Houston Grand Opera News

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) Music Director Marin Alsop and the BSO present Mahler's epic Third Symphony on Thursday, January 29 at 8 p.m. and Friday, January 30 at 8 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and Saturday, January 31 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore. The vocal soloist for the fourth and fifth movements is American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World winner. The Baltimore Choral Arts Society Women's Chorus and Peabody's Children's Chorus join Marin Alsop, Ms. Barton and the BSO on this program. Please see below for complete program details.

Brian Jagde, one of the outstanding tenors of his generation with a burgeoning international career, will make his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut performing the role of the painter/revolutionary Mario Cavaradossi in Puccini's fiery melodrama Tosca Jan. 24-Feb. 5, Lyric's general director Anthony Freudannounced today. Jagde replaces the previously announced Ukrainian tenor Misha Didyk, who withdrew from the production for personal reasons.

Bayou City Concert Musicals will present the 2015 Kim Hupp Award to veteran Houston Producer/Actress Mitzi Wayne Weiss as part of its fundraising event, Something Wonderful: The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, January 24, 2015, at the Cullen Performance Hall of The University of St. Thomas, 4001 Mt. Vernon.

HOUSTON (January 8, 2014) – On January 23 and 25, the Houston Symphony will present a semi-staged production of Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, under the baton of Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Directed by Lloyd Wood, whose opera credits include the revival production of Don Giovanniconducted by Orozco-Estrada at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, the program will feature international soloists as well as a chorus drawn from the vocal program at The University of Houston's Moores School of Music, prepared by Dr. Betsy Cook Weber, Director of Choral Studies at the Moores School. The Symphony's first Opera in Concert under the leadership of Orozco-Estrada will be the first of many large-scale productions that will become a hallmark of Orozco-Estrada's tenure.

On Saturday, January 17, 2015 Houston Ballet's documentary Houston Ballet: Breaking Boundaries will air on KPRC Channel 2 from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley and Music Director Nicola Luisotti today announced the Company's 2015-16 season repertory and roster of international and critically acclaimed guest artists, conductors and creative teams scheduled to appear at the War Memorial Opera House.

Serrano NY, LLC is thrilled to present the World Premiere of SERRANO THE MUSICAL, book and lyrics by Madeline Sunshine, music by Robert Tepper, musical direction by Jeff Rizzo (Sunset Blvd. The Wizard of Oz), choreography by Tony nominee Peggy Hickey (A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder) and directed by Tony nominee Joel Zwick (Dance With Me, 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding').

HOUSTON – On Saturday, January 17, 2015 Houston Ballet's documentary Houston Ballet: Breaking Boundaries will air on KPRC Channel 2 from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m. The 85 minute documentary travels through the rich history of Houston Ballet starting with the city's budding interest in ballet in the 1930s and continues to the present. The film traces the directorships of each of Houston Ballet's five artistic directors since the company's founding in 1955. In the documentary, the voices of many key players, including not only the artistic directors but dancers, board leaders, and dance critics who helped propel Houston Ballet to its current international stature. The documentary had its world premiere at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival in November 2013 with wonderful success and demands for additional showings.

After a resoundingly successful fall season and the launch of its new holiday opera series with the world premiere of Iain Bell and Simon Callow's A Christmas Carol, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) rings in 2015 with two beloved productions: a reprise of Michael Grandage's knockout staging of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, which triumphed at its 2010 Houston debut, and the American premiere of Sir Nicholas Hytner's iconic English National Opera staging of Mozart's The Magic Flute in a revival directed by Ian Rutherford.

Maestro Nicholas McGegan and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) will ring in the New Year with a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 today, January 2 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, January 4 at 3 p.m. at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall and Saturday, January 3 at 8 p.m. at The Music Center at Strathmore. McGegan will lead the Orchestra in Beethoven's final symphony with the well-known "Ode to Joy," along with Beethoven's rarely performed Opferlied, his King Stephen Overture and Haydn's The Storm. Please see below for complete details.

