Houston Grand Opera News

On March 11, 2021, Santa Fe Opera presented an online benefit concert for its renowned apprentice programs. Singing the concert were former apprentices mezzo-soprano Emily Fons, tenor Jack Swanson, and baritone Will Liverman. Fons sings an aria from The Haunted Manor, Liverman sings an aria from Pagliacci and Swanson sings 'What a Wonderful World.'

They say necessity is the mother of invention. This is especially true for artisans during the pandemic. One of the oldest art forms, opera, like so many other art forms has shifted and evolved as a result of the current climate. Atlanta Opera is no exception. When you go to their webpage, you’ll find a new widget at the top labeled STREAM. Once you click on that, you’ll see a drop-down: WHAT’S ON. Click on that, and you’ll find Orfano Mundo, a visual and auditory treat. For only $15 a month or $99 a year, patrons will have all access to ATL Opera’s streaming service. 

LA Opera board chairman Marc Stern and his wife Eva have established an annual $50,000 award to celebrate and support extraordinarily gifted artists in opera: the Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award. The new award will recognize artists with deep connections to LA Opera and will serve as an expression of gratitude for past and future artistic contributions to the company.

Uniquely focused on both the baroque and the brand new, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) announces the appointment of TARIK O'REGAN as the 40-year old organization's first-ever Composer-in-Residence. 

Mar 13 and 14, San Francisco Opera presents Wagner’s Die Walküre. Chief god Wotan fathers the hero Siegmund to regain control of the ring. But, when confronted with the futility of his dream, Wotan is forced to forsake not only his son but also his beloved daughter, the warrior-maiden Brünnhilde. Wagner’s opera has English supertitles. 

This past week, Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presented the premiere of a new virtual commission by Huang Ruo, featuring Jennifer Koh.

Houston Grand Opera has announced the company's return to live, in-person performance at a special outdoor event, as well as the extension of HGO Digital, the Sarah and Ernest Butler Performance Series, with new virtual content. HGO Digital is available to stream on Marquee TV, an on-demand streaming platform dedicated to global arts and culture.

Renowned international music conservatory Manhattan School of Music (MSM) announced today that esteemed educator, director, and arts ambassador Dr. Carleen Graham will join the Vocal Arts division as the School's inaugural Associate Dean and Director of Vocal Arts beginning on July 1, 2021.

Opera lovers everywhere are invited to join the acclaimed Merola Opera Program for its first-ever virtual benefit gala, Un Gala in Maschera. This musical evening honors Merola Artistic Director Sheri Greenawald (2002-2020), celebrating her nearly two decades as Director of the San Francisco Opera Center and Artistic Director of the Merola Opera Program.

'To Your Constant Embrace, The Cloud Stream Sways' is a new dance and music film from the Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble that speaks to our current condition of being alone together, and invites us into an inspiring and overlapping world of interaction across 5 cities in 4 different countries.

On Friday, March 26, Houston Grand Opera will present the digital premiere of Suite Española: Explorando Iberia, created by HGO Artistic Advisor Ana María Martínez, one of the greatest sopranos in the world. The concert will celebrate the music of Spain, including the art form known as zarzuela, or Spanish musical theater, by featuring a collage of selections from the repertoire's most beautiful pieces.

Houston Grand Opera presents the March installment of Live from The Cullen on March 12. Tune in to HGO Digital and be transported to the Wortham Theater Center's Cullen Theater for a performance by sensational tenor Jack Swanson. Swanson is best known for his interpretations of Rossini and Donizetti.

On February 26th, Vocal Arts DC presents American baritone Rod Gilfry in a virtual concert with pianist Peter Walsh. The performance will include selections by Francis Poulenc, Jake Heggie, Morten Lauridsen, Charles Ives, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel as well as original jazz arrangements of classic French art songs.

USITT has announced their 2021 award winners. Winners will be honored during their 61st Annual Conference & Stage Expo taking place virtually, March 8-12, 2021. 

Theatre Now New York, a non-profit artists service organization and theatre company dedicated to supporting musical theatre writers, has established a new National Musical Writers Group which will bring together lyricists and composers from across the nation.

Inspired by the success from their safe drive-in performances of La bohème in the Fall, which heralded the return of live, in-person, opera to San Diego County since the start of the pandemic, and provided over 300 jobs to many, San Diego Opera has announced a Spring season of safe, socially-distanced, drive-in performances.

Theatre Now New York has established a new National Musical Writers Group which will bring together lyricists and composers from across the nation. The inaugural group members include: Jason Aguirre and Adam J. Rineer (Philadelphia); Mark Evan Chimsky (Portland, ME) and Zev Burrows (New York City); Ann E. Eskridge and Alton James (Detroit) & more.

American Lyric Theater is inviting artists from all backgrounds to participate in its free, virtual Opera Writers Symposium as part of the organization's ongoing commitment to mentoring the next generation of operatic writers.

DACAMERA, a Houston-based presenter of chamber music and jazz concerts, announces its virtual programming lineup for January through March. Continuing in the same format as DACAMERA's Fall 2020 programming, which the The New Yorker described as “an online season that stands apart from the virtual crowd,' the Spring season will include streamed concerts, two performances highlighting its longstanding collaboration with the world-famous Menil Collection, premiere broadcast streams of archival concerts with new introductions and more. All virtual concerts are free with registration at dacamera.com. 

The Dallas Opera will make the company's gripping 2015 production of Giacomo Puccini's immortal Tosca available free of charge for home viewing. This passionate, star-studded production was originally simulcast live in high definition to a North Texas audience at Klyde Warren Park.