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46-646: Designed as a 21st-century reinterpretation of the traditional opera house, the Winspear seats 2,200 (with a capacity of 2,300) in a traditional horseshoe configuration. The facility is the home of The Dallas Opera (which until the 2008/2009 season performed at the Music Hall at Fair Park ) and the Texas Ballet Theater . The AT&T Performing Arts Center also produces original programming and partners with local and national organizations to present

92-432: A 1984 Decca recording conducted by Richard Bonynge . Although Bellini conceived the role of Adalgisa originally for a soprano, it is usually now sung by a mezzo-soprano . Caballé was one of few sopranos to have recorded the role, although she was over age 50 at the time of the recording in 1984. In 1986, she also took a role in the biographic film Romanza final , directed by José María Forqué . In 1987, Caballé made

138-598: A close friendship. Caballé was born in Barcelona on 12 April 1933. Her family was of humble financial circumstances due to the Civil War . She studied music at the Liceu Conservatory , and singing technique with Napoleone Annovazzi, Eugenia Kemény and Conchita Badía . She graduated with a gold medal in 1954. She subsequently moved to Basel , Switzerland, where she made her professional debut in 1956 as

184-557: A large benign mass from her abdomen. She recovered and was performing again onstage by early 1975. In 1976 Caballé appeared at the Met once again as Norma and sang her first Aida in that house, alongside Robert Nagy as Radamès and Marilyn Horne as Amneris. She appeared in the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss and sang Mimì in Puccini's La bohème with Luciano Pavarotti as Rodolfo. In 1977 Caballé made her debut with

230-719: A last minute replacement as Mimì in Puccini's La bohème . She became part of the Basel Opera company between 1957 and 1959, singing a repertoire that included Mozart (Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte ) and Strauss ( Salome ) in German, unusual for Spanish singers, but which proved useful for her next engagement at the Bremen Opera (1959–1962). In 1961, she starred as Iphigénie in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride at

276-830: A number of recordings early in her career for RCA Victor Red Seal , Caballé also recorded for EMI , Decca , and Philips among other labels. She left a "vast discography" of her major roles, including Aida, conducted by Riccardo Muti , Elisabetta in Don Carlo conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini , Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte with Colin Davis , Liù in Turandot alongside Joan Sutherland and Pavarotti, conducted by Zubin Mehta , and Salome with Erich Leinsdorf . She recorded many bel canto and Rossini roles. Recital recordings include

322-658: A period of 18 months. Caballé married Spanish tenor Bernabé Martí (1928–2022) on 14 August 1964 at Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey . They had two children: Bernabé Martí Jr. and Montserrat Martí , who is also an operatic soprano. On 20 October 2012, during her tour in Russia, Caballé suffered a stroke in Yekaterinburg and was quickly transferred to the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona. In September 2018, she

368-403: A rare excursion into the world of pop music when she released a duet with Freddie Mercury , the lead singer of the rock band Queen , which was titled " Barcelona ". The song was inspired by Caballé's home city and later used as one of the two official theme songs for the 1992 Olympic Games . Mercury was a great admirer of Caballé, considering her voice to be "the best in the world". The single

414-580: A star lit night, as each rod has the ability to "twinkle." The acrylic rods are illuminated by three primary color LEDs which allows the chandelier to be lit in virtually any color. Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas , Texas . The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House , one venue of the AT&;T Performing Arts Center . The company

460-554: A wide range of other cultural performances at the venue. These offerings include music, dance, Broadway shows, concerts and lectures. The Winspear Opera House includes the Nancy Hamon Education and Recital Hall, a space that can be used for smaller performances seating audiences up to 200, as well as classes, rehearsals, meetings and events. Groundbreaking for the AT&;T Performing Arts Center and Winspear Opera House

506-408: Is the 318-rod chandelier located inside the performance hall, named The Moody Foundation Chandelier. The chandelier hangs 50 feet below the ceiling. Starting Friday, June 28, 2013, the traditional pre-performance ascent of The Moody Chandelier has been accompanied by an exclusively adapted piece “The Light” by American composer Philip Glass . Once retracted into the ceiling, it leaves the impression of

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552-557: The 1999 UEFA Champions League final in Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium. In 1994, writing for The Independent , Fiammetta Rocco said: "Caballe is one of the last of the true divas. Callas is dead, Kiri Te Kanawa is busy making commercials for Sainsbury's , and Mirella Freni has never really risen out of the narrow confines of being an opera lover's opera-singer. Caballe, on the other hand, has always had an enormous following, and it's still with her today." In 1995, she worked with Vangelis for his album El Greco , dedicated to

