Houston Grand Opera News

Composer Robert Paterson's song cycle, Stepping Into The Batter's Box, He Hears His Father's Voice will be performed by the American Modern Ensemble (the group founded by Paterson and his wife violinist Victoria Paterson), as part of their concert entitled Good Sports on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 7pm at Galapagos Art Space (16 Main Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn).

Opera San Jose continues its 28th season with the romantic tragedy La traviata. An unequivocal masterpiece based on the short life of the most famous of all Parisian courtesans, this is Verdi's most popular opera.

Houston Grand Opera - the only opera company to have won a Tony, two Grammys, and two Emmys - enhances its 2012-13 line-up with three productions from its Song of Houston project, winner of the National MultiCultural Institute's 2009 Leading Lights Diversity Award.

Opera Columbus presents Denyce Graves at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main St.) on Friday, March 25, at 8 pm. Tickets are $38-$98 at the Ohio Theatre Ticket Office (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase by phone, please call (614) 469-0939 or (800) 745-3000.

As part of HGOco's Song of Houston: East + West initiative, Houston Grand Opera presents its 46th world premiere, The Bricklayer, March 15 - 21, 2012. Based on a short story by renowned Iranian-American author Farnoosh Moshiri (The Bathhouse, Against Gravity), The Bricklayer tells the real-life story of a family torn apart by the Iranian revolution. The score is composed by Gregory Spears.

New York City Opera - in the company's first performances in its Brooklyn Academy of Music residency - will present a production by director Jonathan Miller of Verdi's La traviata, February 12-18 at BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House.

New York City Opera - in the company's first performances in its Brooklyn Academy of Music residency - will present a production by director Jonathan Miller of Verdi's La traviata, February 12-18 at BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House.

Kyle Ketelsen and Bryn Terfel will sing four performances each of the role of Leporello in the upcoming performances of Don Giovanni, replacing John Relyea who is now on vocal rest at his physician's instructions. Ketelsen will sing the role on February 21, 24, 29, and March 3; Terfel will sing the role on March 7, 10 mat, 14, and 17.

Opera San Jose continues its 28th season with the romantic tragedy La traviata. An unequivocal masterpiece based on the short life of the most famous of all Parisian courtesans, this is Verdi's most popular opera.

Houston Grand Opera's new production of Benjamin Britten's intimate but intensely gripping chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia takes place through February 11, 2012 and features the young American theatre director Arin Arbus in her operatic debut.

The Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School jointly announced plans today for a semi-staged concert performance of Gluck's Armide, the second collaboration between the two institutions, following last season's acclaimed new production of The Bartered Bride, conducted by James Levine and staged by Stephen Wadsworth.

The Lyric Opera of Kansas City continues its 54th season with the Company premiere of John Adams' Nixon in China, presented at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, March 10, 14, 16, 18.

Houston Grand Opera's new production of Benjamin Britten's intimate but intensely gripping chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia takes place on February 3-11, 2012 and features the young American theatre director Arin Arbus in her operatic debut.

The young American theater director Arin Arbus will direct an opera for the first time when she leads a new production of Benjamin Britten's intimate but intensely gripping chamber opera The Rape of Lucretia at Houston Grand Opera, on February 3-11, 2012.

Houston Grand Opera today announced the finalists for the annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, to be presented in the Cullen Theater on Thursday February 2, at 7:30p.m.

New York City Opera - in the company's first performances in its Brooklyn Academy of Music residency - will present a production by director Jonathan Miller of Verdi's La traviata, February 12-18 at BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House.

Bramwell Tovey will lead the New York Philharmonic at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in a program of works by Bernstein, Gershwin, and Tchaikovsky, Saturday, July 7, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. Canadian soprano Tracy Dahl will be the soloist in the coloratura aria, "Glitter and Be Gay" from Bernstein's Candide, along with songs by Gershwin, including "The Man I Love" and "Fascinatin' Rhythm," arranged by Mr. Tovey. Also on the program are Three Dance Episodes from Bernstein's On the Town, and two works by Tchaikovsky: music from Act IV of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, and the 1812 Overture.

The Opera Orchestra of New York continues its 41st season with an opera-in-concert performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Simon Boccanegra conducted by Music Director Alberto Veronesi at Avery Fisher Hall on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 8:00 pm.

Houston Grand Opera, with Music Director Patrick Summers and Managing Director Perryn Leech, announces its 2012-13 season, headlined by four new productions. The first of these is Puccini's La boheme, which launches the new season with a new staging by award-winning British director John Caird. To honor 2013's joint bicentennials of Wagner and Verdi, the coming season juxtaposes Tristan und Isolde - starring Ben Heppner and Nina Stemme in a new contemporary staging by Christof Loy - with a revival of Steven Lawless's unforgettable take on Il trovatore. British conductor Trevor Pinnock leads a strong international cast in Mozart's ensemble masterpiece Don Giovanni, while Francesca Zambello's new production of Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat brings together stars of Broadway and the opera house in a celebration of America's own contribution to the art. For a more intimate experience, Daniela Barcellona and Lawrence Brownlee star in Rossini's dramma giocoso, The Italian Girl in Algiers.

Composer Robert Paterson's song cycle, Stepping Into The Batter's Box, He Hears His Father's Voice will be performed by the American Modern Ensemble (the group founded by Paterson and his wife violinist Victoria Paterson), as part of their concert entitled Good Sports on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 7pm at Galapagos Art Space (16 Main Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn).