(Above: Darren K. Woods in all his screen-shot glory, where he made an appearance on "Good Morning Texas" a couple months ago to talk about Cenerentola with Isabel Leonard.)
General Director of Fort Worth Opera, Darren K. Woods, is featured in the July 2009 edition of Opera News. The native Texan moved into the role in 2001, and has magically kept (and is keeping) FWO immune & afloat in the scary financial crisis.
We could list all the initiatives that he's poured into the FWO & their singers, but we give him the most props for taking risks on new music, at times diametrically adverse to the Texas palate: Angels in America in 2008, Dead Man Walking in 2009, and the highly-anticipated Before Night Falls in 2010.
Love this guy!! He's one of the rare ones who's still all about the young singers.
Posted by: OXO | July 03, 2009 at 01:54 AM
I attended the first performance of this Cenerentola and was mightily impressed all the way around. Isabel Leonard was absolutely charming, the other casting was strong, and the hall had great acoustics. I will go back when I get the chance and that's saying something as I live over a thousand miles away!
Posted by: Robert in New orleans | July 03, 2009 at 07:34 AM
Don't make the mistake of condescending to the "Texas palate". It's a big state with many sophisticated, knowledgable, and well-travelled people in it, and these have never exactly been known for slavishly following trends. Cheers!
Posted by: dkz | July 03, 2009 at 03:46 PM
Yeah!!!
Posted by: Wes | July 03, 2009 at 04:03 PM
We in Fort Worth love Darren Woods! He has brought in world-class talent and staged cutting-edge, challenging performances. In a city already rich with arts, Darren has turned FWO into the premiere American opera company. Thanks, Darren! Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Steve-O | July 04, 2009 at 09:07 PM