Stephen Montoya
Ballet Folklorico dancers and mariachi music don’t normally go hand-in-hand when most people talk about opera, but that’s just one example of what the 79th season of the Fort Worth Opera has in store. It’s enough info to cause some excitement, and no one is more excited about the upcoming roster of performances than FWO’s general and artistic director Angela Turner Wilson.
Remember her? For those of you not familiar with Wilson’s background, one thing to note right out of the gate, is that she is a soprano. Wilson has spent many years as a singer not just in the Fort Worth Opera, but other collectives, including New York City Opera, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Lyric Opera, Atlanta Opera, Portland Opera, and the Dallas Opera, among others. Wilson also performed at the White House during the Clinton administration in 1998.
Last season, which was Wilson’s first at the helm, she helped usher in some exciting events that included a performance of “La Boheme,” a Children’s Opera Theater, and the very thought provoking “Driving While Black.” Building off of the opera’s successful 78th season, Wilson is an open book about what the FWO has in store for this year and the next, which equals five events in all.
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To kick off opera season this year, FWO is hosting a performance of “¡Bienvenidos! de Frida Kahlo,” an opera that will showcase the Latin flavors of a few North Side artists/musicians.
“We were at Rose Marine [Theater] last season for “La Medium,” which was the first Spanish translation performance of that work,” Wilson says. “All the people involved with that facility as well as that North side community were so kind and engaging to us, and they were like, come back, do something else.”
And that’s exactly what Wilson and her team did with this upcoming performance, which will include music from North Side Mariachi, and a performance by Ballet Folklorico. This performance will take place at the Rose Marine Theatre on October 19 and 20.
“What we've decided is that Frida Kahlo’s character is going to be an actor and will be sort of serving as the narrator for aspects of Mexican Hispanic culture.” Wilson says. “We're looking all around to see what else to bring into this, because there are so many beautiful arias, beautiful duets, operatic duets that don't get attention because the whole show is not accessible to our audiences.”
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Next up on the FWO’s lineup is an operatic version of “Little Women” a literary and cinematic classic. But just as many would imagine, the storyline will be carried through song. Opera fans will have a chance to dive into the world of Louisa May Alcott with Mark Adamo’s touching adaptation of her work. This performance will take place at the Scott Theatre on Friday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 24 at 2 p.m.
“We hired this dynamic director; her name is Claire Choquette, and she trained as a singer, but then went into stage direction,” Wilson explains. “She's really an up-and-comer and from our DFW Metroplex, she lives here. She kind of looks like Greta Gerwig and kind of had those same sensibilities where she was like, all of the stories are there. The opera itself is more centered sort of on Jo and Jo's inability to let go of what is in front of her, even though everything is changing, she can't just let it go and move on to the next thing, which might be just as good.”
Following “Little Women,” is a showcase titled “Elixir of Love,” which kicks off on March 1 of 2025. This soiree will highlight the exceptional talents of the Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists, delivering an evening filled with music. This performance will take place at the IM Terrell Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m.
“Last season we did ‘Carmen,’ which is a condensed version with IM Terrell. And we used their court of ballet, their chorus, their theater kids, and we had over 50 kids involved in that show,” she says.
And just like last year, next year’s performance of “The Elixir of Love” will also be condensed.
“It'll be about 75 minutes in duration,” Wilson says. “We'll have chorus, we'll have dancing, we'll have all those kids involved as much as possible, and it'll be our Hattie Mae Lesley Resident artists that will sing the lead roles.”
On March 23, FWO will be hosting the McCammon Voice Competition. Debuting in 1985, this voice competition has grown into an international must-attend operatic event. According to the FWO website, this biannual contest showcases the most compelling young singers from around the globe. Yeah, it’s a big deal.
“It has been sort of a feather in our cap for years,” Wilson explains. “One of our goals in the company's life is to make sure that we are bringing forth, identifying, engaging, and promoting the next group of opera stars. Because if you're not building for the future, what are you doing? So, the McCammon has always been a vehicle for that, where it helps us to fulfill that vision statement.”
Wilson says the FWO company brings in 10 finalists out of over 500 online applicants for this competition, who could win a total of $15,000. “How that will be distributed, we're not sure yet,” she verified. For more information on this upcoming event go to the FWO website.
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Last but certainly not least on the FWO roster is an Italian rendition of a fairytale we’re all familiar with — Cinderella. However, instead of a glass slipper, fairy godmother, or singing mice, this opera is based in, dare I say it, a more realistic setting. This classic tale titled “La Cenerentola,” say that five times fast, is based on Gioachino Rossini’s famous two act 1817 operatic drama giocoso. Stage directed and choreographed by Candace Evans, this classic tale will be dramatized by Stephanie Doche (Angelina), Victor Ryan Robinson (Prince Romiro), Adelmo Guidarelli (Don Magnifico), and Efraín Solís (Dandini). This performance will take place at Bass Performance Hall on Friday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m.
“Rossini wrote very virtuosic music … he wrote sort of an outline, and then the singers can come in and add all kinds of notes, add high notes and super-fast notes, and really make it something athletic and fun. And each singer sings it a little bit differently, so it's got a certain amount of wow. If you're a Rossini fan, it's like, ‘let's go hear what this tenor does with the Prince Romiro role.’”
With the entire 79th season now planned out; Wilson verified that plans for the FWO’s 80th are already underway. But that’s as far as she went into detail. Wilson did verify however, that the FWO rehired its former production/stage manager Kurt A. Howard.
“He was the one that really helped the company when they decided to move into a festival format for a while. But I am thrilled because Kurt has amazing institutional knowledge, knows everyone, knows production like the back of his hand, and I think [he] will also help us guide the course of the future of the company in our next chapter.”
