2025 marks 79 years since a performance of the classic opera "La Traviata" wowed a sold-out audience at Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium.

Since then, the Fort Worth Opera has showcased the greatest pieces to Panther City, and while COVID-19 has forced it to make some changes, the organization has some big plans to celebrate 79 years.

Let’s hit the high notes

A brief timeline of important years + accomplishments in the Fort Worth Opera’s history.

1946 — Fort Worth Civic Opera Association is founded by Eloise MacDonald Snyder, Betty Berry Spain + Jeanne Axtell Walker

1949 — Karl Kritz became the company’s first full-time General Director

1955 — Rudolf Kruger is appointed music director + conductor. During his 28-year appointment, the company became a nationally recognized regional opera.

1966 — The company creates an educational outreach program through a series of student productions of Ravel’s L'enfant et les sortilèges (The Bewitched Child in English)

1984 — The Fort Worth Symphony becomes the company’s permanent orchestra.

1998 — The Fort Worth Opera moves its productions to Bass Performance Hall.

2007 — Fort Worth Opera became the first major American company to make the transition from a fall/spring season to a festival format.

2019 — The company develops inclusive programs + modified environments for audience members with a variety of needs to enjoy Children’s Opera Theatre performances.

2020 — A new digital platform launched, featuring performances, seminars, and masterclasses. It also launched FWO GO, an artistic initiative featuring socially distanced, pop-up performances throughout DFW.

2021— FWO switched to a year-round format and has become a prominent feature of the North Texas arts scene.

Experience the opera

🎭 Upcoming shows

🎟️ Purchase tickets

🩺 Children's opera theater

🎤 Submit an audition

Don’t pass on this musical opera-tunity.