The Puccini Society of Dallas Presents The “Other” La Boheme as composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Introducing Talented Young Singers from UNT Opera on Tap
Saturday, March 22, 2025 3:00 to 5:00
Members $40 – Guests $50
(due to a large cast of performers for this event, our monthly fee has increased slightly)
Complimentary Valet
Payment by check may be paid at the door or mailed to:
Puccini Society of Dallas P.O. Box 1782 Colleyville, TX 76034
Payments by Credit Card: Please contact Jana at 817 999 5509
Puccini members and friends of the Puccini Society:
Since we have all enjoyed the Dallas Opera’s production of Puccini’s La Boheme, we’ll take this opportunity to explore the “other” La Boheme composed by Puccini’s contemporary, Ruggero Leoncavallo (best known for Pagliacci). This version of La Boheme was well received and popular in its day. However, Puccini’s work won out in time.
See our March invitation and please note – since we are hosting a larger than usual number of performers, we have raised our event fees slightly to help defray the costs involved with this program. Thank you for understanding.
Again, our thanks to Lillian Ragland for assisting us with the design of our monthly event invitations.
Puccini Society of Dallas P.O. Box 1782 Colleyville, TX 76034-1782
Puccini Friends – We are excited to gather on Saturday, October 28 to hear from a talented young UNT student, Matthew Dexter. Please see Matthew’s bio information below. Also, refer to the invitation for the October program attached. Thank you to all who have already responded. Please RSVP no later than Oct 25if you ploan to attend.
Marilyn Halla
Photo Gallery
Photos by Ed Flaspoehler
Artist Bio
MATTHEW DEXTER, bass-baritone from McKinney, Texas, is a senior majoring in vocal performance at the University of North Texas. He is a member of UNT’s A Cappella Choir and the Vox Aquilae Baroque choir. During his time with UNT Opera, he has performed the roles of Mícha in The Bartered Bride, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro, and Zúñiga in Carmen. He will premiere the role of the Conductor in That Hellbound Train in spring 2024. He also performed the role of The Herald in the concert version of Verdi’s Otello with the UNT Symphony Orchestra. For the past two years, as a vocal fellow at Spoleto Festival USA, Matthew appeared in the world premiere of Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’ Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Omar in 2022 and covered the role of the Old Doctor in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa. He was a winner of Youngarts 2020 and performed at the winners’ concert in Miami.
Stephen Dubberly, a faculty member in the UNT College of Music, has written of Matthew, “There is no question in my mind that he is by far the most outstanding undergraduate with whom I have worked in my 40 years of university teaching.”
Additionally, Matthew was named as the Presser Undergraduate Scholar recipient for 2022-2023. See below about this prestigious award:
The Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award is presented annually to a student entering their senior year who has shown extraordinary musical and academic accomplishments. The Presser award is considered the most prestigious undergraduate honor in music at the University of North Texas and is provided by the Presser Foundation that awards annual scholarships, grants and funds for the furthering of music education and music in America.
In perpetuity, the recipients are referred to as Presser Scholars. The winner is nominated by the College of Music faculty and selected by the College of Music Council of Division Chairs. The scholarship has been awarded annually for more than six decades.
“Suits, Sisters and Sidekicks, an Operatic Afternoon”
Sabatina Mauro – Mezzo Soprano Jiyoun Oh – Pianist
in loving memory of Robert Maris
September 30, 2023 at 3:00 PM
Members $30 / Guests $40 (Valet parking provided) Kindly RSVP by September 25th [email protected]
Mail checks to: Puccini Society of Dallas P. O. Box 1782 Colleyville, TX. 76034-1782
Credit card payments: Contact Jana @ (817) 999-5509
The Puccini Society’s first program of the fall season is planned for Sept. 30. Sabatina Mauro will present our program. She is a young artist with the Dallas Opera and is a very fine mezzo. I know you’ll enjoy her program.
Please mark you calendar for our first event on September 30. Please R.S.V.P by September 25.
Puccini Society of Dallas P.O. Box 1782 Colleyville, TX 76034-1782
Puccini Friends: After what seems like a long intermission, we were finally able to finish our season.
Our final Puccini program for this season was on May 27. Bethany Jelinek, winner of the People’s Choice Award at our recent Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition presented our program. It was stunning!
Thanks to so many who were able to be present for our final program of the year. We ended the season on a high note indeed! Bethany Jelinek presented a wonderful program of arias and songs by Handel, Wagner, Strauss, and Massenet, which were beautifully performed with the collaboration of Victor Hurtado, pianist. Bravi Tutti!
Robert Maris graciously hosted us in his lovely home. The program and reception were inside and many guests enjoyed his lovely outdoor patio following the program. Thank you Robert for your gracious hospitality.
Our usual fine team coordinated the event: Jana took care of invitations, reservations, and check-in. Mac coordinated and provided a delightful spring reception with the help of Patsy. Bob as always took care of providing and serving beverages. I feel sure everyone appreciates their ongoing efforts to make sure each of our events is an enjoyable experience for members. Ed has some nice pictures which will be available our web site soon. It is always nice to look back on the history of our programs.
