Houston Grand Opera News

Houston Grand Opera's U.S. premiere of Mieczyslaw Weinberg's The Passenger-the long-suppressed Holocaust opera that Shostakovich declared "a perfect masterpiece"-earned virtually universal acclaim earlier this year

This July and August 54 BELOW presents an exciting lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street.

This summer, Nicholas Phan returns to his roots, joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood to sing the title role in Bernstein's Candide, the work that first inspired him to pursue a career in opera (Aug 16). In his third consecutive residency at the Oregon Bach Festival (June 26–July 10), the tenor takes part in performances of Vespers by Monteverdi and Rachmaninoff; Mozart's Requiem, led by Festival Director Emeritus Helmuth Rilling; an evening of Strauss Lieder; and after proving himself “the standout among the vocal soloists” (New York Times) in Bach's St. Matthew Passion at Carnegie Hall last month, a reconstruction of the Baroque master's St. Mark Passion. Phan also makes his Seattle Chamber Music Festival debut with Vaughan Williams and Brahms (July 18 & 21), and returns to New York's Bard Music Festival, now celebrating its 25th anniversary season, to sing Schubert in recital and with members of the American Symphony Orchestra (Aug 8 & 10).

The 35th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards for the 2013/2014 season were handed out in a star-studded ceremony in Toronto on the evening of Monday, June 23 at Harbourfront Centre's WestJet Stage, hosted by the hilarious Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus, Second City alumni and founding members of the National Theatre of the World.

DPAC announced today that individual tickets for the Triangle premiere of Dirty Dancing - The Classic Story On Stage will go on sale June 28 at 10 a.m. Tickets are available at the DPAC Ticket Center or by visiting DPACnc.com and Ticketmaster. The staged musical of this worldwide smash-hit film will play DPAC September 16-21, 2014.

On Site Opera, which has garnered acclaim for immersive, site-specific productions, will perform Rameau's one-act Pygmalion in an unusual-and unusually apt-venue this summer, just before the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. The show is set for this weekend at Lifestyle-Trimco Showroom, June 20 & 21.

This summer, Nicholas Phan returns to his roots, joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood to sing the title role in Bernstein's Candide, the work that first inspired him to pursue a career in opera (Aug 16). In his third consecutive residency at the Oregon Bach Festival (June 26–July 10), the tenor takes part in performances of Vespers by Monteverdi and Rachmaninoff; Mozart's Requiem, led by Festival Director Emeritus Helmuth Rilling; an evening of Strauss Lieder; and after proving himself “the standout among the vocal soloists” (New York Times) in Bach's St. Matthew Passion at Carnegie Hall last month, a reconstruction of the Baroque master's St. Mark Passion. Phan also makes his Seattle Chamber Music Festival debut with Vaughan Williams and Brahms (July 18 & 21), and returns to New York's Bard Music Festival, now celebrating its 25th anniversary season, to sing Schubert in recital and with members of the American Symphony Orchestra (Aug 8 & 10).

On Site Opera, which has garnered acclaim for immersive, site-specific productions, will perform Rameau's one-act Pygmalion in two unusual-and unusually apt-venues this summer, just before the 250th anniversary of the composer's death: Madame Tussauds New York, on June 17, and Lifestyle-Trimco Showroom, on June 20 & 21.

Von Stade out of retirement is cause for celebration, but there's no other purpose to the vehicle for it

Washington National Opera (WNO) presents the world premiere of An American Soldier, June 13-14, 2014 in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. An American Soldier features music by composer Huang Ruo and a libretto by David Henry Hwang. This new work, to be performed in English, is the second hourlong opera created under the auspices of the American Opera Initiative, WNO's commissioning program for contemporary American opera. An American Soldier is directed by David Paul and a chamber orchestra is conducted by Steven Jarvi; both are alumni of WNO's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

A film screening and panels have been added to the schedule for The Passenger and The Tsar's Bride for Lincoln Center Festival 2014.

Vivian Montejano, who for 23 years has managed Houston's premier symphony hall, has been named general manager of Wortham Theater Center, one of America's leading ballet facilities and the principal performance home of Houston Ballet.

Legendary mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade has performed many of opera's greatest roles in her storied career that began in 1970. In June, she makes her Opera Philadelphia debut in an incredible new role written just for her, in the East Coast Premiere of A Coffin in Egypt by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist/director Leonard Foglia.

Houston Grand Opera announced at its annual meeting today that its 2013-14 season surpassed previous records for attendance and fundraising. Marking the fourth consecutive year of expanding its season, HGO presented eight main-stage productions (up from seven last season), with a total of forty-nine performances-compared to forty-six the previous year. Attendance rose 3 percent over last season, or 28 percent over 2009-10, and the organization's comprehensive campaign has raised more than $157 million, on track to reach its $165 million goal by December 2014.

It was in a supporting role at Carnegie Hall with Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York that Stephen Costello first launched his professional career. Now the Tucker Award-winning tenor makes a hero's return, rejoining the same forces at the storied New York venue to headline a concert performance of Donizetti's Roberto Devereux tonight, June 5.

The 280+ arts patrons who gathered May 30 at the Petroleum Club of Houston for Opera in the Heights' Bravissimo! 2014: 'The Grand Gala' got a delightful surprise during the seated dinner: Stirring performances by rising opera singers and musical theater talents Alicia Gianni and Chris Newcomer. Scroll down for photos from the event!

Skyrocketing rents. Loss of diversity. Evictions, Google Glass wearing nouveau riche, The War on the Poor. What is The City coming to? The Tony Award-winning San Francisco Mime Troupe (SFMT) opens its 55th season with RIPPLE EFFECT, a musical comedic tale of intersecting lives and cultures that reflect the familiar neighborhood tensions that are polarizing San Franciscans today.

Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat opens San Francisco Opera's Summer Season on June 1 with nine subsequent performances through July 2, 2014. A watershed of American musical theater, Show Boat receives its Company premiere in director Francesca Zambello's new grand-scale "beautifully sung, smartly staged and handsomely designed (Chicago Tribune)" production

Houston Grand Opera drew the season to a close with hit new productions of Das Rheingold and Carmen that prompted CultureMap Houston to conclude: 'This is, without doubt, the epitome of early twenty-first century opera production. It's where we are going, and it's thrilling.'

Tony Award-winning comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will feature Resident Actor Jeffrey Bean as Vanya, Sharon Lockwood returning to the Alley as Sonia, Alley Artist Josie de Guzman returning as Masha, and Resident Actor Jay Sullivan as Spike. Rounding out the cast and making their Alley debuts are Rachael Holmes as Cassandra and Sarah Nealis as Nina. Jonathan Moscone, Artistic Director of California Shakespeare Theater, helms the production and returns after having directed the Alley's 2011 production of Amadeus.