Founder and Artistic Director Craig Fields first envisioned a professional opera company in Duluth in 1999. After several years of planning with like-minded community leaders, he set about in 2004 to create what would eventually become the DFO. A Steering Committee nurtured the company until incorporation as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in March 2005.
Musically vivid and artistically distinguished performances have been the hallmark of the DFO's efforts to date. Our premiere event, Three Terrific Tenors!!!, presented at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) in August 2005, garnered critical acclaim and a passionate public response. Three fundraising events--Opera Cabaret I in October 2004, Opera Cabaret II in December 2005, and Opera Cabaret III in December 2006--showcased performers of exceptional talent and theatrical presence and generated over $30,000 in revenue and contributions. We presented our first fully-staged production, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, in July 2006. This $125,000 effort, which included the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (DSSO) and Duluth's prestigious choral group, The Arrowhead Chorale, was an artistic triumph and financial success.
