Page 158 - Winterreise Coverage Book, 2021 - 22

It’s not like the company has been dormant. Since last spring, the Dallas
Opera has offered several concerts and recitals, including an unforgettable
performance of Schubert’s Winterreise by baritone Benjamin Appl and
pianist James Baillieu. The goal has been to build toward the large
productions.

A group of stage hands and carpenters unload large panels that will decorate the set for 'Madame Butterfly,' on
Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022 at the Winspear Opera House in downtown Dallas. 'Madame Butterfly' will open the
company's main-stage season.(Ben Torres / Special Contributor)

Following Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, the season continues with English
composer Jonathan Dove’s Flight — which is inspired by the same true
story as Steven Spielberg’s Terminal, starring Tom Hanks. Rounding out
the compressed season will be Rossini’s Barber of Seville and Bizet’s Pearl
Fishers.

All four productions will be directed by women, which may be a first for the
company, Derrer said. Two of the productions will also be conducted by
women: Nicole Paiement, the Dallas Opera’s principal guest conductor, and
Lina Gonzalez-Granados, an alumna of the company’s Hart Institute,
which advances the careers of women conductors.

COVID has made it harder for many companies to assemble singers from
around the globe. But travel restrictions are not as strict now as they were
in the fall because of vaccinations, Derrer said. It also helps that most of the
singers for the upcoming shows live in the U.S.