Houston Symphony Opens Season with Opera Star

The Houston Symphony's 2017-18 Opening Night Concert will be headlined by Grammy Award winner Susan Graham at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 9, at Jones Hall. The program will be led by guest conductor Gustavo Gimeno and will feature arias from Graham's signature opera roles and favorites showtunes, including songs from My Fair Lady and The King and I.

A native of Midland, Texas, and a Texas Tech University graduate, Graham made a name for herself within just a few years of her professional debut. Dubbed "America's favorite mezzo" by Gramophone magazine, the renowned star has released a series of opera and solo recordings, including Ives: Concord Sonata, which earned a 2004 Grammy Award. Gimeno is music director of the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and will also conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam and Philharmonia Zurich this season.

The Opening Night Gala at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts will immediately follow the concert and will include a multi-course meal by Jackson and Company and music from Sharon Montgomery & Friends. Concert and gala tickets are sold separately. For more information or to purchase a ticket or table, please call (713) 337-8520.

The concert will take place at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, 615 Louisiana Street, in Houston's Theater District. For tickets and information, please call (713) 224-7575 or visit www.houstonsymphony.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center in Jones Hall (Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). All programs and artists are subject to change.