I look forward to next season when we plan to present several winners from the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition as well as other exciting young artists. Until then, I hope your summer is pleasant and filled with beautiful music and nice experiences.
After what seems like a long intermission, we’re ready to finish the season with two nice events.
Our final Puccini program for this season will be on May 27. Bethany Jelinek, winner of the People’s Choice Award at our recent Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition will present our program.
Our invitation and details will be coming soon.
The Lafayette Musicians
Matthieu Peyregne du Mortier, who presented an early French music program for us last season has created a new organization called Lafayette Musicians. Their first concert is on May 21 at 4:00 p.m. See the information which follows.
Under the direction of Matthieu Peyregne du Motier, a French conductor specializing in baroque music, the Lafayette Musicians, a new professional orchestra and choir plans to perform 4 great Sacred classical music concerts every year.
Their inaugural concert will be held on Sunday, May 21st at Christ the King Catholic Church in Dallas, Texas at 4pm.
The concert will feature:
Handel and Lully on David’s psalms : Dixit Dominus, Miserere, De Profondis,…
This incredible music will be performed on historical instruments. In addition, the audience will receive booklets with translations and theological explanations to enhance their understanding and enjoyment of the concert.
As we approach another fall season I am excited to announce our upcoming Puccini Society programs. Our first event of the new season will celebrate our Founder, Bettie Francis on the occasion of her 90th Birthday! In Dec, 1995, Judson and Bettie Francis, Pat Blankenship, and Earl Carter created the Puccini Society of Dallas in order to share their love of Puccini’s music with others. Pat planned the programs, recruited members, and did whatever was necessary to keep the society going. Betty spent many successive years as Society Secretary, printing and mailing invitations and taking reservations, hosting events, as well as taking care of society correspondence. Our first program was held in March, 1996 at the home of Inge and Sam Vastole.
At Pat’s request, Dallas artist and teacher Ann Cushing Gantz painted a portrait of Giacomo Puccini for Judson Francis. Several members of the Puccini Society surprised Judson with the portrait at a small cocktail party in June,1996, shortly before his death. The portrait became the logo for the Puccini Society, and our society awarded the late Mrs. Gantz an honorary lifetime membership.
We are dedicated to acknowledging, enjoying, and promoting the music of Puccini and other great opera composers. We offer educational programs for our members and our goal is to help and encourage aspiring, young singers. Many of our members volunteer their time and talents for which we are grateful.
Among our first members who are still active in our society are Marion Ward, Bill Herrera (a past President), Inge and Sam Vastole, and myself. Bettie is our only surviving founder. We are delighted to honer her on the occasion of her 90th birthday! Without her years of leadership this society could not have thrived in the way it has.
Our fall schedule is as follows:
Sept. 25; Andrew Simpson, bass (and son of our own Tina Simpson) will sing for us at the home of Wendy Kumph and her mom, Sue Prideaux. The address is 3806 Stratford, 75225, just east of Dallas Country Club. We will celebrate our Founder, Bettie Francis.
Oct. 23; St. Matthew’s Cathedral Arts Series will present Mary Dibbern with Courtney Maina, soprano and Christopher Leach, tenor, in Songs of Mary Howe. These will be taken from their newly released CD, Songs by Mary Howe, which The Puccini Society helped underwrite. We will be at the Collora Piano Studio.
Nov.19; Stephen Dubberly will present two outstanding young singers and will also report on the Craft’s Opera in Concert program in Italy, which we help sponsor. Location TBA.
Dec. 3; Joint program with Voce Intimae (art song organization), Christian Bester, General Director. We will hear all of Puccini’s songs which will be narrated by Stephen Dubberly and held at the home of Enika and Richard Schulze.
Our membership renewal letter will go out soon with our new P.O. Box number, and we encourage everyone to renew their membership promptly. We look forward to seeing everyone soon and often at our programs.
Pay at Door or mail check to Puccini Society PO Box 25105, Dallas, TX 75225
For credit card charges, please contact Jana at 817-999-5509
Josefina Maldonado, Mezzo-soprano
Emerging Dallas-born artist, Josefina Maldonado has been critically acclaimed by The Texas Classical Review and Theater Jones as ‘vocally superb’ with a ‘remarkably rich timbre’. Ms. Maldonado was a young artist with The Dallas Opera Outreach Program in the role(s) of Veronica/Dr. Miracle and Dorabella/ Così Fan Tutte, for Bremen Town Musicians.
For her European debut, Ms. Maldonado was a principle artist in two modern world premieres of serenatas by Johannes Schmelzer; Le veglie ossequiose and Die sieben Alter stimmen zusammen, for the Olomouc’s Baroque Festival held in the Czech Republic.
Ms. Maldonado holds a B.M. from the University of North Texas where she was a frequently featured soloist alongside the UNT Symphony Orchestra. Her major roles with UNT Opera included Dorabella/Così Fan Tutte, Ruggiero/Alcina, Cherubino/Le nozze di Figaro, Siébel/Faust and Mother Marie/Dialogues of the Carmelites.
