The Houston Grand Opera has selected the finalists for the 31st annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias. This year’s finalists are Sopranos Anna Dugan, Yunuet Laguna, Elena Villalón, mezzo-soprano Katherine DeYoung, and tenor Angel Romero. Bass-baritone Nicholas Newton and Basses William Meinert and William Guanbo Su are also finalists. This year, the competition received 525 applications {…}
Baritone Alexander Birch Elliott is set to make his Houston Grand Opera debut when he replaces Mariusz Kwiecien in the company’s production of “The Pearl Fishers.” Per a press release, Kwiecien, who was set to take on the role of Zurga, has withdrawn “due to personal circumstances.” Elliott also replaced Kwiecien at the Met Opera’s recent revival of the work. {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2019-20 season which includes seven operas, including five new productions, one world premiere, and one company premiere. The season kicks off with Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in a new production by Tomer Zvulun. The famed Italian work will feature Brian Mulligan in the title role and Mané Galoyan and Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Gilda and the {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has chosen the semifinalists for the 31st annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias. This year’s semifinalists are sopranos Anna Dugan, Kathryn Henry, Yunuet Laguna, Rebecca Pedersen, Alexandra Razskazoff, and Elena Villalón; mezzo-sopranos Katherine DeYoung, and Mary Beth Nelson; and tenors Andres Acosta, Elliott Paige, and Angel Romero. Additionally, bass-baritone Nicholas Newton and basses William Meinert {…}
January is more than halfway done and a lot of companies are starting up again with unique performances. This week’s picks center on works composed in the 20th century and beyond, with one exception. Here’s the list (in alphabetical order by company). As One – Alamo City Opera For two nights (Saturday and Sunday), Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell, and Kimberly {…}
It’s National Opera Week, so as you can imagine, there are a ton of operas being offered this weekend. So we looked through and picked out the five we feel you have to see no matter what (in alphabetical order by company). You’ll notice that many are slowly but surely drawing to a close and this might just be your {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has announced that it will launch the children’s book, “The Armadillo’s Dream” in collaboration with HGOco. This is the company’s first-ever commissioned storybook. It was authored by HGOco Touring Programs Manager Dennis Arrowsmith, in his first book. Per a press release, the book “tells the story of Sandy, an armadillo whose fondest wish is to sing {…}
One of the most exciting companies around opens its doors on its 2018 season while another major company celebrates one of the musical titans of the 20th century. Those are just two of the five major picks this year. La Traviata – Opera Theatre of Saint Louis One of the biggest opera festivals in the US kicks off with the {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has named Eun Sun Kim the first principal guest conductor in 25 years. In a press release the company noted, “Eun Sun Kim seems to me a limitless talent at the outset of an important career as her music-making is elegant, effortless, precise, and deep. Her incredible facility with languages and ability to communicate with singers, both {…}
Plácido Domingo will return to the Houston Grand Opera to celebrate the reopening of the Wortham Theater Center The gala entitled “Coming Home: A concert celebrating the return to the Wortham Theater Center” will see Domingo return to Houston where 30 years ago, he celebrated the opening of the Wortham Theater Center with Verdi’s masterpiece “Aida,” starring as Radames. This time {…}
The great German soprano Lilli Lehmann once famously remarked that singing all three Brünnhildes in Wagner’s Ring Cycle , which equals about eight hours of singing, was less taxing than a single performance of Bellini’s “Norma.” Indeed, a great “Norma” certainly doesn’t grow on trees, and in any given generation there are maybe a handful of singers who can tackle {…}