Mercury Chamber Orchestra opens its 2019-2020 Season on Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 8 p.m. at the Wortham Center with an energetic and lively night of music featuring Antonio Vivaldi's L'estro armonico. Under the direction of Artistic Director Antoine Plante, the orchestra will perform selections from Vivaldi's influential set of concerti grossi as well as the Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor (RV 531) and Concerto for Strings in G minor (RV 152).
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) announces that HGOco, its education and community engagement initiative, is the winner of a bronze 2019 Telly Award in the Arts & Culture Category for "Boundless," Episode 1 of the company's innovative Star-Cross'd. web series. "Boundless" was based on "I Can Die Now," a true story by Houstonian Aryana Rose that first aired on The Moth and is one of the most-listened-to segments in The Moth's history.
On Saturday, February 23, Ars Lyrica Houston surpassed its previous fundraising record at its magical loved-themed A Mid-Winter Night's Dream Gala which also included a surprise wedding! This gala, honoring Dr. Sippi Khurana and chaired by Stephanie von Stein and Dr. Mark A. Schusterman, took place at the modern luxury Hotel Alessandra in downtown Houston. Gala proceeds support Ars Lyrica's biennial Baroque opera productions, which began in Fall 2018 with Handel's Agrippina at the Hobby Center, a production that played to rave reviews.
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present its 2019-20 season with a broad repertoire of operas in productions that have never been seen by Houston audiences. The 65th season will open October 18, 2019, with Verdi's classic Rigoletto. Tomer Zvulun returns to direct the season opener after successfully opening the 2018-19 season with his production of The Flying Dutchman. American baritone Brian Mulligan sings his first Rigoletto leading an outstanding cast filled with renowned HGO Studio alumni, including Mexican tenor Arturo Chacon-Cruz as the Duke of Mantua and Armenian soprano Mane Galoyan as Gilda. Paired with Rigoletto is the North American premiere of the dramatic oratorio Saul in a much-lauded and imaginative production by Barrie Kosky. Christopher Purves returns to the title role after his celebrated performance at the Glyndebourne Festival and is joined by countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen and Korean soprano Pureum Jo, both HGO Studio alumni.
Leading from the harpsichord, Artistic Director Matthew Dirst joins returning soloists Dominique McCormick (soprano), Cecilia Duarte (mezzo-soprano), and Brian Shircliffe (baritone) and the Ars Lyrica ensemble for Scherzi musicali on Friday, Februrary 15, 2019 at 7:30 pm in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The jovial Valentine program explores the delicious colors of love in Claudio Monteverdi's comical vocal work, Scherzi musicali ( musical jokes ).
Ars Lyrica Houston's A Mid-Winter Night's Dream Gala, honoring Dr. Sippi Khurana and chaired by Stephanie von Stein and Dr. Mark A. Schusterman will take place on Saturday, February 23, 2019 at the modern luxury Hotel Alessandra in downtown Houston. This event supports Ars Lyrica's biennial Baroque opera productions, which begin this fall with Handel's Agrippina at the Hobby Center on November 16 and 18. The February gala begins at 6:30 pm with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and continues with a spirited musical performance by mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte, lutenist Aresh Noori, and percussionist Jesus Pacheco, with remarks by Artistic Director Matthew Dirst. The Hotel Alessandra's continental European cuisine restaurant Lucienne will serve dinner on a wintry whimsical theme. This glamourous evening concludes with an upbeat 'after-party' with dancing and drinks. Expect surprises around every corner!
Houston Chamber Choir has just been signed to Signum Classics, a highly prestigious British record label which will release the company's fifth CD in April 2019 featuring the complete choral works of 20th century French composer Maurice Duruflé with renowned organist Ken Cowan of Rice University. Signum Classics is one of the United Kingdom's leading independent classical labels and home to diverse and eclectic repertoire by some of the finest artists and singers from around the world.
