Is it the cost?
Is your resistance to opera all about the ticket prices?
If that's the case, the Dallas Opera is launching a new initiative called Crescendo — for operagoers between 21-45 years old. For $60, members will receive two tickets to one of the four productions in the 2022/2023 season, as well as discounted tickets for the other three.
But we know it's not all about the cost. Opera's an art form steeped in history and tradition. Musically rich, visually rich — all of that can be daunting. You feel out of place, like you don't know enough to appreciate what's going on, so you'll look like a fool, while everyone else is just being pretentious.
Here are three ways the Opera is trying to lure you in.
Crescendo
In addition to all the ticket discounts, Crescendo includes exclusive social "mixers" to be held before select showings throughout the season. Plus, members will be given a single-use backstage pass for two, and an invitation to an event at the Hart Institute for Women Conductors.
Think of all of this as easy-access opera.
Via email, Ian Derrer, general director and CEO of the Dallas Opera, said that through Crescendo, "newcomers under 45 will have affordable access to learn about opera from the inside out — from behind the curtain — and develop a fun new social circle along the way."
People's Choice Concert
Before the start of the season, the Dallas Opera will also host the People's Choice Concert, a free concert on October 1st at the Winspear Opera House. The concert will feature some of the genre's greatest hits, including selections from Carmen and Don Giovanni, and will be simulcast on the Dallas Opera's website. During the show, audience members can vote online for their favorite tunes to be performed as the concert's encore.
The OperaTruck
Throughout the season, the Opera will support their programming with the continuation of their OperaTruck program. Free pop-up performances of The Billy Goats Gruff will take place at select locations around Dallas in the fall and spring. The full list of OperaTruck performances can be found here.
Registration for the People's Choice Concert opens on September 15th at 9 AM. To reserve your ticket to the People's Choice Concert and to sign up for the Crescendo program, visit the Dallas Opera's website.
