Fort Worth Opera Association

FY23 was the continuation of our economic recovery from the Covid 19 pandemic. We produced smaller staged opera performances throughout the year. We started in October, Hispanic Heritage month, with productions of El Fuego de Una Mujer and Noches de Zarzuela at Fort Worth's historic northside venue, Rose Marine Theater. For the third year, we produced an amazing concert titled A Night of Black Excellence. We produced three of our opera performances at the new Texas Christian University Van Cliburn Hall, starting with Of Thee I Sing!. We next performed An African American Requiem and ended our season with Verdi's Aida. This was a star studded production featuring Michelle Bradley, Tichina Vaughn, Ben Gulley, and Morris Robinson.

Children's Opera Theatre, in existence for over thirty years, reaches over 30,0000 students each year in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Additionally, this department has expanded and repositioned itself to include Civic Impact and Engagement performances. This allows us to not only reach children in area schools, but also at events both adults and children are gathered. This year's shows produced for the children were Bienvenidos! and Hansel and Gretel.

The Fort Worth Opera Studio, founded in 2002, includes four young Lesley Artists chosen each year from national auditions to be in residence with Fort Worth Opera in order to continue their training as they prepare for professional careers. They perform in the FWO children's Opera Theater in addition to roles in our main productions and civic impact shows. Additionally, these young artists receive lessons and coaching, language and movement classes as well as classes on Opera as a business.