Category Archives: Events

Bethany Jelinek – May 27, 2023

The Puccini Society of Dallas presents “From the Heart” with

  Bethany Jelinek, soprano

winner of the Jonathan Pell People’s Choice Award at the
2023 Dallas Opera Guild Biennial Lone Star Vocal Competition

accompanied by 
Victor Diaz Hurtado, pianist

 Saturday, May 27, 2023
3:00 pm

to [email protected]

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.

Marilyn Halla
Puccini Society of Dallas

Photo Gallery

Josefina Maldonado Dec 4, 2021

Puccini Society of Dallas presents

Josefina Maldonado, Mezzo-soprano

Josefina Maldonado
Mezzo Soprano

Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 3:00 P.M.

Members $25 Guests $35
Valet Parking Provided

RSVP by Dec 1 to
[email protected]

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.


Photo Gallery

Schollmaier Scholars – November 13, 2021

The Puccini Society of Dallas presents

AN AFTERNOON OF PUCCINI AND OTHER OPERA DELIGHTS

with the Foote Foundation Schollmaier Scholars and graduate students of

BARBARA HILL MOORE

Presented in memory of:
Cecile Bonte, Eleanor Krebs, Marigny Lanier, Ed Lynch, and Jody Reed

Saturday, November 13, 2021

3:00 p.m.

Members $30             Guests $35

Please RSVP to [email protected] by Nov. 10

Puccini Friends: 

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,

Marilyn Halla

Event Photos by Laurie Pan

End of Season Supper – May 5, 2019

The Puccini Society of Dallas Presents

Ed Flaspoehler and Friends
A Program of New Music by Dallas Composers

Sunday, May 5, 2019, 5:30 PM

Join us in celebrating the end of the season with supper and an evening of music by Dallas Composers. Program includes the premiere performance of the Sonata for Flute and Piano (2018) by Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, and the Piano Trio, “Moments in Memory,” by Mark Landson.

Ed Flaspoehler – Flute
Gregory Sullivan Isaacs – Composer
Mark Landson – Composer and Violin
John Landefeld – Cello
Sunny Heesun Yun– PianoS

Hosted by Bettie Francis
3600 Princeton Avenue
Dallas, TX 75205

Members $40, Guests $45

Valet Parking

R.S.V.P. to Bettie Francis
at 214.528.4554 or
P.O. Box 25105
Dallas, TX 75225 or
[email protected]

Gregory Sullivan Isaacs is an American musician, composer, classical music critic and music director who has held musical directorships of opera, choral, and symphonic organizations. Since 2014, he has been the senior classical music critic for the online arts magazine TheaterJones, as well as a freelance writer for other publications, including The Fort Worth Star Telegram.  He is a member of ASCAP and the Music Critics Association of North America.

Mark Landson is a violinist, violist, composer, the founder and Director of Open Classical, and the founder and violist of contemporary music group Neo Camerata. He has been featured by the Dallas Observer in their “Top 100 Creatives in Dallas” series, by DFW arts website TheaterJones in their “Forward Thinkers” series, and through numerous other broadcast interviews and press articles as a prolific contributor to the creative culture of North Texas.

Pianist Sunny Heesun Yun is from South Korea. As a solo pianist, she has performed throughout America, Europe, and South Korea. She won the first place in several international competitions, including Rose Petroff Foundation Piano Competition in San Antonio, Texas, American Protégé International Piano and String Competition in New York City, American Protégé International Concerto Competition in New York City, and International Symphonic Workshops Piano Competition in Varna, Bulgaria. Sunny Yun is a member of the piano faculty at Eastfield College in Dallas.

Puccini Society member Ed Flaspoehler is an accomplished flutist. In 2018, he commissioned his friend, Gregory Sullivan Isaacs, to write a Sonata for Flute and Piano, which will receive its first public performance with Puccini Society of Dallas on May 5, 2009. Ed also performs frequently at Open Classical, hosted by Mark Landson, and has invited Mark to perform his piano trio, “Moments in Memory,” on the same program.

Cellist, John Landefeld, will perform as part of the piano trio.

Puccini’s Manon Lescaut – February 23, 2019

The Puccini Society of Dallas Presents

Dr. Stephen Dubberly, UNT Opera
A Lecture and Performance on
Puccini’s Opera Manon Lescaut

featuring
Alisa Magallon, Soprano, and
James Chamberlain, Tenor

Hosted by
Enika and Richard Schultz
5042 Lakehill Court
Dallas, TX 75220

Valet Parking
Members $25 – Guests $30

R.S.V.P. to Bettie Francis
P.O. Box 25105
Dallas, TX 75225 or
puccinisociety @ aol.com
https://www.puccinidallas.com

STEPHEN DUBBERLY Associate Professor and Music Director at UNT’s Opera Department

Our February program will be presented by Stephen Dubberly, UNT School of Music Director of Opera.  Many of you know Stephen and will welcome him back again.  He will discuss Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” which will be presented by the Dallas Opera in early March.  Along with his informative talk on the composition and history and story of this work, he will bring singers from the UNT Opera Program to sing arias from this opera.  Enika and Richard Schulze will host us once again, and members of the Dallas Opera Guild will be invited to attend.  

