Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information. Fort Worth Opera artistic director has resigned FWO’s Afton Battle has announced her resignation. (Courtesy photo) On Tuesday, the Fort Worth Opera (FWO) announced that Afton Battle has resigned as General and Artistic Director.
Her last day will be Nov. 23. Upon joining the FWO in 2020, Battle helped usher in a new era at the organization while adapting to the ongoing pandemic challenges.
She was the first woman and the first African American to lead the opera company in the state of Texas. During her tenure, she launched new programming and civic engagement initiatives that helped to increase Fort Worth Opera’s outreach efforts.
She also work to build an intentional practice of inclusion that would reflect the diverse Fort Worth community. Among her notable achievements are the creation and annual production of A Night of Black Excellence; the return of Noches de Ópera, FWO’s Hispanic Heritage engagement initiative; the development of FWOGO!