Opera news

The Dallas Opera debuts new Netflix-like subscription streaming service

Dallas Opera's 2019 production of The Magic Flute is available for streaming.

Photo courtesy of The Dallas Opera

Like most arts organizations, The Dallas Opera has been forced to rethink how it produces and presents works to audiences amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 26, it took a new step to bridge the gap between traditional concert hall and at-home entertainment with the launch of thedallasopera.TV, a new subscription streaming platform.

According to a release, the new website brings together new original opera films created specifically for a virtual audience with all of TDO's existing video content — "which ranges from full opera productions for audiences of all ages to musical conversations and original opera-themed sit-com style episodes to artist-hosted series that spotlight their interests and careers, educational series, and more."

“We are so thrilled that thedallasopera.TV is launching today,” says Ian Derrer, The Dallas Opera’s Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO, in the release. “To watch this project go from idea to reality in less than a year has been amazing to see, and we’re so proud of the content that we have ready to offer our global audience. This platform truly helps redefine our company as a leader in digital content, as well as on the opera house stage. We are breaking new ground in the field while continuing to preserve the great traditions of live opera.”

Subscriptions to thedallasopera.TV cost far less than other streaming services you subscribe to and watch once or twice (raise your hand if you, too, purchased a year of Disney+ to watch Hamilton once) — $4.99 per month with a free seven-day trial. In addition, premium content — Originals — will be offered periodically by pay-per-view.

Content is made up of four categories: Originals, Stages, tdo network, and OperaKids — all available via an app for mobile devices (iOS and Android), on smart TVs via Fire TV and Roku, and on the website for desktop/laptop users.

Here's an overview of the content, as outlined in the release:

Two Originals available immediately: That Which We Love, a recital by acclaimed mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, and Vanished, a three-part art film starring countertenor John Holiday and tenor Russell Thomas with music by Gluck, Monteverdi, and Janáček assembled into a new narrative.

A third original, The Heart of the Song, featuring conversation with and performances by tenors Javier Camarena, Rolando Villazón, and David Lomelí, will be released on May 25 for a limited time. (Rental fee is $11.99. Available May 25-31 only.)

Stages content is included with thedallasopera.TV subscriptions, and will feature “greatest hits” from The Dallas Opera, including full-length operas, concerts, recitals, and archival video streams and radio broadcasts. Streaming now are the company’s 2019 production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute; “The John Holiday Experience,” a recital by recent finalist on The Voice, recorded April 9 at the Winspear Opera House; a celebration of the first five years of The Dallas Opera Hart Institute for Women Conductors, and more.

TDO network, launched in February 2020, has amassed a viewership of nearly 157 million followers from 50 countries in the past year with its ever-evolving collection of whimsical, topical, and informative original content hosted by artists and social media influencers. Access to all tdo network content is included with thedallasopera.TV subscriptions.

OperaKids offers programming for children, as well as educational resources for parents and children, all produced by The Dallas Opera’s education department and included in the monthly subscription price. Two family operas are available now — Jack and the Beanstalk and Dr. Miracle — as is Kids Opera Boot CampTM, "an interactive look behind the scenes at the opera, where viewers can learn from a series of five video lessons what it takes to make an opera, how to make an opera set, and how to learn music like an opera singer."

Content on the platform can be streamed and viewed anywhere, 24/7/365.

“What we’ve learned over the course of the past year without live performances is that there is a thirst for quality online content, and we are so happy to lead the way in producing that for our eager fans around the world,” says David Lomelí, a tenor, TDO’s Artistic Consultant, and creative force behind the initiative, in the release. “Statistics show that viewers ages 18-34 and 34-45 are online for more than 10 hours each day, and our efforts to reach that demographic — through unique and creative offerings — have proven successful, growing in just a year from 2,000 unique views in March 2020 to more than 150 million unique views today on our Facebook channel.

"Our hope is that this streaming model will reach even more.”

opera

Theater News

Dallas' Kitchen Dog Theater unveils powerful 2026-2027 season lineup

Photo by Cameron Cobb

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas will put on three mainstage productions for their 2026-2027 season.

Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas has revealed the lineup for the 2026-2027 season, featuring a slate of plays that boasts power players like kings, prime ministers, space force commanders, and would-be presidents.

According to a release, the theater company's 36th season — their "most powerful yet" — will consist of three mainstage productions at its new permanent home in the Design District, as well as the annual New Works Festival, featuring a readings series and the 26th annual D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest.

The season will start with The Absentee by Julia Doolittle, running September 10-October 4, 2026. The play was the winner of the 2019-2020 Woodward/Newman Drama Award.

Far out in the Milky Way, “Beacons” serve as lighthouses for warping spaceships around the galaxy. When a U.S. Space Force ship explodes in the galaxy, the Operator finds herself alone in deep space, with only her ship’s AI for companionship. That is, until a persistent canvasser calls, desperate to convince her to vote absentee in the 2088 election.

As the Operator waits for the clean up to be over, she finds she has to come to terms with her isolation, grief, and her political voice.

The season's second production comes four months later, with Equivocation by Bill Cain, running February 4-28, 2027. In 1605 England, a terrorist plots to assassinate King James I and blow Parliament to kingdom come. Shagspeare (after a contemporary spelling of the Bard's name) is commissioned by the prime minister, to write the “true historie” of the plot. And it must have witches — the king wants witches.

But as Shag and the acting company of the Globe investigate the plot, they discover that the king's version of the story might, in fact, be a coverup. Shag and his actors are confronted with the ultimate moral and artistic dilemma. Speak truth to power and perhaps lose their heads? Or take the money and lie? Is there a third option? Equivocation?

A high-stakes political thriller with contemporary resonances, Equivocation gallops from the great Globe to the Tower of London to the halls of Parliament to the heart of Judith, Shag's younger daughter, who finds herself unexpectedly at the very heart of the political, dramatic and — ultimately — human mystery.

The final mainstage production of the season comes at the 2027 New Works Festival with Black Republican by KDT Artistic Company Member Jamal Gibran Sterling, running June 3-27, 2027.

Originally featured as a Staged Reading in the 2026 New Works Festival, the ambitious first play by Sterling centers on a Black Republican candidate on the national stage who finds his campaign threatened by an activist who challenges everything he claims to stand for. Their battle exposes uncomfortable truths about race, politics, and the stories we tell ourselves.

In addition to Black Republican, the 2027 New Works Festival will showcase four staged readings of some of the newest and most exciting Texas-based playwrights. Each reading will feature accomplished Dallas-Fort Worth actors and directors to highlight the breadth of talent in the area.

The final part of the festival is D-PAC PUP (Playwrights Under Progress) Fest, featuring six staged readings of jury-selected plays written by Dallas-Fort Worth high school students and featuring student actors directed by area professionals. PUP Fest is the culmination of Dallas Playwriting Arts Collective (D-PAC), a partnership with Dallas ISD and Junior Players.

Kitchen Dog Theater offers two season subscription packages for their inaugural season in their new facility. The Kitchen Dog package includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for any performance date for $90+ $8 fees for adults and $75 +$8 fees for students and seniors (ages 65+). The Saver Dog package includes a ticket to all three mainstage productions for Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays only. It is $60 + $8 fees for adults and $45 + $8 fees for students and seniors.

Both packages grant full access to the Staged Reading Series and PUP Fest. Subscribers also receive premium reserved seating for in-person performances, as well as subscriber-only discounts on additional single tickets, 2026 special events, and KDT merchandise.

Subscription packages are on sale now, and single tickets for each show will go on sale on Monday, August 24, at kitchendogtheater.org.

design district kitchen dog theater new works festival performing-arts plays theater