It seems only fitting that in its efforts to introduce a musical form as grown-up as the opera to younger audiences, that the Kennedy Center has picked for this holiday season the children's classic THE LITTLE PRINCE, a story all about grown-ups trying to understand children trying to understand grown-ups. As the author's original dedication reads, 'All grown-ups were children first,' and in this family friendly production, the Kennedy Center has put forward something for the grown-up and the child in all of us.

The Philadelphia Orchestra's conductor-in-residence, Cristian Macelaru, replaces Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos for three concerts on March 12, 13, and 14 at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Fruhbeck, who last season celebrated conducting more than 150 concerts with the Orchestra in Philadelphia, passed away in June.

Houston Grand Opera is proud to present The Magic Flute, one of two Mozart offerings for the 2014–15 season. From the coloratura pyrotechnics of the Queen of the Night to Pamina's anguished lament, to the comic love duet of Papageno and Papagena, Mozart's genius is evident as the music in The Magic Flute illustrates his unique and profound understanding of humanity. The Magic Flute marks the American premiere of Sir Nicholas Hytner's iconic English National Opera staging, in a revival directed by Ian Rutherford.

CHICAGO – Lyric Opera of Chicago presents the fiery melodrama Tosca by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) conducted by Dmitri Jurowski in a new production by John Caird. It opens on Saturday, January 24 with 10 performances through Saturday, March 14. Performance dates are Jan. 24, 27, Feb. 2, 27, Mar. 3, 14 at 7:30pm; and Jan. 30, Feb. 5, Mar. 8, 11 at 2pm.

Lyric Opera of Chicago presents the fiery melodrama Tosca by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) conducted by Dmitri Jurowski in a new production by John Caird. It opens on Saturday, January 24 with 10 performances through Saturday, March 14. Performance dates are Jan. 24, 27, Feb. 2, 27, Mar. 3, 14 at 7:30pm; and Jan. 30, Feb. 5, Mar. 8, 11 at 2pm.

Our interviewee is the beloved British actor and Dickens authority Simon Callow. He has mastered the stage but also appeared in Dr. Who (fittingly as Charles Dickens). In his lengthy acting career, he has acted in television, theatre, and film. At the moment, he is the librettist and director for Houston Grand Opera's A CHRISTMAS CAROL and the best person to we can discuss this fresh, modern take on the beloved Christmas story with.

Richard Wagner's Die Walküre is opera at its most epic with incredible vocal demands, a 110-piece orchestra and a story about gods and mortals, all played out to one of opera's most powerful and iconic scores. This immense work returns to the Canadian Opera Company this winter with a critically acclaimed production by renowned Canadian directorAtom Egoyan, with COC Music DirectorJohannes Debus conducting, and one of the most hotly anticipated role debuts of the opera world this season: Grammy Award-winning soprano Christine Goerke as the Valkyrie Brünnhilde. Die Walküre is sung in German with English SURTITLESTM and runs for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on January 31,February 4, 7, 10, 13, 19, 22, 2015.

Richard Wagner's Die Walküre is opera at its most epic with incredible vocal demands, a 110-piece orchestra and a story about gods and mortals, all played out to one of opera's most powerful and iconic scores. This immense work returns to the Canadian Opera Company this winter with a critically acclaimed production by renowned Canadian director Atom Egoyan, with COC Music Director Johannes Debus conducting, and one of the most hotly anticipated role debuts of the opera world this season: Grammy Award-winning soprano Christine Goerke as the Valkyrie Brünnhilde. Die Walküre is sung in German with English SURTITLESTM and runs for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on January 31, February 4, 7, 10, 13, 19, 22, 2015.

You'll still find atmospheric Victorian sets by scenic designer Tony Straiges, Alejo Vietti's elaborate ornate costumes, and dramatic sound design by John Gromada. The plot change does not unfairly ground or overly explicate this ghost drama. That's what I'm here for.

North Carolina Opera is thrilled to bring a cutting-edge opera experience to Triangle patrons this January with Approaching Ali, a 50-minute contemporary chamber opera. In his operatic debut, Richmond-based composer D.J. Sparr's Approaching Ali stunned and delighted Kennedy Center audiences last year in a performance that the Washington Times called “intensely emotional.”