At a time when our nation is wrestling with tough questions about immigration, Houston Grand Opera is bringing back its bilingual production of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna / To Cross the Face of the Moon, a moving story that chronicles the joys and struggles of three generations of a family divided between countries and cultures through the rich melodies of mariachi. HGO presents three special performances on May 17, 19, and 20 in the HGO Resilience Theater at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Composed by Jose 'Pepe' Martinez with libretto by Leonard Foglia and known as the world's first mariachi opera, Cruzar has been performed to audiences around the world, including in New York City in January 2018. HGO's production will feature the Grammy Award-winning Mariachi Los Camperos. Tickets for these productions at the HGO Resilience Theater in the George R. Brown Convention Center are available at HGO.org. Parking is available at the Avenida North Garage located at 1815 Rusk Street, across from Resilience Theater. A sky bridge connects the parking garage to the GRB, and clear signage directs patrons to the theater. More information about parking can be found here.
Ars Lyrica Houston, the Grammy-nominated early music ensemble, announces its 2018/19 season: Out of the Box: Celebrating Ambition & Innovation. Ars Lyrica Houston takes on its first full-length Baroque opera with Handel's Agrippina plus the complete "Brandenburg" Concertos by J. S. Bach. Artistic Director Matthew Dirst has created a program "that highlights composers and works that are exceptional, definitive, unusual, even infamous." With Bach's six concertos appearing in pairs throughout the season, individual programs explore distinct ways of thinking about the general theme, from unexpected musical gifts to singular collections and composers.
Ars Lyrica Houston presents the Artful Women season finale with A Day with Marie Antoinette on Saturday, May 19th at 7:30 pm in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The musical program will conjure up an artful day chez France's most famous queen, from intimate morning music lessons to a spectacular evening concert. By turns rustic and elegant, this program offers a violin concerto by Marie Antoinette's music teacher Joseph Bologne (the Chevalier de Saint-Georges), a Mozart flute quartet, a dance suite from Gluck's Orphee et Eurydice, and Haydn's "Paris" Symphony No. 85, subtitled "The Queen."
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) invites audiences to explore 21st-century opera viewing with Star Cross'd, a new streaming series of short opera films based on true personal experiences with Romeo and Juliet themes.
Houston Grand Opera presents Bernstein's West Side Story (April 20 - May 6), Bellini's Norma (April 27 - May 11), and return of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (May 17, 19, 20) at HGO Resilience Theater World's first mariachi opera returns after New York triumph Houston, January 29, 2018 - Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will present the first major American opera house production of Leonard Bernstein ' s landmark musical West Side Story, April 20 - May 6, and Bellini's vocal powerhouse Norma, April 27 - May 11, in the HGO Resil i ence Theater at the George R. Brown Convention Center.
In many areas of the arts in New York, January is a quiet month. But in the opera world, the last few weeks certainly have been jumping. It has also been a fine time for asking 'What is an Opera?' For me, January started with Prototype 2018's ACQUANETTA and ended this past weekend--with many in between--with New York City Opera's 'first mariachi opera,' CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA (TO CROSS THE FACE OF THE MOON).
Following the success of its fall productions of Puccini's beloved La Fanciulla del West and the New York premiere of Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne, New York City Opera continues the 2017/2018 season in January 2018 with the New York premiere of Jos 'Pepe' Mart nez and Leonard Foglia's Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the world's first mariachi opera.
Following the success of its fall productions of Puccini's beloved La Fanciulla del West and the New York premiere of Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne, New York City Opera continues the 2017/2018 season in January 2018 with the New York premiere of Jos 'Pepe' Mart nez and Leonard Foglia's Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, the world's first mariachi opera.
Celebrate the beauty and warmth of the holiday season with an enticing array of traditional carols and music with Houston's premiere period instrument ensemble, Mercury, and their acclaimed guest singers - all with strong ties to the Houston area.
Ars Lyrica Houston presents the second Artful Women season concert, Italian Sirens in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 6:00pm.
Mercury Artistic Director Antoine Plante and Executive Director Brian Ritter announced the orchestra's seventeenth season today. Beginning August 31, 2017, and featuring a vibrant mix of composers from various countries and a diverse range of works, the 2017-18 season offers something for music lovers of all ages.
Ars Lyrica early music ensemble brings history to life Ars Lyrica Houston Announces FUN & FREE Performances for the Entire Family throughout May! Throughout May, early music ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston brings history to life with several fun, educational, and free performances suitable for the entire family.
Ars Lyrica Houston, the Grammy-nominated early music ensemble, announces its 2017/18 season: Artful Women: Muse, Heroine, Musician, and Patron features a wide range of musical works by, for, and about women.
