AT THE OPERA: Last week, those of us in the media received a heads up from the Dallas Opera that a major announcement was coming on Tuesday. But that was all the details we received. (Suspense!) Now we know at least what we’ll be finding out: the DO will announce a new music director – only the third person ever appointed to the position. A news release sent out yesterday says the person is “a respected and internationally acclaimed conductor.” We’ll let you know who it is next week.

DMA AWARDS: The Dallas Museum of Art has announced the recipients of the 2013 Awards to Artists. The Clare Hart DeGolyer Memorial Fund is awarded to artists 15-25 who live in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona or Colorado. Lauren Christlieb, Nathan Evans, Miguel Martinez, Benjamin Terry and Ana Villagomez earned that one. The Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund is awarded to residents of Texas under the age of 30. It goes to Morehshin Allahyari, Jordan Glazer, Nicolas G. Miller and Jonathan A. Molina Garcia. And the Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant goes to Matthew Bourbon and Jeff F. Wheeler. More details are on the museum’s website.

A BITE OUT OF APPLE: Tonight is opening night for Amphibian Stage Productions’ The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. It’s essentially a monologue by Mike Daisey about his investigation into Apple’s dealings in China. If that name sounds familiar, then you probably heard the performance on This American Life. And if you heard that, then you definitely remember the follow-up, when the show devoted a whole episode to retracting the story. Amphibian has brought Jaime Castañeda in to direct. And he tells dfw.com that the ideas put forth in the show are still valid – even if Daisey’s details were fabricated. ”My sense is that Mike Daisey was trying to convince [Apple] to change the way they work with Foxconn and the conditions in China,” Castañeda says. “But it’s wider than that. This is an issue that happens in countries all over the world. We see it happening south of the border here in Texas. That has been happening for decades.”

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones: the back end of the I. C. Harris Service Center. Photo by Jerome Weeks

April is architecture month. And the among all the scheduled talks and exhibitions as part of the  series, Architecture 360, perhaps the most unusual event is a tour this Friday.  KERA’s Jerome Weeks reports it’s basically a visit to some high-quality, historic wreckage.

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They call it the ‘Boneyard.’ But that makes it sound more impressive, more spooky- gothic, than it actually is. It’s just a small field cluttered with architectural salvage. It’s at the back of the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department’s maintenance center in East Dallas. And though the name makes it sound like an ancient grave site, the Boneyard has been around for only a couple years.

Willis Winters is the director of the Dallas Parks department (he’s also an author on Dallas-area architecture). He drives past the pre-fab sheds that make up most of the maintenance center’s 15 acres.  

“So we got some empty land out here,” he explains, “and as we began to take down the buildings that stood on the site of present-day Main Street Garden, we salvaged the best architectural remnants and brought them out here, and that sort of got things started.”

What remains from those buildings are stacks of terracotta filigree and cast-stone curlicues. They’re the kinds of decorative additions they used to make for buildings. Now, they cost too much. Or we no longer have the skilled craftspeople needed to make them. Like the stone masons who carved the massive, 96,000 pound cartouche that used to ornament the side of the Titche-Goettinger department store, now the downtown UNT campus. All 55 pieces of that shield-like crest — bearing the ‘six flags over Texas’ on it — sit here in the sun.

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Congratulations to Brian Hamm of Frisco, the winner of the Flickr Photo of the Week contest! Brian is a longtime contributor to our Flickr pool; he last won the contest in November for a shot from Art Conspiracy. Hhe follows last week’s winner, Samarpita Sengupta.

If you would like to participate in the Flickr Photo of the Week contest, all you need to do is upload your photo to our Flickr group page. It’s fine to submit a photo you took earlier than the current week, but we are hoping that the contest will inspire you to go out and shoot something fantastic this week to share with Art&Seek users. If the picture you take involves a facet of the arts, even better. The contest week will run from Monday to Sunday, and the Art&Seek staff will pick a winner on Monday afternoon. We’ll notify the winner through FlickrMail (so be sure to check those inboxes) and ask you to fill out a short survey to tell us a little more about yourself and the photo you took. We’ll post the winners’ photo on Wednesday.

Now, here’s more from Brian:

Title of photo: Mothership @ The Boiler Room
Equipment: 5D Mark II, Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L wide open
Tell us more about your photo: My friend Chris runs sound for some of the best rock bands in Dallas. Bands like Trebuchet, The Phuss and The Virgin Wolves, all of whom I’ve shot repeatedly, on his recommendation. Every one of those bands were quick to recommend that I see Mothership, and not because I asked. I pay attention when bands go out of their way to help each other, and Mothership does not disappoint. Amazing energy and stage presence. They’re back from the road recently, so I’ll get to shoot them more often.

The Boiler Room is no darker than your typical Deep Ellum venue, but the bands that play the Boiler Room are FAST. I have good gear, and I’m still frequently shooting at the end of its usable range. For instance, this photo was wide open at ISO 6400. All I got for that was 1/160th of a second. 1/200th would have been better. You shoot what you’re given, though. It’s not supposed to be that easy anyway.

Afternoon Delight is a daily diversion for when you’re just back from lunch, but not quite ready to get down to work. Check back weekdays at 1 p.m. for another one.

This trailer hits all the indie film beats. Fortunately, it’s for a fake movie.

This year’s Fort Worth Opera Festival includes La Bohème, Ariadne auf Naxos, The Daughter of the Regiment and Glory Denied.  And if you win this Big Deal, you’ll be able to don your finest opera duds to see one of those productions – Puccini’s La Bohème on May 3 at Bass Hall. Take a guest with you to see the ageless love story of those two Bohemians Mimì and Rodolfo.

