Moores Opera Center to World Premiere Hobson’s Choice
By Francisco SalazarThe University of Houston’s Moores Opera Center is set to produce the world premiere of a comic opera Tom Cipullo’s opera, “Hobson’s Choice.”
The opera is inspired by the classic 1915 play and is the first comedy from the composer. The work tells the story of a charming tale set in turn-of-the-century working-class Boston and focuses on the strong-willed Maggie Hobson. Fed up with her father’s refusal to let her or her sisters get married, she takes matters into her own hands.
In a statement, Cipullo said, “With a strong, business-savvy female character at its core, and with its message of defying convention, the play was far ahead of its time and, unsurprisingly, has thrived in other settings for a century. Operatic comedies are a risky business because no one can say for certain what is funny until the piece is before an audience. But a very productive public workshop of the piece at Moores in the spring of 2024 — and the great talent and timing of the young UH performers — has me optimistic that Houston audiences will enjoy themselves.”
The opera is double-cast, with Giselle Bautista and Chelseas DeLorenz as Maggie, John Allen Nelson and Micah Zimmerman as her father, Hobson, and Gabriel Chona Rueda and Grant Peck as her love interest, Will.
Jorge Parodi will conduct while the production be directed by Jefferson Ridenaur.
The opera runs Oct. 23-26, 2025, at the Moores Opera House on the University of Houston.
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