Houston Grand Opera News

The gulf between what's said and what isn't is at the heart of the sweet and whimsical comedy The Language Archive by Julia Cho, next up at Bristol Riverside Theatre on January 26-February 14.  Directed by Adam Immerwahr, the ensemble cast features Keith Baker, Irungu Mutu, Jo Twiss, Tiffany Villarin, and Julianna Zinkel.

San Francisco, CA, December 18, 2015 – San Francisco's Opera Parallèle (OP) has announced its first main stage opera commission, the creation of a new opera by American composer Laura Kaminsky inspired by the life of Georgia O'Keeffe at the time she left New York to embark on her iconic and influential experiences in New Mexico. The company has been awarded a prestigious Repertoire Development Grant from Opera America in the amount of $35,000 to support the work's initial stages of creation and workshopping, and is set for an April 2019 premiere. The opera will feature a libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed. The production team will be led by Opera Parallèle Creative Director Brian Staufenbiel, will be conducted by OP Artistic Director and founder Nicole Paiement and will feature a cast of ten, details will be announced. The production is being undertaken by Opera Parallèle in consortium with American Opera Projects and Cornish College of the Arts, and all three co-commissioners will present performances and other activities to be announced. For more information about Opera Parallèle, visit www.operaparallele.org 

The Merola Opera Program is pleased to recognize Merola 1988 alumna Patricia Racette with the Merola Distinguished Alumni Award in a ceremony on Monday, January 7, 2016, in San Francisco.

After a 25-year absence, Florida Grand Opera (FGO) is pleased to bring Bellini's beloved opera NORMA to the Arsht and Broward Centers starting in late January 2016.

The Old Globe today announced the complete cast and creative team for the West Coast premiere of THE METROMANIACS by supremely clever playwright David Ives (All in the Timing, Time Flies). This uproarious new 'translaptation' of a classic French farce, Alexis Piron's La Metromanie, will be directed by one of America's most renowned stage directors, Michael Kahn, presented in association with Shakespeare Theatre Company.

The Merola Opera Program is pleased to recognize Merola 1988 alumna Patricia Racette with the Merola Distinguished Alumni Award in a ceremony on Monday, January 7, 2016, in San Francisco. The ceremony is an invitation-only event for members of Merola's Gold Circle and above. Those wishing to join Merola may find information at www.merola.org.

San Francisco Opera Center presents the culminating concert of the 2015 Adler Fellowship season, The Future Is Now: Adler Fellows Gala Concert, tonight, December 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

Oakland, CA, December 10, 2015—Music Director Michael Morgan and the Oakland Symphony continue their annual exploration of world orchestral music traditions this season with Notes from Vietnam, Friday, February 12, 2016, at 8 pm at the Paramount Theatre. Featured will be Emmy Award-winning composer performer Vân-Ánh Võ, who will give the world premiere of her Lullaby for a Country, performing on the ?àn tranh (Vietnamese zither), ?àn B?u (monochord), and vocals. In addition, TV and Broadway star and filmmaker Michael Urie (Ugly Betty, Modern Family) will narrate Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Completing the program will be Dvo?ák's Carnival Overture. The Symphony's Notes from . . . series has become a popular mainstay of the Bay Area music scene and annually explores symphonic music both new and traditional from cultures that may be less well known to audiences. Past Notes from . . . programs have focused on music from Mexico, Persia, the Philippines, China and the Middle East, among others. Free lobby entertainment, no-host drinks and pre-concert talk begin at 7 pm. And the concert is sponsored in part by California Waste Solutions. Tickets are priced $20-$75 and may be purchased at www.OaklandSymphony.org.

The musicians of the Houston Symphony are spreading holiday cheer during this most wonderful -- and busy -- time of year. POPS, family and classical concerts will transpire on the Jones Hall stage in the name of holiday celebration from tonight, December 10-20, including the annual traditions Very Merry Pops and Handel's Messiah, as well as A Free Holiday Concert and a special presentation of A Frosty & Frozen Christmas for the little ones.

The musicians of the Houston Symphony are spreading holiday cheer during this most wonderful -- and busy -- time of year. POPS, family and classical concerts will transpire on the Jones Hall stage in the name of holiday celebration from December 10-20, including the annual traditions Very Merry Pops and Handel's Messiah, as well as A Free Holiday Concert and a special presentation of A Frosty & Frozen Christmas for the little ones.

 DALLAS, TX, December 8, 2015 – The Dallas Opera will present opera legend Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano, for another magnificent performance in The Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Art Song Recital Series. The one-time-only recital will be presented Sunday, January 31, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at City Performance Hall (a 749-seat venue located at 2520 Flora Street in the Arts District, Dallas, TX 75201). Also featured at the exclusive event will be Jake Heggie, composer (Great Scott, Moby-Dick) and accomplished pianist, who has had a long-standing artistic collaboration with Miss von Stade.

The Dallas Opera will present opera legend Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano, for another magnificent performance in The Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Art Song Recital Series. The one-time-only recital will be presented Sunday, January 31, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at City Performance Hall (a 749-seat venue located at 2520 Flora Street in the Arts District, Dallas, TX 75201). Also featured at the exclusive event will be Jake Heggie, composer (Great Scott, Moby-Dick) and accomplished pianist, who has had a long-standing artistic collaboration with Miss von Stade.

Another treat in the midst of cold weather for Houstonians- Portman & Wright's THE LITTLE PRINCE, the second opera in HGO's holiday series. The two act opera, sung entirely in English, is based on French literary giant Antoine de Saint-Exupery's fantastical novella of the same name. A pilot, hopelessly stranded in the desert, makes the acquaintance of a Little Prince and, in their journey to safety, the two meet a cast of colorful characters and spark up an unlikely friendship.

The Dallas Opera is thrilled to present six women conductors of international stature making music with The Dallas Opera Orchestra and a host of outstanding young artists in one great evening designed to showcase the work of the inaugural Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera.

San Francisco Opera Center presents the culminating concert of the 2015 Adler Fellowship season, The Future Is Now: Adler Fellows Gala Concert, on Saturday, December 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

The Dallas Opera is thrilled to present six women conductors of international stature making music with The Dallas Opera Orchestra and a host of outstanding young artists in one great evening designed to showcase the work of the inaugural Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera.

After a 44-year career at the Met, during which he has led performances of more than 85 operas, James Levine expands his company repertory with his first-ever Met performances of the sparkling Johann Strauss operetta Die Fledermaus.

For the holiday season, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre presents three classic one-acts by three celebrated writers, LOVE STORIES, tonight, November 25 - December 20, 2015.

Over the summer, the Glimmerglass Festival presented Bernstein's take on Candide. As philosophical as it is satirical, the productiontransports Voltaire's novella and its Enlightenment-era ideas to the stage, and features classic tunes such as 'The Best of All Possible Worlds,' 'Glitter and Be Gay' and 'Make our Garden Grow.' WQXR just featured the show as a part of its Saturday at the Opera series, and you can check out audio of the broadcast below!

DALLAS, TX, NOVEMBER 20, 2015 - The Dallas Opera wishes to remind potential candidates that applications for the expanded and revised Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, scheduled to take place on Friday, April 29, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. (Semi-Final Round) and Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 6:30 p.m.(Finals Round) will be accepted through tomorrow – Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.