Change To Festival Format
After 60 years of producing opera in the stagione style – one opera at a time over the fall and winter – Fort Worth Opera announced unprecedented change in February 2006: it would condense its entire schedule to an annual spring festival, with all of its operas and concerts being presented over a four week period. The inaugural Fort Worth Opera Festival opened in May 2007 and featured the company's first main-stage world premiere, Frau Margot, by composer Thomas Pasatieri.
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.
According to Scott Cantrell of the Dallas Morning News, "Fort Worth Opera has become one of the country's premier opera festivals." The company booked its second main-stage world premiere, Before Night Falls by Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín, based on the memoirs of Cuban poet and writer Reinaldo Arenas. Before Night Falls was featured in the company's 2010 Festival along with Don Giovanni and The Elixir of Love.
Read more about this topic: Fort Worth Opera
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