What a big group we had yesterday to enjoy Barbara Hill-Moore’s wonderful students. Some of these singers are young artists to watch! Prosper is really getting some wonderful opportunities with both Dallas and Ft. Worth Operas. Others may well be singers to watch in the future.
Our fall Puccini event featuring the students of Barbara Hill Moore, Senior Associate Dean, SMU. Barbara sponsors these international students through the Foote Foundation. It was an amazing event. So good to be meeting in person again. Photo by Mac Irwin
To enjoy their beautiful singing in the stunning surroundings of Bill Cornog’s home was a double pleasure; and what a gracious and accommodating host he is. All in all the afternoon was a lovely tribute to our past members Cecile Bonte, Eleanor Krebs, Marigny Lanier, Ed Lynch and Jody Reed. They were each valued and loved members of the Puccini Society.
A proud teacher: Barbara Hill Moore. Photos by Josephine Dewaal
To enjoy their beautiful singing in the stunning surroundings of Bill Cornog’s home was a double pleasure; and what a gracious and accommodating host he is. All in all the afternoon was a lovely tribute to our past members Cecile Bonte, Eleanor Krebs, Marigny Lanier, Ed Lynch and Jody Reed. They were each valued and loved members of the Puccini Society.
We continue to welcome new members to our group: Mary Lou Alford has just joined us along with a number of others who were introduced at our Sept. meeting. Mary Lou is delighted to find that she has a number of friends and acquaintances in our group. New members this fall include: Mary Lou Alford, John Shriner, Anna Morini, Yvonne Sage, Carl Schieffer, Dona and Michael Watson, and Mary Ellen Winborn. Also Brian Hackfeld, Joey Meirtschin, and Mark Landson. Welcome to all! Guest are always welcome and we were happy to have several yesterday as well.
I hope everyone will remember that these beautiful receptions are spearheaded by Mac Irwin and Patsy Brooks. Special thanks to Rosemary O’Neill and Josephine DeWaal for their special home baked Irish Tea Bread and Stollen. We appreciate them all so much! Bob Brooks makes sure we all have a wine of choice and graciously serves as bartender. Our whole Board is a great team as each member reliably does their job. Thanks to Jana Irwin for keeping our reservations and checking everyone in. The Tobys sent membership renewals and many have responded. You can still renew and now Jana can take your payment via credit card (817-999-5509) or a check to P.O. Box 25105, Dallas, 75225. Laurie Pan took very nice pictures which will be posted on our web site. Many thanks to all.
Yesterday’s guest Robin Green will host our Dec. 4 program in her lovely home. Josefina Maldonado, soprano will present our program. We had Josefina scheduled to sing for us just as we were asked to curtail our in-person meetings, and I’m really delighted to reschedule her now. She is a very accomplished young singer whom we will be thrilled to finally hear. Invitations will be sent out soon with meeting details. Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving,
Julie Liston Johnson, soprano Molly Fillmore, mezzo soprano with Szu-Ying Huang, pianist
At the home of
Linda and Tom Smith 6614 Forestshire Drive Dallas, Texas 75230
December 14, 2019, 3:00 P.M.
Members $25 – Guests $30 – Valet Parking
Please RSVP to
P.O. Box 25105 Dallas, Texas 75225 or puccinisociety @ aol.com
Puccini Friends;
I want to share with you my enthusiasm for our upcoming program next Saturday at the home of Linda and Tom Smith.
Linda suggested we invite soprano Julie Liston Johnson to perform, and when I contacted her she was happy to accept our invitation. She received her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School where she held a teaching fellowship and is currently on the voice faculty of the University of Texas at Arlington while also finishing her DMA at the University of North Texas. She has sung solos at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Trinity Church Wall Street as well as prestigious halls in Italy and England. A frequent performer in the Metroplex, many of you may have heard her performances. Favorite opera roles include Donna Anna, Dido, and Madama Butterfly as well as concert performances of The Queen of the Night’s vengeance aria and Gilda in Rigoletto. She lives in Dallas with her husband Bart Johnson and their daughter Ava Grace.
Julie has invited mezzo soprano Molly Fillmore to join her for our program. Molly made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Helmwige in Die Walkure, conducted by James Levine. During her seven seasons at the Met she also appeared in Philip Glass’ Satyaraha; both of these were broadcast worldwide in movie theaters and on PBS television. She sang over 25 roles at the Cologne Opera, performed title roles with San Francisco Opera, and Arizona Opera as well as appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Kennedy Center, Spoleto Festival and Tanglewood Festival. She is now Chair of the Division of Vocal Studies and Professor of Voice at the University of North Texas College of Music.
Taiwanese pianist Szu-Ying Huang will perform with Julie and Molly. She has performed extensively as soloist and chamber musician in major cities throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, China and Taiwan. She will soon receive her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance at the University of North Texas where she held assistantships in opera accompanying, collaborative piano and choral accompanying.
This promises to be a truly memorable program as well as a festive holiday celebration. Linda and Tom live at 6614 Forestshire Dr., 75230 and we meet at 3:00 p.m. If you haven’t replied please do so now in order for us to have adequate seating. I’ll look forward to seeing you there!
