Dallas Opera kicks off 2012 with two world-class productions

Tristan & Isolde runs through February 25, while The Lighthouse plays March 16-18.

Cast from Dallas Opera's Tristan & Isolde

Local opera lovers have an exciting month ahead of them as the Dallas Opera produces two groundbreaking shows.

This past weekend marked the first of only two weekends Dallasites will have the opportunity to experience the tragic romance of Tristan & Isolde (playing at Winspear Opera House through February 25), set to Richard Wagner’s haunting score. In true Wagnerian fashion the music is tense and brooding. In this completely new staging, Elaine McCarthy has created cutting-edge video projections to go along with a sparse, yet dramatic set and light design. Opera-goers will experience an international cast of singers in one of Wagner’s lesser-known masterpieces. Although the opera aficionado that I am not balked at the four-hour length, the dramatic finale is definitely worth it and according to the experts, this show is a win for the Dallas Opera.

In March the Opera will switch gears to stage with a production of The Lighthouse, in collaboration with Kevin Moriarty, Artistic Director at Dallas Theater Center (DTC). The Lighthouse, probably unfamiliar to the casual opera fan, is a chamber opera, written by Peter Maxwell Davies in 1979. Chamber operas are performed by an ensemble of musicians rather than a full orchestra allowing the Dallas Opera and the DTC to stage in the smaller Wyly Theatre, rather than the Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. This psychological and even supernatural drama, will give even those not usually interested in opera a good place to start exploring the mystery and beauty of the art form. Get your tickets early though, this show will sell out.

See Tristan & Isolde through February 25 and The Lighthouse, March 16-18. For ticket and other information, visit the Dallas Opera’s website at www.dallasopera.org and try something different.