Our Mission: To educate, entertain, and expand the horizons of current and future audiences and artists through variety and artistic integrity.
Our Passion: To become recognized internationally as an organization that preserves and expands the transcending Art of opera.
Fort Worth Opera is a proud member of Opera America, the national service organization for opera. Visit the Opera America website at www.operaamerica.org.
OUR STORY:
Over coffee one morning in 1946, Mrs. E L. (Eloise) Snyder and Mrs. August (Betty) Spain, both former opera singers, and Mrs. Jeanne Axtell Walker decided it was time for Fort Worth to launch an opera company of its own.  | | Founder Eloise Snyder |
With the help of hundreds of community volunteers, these ladies pulled off what many thought to be an impossible feat, bringing together all of the necessary elements for a first-class opera production in just seven months. The Fort Worth Civic Opera Association, as it was then called, opened with its first production, La Traviata, on November 25 of that year.
From these inspired beginnings, Fort Worth Opera has continued to provide countless memorable performances. Who could forget the 1962 production of Lucia? Not only did Placido Domingo star in his first major operatic role in America in this  production, but Lily Pons also delivered her farewell operatic performance. And, two years later, Beverly Sills' debut in Galatea left Fort Worth and the world clamoring for more.
Fort Worth Opera remains one of the 14 oldest opera companies in the entire nation, and the oldest continuously performing opera company in Texas.
In July of 2001, Fort Worth Opera hired its current general director, Darren K. Woods. Woods brought with him energy, enthusiasm, and a vast knowledge of the opera business. The 2002/03 season was Darren's first at Fort Worth Opera. During that season, the company revamped it's image with a new logo, new look, new strategic direction, new mission statement and a passion statement to capture the company's enthusiasm for great opera in Fort Worth.  | | The world premiere of Frau Margot with Lauren Flanigan & Morgan Smith |
After 60 years of producing opera over the fall and winter, Fort Worth Opera embarked on a monumental change: it condensed its entire schedule to an annual spring festival – with all of its operas and concerts being presented over a four week period and multiple operas being performed on each weekend. The inaugural Fort Worth Opera Festival opened in May, 2007 and featured the company's first main-stage world premiere, Frau Margot, by composer Thomas Pasatieri.
Fort Worth Opera also boasts a highly successful opera education program. The Children's Opera Tour brings the exciting and colorful world of opera to over 50,000 school children each year across the state of Texas. The tour provides the first experience with classical music and drama for many elementary and middle school students. Fort Worth Opera's other educational and community outreach programs bring an operatic experience to people in every age, ethnic and social group.
Over 500 performers and production personnel are employed by Fort Worth Opera each year. This includes local performing arts groups, such as the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Dallas Ballet and the Texas Boys Choir. Approximately 85% of Fort Worth Opera's annual budget is returned to Tarrant County.
Fort Worth Opera Repertory
1946-2011
1946-1962
| 1962-1978
| 1978-1994
| 1994-2012
| 1946-1947
La Traviata
Madame Butterfly
1947-1948
Pagliacci
The Old Maid and the Thief
Rigoletto
1948-1949
Carmen
La bohème
The Bartered Bride
The Texas Mikado
1949-1950
Faust
1950-1951
Rosalinda
The Marriage of Figaro
The Girl of the Golden West
1951-1952
Lucia di Lammermoor
The Merry Widow
Il Trovatore
1952-1953
The Desert Song
Tosca
Cavalleria Rusticana
Gianni Schicchi
