Scott Cantrell rolls the significance of Darren Woods’ impact on North Texas music into this one lean paragraph:
That gift of gab has helped Woods transform a dysfunctional provincial organization into an opera festival drawing national and even international attention. That plus skills at raising dollars and pinching pennies and just getting a community to rally around a new and daring artistic vision.
Woods’ Fort Worth Opera festival kicks off this Friday with Gilbert and Sullivan’s popular favorite, Mikado, but per usual with the Fort Worth Opera, there are some challenging pieces mixed among the classic works. The rest of the lineup includes a Verdi classic (Il Trovatore), a Baroque opera (Handel’s Julius Cesar), and a contemporary chamber opera based on the poetry of Allen Ginsberg (Philip Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox).
Promo image for the Fort Worth Opera’s Il Trovatore.