598-642: The Arena di Verona in a Jean Vilar production of Verdi's Don Carlo . She was Elisabetta of Valois in an all-star cast including Plácido Domingo and Piero Cappuccilli . In the same period she also appeared in recital at the Teatro Corallo in Verona . In 1970, Caballé made her official debut at La Scala in the title role of Lucrezia Borgia . She appeared as Leonora in Philadelphia, and returned to

644-739: The National Theatre of S. Carlos in Lisbon, alongside Raymond Wolansky , Jean Cox , Paul Schöffler and others. In 1962, Caballé returned to Barcelona and debuted at the Liceu , singing the title role in Strauss's Arabella . From the fall of 1962 through the spring of 1963 she toured Mexico, at one point singing the title role in Massenet's Manon at the Palacio de Bellas Artes . This

690-894: The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company as Maddalena di Coigny in Giordano's Andrea Chénier and her Italian debut at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore , followed by Bellini's Il pirata in 1967. She returned to Philadelphia in 1967 to sing the title roles in Puccini's Tosca and Madama Butterfly , and to the Met to sing three Verdi heroines: Leonora alongside Richard Tucker as Manrico in Il Trovatore , Desdemona in Otello with James McCracken in

736-581: The San Francisco Opera in the title role of Puccini's Turandot . She returned to that house ten more times over the next decade in such roles as Elvira in Verdi's Ernani and the title roles in Ponchielli's La Gioconda , Rossini's Semiramide , and Puccini's Tosca , among others. Having lost some of her earlier brilliance and purity of voice, Caballé offered more dramatic expressive singing in roles that demanded it. In 1978, she

782-530: The Dallas Cowboys) to Klyde Warren Park. This included a nine-city simulcast of Tod Machover's Death and the Powers . Cerny is credited with stabilizing company finances, which allowed both the commissioning of new operas and new initiatives such as the "Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera" (2015) designed to address the challenge of gender imbalance at the top levels of

828-767: The Greek painter . In 1997, Mike Moran produced the album Friends For Life , which includes duets with Caballé and such singers as Bruce Dickinson , Johnny Hallyday , Johnny Logan , Gino Vannelli , and Helmut Lotti . Caballé dedicated herself to various charities. She was a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and established a foundation for needy children in Barcelona. In 2003, she starred in her own documentary film Caballé: Beyond Music , which featured many well-known opera singers, including Domingo, Pavarotti, Carreras, and Renée Fleming . In 2002, she appeared as Catherine of Aragon in Henri VIII by Saint-Saëns, and in 2004 in

874-1089: The Liceu in January, in Verdi's I vespri siciliani at the Met in March, and in Parisina d'Este at Carnegie Hall, also in March. She appeared as Norma at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and in Adriana Lecouvreur at La Scala in April. She was filmed as Norma in Orange in July by Pierre Jourdain. She recorded Aida with Riccardo Muti in July and made a recording of duets with Giuseppe Di Stefano in August. In September 1974, she underwent major surgery to remove

920-546: The Met as Amelia in a critically acclaimed production of Verdi's Un ballo in maschera with Domingo as Riccardo, and Reri Grist as Oscar. In 1972, she made her first appearances at Covent Garden and the Lyric Opera of Chicago , both in the role of Violetta. That same year she returned to the Met as Elisabetta in Don Carlo with Franco Corelli in the title role, and sang the title role of Bellini's Norma in Philadelphia. In 1973 she returned to Chicago to perform

966-472: The Winspear Opera House as of the 2009-2010 season and moved its administrative offices into the building in the spring of 2010. Anthony Whitworth-Jones became General Director in 2001. However, his plans for expanding the company's repertory did not come to fruition in the wake of an economic downturn during his tenure, and he stood down from the post in 2003. His successor, Karen Stone,

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1012-461: The classical music industry. In November 2015, Cerny's existing contract as General Director and CEO was extended until 2022. In December 2017, the company announced Cerny's resignation from the Dallas Opera, effective January 2018. French conductor Emmanuel Villaume became the company's music director on 30 April 2013. Graeme Jenkins , who was music director from 1994 to 2013, now has

