Houston Grand Opera News

As part of their free virtual salon series, Wingspace Theatrical Design will present a conversation with United Scenic Artists Local #829 National Business Agent Carl Mulert and Business Rep for Live Performance Cathy Kwon moderated by Broadway associate designer Meredith Ries.

Acis will present ARE WOMEN PEOPLE? - THE SONGS OF LORI LAITMAN, an album of new music with the issue of women's suffrage at its core. New York Tribune's ALICE DUER MILLER (1874-1942) ran her column, 'Are Women People?' from 1914-1917, greatly influencing public opinion about the participation of women in democracy.

Opera Saratoga announced today that AMERICA SINGS, the company's free concert series that was created to amplify the voices of artists from racial groups historically underrepresented on the concert stage, will return to Caffè Lena this month on Friday, May 21st, welcoming baritone Justin Austin and pianist/composer Damien Sneed to its historic venue for A Tribute to Langston Hughes.

Beginning on June 14, youth aged 12-19 are invited to attend Houston Grand Opera's virtual summer camp, Discover Opera. As part of the camp, participants will collaborate to produce one-minute operatic videos inspired by the viral videos of TikTok star Daniel Mertzlufft.

Houston Grand Opera will present its 2021-22 season live and in person after a year of reimagining the artform in a virtual format through the 2020-21 HGO Digital season.

OPERA America has awarded the seventh cycle of the Robert L.B. Tobin  Director-Designer Prize to four teams of creative artists for their skill in bringing operatic works to life for  contemporary audiences.

On Friday, May 28, Houston Grand Opera will release Hansel and Gretel on HGO Digital.

Arizona Opera has announced its 2021/22 Season—its 50th Anniversary Season—which will feature an exciting and diverse programming schedule of five productions, including the release of the company’s first world premiere film and four planned in-theater productions in both Phoenix and Tucson.

This marks De Bique's second appearance this season with HGO, as she also stars as Maria in HGO's live, socially distanced singalong My Favorite Things: Songs from The Sound of Music.

Ars Lyrica Houston will offer the penultimate concert of its first virtual season with Idyll & Intrigue. Featuring Handel’s pastoral cantata Aminta e Fillide, the concert will air on Friday, May 21, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. The early work by the composer of The Messiah tells the story of two lovers who need a little help from Cupid. 

Continuing the annual company tradition of offering a spring performance at Miller Outdoor Theatre, Houston Grand Opera will present Marian’s Song for free on Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15. Marian’s Song debuted in March 2020 on the Wortham Theater Center’s Cullen stage as HGO’s 68th world premiere.

My Favorite Things: Songs from The Sound of Music will feature selections from the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein II musical, performed by members of the principal cast from HGO's originally planned full production of The Sound of Music, which had been set for this spring before the company canceled it due to the pandemic.

On Friday, April 30, Houston Grand Opera will release Marian's Song on HGO Digital. Composed by Damien Sneed to a libretto by Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, Houston's poet laureate emeritus, Marian's Song debuted in February 2020 on the Cullen stage as HGO's 68th world premiere.

Watch the digital debut of Missy Mazzoli’s impassioned opera Breaking the Waves. The opera is based on Lars von Trier’s film of the same name. The story begins when a near-fatal accident leaves the heroine’s new husband paralyzed. In his anguish, he implores her to take other lovers. She follows her faith to a tragic end.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) presents the April installment of Live from The Cullen on April 9. Tune in to HGO Digital and be transported to the Wortham Theater Center's Cullen Theater for a performance by beloved soprano and HGO Studio alumna Nicole Heaston. 

Michigan Opera Theater has announced that it will present X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X in Detroit in May 2022.

Houston Grand Opera has announced the three new singers and nine returning artists who will train with the HGO Studio for 2021–22. The HGO Studio provides comprehensive career development to young singers and pianist/coaches who have demonstrated potential to make major contributions to the artform. 

Opera Orlando welcomes an incredible cast representative of the rich culture of Haiti in the 1960s, as Georges Bizet's fiery masterwork Carmen takes the stage at Dr. Phillips Center on April 1 and 3.

Tenor Lawrence Brownlee will join Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts as distinguished visiting faculty starting this spring semester. Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer on the world's top stages and for his activism in support of diversity in the industry.

On Friday evening March 12, 2021, Houston Grand Opera presented Live from The Cullen: Jack Swanson and Richard Bado in a wide-ranging recital of music by Robert Schumann, Leonard Bernstein, Roger Quilter, Kurt Weill, Franz Liszt, and Gioachino Rossini. Swanson can hold his audience spellbound with the magic coming from his voice and his eyes.