The Dallas Opera Employee Job Reviews in the United States

What do you like about working at The Dallas Opera?

"Even though it could be high stress and demanding, it was also a very friendly, casual and exciting atmosphere to be in. Because it was such a diverse and unique place to work, it made work very fun and and appealing to go to everyday. I also enjoyed the fact that they trusted me to work almost independently, allowing me to become more confident in myself and what I was doing. Micro-managing was NOT a part of The Dallas Opera culture. The Dallas Opera's culture was that of team work, different departments that would all come together and work towards one common goal: the final production. It was simply beautiful and mind-blowing to see just how many people would come together as a team to make sure the show went on."

Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?

"You really have to prove what you can bring to the company that's new and innovative so that they can envision spending the money to hire you. Right now, they are money focused, because they are a non-profit, fine arts organization. If they could have afforded me, they would have advanced me, I'm sure of it. But they just don't have the funds. I'd say good luck and better trying for a job in the next 5 years."

What don't you like about working at The Dallas Opera?

"The fact the any rumor or gossip could make or break you. It's a difficult thing to describe, but, in the opera world (and it's a very small one) everyone will eventually know almost everyone. Because of this, it creates talk, chatter throughout the opera world. In order to advance or be taken seriously, 2 things occur: word of mouth and experience. But because the opera world has come to a stand still on job circulation, gaining experience is close to impossible. So it becomes a catch 22, unless, you know the right person that can talk you in to the position. Job stability is loosely based on feelings rather then business. The second thing would be the dis-organization. The Dallas Opera is a great company, but it can be a bit dis-organized at times. And lastly, becoming a bit more open-minded to innovative ideas and not being afraid to take leaps at times. Because the Dallas Opera's patrons are more conservative then others, that conservatism dictates essentially how the company is run and what artistic decisions might be made. I believe art should be free to flow, in any form, but allowing that to happen, things must be thought of more open-mindedly."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"Make sure that the Dallas Opera was more cohesive as a team. There are 2 distinct sides to an opera company: Administration and Production. I would say that 85% of either side never sees/knows of each other, and that would cause tremendous issues at times. So bringing the company under a more unified, cohesive structure, or staff development, would be one major change. The second change would be to allow the company to become more of an educational institution for those of us that work/interested in the fine arts/theatre world. I would allow the company to open up, breathe, and allow circulation to happen in order to keep the company alive, young and innovative. I think its absolutely wonderful that The Dallas Opera recognizes and is devoted to the staff that has worked so hard for 20 plus years, but, I believe, from an artistic point of view, that art should be constantly reinventing itself in order to keep the public/s interest, as well as the artists themselves. Circulating new and innovative people throughout the company would allow the company to harness an amazing amount of knowledge from having an abundance of new, innovative minds. From that, you can create ends ideas and opportunities on production styles, lowering seasonal costs, safer ways of producing, etc. The benefits are endless!"