Houston Grand Opera News

The Dallas Opera's explosive second production of the 2014-2015 "Heights of Passion" Season is SALOME by Richard Strauss (whose libretto was based on Hedwig Lachmann's German translation of Oscar Wilde's play). SALOME, generally regarded as one of the masterpieces of the Late Romantic Era, opens on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. in theMargot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center located in the Dallas Arts District.

Broadway stars Nat Chandler (Scarlet Pimpernel, The Phantom of The Opera) and Teri Dale Hansen (Boys from Syracuse, Show Boat) will be appearing with the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra (under conductor Dr. Jacob Chi) in MANCINI AND MOONLIGHT tonight, October 4th at 7:30pm in Hoag Recital Hall on the campus of Colorado State University -- Pueblo.

San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley and San Francisco Opera Association President Keith Geeslin today announced that Gockley will retire in July 2016, concluding a ten-year, seven-month tenure with the Company and capping an internationally acclaimed and award-winning career spanning 44 years as one of America's most prominent opera impresarios. Gockley, who will be 73 at the end of the 2015–16 season, became the Company's sixth general director when he joined San Francisco Opera in January 2006. Today's announcement was made at a War Memorial Opera House press conference.

Anthony Freud, general director of Lyric Opera Chicago, today announced the artists for El Pasado Nunca Se Termina (The Past Is Never Finished), the new mariachi opera commissioned by Lyric Unlimited that has its world premiere in Chicago in March 2015.

The Holocaust Museum Houston joins with the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra on Sunday, October 19 to present an evening of music and discussion regarding the failed attempts to repress the creative spirit of Jewish artists during the era of Nazi Germany. The event includes an informative discussion about the work of degenerate artists in the areas of art, theater, film, fashion and music. The ROCO Wind Trio will then perform several selections from some of these composers during an event titled Regeneration: The Triumph of Music and Art.

Paper Mill Playhouse will open its 2014-2015 season with a Broadway-bound, world-class revival of Can-Can starring Kate Baldwin as Pistache and Jason Danieley as Aristide. Can-Can will play the Millburn, New Jersey, theater from tonight, October 1 through October 26, 2014. The official press opening night is Sunday, October 5, at 7:00pm.

Broadway stars Nat Chandler (Scarlet Pimpernel, The Phantom of The Opera) and Teri Dale Hansen (Boys from Syracuse, Show Boat) will be appearing with the Pueblo Symphony Orchestra (under conductor Dr. Jacob Chi) in MANCINI AND MOONLIGHT Saturday, October 4th at 7:30pm in Hoag Recital Hall on the campus of Colorado State University -- Pueblo.

Mozart's final opera, Die Zauberflöte, returns to the Met October 6 for its first full-length performances in German in five seasons. Julie Taymor's imaginative production will be conducted by Adam Fischer and star English tenor Toby Spence as the hero Tamino; South African soprano Pretty Yende as the princess Pamina in her first Met performances since her star-making 2013 company debut; Macedonian soprano Ana Durlovski in her Met debut as Pamina's mother, the terrifying Queen of the Night; Austrian baritone Markus Werba as Papageno, the hapless birdcatcher who is caught up in Tamino's quest; American bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the mysterious Speaker of the Temple; and German bass René Pape as the Queen of the Night's nemesis, Sarastro.

San Francisco Opera Center Director Sheri Greenawald announced today the twelve recipients of the 2015 Adler Fellowship, a multi-year performance-oriented residency offering advanced young artists intensive individual training, coaching, and professional seminars, as well as a wide range of performance opportunities. Adler Fellows are selected from the young artists who have participated in the Merola Opera Program.

Disguised lovers, tricky servants, and well-meaning parents cross and double-cross one another in Carlo Goldoni's 18th century slapstick filled, comic gem. The characters' search for a happy ending depends entirely on the wily servant Truffaldino, who is constantly on the lookout for a decent meal. Truffaldino's attempt to double his wages by being the servant to two masters unravels with delicious mayhem.

Washington National Opera (WNO) opens its 2014-2015 season with the company premiere of Daniel Cata?n and Marcela Fuentes-Berain's Florencia in the Amazon, today, September 20-28 in the Kennedy Center Opera House.

The New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera, the only grand opera company in Bergen County, New Jersey, concludes its 25th anniversary season, Vive la France, with Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème. Artistic Director Lucine Amara announced the cast that will perform Puccini's renowned, romantic score on Sundays, October 19 and 26, 3:00 p.m., at the Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC), located at 30 North Van Brunt Street, in Englewood, New Jersey.

Skylight Music Theatre is creating a new production of Rossini's classic opera La Cenerentola. The production runs today, September 19th through October 5th in the Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center (158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee WI).

Founder and Artistic Director Nicole Paiement has announced details of Opera Parallèle's 2014--2015 season, which will feature the premiere of a new production of Jake Heggie's acclaimed Dead Man Walking--marking the 15th anniversary of one of the most widely performed operas of the 21st century--and the U.S. premiere of vibrant composer Tarik O'Regan's Heart of Darkness. Both operas, based on significant literary works, plumb the depths of human emotion, resilience, fortitude, hope and redemption, making them ideal subjects for the operatic stage and for Opera Parallèle's brand of story-telling and rich exploration of the human experience in provocative and intense stagings. Both original Opera Parallèle productions will be led by Paiement on the podium, with production design and direction by Opera Parallèle Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel and members of the creative team responsible for OP's acclaimed productions of Orphée, The Great Gatsby, Ainadamar, and Trouble in Tahiti.

Pioneer Theatre Company presents the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, tonight, September 12 through 27, 2014.

American Opera Projects and LivelyWorks present Two Premieres and a Reunion, a special evening of music by composer Conrad Cummings tonight, September 10th, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. at The National Opera Center, 330 Seventh Avenue, Manhattan.

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents An Evening with Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pe?rez, featuring the celebrated husband-and-wife stars of last season's production of The Elixir of Love, tonight, September 10, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Accompanied on piano by Danielle Orlando, Costello and Pe?rez will perform songs, arias, and duets from popular works by Verdi, Puccini, Hahn, Tosti, Falla, Heggie, and more.