Please put Saturday, Feb. 23 on your calendar and plan to attend this program.  “Manon Lescaut” is one of the less familiar Puccini operas, and your attendance of a performance will be greatly enhanced by learning more about it.

In 2016 The Dallas Opera presented the French version of this story, “Manon” by Jules Massenet, but the Italian version is an entirely different work, and is one of Puccini’s most beautiful compositions.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Marilyn Halla

Wind Song Trio – January 13, 2019

The Puccini Society of Dallas Presents
The Wind Song Trio
Haley Sicking, Soprano,
Robin Korevaar, Clarinet, and
Jonathan Tsay, Piano

Sunday, January 13, 2019, 3:00PM

Hosted by Bill and Leslie Cornog
6812 Hunter’s Glen Road
Dallas, TX 75205

Valet Parking
Guests $30 – Members $25

R.S.V.P. to Bettie Francis
P.O. Box 25105
Dallas, TX 75225 or
puccinisociety @ aol.com
https://www.puccinidallas.com

Haley Sicking

Puccini Friends:  Happy New Year!  We begin the new year with a program presented by the Wind Song Trio on Sunday ( not the usual Sat.) afternoon, Jan. 13.  You may recall this trio presented our program a few years back at the home of Faye Briggs and were enthusiastically received by all.

Haley Sicking, soprano recently sang on the program given in conjunction with the Dallas Opera’s Women Conductors Symposium with the Dallas Opera Orchestra under the direction of Emmanuel Villaume.  She will sing for us along with Robin Korevaar, clarinet and Jonathan Tsay, piano.  This fine professional trio has presented various programs throughout the community, among which is the Basically Beethoven summer series at the Moody Performance Hall.

Our program is given in memory of our well remembered member, Gus Hoehn.  Gus was a music enthusiast and life long clarinet player in addition to being a successful engineer.  Many of Gus’ friends will join us to remember and honor him.

We meet at the lovely, art filled home of Bill and Leslie Cornog, 6— Hunter’s Glen, 75205, at our regular 3:00 time.  I hope to see you there!

Marilyn Halla

A Night in Berlin – November 30, 2918

The Puccini Society of Dallas recommends

Opera in Concert presents

A Night In Berlin

“A Night in Berlin”, features complete performances in English of
Mahagonny Songspiel by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill and
The Tide by Boris Blacher

Come experience the jazzy opera that created a riot when it premiered in 1927! Also on the bill is a tense psychological drama of four characters trapped by the tide on a half-sunken wreck.

Featuring: Rachel Catlett, Gabrielle Gilliam, Stephanie Smittie, Stephen Brennfleck, Doug Brunker, Edward Crafts, Joshua Hughes and John Kuether. Stephen Dubberly directs from the keyboard.

Kurth Hall in Sammons Center, Friday, November 30, 2018
Address: 3630 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75219

Tickets are $20 ($10 for students)

www.operainconcert.org

Courtney Stancil and Christopher Leach – December 8, 2018

The Puccini Society of Dallas presents

An Afternoon of Opera Arias and Duets

Courtney Stancil, Soprano
Christopher Leach, Tenor
Mary Dibbern, Pianist

Saturday, December 8, 2018, at 3:00PM

Hosted by Nancy Ashley
3816 Southwestern Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75225

Valet Parking

Members: $25, Guests: $30

R.S.V.P. to Bettie Francis
P.O. Box 25105
Dallas, TX 75225 or
puccinisociety @ aol.com

https://www.puccinidallas.com

School Daze – November 17, 2017

The Puccini Society of Dallas
Recommends:

“School Daze” by Opera in Concert

This fall, Opera in Concert presents two comic operas about education: “The Schoolmaster”, with a bumbling teacher trying to control his unruly class, and “Une Education Manquee” about a young couple whose schooling has neglected a crucial subject – “the birds and the bees”!

Performers include Edward Crafts, John Kuether, Lauren McNeese and Jocelyn Hansen, with Stephen Dubberly as music director and pianist.

Fri, November 17, 2017
8:00 PM – 11:00 PM CST

Sammons Center For the Arts
3630 Harry Hines Blvd
Dallas, TX 75219

Tickets online through Eventbrite

Puccini Society Events for Spring 2016

2016 Program Schedule

Portrait of Giacomo Puccini by Anne Cushing Ganz

Portrait of Giacomo Puccini by Anne Cushing Ganz

January 23
Erin Alcorn, soprano and Natalie Arduino, mezzo soprano
Mary Dibbern, pianist
“Music Around the World”

February 20
Students of Edward and Heather Crafts
Musica della Marche, Urbino, Italy

March 19
Desiree Mays of Santa Fe lectures
“The Real Madam Butterfly”
“Wagner’s Women”

April 3
Joint event with Dallas Opera Guild and Dallas Theater Guild
David Geist, Broadway pianist, conductor, coach
Contrasts opera and Broadway musicals

May 14
Wind Song Trio
Haley Sicking, soprano; Robin Korevaar, clarinet; Jonathan Tsay, piano