THE PRICE OF GENIUS

By Olin Chism of The Dallas Morning News

Seventeen-ninety-one was a very good year for Mozart. It was also a very bad year. It was good because, at the height of his creative powers, he composed an amazing series of masterpieces including The Magic Flute.

It was bad because he was in poor health, out of favor with the aristocratic establishment that had been his main support for decades, and he was in financial difficulty (a related factor). Worst of all, at the end of the year, he died.

In addition to The Magic Flute, the list of 1791 masterpieces includes (but is not limited to) such remarkable works as the opera La clemenza di Tito, the Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat (arguably his greatest), the supreme Clarinet Concerto, the great String Quintet in E-flat, the motet Ave verum corpus, the Requiem, and two works for glass harmonica that are not well known to the musical public but are among his most haunting music: the Adagio, K. 617a, and Adagio and Rondo, K. 617.

This flood of masterpieces is all the more remarkable because Mozart was coming out of one of his bleakest years. Seventeen-ninety was the least productive year of his adult life and it was a year filled with pathetic pleadings to his friend Michael Puchberg for loans. To Puchberg's eternal credit, he always responded, though not always in the amounts Mozart wanted.

It was Mozart's misfortune to live in a time of great change. European aristocracy was in decline. The American Revolution had alarmed the governing class of Europe to an extent that Americans today do not grasp. Even more ominously, the French Revolution was underway, though the Terror was still to come. For the aristocrats, there were plenty of dangers elsewhere. Some were real, others the fearful imaginings of uneasy rulers.

Expanding to fill the growing vacuum at the top was the upper middle class, in which merit counted for more than genealogy. What this meant for creative and performing musicians (Mozart was both) was a switch from a system of secure salaried positions to the riskier life of a free-lance artist.

See complete calendar & event details!

The Magic Flute

Tickets to Mozart's zaniest opera, The Magic Flute, are going fast! Buy one ticket and get one for HALF OFF in Orchestra 02 while seats are available! The Magic Flute runs Feb. 17, 19(m), 22 and 25. Call the Ticket Office at 214.443.1000!

Opera Ball - "The Magic of Mozart"

The Dallas Opera's annual ball celebrates the 250th birthday year of Mozart and The Magic Flute, our final production of this season, March 4, 2006 at Brook Hollow Golf Club.

The evening begins at 7:00 pm with cocktails, followed by a European-style, three course formal dinner and entertainment. After dinner, take a step back in time to Mozart's day. Cut loose and enjoy the late night hours as he would have, dancing and enjoying cocktails and Viennese pastries with friends. Entertainment will be provided by the Crawfish Band!

"The Magic of Mozart" Ball tickets are available now for $350 or $500. Tables are available from $3,500 - $25,000. Please contact Katie Buchanan, Special Events Manager, at katie@dallasopera.org for tickets and additional information.

Handel's oratorio, Samson

TDO Music Director, Graeme Jenkins, conducts the UNT Baroque Orchestra, UNT Collegium Singers, SMU Meadows Chorale, and Texas Choral Artists in Winspear Hall at UNT's Murchison Performing Arts Center February 20 and at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas on February 21. Both events begin at 7:30 pm.

Mozart's Birthday Bash!

The Dallas Opera and Radio Disney are throwing a FREE birthday party for Mozart THIS SATURDAY and YOU are invited!

The party begins at 12:30 pm Saturday, February 18th at the Music Hall with activities for everyone!

Try on costumes, have your face painted, and have your picture taken as an opera star; meet real opera performers and your favorite Radio Disney personalities and take a backstage tour! The Dallas Opera Orchestra will play a selection of Mozart music starting at 2:00 pm. We'll cut the birthday cake at 3:00 pm.

Register at the event to win a Grand Prize of 4 tickets to Saturday's (February 25th) performance of The Magic Flute with LIMOUSINE transportation, autographed pictures and a PRIVATE backstage tour!

Mozart's Birthday Bash Presented by John Eagle Dealerships.

Amici Night at the Nasher Sculpture Center

The Dallas Opera and Nasher Sculpture Center are proud to offer an evening of live performance and intriguing discussions TONIGHT, Thursday, February 16th.

The event begins at 6:00 pm with a panel discussion  on the future of the Arts District.

At 7:00 pm, TDO Chorus Master Alexander Rom and soprano Lara Tillotson Joyal will present several popular arias for your entertainment.

World-renowned fashion designer and The Magic Flute costume designer, Zandra Rhodes (pictured above), will begin an intimate discussion on the "Art of Costume Design" at 8:00 pm.

Admission is FREE for Amici di Opera members and $10 for the general public.

Sir Jonathan Miller Captivates TDO Patrons

The Dallas Opera treated its patrons to an intriguing discussion with Sir Jonathan Miller (legendary opera and theater director, author, medical consultant, satirist, sculptor- among his many vocations), who shared stories from "My Life in Opera" at The Music Hall at Fair Park, January 28th, part of the University of Dallas' McDermott Lectureship.

Rodelinda Draws Standing Ovations!

The reviews speak for themselves: Rodelinda was a winner!

"...the most drop-dead gorgeous singing you'll hear on any stage. Radiant in tone, effortlessly fluent, exquisitely expressive, dramatically vivid, soprano Ruth Ann Swenson plays the eponymous queen of Milan. And she shows what coloratura should be but rarely is: not mere flights of notes, or struggles at them, or fudged smears, but dazzlingly beautiful music." Scott Cantrell, The Dallas Morning News

"Soprano Ruth Ann Swenson, as the title heroine, leads a cast rich in stunning vocalists in this tale of palace intrigue, romance and betrayal set in seventh-century Milan." Punch Shaw, Star-Telegram

Amici di Opera: Meet the Chairman

The Dallas Opera's young professionals group, Amici di Opera, is growing and thriving, and in for an exciting summer of events. Cheryl Jones, the Chairman of the Amici Steering Committee, is helping plan the calendar. You've all met Cheryl, now get to know her!