LA TRAVIATA, LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR and More Set for Opera in the Heights' 2013-14 Season

Opera in the Heights' (Oh!) 2013-2014 season has been announced. Four of the most popular works in all of opera will come alive on the Oh! stage beginning this fall.

"A superb group of guest artists come to join our orchestra and chorus to render a fresh take on these four consummate jewels of the repertoire, opening with the last installment on our Verdi bicentennial celebration to be performed on the actual date of his birthday. Join us for this once-in-a-lifetime event," said Artistic Director Enrique Carreón-Robledo.

A new performance schedule will go into effect this season featuring two Sunday matinees for each opera, one in each performance week. Every production will still have seven performances, but now the first weekend will be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday matinee; and the second week will be Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday matinee.

The season opens with Verdi's La Traviata, a story of passionate love and heartbreaking sacrifice. Every nuance of emotion can be heard in the music. Look for age-appropriate singer/actors in these roles of the young Parisians pushing the boundaries of societal rules. Performances at 7:30 pm are October 4, 5, 10, 11, 12; October 6 and 13 are the 2:00 pm Sunday matinees.

In November Don Pasquale by Gaetano Donizetti bounds to the stage in all its bluster. This over-the-hill dandy thinks because he is rich, he will be able to marry a young woman and be happy. This comedy is played out to some of Donizetti's most high-spirited and tuneful music. Performance dates are November 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 at 7:30 pm; November 17 and 24 are the Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm.

Don Giovanni is the winter production. This selection is such a complete and perfect masterpiece of opera that it could only have sprung from Mozart's creative genius. It has riches of unique arias, duets, trio, etc. - so many it can hardly be absorbed at a first performance. And the story has everything: tragedy, comedy, high drama and hi-jinks, servants and masters, and a gravitational force at its center, Don Giovanni himself. Performance dates are January 31, February 1, 6, 7, 8 at 7:30 pm; February 2 and 9 are the Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm.

The season closes with Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, an opera brimming with emotional intensity. The epitome of the bel canto opera, the tunes and flourishes are endless, and the circumstances of the story are full of dramatic ups and downs as well. The story is heartbreaking and the music takes you there. Lucia takes the stage on March 28, 29, April 3, 4, 5 for 7:30 pm performances; and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm are March 30 and April 6.

Ticket prices for the prime seating section of the house have not increased from last season. Regular season tickets are $96 - $187. Senior subscription prices are $82 - $160. Student subscriptions (ID required) are also available for any performance night in limited seating areas for $34.

Single tickets will go on sale August 1. The prices are $28 - $55, tickets for seniors are $24 - $47 any time, and student tickets are $10 any time in limited seating areas. To buy tickets, visit www.operaintheheights.org or call 713-861-5303. Each evening performance starts at 7:30 p.m. and each matinee at 2:00 p.m. and all take place at Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Boulevard in the Houston Heights.

Opera in the Heights is a professional opera company that exists to provide a stage for emerging performers and to bring affordable opera to the Greater Houston Area. All operas are fully staged with orchestra and presented in the original language with English translation projected above the stage.