Fort Worth Opera Festival, Boston Guitar Duo, A Dog’s Life
By Mark Lowry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
May 23–The Fort Worth Opera Festival officially began last weekend, when Angels in America opened. But this week is when the really big guns come out. Two of the most-often-produced works in the canon — Puccini’s Turandot and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor — have their first of three performances each, at Bass Hall. The title role in Puccini’s work about a riddle-loving Chinese princess is played by soprano Carter Scott (a last-minute replacement for Elizabeth Bennett, who became ill) and will feature the Shanghai troupe Guanhua Acrobats — who were stranded in North Texas when their American promoter canceled a tour — in the palace scenes. The title role in Lucia is played by renowned soprano Elizabeth Futral, who has played the role enough to know a thing or two about the opera’s famous “mad scene.” The festival also features Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men.
Fort Worth Opera Festival
Through June 8
Turandot: 8 p.m. Saturday and June 6, 2 p.m. June 1
Lucia di Lammermoor: 2 p.m. Sunday, 8 p.m. May 30 and June 7
Of Mice and Men: 8 p.m. May 31 and 2 p.m. June 8
$19-$145 each
Angels in America continues at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 31 and June 7; 8 p.m. Wednesday and June 4 at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center’s Scott Theatre, 1300 Gendy St., Fort Worth; tickets are $17-$52
817-731-0726; fwopera.org
For more on the accompanying More Life Festival, see Page
Boston Guitar Duo
The two classical guitar virtuosos making up that team are Mexican Zaira Meneses and Russian Grisha Goryachev, who met while studying under the renowned Eliot Fisk at the New England Conservatory of Music. As soloists, they’re a draw in the classical guitar world, so doubled up, with 24 strings going at once, it should be all the more impressive. They close Guitar Fort Worth’s season.
7:30 p.m. Friday at Texas Wesleyan University’s Nicholas Martin Hall, 1309 Wesleyan St., Fort Worth. $25-$35. 817-377-1271; www.guitarfortworth.org
A Dog’s Life
This musical by Sean Grennan and Leah Okimoto (the team responsible for Married Alive) is the first of two upcoming theater productions in North Texas in which canines figure prominently into the plot (the other is Circle Theatre’s Chesapeake, see Page 54). Well, actually, A Dog’s Life, above, — having its area premiere at Theatre Three — is mostly about dogs. And the humans who own them.
Previews Friday-Sunday, opens Monday and runs through June 22 at Theatre Three, 2800 Routh St., Dallas. $10-$40. 214-871-3300; www.theatre3dallas.com
Cats
Dallas Summer Musicals presents the tour of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about some crizazy kitties. No catty remarks, please.
Tuesday through June 1 at the Fair Park Music Hall, Dallas. $11-$71. 817-467-2787 or 214-631-2787; www.dallassummermusicals.org
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Anyone else sensing a feline/canine theme to this page today? At least Tennessee Williams’ classic doesn’t actually have either of those domesticated animals in it. Maggie, however, needs some taming.
Friday through June 8 at Runway Theatre, 215 N. Dooley St., Grapevine. $12-$15. 817-488-4842; www.runwaytheatre.com
My Favorite Choruses
The Dallas Symphony Pops series closes the season with conductor Jack Everly conducting the DSO and the Dallas Symphony Chorus on some great choral pieces from Broadway and opera.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Meyerson Symphony Center, 2301 Flora St., Dallas. $36-$101. 214-692-0203; www.dallassymphony.com
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Copyright (c) 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
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