The Dallas Opera unstable on many fronts is the song sung by insiders at The Winspear Opera House. This comes after several recent issues. The Dallas Opera in celebrating its 65th anniversary this year. It is showing signs and symptoms of old age and in need of adult supervision.
Tonight, The Dallas Opera will present its latest production tonight, Das Rheingold. Some media organizations have already pronounced it a success. Insiders tell a very different story.
This week several cast left the production after TDO chose not to corral a wayward employee. The was doubling as a production extra. The employee was acting threatening towards other cast and crew.
Other Side Dallas has reached out to the reported victims in this case who will not return calls or emails.
Cast and crew describe walking on eggshells around a trans male Facility Manager. The employee works from the Karayanis Rehearsal Production Center.
Other Side Dallas was able to speak to a few cast and crew about Das Rheingold and this employee.
There is “too much testosterone” and he has a “hormonal imbalance” was a familar refrain.
A person with the production said senior staff know the situation is unsafe. They refuse to provide the adult supervision he needs.
One other person said, “no one wants to deal with the problem out of fear of violence.”
This is a problem given the production has several youth extras, or supernumeraries.
Safety: Children
Despite working with minors, the opera does not provide any safety guard rails. There are no provisions for their own staff or volunteers.
This is one area of oversight that the opera appears guilty of from a management standpoint. There are no background checks and no training for working with children.
These basic safety measures have come about from decades of abuse scandals. involving nonprofit groups.
One firm noted every forty-three hours a registered sex offender tries working for a nonprofit. Those persons are caught by organizations undertaking basic precautions. The Dallas Opera skips these basic steps in providing a measure of protection.
There is a notation from Josh Martin, Artistic Services Coordinator, that seems problematic. The memo reads the opera does “not employ a “child wrangler.”
He appears to mean children should be seen and not heard. He also seems to indicate they’re not doing anything to protect children.
Other Side Dallas has also seen the submission of a related Child Protective Services report. The report was made Monday morning by a school counselor.
The report details an adult improperly brushing a teenage girl. It names the Winspear Opera House as the location of the incident. We are working to confirm that these issues are related.
We do know that both the employee and the underage girl were co-located in a cramped substage crawl area.
Other Side Dallas has reached out to The Dallas Opera more than six times for comment. So far no one from their organization has responded.
Safety: Adults
Other Side Dallas also found that another employee, Mark Wagenhurst, died during production. This happened at Karayanis Rehearsal Production Center a few weeks ago.
He was found dead by other employees, but no attempts were made to help him. This comes despite the opera employing a medical safety officer.
The Dallas Opera Unstable Costumes, Set, and Stage
Finally, the production has many problems. TDO got a positive review from the Dallas Morning News before the show ever got to The Winspear Opera House. It seems
Invited audience members on Tuesday night noted a few problems.
At one point, the the orchestra stopped playing during a transition. This occurred when a lighting issue arose causing the several minute delay.
Additionally, several cast members have had wardrobe malfunctions. “Grand” costumes caught on set design pieces like a scaffolding set up. There have also been issues with elevators and lifts.
One crew member said, “you have elaborate transitions so some designer can prove who they are, but they don’t go together.”
The costumes are getting caught on “modern set designs” and everyone is at risk.
The Dallas Opera was the first to return to the stage last year after coronavirus. Their production of Madame Butterfly received good reviews at the time. Since then they seem off track.
The Dallas opera company seems less focused on quality now than pre COVID19.
The current quantity over quality production makes a company unstable for future audiences.