Fort Worth Opera General and Artistic Director Angela Turner Wilson discusses the opera’s 79th season

The Fort Worth Opera recently announced its 79th season featuring productions inspired by the women who founded the company as well as the opera’s rich history of promoting contemporary American works.

With mainstage productions spotlighting fictional characters like the March Sisters and Cinderella to a Julia Child-themed gala and a Civic Impact production inspired by the life of Frida Kahlo, Fort Worth Opera General and Artistic Director Angela Turner Wilson said the upcoming season features the “running thread” of “women that have made a choice to impact their destiny.” “That is the thread that winds through it, and that, to me, was very much inspired by our three founding women,” Turner Wilson said, referring to the company’s founders Jeanne Axtell Walker, Eloise MacDonald Snyder and Betty Berry Spain.

The 79th season will be the second under Turner Wilson’s direction. As a Texas native and accomplished Soprano herself who’s performed with a litany of major opera companies around the country, Turner Wilson called it “very humbling” to be at the helm of the Fort Worth Opera and continue the legacy that the women who founded the company began. “Coming at it as a former singer, I know how great the heritage and the history of this company is, and so I feel a great responsibility to continue that,” Turner Wilson said, also pointing to her roots as a seventh-generation Texan. “It’s very important to me that the Fort Worth Opera succeed and be here for other generations. It’s personal, so let’s do it (and) make it happen.”

The first mainstage production of the season is “Little Women” by Mark Adamo at the W.E. Scott Theatre on November 22 and 24. “It’s very cheerful. It has beautiful arias,” Turner Wilson said, adding that the show also includes very modern parts that will challenge expectations. She sees the production, along with the opera’s September 19 invite-only “Bon Appétit!” Gala featuring a performance of the Julia Child-themed opera of the same name, as opportunities to raise awareness about American opera.

Turner Wilson also highlighted “¡Bienvenidos! de Frida Kahlo” on October 19 and 20 at Rose Marine Theatre. Alongside performances by local groups Mariachi Espuelas de Plata from North Side High School and Ballet Folklorico, Turner Wilson said the “very family-oriented” production includes “various vignettes that are significant to Hispanic heritage and significant to the life of Frida Kahlo.”

In 2025, the 79th season includes “Elixir of Love Showcasing Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists” and the McCammon Voice Competition for young singers in March in addition to the final mainstage production, “La Cenerentola” by Giaochino Rossini on April 25 and 27 at Bass Performance Hall.

Turner Wilson said she wanted to do something “lighthearted” during the season and landed on “La Cenerentola” or “Cinderella.” “It’s different than your basic fairytale,” Turner Wilson said of the production, which features athletic and fast “virtuosic singing.” In this version of the classic story, there’s no fairy godmother or glass slipper. “She meets the prince, thinks he’s a servant, and falls in love with him before they even go to the ball,” Turner Wilson said, calling it a tale of “two people finding each other and making the choice to be together.”

Turner Wilson emphasized the approachability of the season’s productions in attracting audiences to the opera, pointing to the familiarity of stories like “Cinderella” and “Little Women” or names like Julia Child and Frida Kahlo. “We want people to come to opera and feel very much that it is for them,” Turner Wilson said.

After audiences have a chance to see opera for themselves, she highlighted the “very human response” they have once they experience the spectacle and excitement of live opera singing. She hopes it’s that response that leaves audiences thinking, “wow, I want to see more of this” after attending one of Fort Worth Opera’s productions.

For more information on the Fort Worth Opera, visit https://www.fwopera.org/. This interview has been edited for clarity.