Houston Grand Opera News

Houston Grand Opera announced at its annual meeting today that its 2016-17 season closed on a strong financial footing despite recent pressures on the Houston economy.

OPERA America, the national service organization for opera and the nation's leading champion of American opera, is pleased to announce the first-ever recipients of Innovation Grants, generously funded by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.

San Francisco Opera announces Opera for All Voices: Stories of Our Time, a new commissioning initiative committed to telling wide-ranging stories that resonate with all audiences, regardless of age or prior experience with opera.

On June 17, 18, 23, 24, & 25, Long Beach Opera (LBO) will present five outdoor performances of the highly anticipated Southern California premiere of Frida. The opera celebrates the renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, her vivacious spirit, sexuality, fragility, and her tumultuous life with muralist Diego Rivera. Robert Xavier Rodriguez' brilliant score captures Frida with music as rich and haunting as her art.

The Virginia Arts Festival will present the world premiere performances of the new chamber opera Kept: a ghost story at Norfolk's Attucks Theatre May 25 at 7:30 p.m. and May 28 at 3 p.m.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) today announced plans for Seeking the Human Spirit (STHS), a six-year multidisciplinary initiative designed to highlight the universal spiritual themes raised in opera and to expand and deepen Houstonians' connections to opera and to art. Launching in the fall of 2017, STHS comprises three mainstage operas each season-one of which will be a new work-united by a single theme, and complementary projects by HGO and partner organizations created to enhance and enrich the community's experience of the themes. Some of these activities will be available to the public; others will offer personal access to opera and HGO artists and staff for groups such as hospital patients, women who are rebuilding their lives after homelessness, and young people pursuing interfaith projects. 

Houston's Alley Theatre will open a new musical comedy, FREAKY FRIDAY, on June 2 to will play through July 2. A co-production by La Jolla Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, and Alley Theatre, directed by Christopher Ashley, this wild classic has been translated into a contemporary musical comedy based on Mary Rodger's novel of the same name, with music and lyrics by Tom Kitt and   Brian Yorkey of Next to Normal and If/Then. I spoke with Jennifer Newberry, Houston native and avid performer about her performance past growing up in Houston and the striking similarity she has to her character in FREAKY FRIDAY, Gretchen.

Just in time to get you out of the summer heat, Rec Room is pleased to announce GARBAGE ISLAND 3.0, the only original live sketch show for children ages 2 - 6, in Houston. GARBAGE ISLAND premiered in February and ran to sold-out crowds for 4 weeks straight. The response was so fantastic, it returned with a second episode in April, again selling out every show. Houston parents lined up out the door to give their children the opportunity to enjoy the wacky characters and sustainability-themed 30-minute performance, while they enjoyed a break…and a mimosa.

Ardea Arts announces Pop-up Preview Performances of BOUNCE The Basketball Opera, their latest project in development. These will take place throughout New York City on Wednesdays at 5:30pm.

Ardea Arts announces Pop-up Preview Performances of BOUNCE The Basketball Opera, their latest project in development. These will take place throughout New York City on Wednesdays at 5:30pm.

The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts announced today that James A. Rocco has decided to step down from his role as Vice President of Programming and Producing Artistic Director to pursue his freelance career. After more than a decade of remarkable service to the Ordway, Mr. Rocco's departure date is planned for December 22, 2017.

The Virginia Arts Festival will present the world premiere performances of the new chamber opera Kept: a ghost story at Norfolk's Attucks Theatre May 25 at 7:30 p.m. and May 28 at 3 p.m.

A diverse group of employers-ranging from the Motion Picture Association of America to the Tulsa Ballet-united with unions representing professionals from across the arts and entertainment industry to support continued full funding of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in Fiscal Year 2018.

Bristol Riverside Theatre concludes its 30th Anniversary season with Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution, running May 9-May 28.  Directed by Susan D. Atkinson, the high-voltage thriller by the Queen of Crime drama features an ensemble of professional actors.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) marks the sixth decade of making the art of opera accessible to all audiences at Miller Outdoor Theatre with two free, fully staged performances of Donizetti's The Elixir of Love on May 19 and 20, starting at 8 p.m. A magic elixir gives a love-struck young man the extra dose of confidence he needs to thwart a rival and win the woman of his dreams, but the elixir creates just as many problems as it solves. The bright, sunny production is set on the Amalfi Coast in the 1950s-complete with Vespas and a hot air balloon. With beautiful melodies and a hilarious story, it's the perfect entry point to the world of opera for the young and the young-at-heart.   

San Francisco Opera continues its 2017 Summer Season on June 10 at the War Memorial Opera House with Giacomo Puccini's La Boheme. Coinciding with city-wide celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the "Summer of Love," this revival of one of the greatest love stories in the operatic repertory will feature a brilliant cast including sopranos Erika Grimaldi, Julie Adams and Ellie Dehn; tenor Arturo Chacon-Cruz as Rodolfo; and baritone Audun Iversen. Carlo Montanaro conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestral and Chorus.

Performed in Zilkha Hall at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on May 21st at 6:00 p.m., DON QUIXOTE'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES winds up the Ars Lyrica 2016/2017 season with a whimsical Baroque program inspired by the figure of the Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha.

Lawrence Brownlee has been named Male Singer of the Year for the 2017 International Opera Awards for his achievements throughout 2016.

Acclaimed Off-Broadway theater company Playwrights Horizons will hold its annual Spring Gala on Monday evening, May 8, at the event space 583 Park Avenue. Titled A CELEBRATION OF SONG, the evening will honor three of the company's exceptional alumni writers: Tony Award nominee Scott Frankel (Grey Gardens and Far From Heaven at Playwrights), Tony Award nominee Michael Korie (Grey Gardens and Far From Heaven at Playwrights) and Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife and Grey Gardens at Playwrights). The Grey Gardens writing team has returned to Broadway with their new musical, War Paint, now playing at The Nederlander Theatre.

Meredith Monk and members of her acclaimed Vocal Ensemble are set to perform work-in-progress showings of her upcoming music theater piece, Cellular Songs, at artist Jim Hodges' Queenslab, June 8–10. See below for event details.