1058-571: The company as follows: Many singers made their American debuts in Dallas, such as Montserrat Caballé , Plácido Domingo , Gwyneth Jones , Waltraud Meier , Magda Olivero , Joan Sutherland , and Jon Vickers . Designer/director Franco Zeffirelli also made his US debut there. The company's first commission was for Robert Xavier Rodriguez 's one-act children's opera Monkey See, Monkey Do in 1985. The Dallas Opera commissioned Dominick Argento ’s The Aspern Papers and gave its world premiere, which

1104-407: The façade and by creating a cooler microclimate around the building, the canopy significantly reduce the energy requirements of the Winspear Opera House. In May 2009 artist Guillermo Kuitca was commissioned to design the stage curtain. The design abstracts the seating plan for the Winspear's Margaret McDermott Performance Hall and reproduces this image onto the curtain itself. A key design feature

1150-552: The glass façade is retractable to a height of 23 feet (7.0 m), literally opening up the Grand Lobby, Cafe and Box Circle-level Restaurant to Performance Park. The Grand Portico, radiating from the opera house on all sides, provides shade over 3 acres (12,000 m) of the Performance Park. The solar canopy's louvers are arranged at fixed angles following the path of the sun. By eliminating most direct sunlight on

1196-691: The opera world. Later that year, Caballé made her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival singing her first Marschallin in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier and portraying the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro . Ryland Davies , who sang the Major Domo alongside Caballé in Der Rosenkavalier, told an anecdote about her. Onstage, she unexpectedly asked him for a cognac. Exiting stage left, he

1242-583: The pinnacles of the bel canto, Verdi and verismo repertories, whilst simultaneously being a remarkable interpreter of Salome, Sieglinde and Isolde. On 6 June 2013, Caballé was declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan after visiting the de facto independent state of Nagorno-Karabakh and meeting with local leaders, despite official warnings issued by the Azerbaijani embassy in Spain. In 2015 Caballé

1288-523: The role of Queen Elizabeth I in Donizetti's recently rediscovered Roberto Devereux . Caballé closed out the year with her Metropolitan Opera debut on 22 December 1965, appearing as Marguerite in Gounod 's Faust alongside John Alexander in the title role, Justino Díaz as Méphistophélès, and Sherrill Milnes as Valentin in his debut at the Met. In 1966, Caballé made her first appearance with

1334-535: The title of Music Director Emeritus with the company. In November 2015, Villaume's contract was extended through June 2022. In April 2018, the company announced the appointment of Ian Derrer as its next general director and CEO effective July 2018. He previously worked with Dallas Opera from 2014 to 2016 as an artistic administrator. Montserrat Caball%C3%A9 María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé ( i Folch ),

1380-481: The title role in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda with Viorica Cortez but left mid contract because she was suffering with phlebitis. This marked her final performance at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. That same year she performed at the Met as Bellini's Norma, opposite Carlo Cossutta in his Met debut as Pollione and Fiorenza Cossotto as Adalgisa. In 1974, Caballé appeared in the title role of Verdi's Aida at

1426-581: The title role of Massenet's Cléopâtre , both at the Liceu. She appeared as The Duchess of Crakenthorp in Donizetti's La fille du régiment at the Vienna State Opera in April 2007. In 2003, Patrick O'Connor wrote in Gramophone that: no diva in memory has sung such an all-encompassing amount of the soprano repertory, progressing through virtually the entire range of Italian light lyric, lirico-spinto and dramatic roles, including all

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1472-563: The title role, and Violetta in La traviata , with Tucker and George Shirley alternating as Alfredo. She returned to the Met the following year in the title role in Verdi's Luisa Miller , and in 1969 for the role of Liù in Puccini's Turandot , with Birgit Nilsson in the title role and James King as Calàf. She also returned to Philadelphia as Imogene in Bellini's Il pirata (1968) and Lucrezia Borgia (1969). In 1969, Caballé appeared at

1518-597: Was Tosca in San Francisco with Pavarotti, Norma in Madrid, and Adriana Lecouvreur at the Met opposite José Carreras . She continued to appear often at the Met during the 1980s, in roles such as Tosca (1980, 1985) and Elisabetta (1985), and also sang concerts in 1981 and 1983. She gave her final performances at the Met in October 1985 as Tosca with Pavarotti as Cavaradossi and Cornell MacNeil as Scarpia. Her voice

1564-429: Was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia . Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos of the 20th century, she won a variety of musical awards thoroughout her six-decade career, including three Grammy Awards . Caballé performed a wide variety of roles, but is best known as an exponent of the works of Verdi and of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini , Bellini , and Donizetti . She

