Houston Grand Opera News

The Colony Theatre is excited to present musical theatre dynamo JASON GRAAE in "PERFECT HERMANY: JASON GRAAE SINGS JERRY HERMAN" with musical direction by John Boswell, and directed by Lee Tannen.

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato - coming off rave reviews for her role debut as Isolier in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Rossini's rarely-seen Le comte Ory - takes to the Met stage again on May 7-13 to make her house role debut as the Composer in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos.

Tyne Daly, Tom Wopat, Gregg Edelman, Aaron Lazar, Tony DeSare, Michele Lee and Jamie Barton have joined the roster of guest artists to perform at The New York Pops' 28th Birthday Gala, Celebrate Hope, on May 2, 2011. A grand gala evening celebrating the legacy of late actor and comedian Bob Hope and honoring decades of support by Interpublic Group, the event begins at 7:00 PM with a concert at Carnegie Hall featuring a special lineup of concert artists, followed by a black tie dinner and dance held at the luxurious Plaza Hotel.

Houston Grand Opera presents its 43rd world premiere, a newly commissioned chamber opera by Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Alizadeh. Your Name Means the Sea opens on May 21, 2011 at the Cullen Theater in the Wortham Theater Center, with additional performances on May 24 and 26. Commissioned as part of the HGOco Song of Houston: East + West project, Your Name Means the Sea unites two cultures, two countries and one love in a tale about Denise, a young American painter and Seymur, a young singer from Baku, Azerbaijan.

Marvel at some of the most spectacular coloratura arias in the repertoire when Houston Grand Opera presents Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, April 29 - May 10, 2011, featuring three glamorous and acclaimed sopranos; Christine Goerke (Prima Donna / Ariadne) Susan Graham (Composer) and Laura Claycomb (Zerbinetta).

Marvel at some of the most spectacular coloratura arias in the repertoire when Houston Grand Opera presents Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, April 29 - May 10, 2011, featuring three glamorous and acclaimed sopranos; Christine Goerke (Prima Donna / Ariadne) Susan Graham (Composer) and Laura Claycomb (Zerbinetta).

Houston Grand Opera House Presents Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos Friday April 29, 2011 - Tuesday May 10, 2011 at Brown Theater A feast for the eyes and for the ears, Strauss's elegant and moving meditation on the conventions of the theater pits a comedienne against a prima donna at a high-society dinner party in Vienna.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) announced that Norm Lewis, Audra McDonald, and David Alan Grier are joining the A.R.T. to play Porgy, Bess, and Sportin' Life in the A.R.T.'s new production of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Performances will begin August 17at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge. Further casting will be announced at a later date.

Cristian Macelaru has been appointed assistant conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, beginning in the 2011-12 season.

Veteran actress, singer and comedienne Andrea Wolff will star in "Loose Screws," an original musical comedy beginning on Friday, May 6th (7PM) at the Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 West 42nd Street, located in the lower level of the West Bank Cafe on Theatre Row).

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) today confirmed that General Director and CEO Anthony Freud will be leaving the company to take up the position of General Director of Lyric Opera of Chicago. Freud has served as General Director of Houston Grand Opera since the 2005-06 season.

The Dallas Opera Guild will present the 23rd annual 'Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition,' a showcase for talented young opera singers who either come from Texas or got here 'as fast as they could' on Saturday, May 14, 2011 in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2403 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201.

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato - coming off rave reviews for her role debut as Isolier in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Rossini's rarely-seen Le comte Ory - takes to the Met stage again on May 7-13 to make her house role debut as the Composer in Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos.

Music Director Steven Reineke has announced that Tyne Daly, Tom Wopat, Gregg Edelman, Aaron Lazar, Tony DeSare, Michele Lee and Jamie Barton have joined the roster of guest artists to perform at The New York Pops' 28th Birthday Gala, Celebrate Hope, on May 2, 2011. A grand gala evening celebrating the legacy of late actor and comedian Bob Hope and honoring decades of support by Interpublic Group, the event begins at 7:00 PM with a concert at Carnegie Hall featuring a special lineup of concert artists, followed by a black tie dinner and dance held at the luxurious Plaza Hotel.

New York City Opera today announced full casting details for the 12th season of its celebrated annual new music festival, VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab.

In June 2011, The New York Philharmonic This Week - the two-hour, national weekly and international radio program of concerts by the New York Philharmonic, hosted by actor Alec Baldwin - begins with a program that will be recorded at a concert on the Orchestra's EUROPE / SPRING 2011 tour.

Caitlin Mathes, mezzo-soprano of Dayville, Connecticut, won the $15,000 First Prize in the finals of the 2011 Lotte Lenya Competition, held on April 16, 2011, at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Instead of awarding Second and Third Prizes, judges presented three equal prizes of $8,000 each to Jing Lin, soprano, of Putian, China; Emma Sewell, soprano, of London, England; and Jacob Lewis Smith, bass/baritone, of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Veteran actress, singer and comedienne Andrea Wolff will star in "Loose Screws," an original musical comedy beginning on Friday, May 6th (7PM) at the Laurie Beechman Theatre (407 West 42nd Street, located in the lower level of the West Bank Cafe on Theatre Row).

The Lyric Opera of Kansas City closes its 53rd season April 9 through 17 with a new production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which will be performed in Italian with English subtitles.

An up-and-comer on both sides of the Atlantic, Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni will make his Houston Grand Opera debut in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro during an April 15-30 run that marks his debut in the role of Count Almaviva.