Fort Worth Opera
Fort Worth Opera General & Artistic Director Angela Turner Wilson.
In its 80th year, Fort Worth Opera is leaning into what it does best: honoring the past, captivating the present, and keeping one boot firmly planted in the future. The oldest opera company in Texas has never been afraid of a bit of drama — onstage or off — however, for the 2025–26 season, it’s all about legacy. Four headlining productions, each rooted in a different chapter of the company’s identity, will carry the year-long tribute from a star-powered concert to a fully staged Puccini classic.
“This year is about who we are and what we’ve always done best,” said Fort Worth Opera General & Artistic Director Angela Turner Wilson in a release. “Each production has been carefully chosen to honor the past, captivate audiences in the present, and project our legacy boldly into the future.”
The season opens in October with a one-night-only concert by Jonathan Tetelman — a Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, international star, and, as Turner Wilson put it, “young, talented, and his career is on fire.” In decades past, Fort Worth audiences caught early-career turns from future greats like Beverly Sills and saw legends like Lily Pons perform live in Cowtown. Tetelman’s appearance keeps that tradition alive.
“We knew we needed to bring him to North Texas, so we jumped through every hoop to make it happen,” Turner Wilson said. “If you’re anywhere near Fort Worth on October 10, this is a night you won’t want to miss.”
November brings a tonal shift with “La Belle et La Bête,” Philip Glass’s surrealist opera-cinema hybrid based on Jean Cocteau’s 1946 film. It’s a production the company has been circling for years, but according to Turner Wilson, “it needed the right venue.” With the Ridglea Theater in place, the vision came into focus: “We’re going to have live singers and a wild 18-piece orchestra with Cocteau’s strange and wonderful film on the big screen behind them. This isn’t your cartoon ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with an orchestra playing along. It’s going to be something far more magical — and weird.”
In February of next year, Fort Worth Opera embraces its roots with “Cowboys & Culture,” a genre-crossing concert that pays homage to the city itself. Presented in partnership with the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and timed to coincide with Stock Show season, the performance is a custom-built blend of operatic voices and Western-themed repertoire.
Finally, the season concludes with a homecoming: a fully staged production of “Madama Butterfly,” the Puccini masterwork that helped launch Fort Worth Opera’s inaugural season eight decades ago. Set for April 2026 at Bass Hall, the production will feature full sets, costumes, and orchestration by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
“We are an opera company, with no apologies,” Turner Wilson continued. “When people think of opera, they think of that classic canon: ‘Carmen,’ ‘Traviata,’ ‘Bohème,’ ‘Figaro,’ and, of course, ‘Butterfly.’ Each is a deeply layered, eternally relevant story, delivered through some of the most beautiful music ever written. Those stories bring people to opera, generation after generation. They brought me — and that’s a legacy I will always honor here in Fort Worth.”
The season also includes returning favorites and community-oriented programming. “Wintersong,” a free concert of seasonal music performed by the Opera’s Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists, will once again be held at First Presbyterian Church. The holiday spirit continues with a new production of “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” staged at Stage West — offerings the company hopes will become cherished family traditions.
For tickets and more information, visit fwopera.org. Season subscribers will receive early access, discounted rates, and perks throughout the year. Single ticket sales open in July.