1610-569: Was admitted to the same hospital for a gallbladder problem. She died there on 6 October 2018 at the age of 85. The cause of death was not given. Felipe VI of Spain described Caballé as "the best of the best", and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez called her the great ambassador of Spain. Caballé was buried in the Cementiri de Sant Andreu in Barcelona. Caballé recorded extensively throughout her long career and made many notable recordings of complete operas as well as recital albums. After

1656-572: Was appointed in mid-2003 as the company's fifth General Director. She had previously worked with Graeme Jenkins at the Cologne Opera in Germany, where he was principal guest conductor. Stone resigned from the post effective 30 September 2007. Keith Cerny was general director and CEO from May 2010 until January 2018. During his tenure, he initiated the company's public simulcast series in locations ranging from AT&T Stadium (home of

1702-426: Was followed by an album of the same name which was released the following year and featured further collaborations between the two performers. The title track later became the anthem of the 1992 Summer Olympics which was hosted by Caballé's native city, and appeared again in the pop music charts throughout Europe. Caballé also performed the song live, accompanied by a recording by Mercury, who had died in 1991, before

1748-470: Was followed by several more successful appearances at the Liceu in 1963. Caballé's international breakthrough came in 1965 when she replaced a pregnant Marilyn Horne in a semi-staged performance of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia at New York's Carnegie Hall , which earned her a 25-minute standing ovation. While this was her first engagement in a bel canto opera and she had to learn the role in less than one month, her performance made her famous throughout

1794-480: Was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Lawrence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno , both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago , the first as administrator, the second as artistic director. In its first season, Maria Callas performed in an inaugural recital conducted by Rescigno, at Music Hall at Fair Park . Critic John Ardoin described the role of Lawrence Kelly in establishing

1840-659: Was held in October 2006. The venue was designed by Foster and Partners (principal architect: Spencer de Grey ) and made possible in part by a $ 42-million gift from Margot and Bill Winspear, for whom the facility is named. The London firm Sound Space Design (principal acoustician: Robert Essert) developed the acoustical design of the opera house and the acoustics were engineered specifically for performances of opera and musical theater. Theatre planning and theatre equipment design were by Theatre Projects Consultants . The stages were also equipped with appropriate flooring for performances of ballet and other forms of dance. The opera house

1886-481: Was met by an alarmed stage assistant, who was dispatched to the Long Bar to fetch one. Returning to the stage, he delivered the cognac to Caballé with the words "Ecco, Signora!" Whispering "Grazie, grazie!", she turned her back on the audience, drained the glass and continued in her role: "Abtreten die Leut!" ("Send everyone away.") In December 1965, she returned to Carnegie Hall for her second bel canto opera, singing

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1932-411: Was nationally broadcast on PBS 's “ Great Performances ” series in 1988. Additional commissions were for Tobias Picker 's Thérèse Raquin in 2001 and Jake Heggie 's Moby-Dick in 2010. Recent commissions have included British composer Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer's Everest , Great Scott by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally , and Mark Adamo 's Becoming Santa Claus . The company moved to

1978-419: Was noted for its purity, precise control, and power. She was admired less for her dramatic instincts and acting skills than for her superb technique, vocal shadings, and exquisite pianissimos , which were inspired by Miguel Fleta . In Bellini's Norma , Caballé recorded both the title role (for RCA Red Seal in 1972, with Domingo as Pollione) and later the role of Adalgisa, to Joan Sutherland 's Norma in

2024-466: Was noticed internationally when she stepped in for a performance of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia at Carnegie Hall in 1965, and then appeared at leading opera houses. Her voice was described as pure but powerful, with superb control of vocal shadings and exquisite pianissimo . Caballé is also known for her 1987 duet with Freddie Mercury , " Barcelona ", later used for the 1992 Olympic Games . The two had mutual admiration for each other and developed

2070-436: Was presented to the public with tours and performances during the center's opening week, October 12 – 18, 2009. The first opera performance took place on October 23, 2009 with Verdi's Otello , conducted by Graeme Jenkins . The Annette and Harold Simmons Signature Glass Façade wraps around the building, creating a transparency between the opera house and the surrounding Performance Park. An 84-foot (26 m) wide section of

2116-521: Was under prosecution over allegations of tax evasion or fraud. She admitted that despite living in Spain in 2010, she had registered in Andorra in order to avoid paying tax in Spain . In December 2015 the Spanish court found her guilty of fraud and gave her a six-month suspended jail sentence, ordering her to pay a fine of €254,231 ($ 280,000). She was also banned from receiving any public subsidies for

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