Be sure you are an Art&Seek subscriber first, because only subscribers can win the Big Deal. Then feel free to sign up for this Big Deal or our other deals this week – tickets for Father John Misty at the Granada Theater and tickets for the Gipsy Kings at Annette Strauss Artist Square.

Sign up below for a chance to hear the unforgettable music of La Bohème performed by the Fort Worth Opera.

UPDATE: We have our winners.  Be sure to check your inbox to see if you got a winning notification email!

For this Big Deal, two fortunate winners will snag a pair of general admission tickets to see Father John Misty when KXT Presents the singer/songwriter at the Granada Theater. Father John Misty, formerly known as the artist Joshua Tillman, will bring his west coast folk-and-country influenced rock’n'roll sound to town on May 6.

Remember: To win this Big Deal or any other Big Deal you must first be an Art&Seek e-newsletter subscriber. And speaking of other Big Deals, check out our other two offerings this week – tickets for the Gipsy Kings at Annette Strauss Artist Square and for Fort Worth Opera’s La Bohème.

Sign up below for a chance to see Father John Misty.

UPDATE: We have our winners.  Be sure to check your inbox to see if you got a winning notification email!

You’ll be saying “Vamos a Bailar,” too, if you win this Big Deal. For this Art&Seek offering we will have you and a guest singing and dancing to the hits of the Gipsy Kings in the lawn seating section of Annette Strauss Artist Square.  The international group of musicians, known for their powerful and precision guitar playing, will hit the stage on April 30, so pack your picnic, blanket and favorite beverage because this outdoor party is BYOB!  Don’t forget you must first be an Art&Seek e-newsletter subscriber to win.

If you are up for a little more partying, then sign up for our two Big Deals – tickets for Father John Misty at the Granada Theater and for Fort Worth Opera’s La Bohème.

Sign up below for a chance to see the Gipsy Kings.

UPDATE: We have our winners.  Be sure to check your inbox to see if you got a winning notification email!

A WHALE OF A WORK: Tonight, the University of North Texas plays host to the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Ahab Symphony. Heggie served as the school’s artist in residence, and part of the deal was that he’d write a piece that would premiere on campus. The name of the piece is apt – it comes from the same person who composed Moby-Dick, which the Dallas Opera premiered a few years ago. “Whenever I write a character musically,” Heggie tells dallasnews.com, “I have to empathize deeply with that character, to love them and not judge them. Ahab can come across as a cardboard villain, but he’s a very complex, textured individual. Melville gives him the most textured language.” Interested? Then be sure to tune into Think today at 1 p.m., when Heggie will spend the hour walking about his career with Krys Boyd. UPDATE: Check that – the show was yesterday. But the good news is, you can now listen to it.

MEET THE COMPETITORS: Cliburn Confidential, a series profiling this year’s competitors, is up and running on dfw.com. Up today is a look at Fei-Fei Dong, a 22-year-old from Shenzhen, China. Dong is currently a student at Julliard who’s already played Lincoln Center and the Louvre Auditorium. And she sounds like she’s got the right attitude for her Cliburn debut. ”I just want to play my best. That is what matters,” she says.

QUOTABLE: ”Now here I am, first audition anywhere, and I’ve never heard a symphony orchestra, let along sung with one. [Richard Rodgers] took me across the street, and I sang ‘Oklahoma,’ ‘People Will Say We’re In Love’ and ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Morning’…with the symphony orchestra. And two weeks later I was in my first Broadway show, South Pacific, and a few months later I was out West playing Laurey in the touring company of Oklahoma! So that’s why I say it was a fairy tale—isn’t that something?”

- Shirley Jones, on her audition with Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, in an interview with theaterjones.com. Jones performs Friday night at the Fairmont Hotel.

Art&Seek Jr. is one mom‘s quest to find activities to end the seemingly endless chorus of the “I’m Bored Blues” while having fun herself.  Impossible you say? Check back on Tuesdays for kid-friendly events that are fun for adults, too.

If you have children in public schools you know that today is “S” day in classrooms across Texas. That’s right, the dreaded math portion of the STAAR test. No doubt many kiddos across North Texas were feeling just a touch of anxiety as they left for school today.

But even if your child isn’t taking the test this week, they’ve likely felt the stress of the past week and are in need of some relief. Sometimes, the best remedy for stress is to get out and do something completely goofy and fun. Lucky you, The Junior has got just the ticket!

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Fort Worth Opera children’s chorus crowds the toy vendor during a dress rehearsal of La Boheme. Photo: Ron T. Ennis/Fort Worth Opera

Most people associate opera with the diva’s high notes, but some classics require the voice of a child. Puccini’s much loved La Bohème opened the Fort Worth Opera festival and repeats Sunday and May 3. We profiled 16 Fort Worth kids, who are taking the stage right alongside Rodolpho and Mimi.

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When the loudspeaker sounds for places, members of the La Bohème children’s chorus hit pause on their dressing room hubbub for a split second to make sure they aren’t needed on stage. But that call was for Act 1, which means they’ve got another hour or so for homework, and a little horsing around.

Instead of dinner, studying and TV, these Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts kids follow a very different evening routine. We caught up with them during a piano dress rehearsal, which requires sharp concentration and full costumes.

“If you’re not focused then you’re going to end up getting sloppy, and everything’s really precise,” said 12 year-old Victoria Perez.

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