Photo Flash: First Look at San Francisco Opera's TOSCA
San Francisco Opera unveils a new production of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca on Wednesday, October 3, with a cast led by Italian soprano Carmen Giannattasio in her Company and role debuts as Tosca, tenor Brian Jagde as Cavaradossi and baritone Scott Hendricks as Baron Scarpia with conductor Leo Hussain leading the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus in his first performances with the Company. Puccini's monumental work, which has a distinguished history at San Francisco Opera, will be staged by American director Shawna Lucey with new sets and costumes designed by Robert Innes Hopkins and built entirely in San Francisco Opera's scenic and costume shops.
Houston Grand Opera Announces Winter Repertory, NIXON IN CHINA, VIVALDI
In the fall of 1987, Houston Grand Opera's world premiere of Nixon in China made political headlines and galvanized the opera world. Thirty years later, John Adams's trailblazing opera returns in a new-to-Houston production that sheds light on the electronic media's role in political history, just as a new media-savvy American president takes office.
Houston Grand Opera Marks NIXON IN CHINA 30th Anniversary
In the fall of 1987, Houston Grand Opera's world premiere of Nixon in China made political headlines and galvanized the opera world. Thirty years later, John Adams's trailblazing opera returns in a new-to-Houston production that sheds light on the electronic media's role in political history, just as a new media-savvy American president takes office.
Houston Grand Opera Opens 2016�"17 Season with THE ELIXIR OF LOVE and FAUST
Donizetti's ebullient comedy The Elixir of Love sets a celebratory tone as Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 62nd season opener on October 21. The colorful production features tenor Dimitri Pittas and soprano Nicole Heaston, as well as the HGO debut of eminent English conductor Jane Glover. Performances run through November 4.
AMERICAN MADE TOUR with Lee Brice & Justin Moore Goes On Sale
Lee Brice and Justin Moore, two of country music's most dynamic performers, will ring in 2017 with their co-headlined "American Made" tour rolling into Atlanta, GA at the Fox Theatre. William Michael Morgan rounds out the show on Saturday, January 21st . Tickets go on-sale Friday, October 14th and are available at the Fox Theatre Ticket Office, by phone at 855-285-8499, and online at www.FoxTheatre.org.
Houston Grand Opera 2016/2017 Season Update
Houston Grand Opera will present four pinnacles of the operatic repertoire during the company's 2016-17 season, which also features the highly anticipated world premiere of It's a Wonderful Life by composer Jake Heggie with libretto by Gene Scheer, and much-loved comedies by Donizetti and Mozart. Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers will lead Gotterdammerung, the final installment of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, featuring a new generation of leading Wagnerians includingSimon O'Neill as Siegfried and Christine Goerke as Brunnhilde. HGO will bring back its popular production of Gounod's Faust, with the HGO debut of international star tenor Michael Fabiano in the title role partnered by Houston favorite Ana Maria Martinez as Marguerite, along with the role debut of prominent bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni as Mephistopheles. The company will celebrate the 30thanniversary of HGO's world premiere of John Adams's pivotal Nixon in China by presenting James Robinson's production, of which HGO is a co-producer, with HGO Studio alumnus Scott Hendricks as Richard Nixon and soprano Andriana Chuchman as his wife, Pat. Patrick Summers will conduct Verdi'sthrilling Requiem, which critics at the time termed "an opera in ecclesiastical robes," with soloists Angela Meade, soprano, in her HGO debut; Sasha Cooke, alto; Alexey Dolgov, tenor; and Peixin Chen, bass; and the HGO Orchestra and Chorus. HGO's 62nd season will open with a whimsical production of Donizetti's buoyant The Elixir of Love, featuring tenor Dimitri Pittas as Nemorino and HGO Studio alumna Nicole Heaston as Adina and led by the eminent English conductor Jane Glover, HGO's 2016-17 Lynn Wyatt Great Artist, in her first HGO appearance. Mozart's zany yet deeply emotive comedy TheAbduction from the Seraglio-featuring Russian coloratura soprano and HGO Studio alumna Albina Shagimuratova as Konstanze and leading American tenor Lawrence Brownlee as Belmonte in HGO's inventive 2002 co-production-will close the main-stage season.
Houston Grand Opera Releases Schedule of Events for 2015-16 Season
Houston, January 29, 2015-Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2015-16 season showcases the vibrant and diverse artistic mix that marks HGO as a leading 21st-century American opera company: Wagner's Siegfried, the third installment of La Fura dels Baus's imaginative Ring cycle featuring a new generation of Wagnerians; the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Prince of Players; Dvo?ak's fairy tale rarity Rusalka; a holiday revival of family favorite The Little Prince from the award-winning composer Rachel Portman and librettist Nicholas Wright; a new production of The Marriage of Figaro and a new-to-Houston Eugene Onegin; a beloved core production, Tosca; and the Houston debut of Broadway sensation Rob Ashford's take on the classic musical Carousel. Through its community collaboration program HGOco, the company will present two additional world premieres: O Columbia, a chamber opera by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Royce Vavrek that examines the past, present, and future of the American spirit of exploration; and another chamber opera, by composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, about the impact of hurricanes on the Texas Gulf coast.
BWW Reviews: Houston Grand Opera's AIDA is Spellbinding and Sumptuous
Giuseppe Verdi's 1871 opera AIDA is a worldwide phenomenon. It has been adapted into several films, Elton John and Tim Rice adapted it into a Broadway musical with the same title, and, as of 2007, New York City's Metropolitan Opera has given over 1,100 performances of the opera, making it their second most frequently produced work. Oozing with spectacle and pageantry, Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) current production of the beloved opera is a spellbinding and sumptuous beginning to their new season.
Houston Grand Opera to 2013-14 Season with AIDA Tonight
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) opens its 2013-14 season tonight with a revival of its classic production of Verdi's Aida. The production, which runs through November 9, is conducted by Italian maestro Antonino Fogliani and stars the National Opera of Ukraine's Liudmyla Monastyrska as Aida, the role that garnered her critical acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera last year. The New York Times described Monastyrska in her U.S. debut in the title role as "gifted with a luscious round soprano that maintains its glow even in the softest notes." Mezzo Dolora Zajick returns to one of her signature roles, Amneris; Italian tenor Riccardo Massi sings Radames; and Texas baritone and HGO Studio alumnus Scott Hendricks sings Aida's father, Amonasro. The production is designed by British designer Zandra Rhodes, directed by Jose Maria Condemi, and choreographed by Dominic Walsh in the inaugural collaboration between HGO and Walsh's Houston-based Dominic Walsh Dance Theater.
Houston Grand Opera Announces 2013-2014 Season, Including Favorites Like Sondheim as Well as World Premiere Pieces
Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2013-14 season includes the launch of the company's first Ring cycle, in a visionary and captivating production by the Catalan company La Fura dels Baus; the hotly anticipated American premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Holocaust opera The Passenger; the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's A Coffin in Egypt, based on the play of the same name by renowned Texas writer Horton Foote and starring iconic mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade; a new HGO production of Carmenfrom Broadway sensation Rob Ashford; revivals of Aida, Rigoletto, and Die Fledermaus; and, in tribute to the nation's homegrown musical theater tradition, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music designed by fashion star Isaac Mizrahi. Through its HGOco Song of Houston project-winner of the National MultiCultural Institute's Leading Lights Diversity Award-the company continues to celebrate Houston's cultural diversity with the world premieres of two new commissions exploring the city's Vietnamese and Indian communities as part of the East + West series.