Page 159 - Winterreise Coverage Book, 2021 - 22

Derrer is more concerned about having covers available to fill in at a
moment’s notice. They aren’t necessarily in Dallas, so the company would
need to fly them in if a singer gets sick.

Still, the Dallas Opera is in a much better situation than it was in March
2020, when the pandemic canceled its semi-staged production of
Verdi’s Don Carlo, and subsequently, the rest of its season.

Back then, Derrer said, there was an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty.

“Now, I feel there’s a much better understanding of what the landscape is,”
he added. “I feel the momentum again, and I feel the joy of being able to
come into a rehearsal room with confidence.”

The company’s safety protocols help. All staff, crew and musicians are fully
vaccinated and boosted, and are tested at least twice a week. Tests take
place at the Winspear in a green room-cum-testing center. Singers will be
masked until dress rehearsals.

Audience members will need to be masked at performances and the hall
will operate at full capacity. Orchestra musicians will be distanced in the
pit, which the Dallas Opera has expanded by taking out the first two rows of
the audience.

And so, after all the effort and sacrifice, it’ll come back to this: Lights,
singing and those flower petals fluttering down onto the Winspear stage.