Houston Grand Opera News

On May 13, the Metropolitan Opera will present the company premiere of Australian composer Brett Dean’s Hamlet, a bold adaptation of Shakespeare’s timeless drama, with six additional performances through June 9.

Opera Atelier’s Founding Co-Artistic Directors Marshall Pynkoski C.M. and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg C.M. today announced the company’s powerful 2022/23 season with a live subscription series titled Passion Returns. 

Historic six-time Tony Award Winner Audra McDonald, star of Broadway’s The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Carousel, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill and HBO’s The Gilded Age, opens the Town Hall series on May 29 with Seth Rudetsky as music director and host.

As the curtain rises in Houston Grand Opera's production of Romeo and Juliet, Charles Gonoud's 1867 adaptation of the seminal Shakespeare play, the audience is transported into a realm of romance and passion, brought to life by the soaring score and gifted performers. Though devotees of the original play may note that Gonoud trims down elements of the original story to focus in on the two lovers, the story of their star-crossed romance is told with enough power and gravitas that those who invest in the central couple will be wiping away tears by the end.

As part of its free virtual salon series, Wingspace Theatrical Design will present a conversation on Thursday, April 28 at 8:00pm ET with Jasmine Arielle Barnes, Noelle Deutsch, Priti Gandhi, Lila Palmer, Nehemiah Rolle, and Vita Tzykun. Moderated by Anna Driftmier, this conversation will focus on reimagining opera for the next generation.

As part of its free virtual salon series, Wingspace Theatrical Design will present a conversation on Thursday, April 28 at 8:00pm ET with Jasmine Arielle Barnes, Noelle Deutsch, Priti Gandhi, Lila Palmer, Nehemiah Rolle, and Vita Tzykun.

One of the most respected and highly competitive young artist programs in the world, the HGO Studio provides comprehensive career development to young singers and pianist/coaches who have demonstrated potential to make major contributions to the art form. 

The 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards featured a tribute to Stephen Sondheim, a win for Barlow and Bear's 'Unofficial Bridgerton Musical,' Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett for their 'Love For Sale' Cole Porter duets album, Olivia Rodrigo, and more. Check out the full list of winners now!

Award-winning chef, restaurateur and vocal master Alexander Smalls celebrates the African American Spiritual with new series release Let Us Break Bread Together

 Portland Opera’s 2022/23 season will feature the cultural touchstone Carmen; Thumbprint, a powerful new opera inspired by the story of Mukhtar Mai, a trailblazing Pakistani human rights activist; the company’s first production of the iconic and magical Dvořák opera Rusalka and more.

Utah Opera has announced its 2022-23 season resident artists—four vocalists and one pianist who have been selected through national auditions to spend nine intensive months with Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. The diverse group of performers includes soprano Jasmine Rodriguez, mezzo-soprano Winona Martin, tenor Jehú Otero, baritone Tshilidzi Ndou, and pianist Laura Bleakley.

The Verdi Chorus kicks off its 39th season with their Spring Concert, Hélas mon Coeur, dedicated to the memory of Verdi Chorus patriarch Maestro Aurelio De La Vega, for two performances only at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica on May 14 and 15. 

The Prince Fellowship, in association with Columbia University School of the Arts, announces that  applications are now open for the 2022 Fellowship program.

Haydn composed his Lord Nelson Mass during a time of storms and stress, when the world was scary, the future was murky, and music served both to reflect and to relieve the anxieties of the day. In this work, we find some of Haydn's most tempestuous music, and some of his sunniest. The Lord Nelson is considered one of Haydn's greatest achievements, and we are excited to partner with Men in Blaque to present it with full orchestra and some of our favorite soloists: Marlissa Hudson, soprano; Jane Shim, mezzo-soprano; Jon Lee Keenan, tenor; and David Stoneman, bass-baritone. 

Acis has released THE OCEAN OF ETERNITY - THE SONGS OF LORI LAITMAN Themes of life, longing and legacy permeate this new recording of songs by the celebrated American composer LORI LAITMAN.

Producer Antonio Marion has announced that Tony and Olivier Award-winning director, Rob Ashford, is set to direct a brand-new production of Sherlock Holmes, a stage epic by British writing team Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, with Akram Khan joining as choreographer.

This May, Opera San José will play host to the nation’s next generation of opera stars during its Irene Dalis Vocal Competition, named for the internationally-acclaimed mezzo-soprano who founded Opera San José.

Today American Composers Forum announces the first collection of recording projects selected through a panel process for its in-house record label, innova Recordings. A national call issued in December 2021 launched innova's new business model aimed at making the process of visioning, producing, and releasing recordings more inclusive and accessible to artists.

American Lyric Theater (ALT) announced today InsightALT: Opera in Eden, a performance featuring three new one-act operas on themes of temptation developed by Resident Artists in the company’s nationally acclaimed Composer Librettist Development Program. ALT’s current Resident Artists (Composers Jasmine Barnes, Johanny Navarro, and Alex Weiser; and Librettists Joshua Banbury, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, and Marcus Yi) were selected from over 200 applicants to join the CLDP this season. Opera in Eden, which is the culminating event of the first year of these artists’ residency, will take place at National Sawdust in Brooklyn on Tuesday, May 17th, 2022 at 7:00pm.

Tod Machover's visionary opera Schoenberg in Hollywood, will have its European Premiere at the Vienna Volksoper on April 9, with performances through April 24. (The premiere was originally scheduled for April 2020, but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)