Houston Grand Opera has announced its first annual “HGO Family Day.” Scheduled for Nov. 9, 2024 at Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theater, the 90-minute event will feature a performance of Rossini’s “Cenerentola” directed by mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard. “It was important to us to invite not only a leading opera star, but a mother, to direct our first-ever Family Day,” said {…}
Houston Grand Opera has announced that it will present a series of free summer programs for children. There will be two types of programs. First up is “Sing! Move! Play!” which allows children to interact with some of the most famous works in the repertory through singing, movement, and creative play. They will engage with such works as “The Marriage {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2024-25 season. The season opens with Verdi’s “Il Trovatore“ starring Michael Spyres, Ailyn Perez, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Lucas Meachem, and Morris Robinson. Patrick Summers conducts the production by Stephen Wadsworth. Performance Dates: Oct. 18-Nov. 3, 2024 Isabel Leonard leads Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” with Jack Swanson, Alessandro Corbelli, Iurii Samoilov, and Cory McGee. Lorenzo Passerini {…}
The Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2024-25 Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio Artists. Here is a run down of the first-year artists: Alissa Goretsky, soprano Elizabeth “Hanje,” soprano Shawn Roth, tenor Sam Dhobhany, bass-baritone Ziniu Zhao, bass-baritone Laura Bleakley, pianist/coach Jenny Choo, pianist/coach There are also four returning artists: Ani Kushyan, mezzo-soprano Michael McDermott, tenor Demetrious Sampson, Jr., tenor Navasard Hakobyan, baritone “Thanks to extraordinary support {…}
The Houston Grand Opera and True Tickets have announced a landmark partnership that will introduce a state-of-the-art digital ticket delivery solution that is designed to enhance convenience and security for opera enthusiasts. The new approach will streamline the ticketing process and will also address the challenges of ticket reselling and fraud. The Houston Grand Opera will utilize a convenient and secure {…}
(Credit: Michael Bishop) Houston Grand Opera has announced the winners of its 2024 Concert of Arias. First place went to Elizabeth Hanje, who takes home a $10,000 cash prize. Bass-baritone Ziniu Zhao was the recipient of second prize and $5,000, while Alissa Goretsky took home third place and $3,000. The Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award went to Sam Dhobhany, while {…}
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has announced the finalists for its 2024 Concert of Arias. The finalists include soprano Alissa Goretsky, soprano Elizabeth “Hanje,” soprano Jouelle Roberson, soprano Jazmine Saunders, tenor Rafael Rojas, bass-baritone Sam Dhobhany, bass-baritone Ziniu Zhao, and bass Edwin Jhamaal Davis. “There is nothing more important to us at HGO than our annual search for the world’s finest emerging artists. {…}
(Photo credit: John Matthew Myers) Houston Grand Opera and the Asia Society Texas announced their co-production of the world premiere of Meilina Tsui and Melisa Tien’s opera “The Big Swim.” The new opera weaves together Eastern and Western cultures, with Tsui’s score incorporating opera buffa, Peking and Cantonese opera, Gregorian chants, American and Asian pop music, animated musicals, and more. {…}
Houston Grand Opera has announced that it is partnering with Apple Music Classical. Under this new agreement, Apple Music will release numerous historic and contemporary recordings by the company with the first release being the 2011 production of “Dead Man Walking” starring Joyce DiDonato and Frederica Von Stade. The recording was originally released by Erato / Warner Classics, but has {…}
Photo: Michael Bishop Houston Grand Opera’s season premiere, “Intelligence,” is not just another opera to take in – it’s an experience to be absorbed. It masterfully fulfills art’s big-picture role: sparking dialogues and bridging emotional divides, even when the discussions are challenging and the ties seem broken. This riveting work is realized through the collective genius of composer Jake Heggie, {…}
(Photo credit: Adrien Coquet) Dr. Caitlin Vincent (University of Melbourne) and Dr. Amanda Coles (Deakin University) have published their findings on the gender inequality and the impacts of non-standard work in the US opera industry. The team tracked women’s representation as conductors, directors, and designers at the 11 largest opera companies in the United States – the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe {…}