Opera News

Dallas Opera's new season stages dramatic debuts and beloved encores

The 2026-27 season for The Dallas Opera will include a new version of The Elixir of Love.

Photo by Curtis Brown Photography

The 2026-2027 season for The Dallas Opera will feature four mainstage productions, two family operas, and a trio of annual events, with all productions taking place as usual at Winspear Opera House.

One production —Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen — will be completely new to Dallas audiences, as it is making its North American premiere with the company.

The other three mainstage productions — Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, Puccini’s Turandot, and Wagner’s Lohengrin — will be making encore appearances, although at least two will differ from their original productions.

The season will start with The Elixir of Love, which will be performed four times between October 9 and 17, 2026. The colorful production, now set in post-World War II Italy, is about a hopeless romantic who swoons for the town’s school teacher.

Performers, each of which are making their Dallas Opera debuts, will include British Iranian coloratura soprano Soraya Mafi, 2022 Operalia winner Anthony León, legendary Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli, 2025 Operalia winner Mihai Damian, and 2025 TDO Lone Star Vocal Competition winner Kayla Nanto.

Next up is the North American debut of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, running October 30-November 7. It's the story of a young fox, which is trapped as a cub, going on to make a dramatic escape in search of what a wild animal’s life should be.

Conducted by Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director Emmanuel Villaume, the bold and glitzy production will star Estonian soprano Mirjam Mesak (making her U.S. debut), American baritone Zachary Nelson, Hungarian American mezzo-soprano Shannon Keegan, and American contralto Lindsay Ammann.

The 2027 portion of the season will begin with Puccini’s unfinished work Turandot, running February 12-20. To win the hand of Princess Turandot, a suitor must solve three riddles; failure to do so means death.

Conducted by Villaume, this production features a new ending with music by Grammy Award winner and video game composer Christopher Tin (known for the Civilization IV game) and a libretto from Succession writer Susan Soon He Stanton.

Italian soprano Anna Pirozzi and Venezuelan tenor Jorge Puerta, both celebrated for their renditions of this opera, make their Dallas Opera debuts as Turandot and Calaf, respectively.

Wrapping up the season will be Wagner’s Lohengrin, running March 5-13. Accused of her brother’s murder, Elsa prays for a way to prove her innocence. In answer, a knight in shining armor appears, ready to save her. He asks one thing in return: never ask his name.

Director Louis Désiré returns to lead this premiere production, which will be conducted by Villaume. It will star Pavarotti d’Oro winner Saimir Pirgu, American soprano Lise Lindstrom, and bass Peixin Chen, among others.

"The 2026/2027 Season spans the breadth of what opera has to offer the world," said Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director Emmanuel Villaume in a statement.

Additionally, The Dallas Opera will feature two family operas: The Bremen Town Musicians, with performances on October 17, 2026 and February 21, 2027, and The Little Prince, with performances on November 8, 2026 and February 13, 2027.

Other annual events include:

The Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors Showcase Concert, featuring women who have participated in the Dallas Opera's longtime program (January 30, 2027)
The Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Family Recital, featuring German soprano Christiane Karg and pianist Andrew von Oeyen (January 31, 2027)
The Phyllis A. and Thomas H. McCasland, Jr. Lone Star Vocal Competition, featuring rising opera stars from around Texas (March 12, 2027)

Subscription renewals and new subscription packages for the 2026/2027 season are now on sale, with packages starting at $98 for all four mainstage operas. Family operas and annual events will be available as add-ons before single tickets go on sale in summer 2026.

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RIP Albert

Colorful and iconoclastic Dallas artist Albert Scherbarth dies at 70

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Dallas artist Albert Scherbarth

Dallas artist Albert Scherbarth, known for his jubilant creativity which he displayed in a wide range of media, died on February 18; he was 70 years old. According to friends, he suffered a heart attack.

Scherbarth's myriad "canvases" ranged from printmaking to furniture to steel and metal working. He was a colorful presence in the Dallas art scene with a shock of thick hair that stood tall, definitive horn-rimmed glasses, and an unfiltered, no-nonsense personal style.

He was also a key figure in The Cedars district: an urban pioneer who settled in the area directly south of downtown Dallas in the early '80s when the neighborhood was a mostly-deserted collection of abandoned warehouses, before it became a major art nexus.

A post by Lee Harvey's, the Cedars District bar, said that "Some people don’t just live in a neighborhood — they leave their mark on it. Albert did exactly that. Through his art, his presence, and his time at our bar, he became part of the story here. We’ll miss him more than we can say. Rest easy Bert."

He was a real character, as well — a stocky physical presence (he played football in high school) who'd fix his stare upon you as if you were a critter to be studied.

One friend said, "I always feel that Albert is going to spring some meta shit on me every time i see him and he rarely disappoints. What a cool cat."

A native of Nebraska, Scherbarth moved to Dallas in 1979 to earn a master's in fine arts at the University of Dallas, Irving. After graduating in 1981, he began teaching in the community college district, including Brookhaven College, Northlake College, University of Texas at Dallas, and the Creative Art Center, as well as at Dallas' Arts Magnet.

Sculpture by Albert Scherbarth which appeared at the State Fair of Texas in 2018.Laura Walters/Facebook

After graduating from art school, he felt the need to do "real" work like his father, and took jobs in construction and woodwork, which helped shape the very physical nature of his art.

He was one of the early and many artists who resided in the Continental Gin Building, where he worked on his designs and commissions, fabricated other artists’ ideas, and helped galleries with installations, crating, and shipping.

Through the years he made furniture, got into fused and cast glass, poured concrete countertops, and painted, including a successful era of doing giant flower paintings. In his latter years, he acquired a welding machine and worked with builders, designers, and architects constructing screens, fences, furniture, and sculptures.

His works around town include a giant wine tree for Fleming Steakhouse in Frisco, and a sculpture named, "Cecil, age 12" up on Henderson Avenue at Capital Street which was was a finalists for the Henderson Art Prize. He also worked on the famed Bowler Hat sculpture in the Cedars.

In an interview with Voyage Dallas, he said, "I’m constantly looking for more meaning and more permanence in the work that I’m doing," and acknowledged that "I’ve been very, very fortunate to get a lot of really great commissions over the years. I’ve sold a lot of work and fallen into great studio situations – large spaces, cheap rent and wonderful landlords. Today, I think my ignorance of all the pitfalls ahead allowed me to storm through life and I have a certain stubbornness, a dogged determination to succeed."

"My grandfathers died before I came of age, my father died, my favorite uncle died so there was not much in the way of male guidance or perspective on how to be a man, so I’ve just kind of made it up on my own, stumbling through, winging it and I’m still alive, amazingly enough."

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