The Puccini Society of Dallas presents

Darren Keith Woods
General Director of the Fort Worth Opera

previewing this Spring’s
Fort Worth Opera Festival
with a quartet of young singers

Clara Nieman, Soprano, Maren Weinberger, Mezzo,
Matt Moeller, Baritone, Brian Wallin, Tenor,  and
pianist Stephen Carey

Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.

Hosted by Antony Francis
5075 Lakehill Court
Dallas, TX 75220

See Photo Gallery

The March meeting of the Puccini Society presented Darren Keith Woods and his quartet of very talented young artists from the Ft. Worth Opera Festival: Maren Weinberger, sop.; Clara Neiman, mezzo; Brian Williams, tenor; Matt Moeller, baritone; and Stephen Cary, pianist. Their wonderful presentation of favorite selections from “La Traviata”, new experiences from “Dog Days” and Thomas’s “Hamlet” provided an memorable afternoon of outstanding musical experiences. Darren is always a welcome guest, along with his talented young artists and informative program. Many of us will enjoy their upcoming Festival season April 25-May 10. Now is the time to purchase your tickets.

Adding to the enjoyment of the afternoon was the welcoming hospitality of Antony Francis and Katherine Hall. They provided a beautiful venue for our meeting,both inside and out! Thank you both for graciously hosting us. We were also delighted to have guests and new members Mary Murcott and Susan Carpenter. We’ll hope to see you and our other guests again soon.

Many thanks as always to our board members who make our events so enjoyable. Patsy and Bob Brooks organize and prepare our refreshments and wine (in spite of traffic delays!), Bettie takes care of invitations and reservations, Mac helped with check-in and treasurer duties, and Marion arranged for parkers.

Thanks to everyone for your ongoing support of our group.

Marilyn Halla, President, Puccini Society of Dallas

See Photo Gallery

Darren K. Woods is General Director of the Fort Worth Opera. He was appointed General Director of Fort Worth Opera in July of 2001. Under his leadership, Fort Worth Opera has increased subscription and donor bases and has received rave reviews for production quality. Expanding on Mr. Woods’ dedication to young artists, the Fort Worth Opera Studio was founded in the 2002-2003 season with four members who participated in main stage productions, performed for more than 100,000 children and received coaching and lessons from visiting guest artists. In February, 2006, the company, under Mr. Woods’ leadership, announced that it was converting its regular fall/winter schedule to a condensed Festival format beginning May of 2007. During this inaugural festival season, he oversaw the company’s first World Premiere: Frau Margot by Thomas Pasatieri.

Prior to his appointment in Fort Worth, he was the General Director of the Shreveport Opera in Louisiana. While in Shreveport, Mr. Woods founded Shreveport Opera Express, or SOX, a touring, arts in education program the involved school children working with professional artists in the schools. Until January 2008, Mr. Woods also served as General and Artistic Director of the Seagle Music Colony in upstate New York – the oldest and best vocal training program for young artist in the United States. Mr. Woods is a frequent vocal competition judge. In past seasons, he has served as a panel judge for the Richard Tucker Foundation, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Lieber Competition, the Denver Opera Guild Competition, the Dallas Opera Guild Competition and the Marguerite McCammon Competition.

Prior to beginning his management positions, Mr. Woods performed as a professional operatic tenor for twenty years in such venues as: The New York City Opera, Carnegie Hall, the Washington Opera, L’Opera Madrid, Opera Trieste, Seattle Opera, The Dallas Opera, Baltimore Opera, and The Santa Fe Opera.

The Puccini Society of Dallas
P.O.Box 25105
Dallas, TX 75225
[email protected]