Mirjam Mesak Leads Dallas Opera's First 'Cunning Little Vixen' in 26 Years

Estonian soprano Mirjam Mesak will headline The Dallas Opera's new production of Leoš Janáček's "The Cunning Little Vixen," opening Oct. 30, 2026 and running through Nov. 7.

The staging carries two distinctions. It marks TDO's first presentation of Janáček's 1924 opera in 26 years, and it gives Australian director Barrie Kosky's production its North American debut.

The opera traces a young fox's journey from the forest floor to a fate as untamed as she is, as she chases the life every wild thing dreams of.

David Lomelí, TDO's Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO, framed the company's choice of director in unmistakably populist terms. "Barrie Kosky is one of my favorite directors in the world," Lomelí said in a statement. "He has such a combination of aesthetics. His style is sometimes Baz Luhrmann, sometimes Tim Burton, with the box office power of Steven Spielberg." The comparison places Kosky in unexpected company — Hollywood maximalists rather than the opera world's more austere names — and signals TDO's intent to sell a challenging Czech repertoire staple on spectacle.

Mesak's Vixen leads a large ensemble. Baritone Zachary Nelson, mezzo-soprano Shannon Keegan, tenors Freddie Ballentine and Brian Calì, basses Andrew Harris and Brandon Cedel, and soprano Alyssa Dessoye join her in principal roles. Mezzo-sopranos Lindsay Ammann and Kayla Nanto, soprano Ashley Townsley, and tenor Johnny Brown round out the cast.

Emmanuel Villaume conducts. He leads the cast alongside The Dallas Opera Orchestra, the TDO Chorus, and the Greater Dallas Choral Society — a pairing of the company's own chorus with a major civic choral body that expands the vocal forces Janáček's score demands.

The 2026 run gives Dallas audiences a rare local encounter with an opera the company has touched only once before in the past quarter-century. For Kosky, whose production arrives in North America after building its reputation abroad, the Dallas dates will test whether the director's cinematic sensibility translates to American audiences at scale.

Performances take place Oct. 30 through Nov. 7, 2026.