ARLINGTON, TX, APRIL 25, 2023 – On Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13 at 7pm, Opera Arlington will present its inaugural opera production with Mozart’s passionate comedy, Così fan tutte (Women Are Like That) at Tate Springs Baptist Church. Performances are approximately 2 hours in duration, including one 15-minute intermission. Presented with piano accompaniment, the opera will be performed in the original Italian with English supertitles. Tickets are $27 for adults and $9 for children, and may be purchased online or at the door. Doors open at 6:30pm.
A new production by Dr. Bree Nichols (Founder & General Director of Opera Arlington) and Eliza Escalante steps up the intrigue, transporting the action to 18th-century Venice during Carnival. In this tale of disguises, deception, and tested fidelity, a critically-acclaimed cast of DFW’s rising opera stars bring Mozart’s beloved score to life. The cast includes Adia Evans (winner of The Dallas Opera Guild’s recent Lone Star Vocal Competition), Sara Kennedy (who debuts this season with Shreveport Opera and Painted Sky Opera), Nathaniel Catasca (Lesley Resident Artist at Fort Worth Opera), and Wonjin Choi (2022 Edward Baird Singer of the Year).
Eliza Escalante joins the team as Stage Co-Director for Così fan tutte. Of the themes of the opera, which concerns a fidelity test between two pairs of lovers, Escalante writes: “One does not have to look too deep to see that the rigid and heavily gendered expectations of DaPonte’s comedic libretto still echo through our world today. The intention of this production is to not only highlight the absurd lengths a person will go to prove their point, but also to show the growth that people experience when their status quo is disturbed.”
This is the first opera production of the fledgling music organization, Opera Arlington, which held its first public performance in December 2022. Proceeds from the production will support the organization’s inaugural season and further their mission to enrich the city through music and galvanize the careers of emerging artists.
Opera Arlington’s founder, Dr. Bree Nichols, is an alumna of the University of North Texas in Denton. A soprano, vocal educator, and arts advocate, Nichols recently returned to DFW after spending a year in the Czech Republic on a Fulbright grant, where she performed and researched Czech vocal music.
“I was deeply inspired by the thriving music scene in Europe, and seek to bring some of it home with me through Opera Arlington,” says Nichols. “I feel that Arlington, with its outsized arts and culture scene, is ripe to become the home of a vibrant opera community and a launching point for early-career musicians.”
Opera Arlington’s Raise the Curtain! campaign, launched in October 2022, seeks to raise funds for the organization’s first season; after Così fan tutte, the organization has plans to stage Rusalka, Dvořák’s Czech opera based on the tale of The Little Mermaid.