Houston Grand Opera News

Named for the groundbreaking African American contralto, the Marian Anderson Vocal Award recognizes a young American singer in opera, oratorio, or recital repertoire with outstanding promise for a significant career. Washington National Opera (WNO) named bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green as the 2018 recipient earlier this year and is pleased to present him in concert on Thursday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. Tickets are $39.

Winner of 19 major accolades, including multiple Tony, Olivier and Drama Desk Awards, Stephen Daldry's (Billy Elliot, The Crown) multi award-winning production of J.B. Priestley's classic thriller An Inspector Calls will kick off a four-city U.S. tour at Shakespeare Theatre Company from November 20 through December 23, 2018.

"The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death." So said Oscar Wilde's Salome, anticipating the theme running through all six of the works that make up The Atlanta Opera's 2018-19 season. The six are linked also by their novelty, for under the leadership of Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun, Atlanta's new season consists entirely of stagings conceived over the past few years. Created in collaboration with leading opera companies from around the world, four are ambitious mainstage productions: the blockbuster musical West Side Story, 19th-century classics Eugene Onegin and La traviata, and the Southeast premiere of Dead Man Walking, a major 21st-century addition to the canon. Rounding out the season, Charlie Parker's Yardbird and Maria de Buenos Aires will be presented in the Discoveries series, which breaks down barriers between artists and their audience by providing authentic, intimate and immersive experiences in nontraditional spaces. The winner of a "Best of Atlanta" award from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and an International Opera Award nomination, the series represents one of the many innovations behind the company's current wave of extraordinary creative and economic resurgence.

The traditional Christmas staple of Charles Dickens' much loved A Christmas Carol, returns this festive season to the West End stage starring Simon Callow, running at the Arts Theatre for a strictly limited season from 8 December to 12 January.

Big Dipper Productions will present an industry reading of ALL DRESSED UP AND NOWHERE TO GO on Friday, October 12 at Pearl Studios.

Ted Sperling, Artistic Director of MasterVoices, announced details of the acclaimed ensemble's 77th season, celebrating the power of the human voice to unite, inspire and connect since 1941. The upcoming season will be framed by two major musical events, the New York premiere of a multi-media version of Handel's oratorioIsrael in Egypt performed at Carnegie Hall, and a new adaptation of the Kurt Weill-Ira Gershwin-Moss Hart avant-garde musical, Lady in the Dark, starring Victoria Clark at New York City Center. Lady in the Dark has not been seen in New York since it was presented at New York City Center in 1994 as part of the inaugural Encores! season.

Multi-genre recording artist Damien Sneed, a Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, joins the acclaimed staff of the Houston Grand Opera (HGOco) as Music Director and Composer in Residence. As such, Sneed will work on new commission projects, compose a new work for HGOco, and serve as cover conductor for HGO mainstage productions under Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director.

Puccini's La Bohème, the most-performed opera in Met history, returns to the repertory in the opening week of the 2018-19 season, with 11 performances of Franco Zeffirelli's beloved production from September 25. Initial performances feature three much anticipated Met debuts

The relationship between a mother and her teenage daughter can be sheer Hell - especially if that daughter is a Greek goddess with a taste for the Underworld.

As part of National Arts-in-Education Week, the Houston Arts Partners Conference will be held on Sept. 14 and 15, 2018, at the Klein Multipurpose Center. Through this annual arts-in-education conference, public school districts and Houston's outstanding arts organizations provide arts advocacy tools and arts integration strategies to K-12 educators, district leaders, teaching artists, and parents.

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA) will present 'Holiday Encores' on Monday, September 3rd at 7:00 pm in the Great Auditorium. The concert will feature Organist Gordon Turk, Tenor Ronald Naldi, Bass/Baritone Kevin Short and Pianist Hugh Sung.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City opens its 2018-2019 season with the award-winning work that transports Romeo & Juliet to the streets of New York City, a NEW PRODUCTION of West Side Story

Leading from the harpsichord, Artistic Director Matthew Dirst joins returning soloists Lauren Snouffer (soprano), Colin St-Martin (Baroque flute), and Elizabeth Blumenstock(Baroque violin) and the Ars Lyrica ensemble for 'Re-gifting with Royalty'

From August 17 - September 1, 2018, Horse Head will present WE'RE GONNA DIE by Young Jean Lee at nine unique Houston concert venues. Catch the show at your favorite music spot, including The Secret Group, Fitzgerald's, Spruce Goose and more.

Casting has been announced for Cameron Mackintosh's spectacular new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA for its highly anticipated return to Seattle's Paramount Theatre from August 8 - 19. With newly reinvented staging and stunning scenic design, this new version of PHANTOM is performed by a cast and orchestra of 52, making this one of the largest productions on tour in North America.  To purchase tickets, visit STGPresents.org, Ticketmaster.com, by calling 1-800-982-2787 or in person at The Paramount Theatre Box Office (Monday through Friday, 10am to 6pm). Tickets start at $35.

The Dallas Opera is proud to announce the names of the twelve distinguished professionals (six conductors, two administrators, and four observers) selected to participate in the fourth annual residency of the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera taking place Oct. 28 - Nov. 10, 2018 in Dallas, Texas:

What do you get what you cross two solution-minded musical theatre lovers with a need to create and a love of collaboration? Husband-and-wife team Luke and Blythe Kirkwood are the prime example of artists that saw a need in the Houston theatre world, and took it upon themselves to fill it. After noticing the wealth of musicals that rarely get to be produced because of their technical challenges or size, the Kirkwoods found a way to bring Houston audiences their favorite musicals in a different form of performance. The result was Summer Sing-Thru Series: a one-night-only concert event that brings all the musical wonder of your beloved Broadway soundtracks to life, with full orchestration by both professionals and high school to college-aged students.

Desperate Measures, the new musical comedy gone wild with music by David Friedman (Listen To My Heart), book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg (Anna Karenina),and directed by Bill Castellino (Cagney, Marry Harry) has announced a new block of tickets, now on sale through October 28 for the open ended run.  

Alan Mason, Jennifer Mondie, Trine Sorensen, and Alan D. Valentine have been appointed to the League of American Orchestras' Board of Directors. The League is a membership organization comprised of more than 2,000 orchestras and individuals from across North America. The four new board members were elected by League members during the organization's annual meeting in June. Each will serve three-year terms.