1953-1954
Hansel and Gretel
Madame Butterfly
1954-1955
Capriccio (last scene)
Salome
Carmen
Martha
1955-1956
Faust
The Marriage of Figaro
Rosalinda
La bohème
1956-1957
Madame Butterfly
The Barber of Seville
La Traviata
1957-1958
Don Pasquale
Tosca
Aida
1958-1959
Rigoletto
The Magic Flute
Carmen
1959-1960
Martha
Manon
Il Trovatore
1960-1961
La bohème
A Masked Ball
Samson and Delilah
1961-1962
Boris Godunov
Madame Butterfly
The Bartered Bride
| 1962-1963
Lucia di Lammermoor
Cavalleria Rusticana
Turandot
1963-1964
La Traviata
Tosca
The Tales of Hoffmann
Faust
1964-1965
Rigoletto
Pagliacci
The Beautiful Galatea
Lakmé
Lohengrin
1965-1966
Carmen
The Abduction from the Seraglio
The Gypsy Baron
La bohème
1966-1967
Madame Butterfly
Samson and Delilah
The Barber of Seville
Otello
1967-1968
Aida
The Marriage of Figaro
Manon Lescaut
Lucia di Lammermoor
1968-1969
La Traviata
Don Pasquale
Turandot
Romeo and Juliet
1969-1970
Tosca
Die Fledermaus
A Masked Ball
Andrea Chenier
1971-1971
The Ballad of Baby Doe
La bohème
Don Giovanni
Carmen
1971-1972
Faust
La Rondine
The Barber of Seville
Rigoletto
1972-1973
The Tales of Hoffmann
The Elixir of Love
Madame Butterfly
Il Trovatore
1973-1974
Lucia di Lammermoor
The Marriage of Figaro
Salome
Cavalleria Rusticana and
Pagliacci
1974-1975
Hansel and Gretel
La Traviata
The Daughter of the Regiment
Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi
Samson and Delilah
1975-1976
La bohème
Susannah
La Perichole
Aida
1976-1977
Carmen
The Mikado
Tosca
Der Rosenkavalier
1977-1978
The Old Maid and the Thief
Madame Butterfly
The Magic Flute
Boris Godunov
Die Fledermaus
| 1978-1979
Signor Deluso
Rigoletto
H.M.S. Pinafore
The Barber of Seville
Manon
1979-1980
Sweet Betsy from Pike
La bohème
The Merry Widow
Fidelio
Il Trovatore
1980-1981
Chanticleer
La Traviata
The Pirates of Penzance
The Goose Girl
Elektra
Faust
1981-1982
Lucia di Lammermoor
The Seagull
The Telephone
The Flying Dutchman
Carmen
1982-1983
Tosca
The Gondoliers
Don Giovanni
Eugene Onegin
1983-1984
The Pearl Fishers
Madame Butterfly
The Barber of Seville
Verdi Requiem
1984-1985
Die Fledermaus
Manon Lescaut
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Agrippina
Aida
1985-1986
Cavalleria Rusticana andPagliacci
Hansel and Gretel
La Traviata
1986-1987
The Marriage of Figaro
La Gioconda
La bohème
1987-1988
Rigoletto
The Mikado
The Magic Flute
1988-1989
Faust
The Barber of Seville
Madame Butterfly
1989-1990
Hansel and Gretel
The Elixir of Love
Tosca
1990-1991
Holy Blood and CrescentMoon
The Daughter of the Regiment
Carmen
1991-1992
The Abduction from the Seraglio
H.M.S. Pinafore
Lucia di Lammermoor
1992-1993
La Traviata
Don Pasquale
The Telephone
The Old Maid and the Thief
1993-1994
La bohème
Don Giovanni
Madame Butterfly
| 1994-1995
Samson and Delilah
Così fan tutte
Tosca
1995-1996
Il Trovatore
The Barber of Seville
Carmen
1996-1997
Faust
The Elixir of Love
Rigoletto
1997-1998
La Traviata
The Flying Dutchman
La bohème
1998-1999
Turandot
Don Giovanni
Tosca
1999-2000
Aida
Lucia di Lammermoor
Madame Butterfly
2000-2001
The Marriage of Figaro
Susannah
The Tales of Hoffmann
2001-2002
Candide
Carmen
Norma
Porgy and Bess
2002-2003
The Barber of Seville
Romeo and Juliet
Don Pasquale
2003-2004
Rigoletto
The Turn of the Screw
The Pirates of Penzance
The Italian Girl in Algiers
2004-2005
Salome
Little Women
Tosca
2005-2006
La Traviata
Dialogues of the Carmelites
La bohème
2007 Festival
Madame Butterfly
Falstaff
Frau Margot (world premiere)
2008 Festival
Turandot
Lucia di Lammermoor
Of Mice and Men
Angels in America
2009 Festival
Carmen
Cinderella
Dead Man Walking
2010 Festival
Don Giovanni
Elixir of Love
Before Night Falls (world premiere)
2011 Festival
The Mikado
Il Trovatore
Julius Caesar
Hydrogen Jukebox
2012 Festival
Tosca
The Marriage of Figaro
Lysistrata
Three Decembers
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