Keith Cerny Increases Exposure For The Dallas Opera

The man leading the charge: Keith Cerny.

"The Dallas Opera will present the second 'General Director's Roundtable,' a timely and in-depth discussion of issues affecting opera, contemporary audiences, and the greater performing arts community today. The brainchild of Dallas Opera General Director & CEO Keith Cerny, this series seeks to bring together the most knowledgeable voices in their fields, both local and national, in a genuine quest for answers. The topic of our second roundtable is 'Collaboration in the Arts,' once again presented in partnership with D magazine and moderated by D magazine Arts Editor Peter Simek. The panelists, in addition to the multifaceted Mr. Cerny who hosts these events, will include the dynamic and critically acclaimed artistic director of the Dallas Theater Center, Kevin Moriarty, and the recently appointed general director of Opera Company of Philadelphia, David DeVan, who has been raising the profile of the OCP for the past six years. All
three panelists have strong opinions (and equally strong track records) about the need for increased collaboration within the performing arts. 'My ideas about exciting, new possibilities for creative partnerships in the arts were being formulated long before I ever set foot in Dallas,' explains TDO General Director & CEO Keith Cerny. 'One of my first tasks was to introduce myself to the other arts organizations in town and find the points of intersection where meaningful collaborations might be possible. Those discussions got underway almost at once, resulting in the Dallas Opera's very first simulcast last October in collaboration with AT&T Performing Arts Center, our first artistic partnership with the Dallas Museum of Art to present a world premiere song cycle inspired by works from the Permanent Collections, and the announcement of a history-making collaboration with the Dallas Theater Center to launch the Dallas Opera's new chamber opera series next March. These partnerships serve many important purposes,' adds Mr. Cerny. 'They increase our exposure in the community even as they deepen our base of support. The radical exchange of ideas, in itself, alters the way we think about this great art form. It eliminates the perceived boundaries in which we operate or perform; it makes us challenge our existing assumptions about what we can or cannot do. And, it helps us to take an art form that some regard as aloof and make it exciting and relevant for a much broader cross-section of the community.'" [Source]