, visual arts galleries and museums.
TACA developed a strategic granting process, using 54 volunteers to conduct a detailed evaluation of the grant applicants. The volunteers spent 2,600 hours considering arts organization’s artistic excellence, innovation and originality, support of local artists and local creation, access, diversity and inclusion of all Dallas county residents, and financial and administrative stewardship.
2019 Grant Recipients
| African American Repertory Theater | $5,000 |
| American Baroque Opera Company | $5,000 |
| AT&T Performing Arts Center | $25,000 |
| Avant Chamber Ballet | $5,000 |
| Ballet Dallas | $5,000 |
| Blue Candlelight Music Series | $5,000 |
| Bruce Wood Dance | $16,000 |
| Cara Mía Theatre Co. | $19,000 |
| Chamber Music International | $7,000 |
| Chamberlain Performing Arts | $9,000 |
| Children's Chorus of Greater Dallas | $26,000 |
| Cry Havoc Theater Company | $8,000 |
| Dallas Bach Society | $5,000 |
| Dallas Black Dance Theatre | $47,000 |
| Dallas Chamber Symphony | $14,000 |
| Dallas Children's Theater | $50,000 |
| Dallas Contemporary | $21,000 |
| Dallas Museum of Art | $25,000 |
| Dallas Symphony Orchestra | $41,000 |
| Dallas Theater Center | $43,000 |
| Dallas Winds | $13,000 |
| Dark Circles Contemporary Dance | $15,000 |
| Fine Arts Chamber Players | $14,000 |
| Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra | $19,000 |
| Irving Symphony Orchestra | $5,000 |
| Junior Players | $21,000 |
| Kitchen Dog Theater | $15,000 |
| Lone Star Wind Orchestra | $11,000 |
| Lumedia Musicworks | $5,000 |
| Nasher Sculpture Center | $25,000 |
| Orchestra of New Spain | $10,000 |
| Orpheus Chamber Singers | $5,000 |
| Plano Civic Chorus | $5,000 |
| Plano Symphony Orchestra | $20,000 |
| Sammons Center for the Arts | $12,000 |
| Second Thought Theatre | $11,000 |
| Shakespeare Dallas | $5,000 |
| Soul Rep Theatre Company | $5,000 |
| Texas Winds Musical Outreach | $11,000 |
| The Dallas Opera | $42,000 |
| The Women's Chorus of Dallas | $5,000 |
| Theatre Three | $10,000 |
| TITAS Presents | $26,000 |
| Turtle Creek Chorale | $13,000 |
| Undermain Theatre | $15,000 |
| Uptown Players | $15,000 |
| Voices of Change | $5,000 |
| WaterTower Theatre | $14,000 |
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced the recipients of more than $27 million in grants. The grants were distributed to all 50 states and Puerto Rico with arts organizations in Texas receiving 52 grants totaling $1,277,000.
The Scene
14 North Texas Recipients
| Big Thought | $100,000 |
| buildingcommunityWorkshop | $25,000 |
| Dallas Black Dance Theatre | $15,000 |
| Dallas Museum of Art | $55,000 |
| The Dallas Opera | $40,000 |
| Dallas Symphony Orchestra | $20,000 |
| Dallas Theater Center | $25,000 |
| Nasher Sculpture Center | $25,000 |
| TITAS Presents | $15,000 |
| Dallas VideoFest | $10,000 |
| The Cliburn | $10,000 |
| Kimbell Art Museum | $30,000 |
| Chamberlain Ballet | $10,000 |
MORE: Dallas Opera | Dallas Symphony Orchestra | TACA | National Endowment for the Arts
