The Dallas Opera today announced the launch of its new subscription streaming platform, TheDallasOpera.TV. Available starting today (Monday, April 26), the website offers TDO’s full catalogue of existing video content — ranging 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 — with new original opera films created specifically for a virtual audience.
TheDallasOpera.TV “represents a new avenue of presentation and production for an opera company, beyond the physical space of an opera house,” according to the announcement emailed today. “Rather than offering only streams of staged productions filmed archivally, The Dallas Opera’s platform offers primarily original content filmed exclusively for streaming, available for viewing 24/7/365 by a global audience.”
Ian Derrer, TDO’s Kern Wildenthal general director and CEO, said TDO is thrilled to be launching the new program.
“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,” he said. “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.”
TDO’s Artistic Consultant David Lomeli, a tenor and the creative force behind the initiative, said over the past year when so many arts and theater companies have been forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to close down in terms of live performances, TDO has learned that “there is a thirst for quality online content.
“We are so happy to lead the way in producing that for our eager fans around the world,” he added. “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.”
Subscriptions to TheDallasOpera.TV are available for $4.99 a month with a free seven-day trial. In addition, premium content — Originals — will be offered periodically at a pay-per-view price. Two of those Originals are available upon launch today: 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 viewing period.
For information visit the website here.
— Tammye Nash
