Houston Grand Opera News

Multi-genre musical experience We Shall Overcome comes to Pepperdine University at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2020 at the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts.

This February, the Houston Symphony, under the direction of Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada, presents a two-week, in-depth exploration of the life and works of the great German Romantic composer Robert Schumann. The Schumann Festival comprises not only full symphonic performances at Jones Hall, but also a recital, a lecture, chamber and vocal music concerts, and a gallery tour/performance in venues across Houston, making it an exceptionally immersive artistic experience.

San Francisco Opera's 2020 Summer SeasonSan Francisco Opera presents a trio of masterworks spanning the 18th century to the present for its 2020 Summer Season at the War Memorial Opera House June 7a?"July 3. In an update announced today, Caroline H. Hume Music Director Designate Eun Sun Kim will conduct Giuseppe Verdi's Ernani replacing James Gaffigan who has withdrawn from the production due to family reasons. The summer season will also include George Frideric Handel's Partenope in Christopher Alden's popular production and the Bay Area premiere of composer Mason Bates' kaleidoscopic exploration of life, love and creativity, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

Washington National Opera (WNO) kicks off its spring repertory period with a production from February 29–March 22, 2020 of Mozart's Don Giovanni, a commentary on social deviance in which the anti-hero gets his due, centuries before the #MeToo movement. Don Giovanni surfaces issues of power and justice that seems ripped from today's headlines.

The Atlanta Opera has announced its 41st season. True to the vision of Tomer Zvulun, the company's Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director, the 2020-21 lineup boasts major new productions of three critically important works: Das Rheingold, one of the most iconic in the canon; The Sound of Music, one of the best-loved classics of musical theater; and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, one of contemporary opera's most palpable hits, now receiving its Southeast premiere. Together with the Atlanta premiere of As One, Steve Jobs is one of two topical and much talked-about new operas in Atlanta's award-winning Discoveries series, which breaks down barriers between artists and their audience by providing intimate, immersive experiences in nontraditional spaces.

OPERA America is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2020 National Opera Trustee Recognition Awards. Now in their 13th year, these awards honor outstanding trustees of U.S. opera companies for their exemplary leadership and generosity on behalf of their respective organizations. OPERA America's Professional Company Members are invited each year to nominate one of their trustees for this award. 

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) announces that conductor Christophe Rousset withdrew today from the HGO premiere of La favorite due to personal circumstances. HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers will conduct all five performances. The production runs from Jan. 24 a?" Feb. 9, 2020 at the Wortham Theater Center.

Houston Grand Opera has announced its 2020a?"21 season, featuring a repertoire of beloved classics, company premieres, and a much-anticipated world premiere. The 66th season opens with audience favorite Carmen. American mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard makes her HGO and role debut as Carmen in the revival of Rob Ashford's acclaimed 2014 production of Bizet's classic. She is joined by tenor Andrea Caré as Don José, bass-baritone Christian Pursell as Escamillo, and Anita Hartig as Micaela, all making their HGO debuts. The production will be conducted by HGO Principal Guest Conductor Eun Sun Kim.

Damien Sneed's North American tour We shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is stopping at Wharton Center for one night only on Friday, February 14, at 8:00pm. This is a joyous celebration reflecting on the triumphant and victorious moments during our history. As a multi-genre artist, Sneed is bringing his brand of classical, jazz and sanctified soul to East Lansing during Black History Month. Tickets are available at the official source to purchase Wharton Center tickets online, whartoncenter.com; at the Auto-Owners Insurance Ticket Office; or by calling 1-800-WHARTON.

Emmy, Grammy, and six-time-Tony-Award-winning Broadway star, Audra McDonald, will headline the Theatre Under The Stars Gala 2020 at The Omni Houston Hotel on Saturday, March 28 at 6:30pm.

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, will present Lincoln Center Theater: Intimate Apparel by Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage with Bartlett Sher on Sunday, February 9, 2020 at 7:30pm.

Houston Grand Opera and world-renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee bring together international stars J'Nai Bridges, Nicole Heaston, Reginald Smith Jr., Russell Thomas, Nicholas Newton and Kevin Miller (piano) for a one-night only concert event.

San Diego Opera has announced addition to its 2019-2020 season with the Bel Canto Trio for one-night-only on Wednesday, March 4, 2020 at 7:30 PM at The Conrad Preby Performing Arts Center in the Baker-Baum Concert Hall (7600 Fay Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037). In 1947 Columbia Artist Management created The Bel Canto Trio, featuring tenor Mario Lanza, soprano Frances Yeend, and bass-baritone George London.

Annapolis Opera and its Board of Trustees announced today that Maestro Craig Kier will become the company's next Artistic and Music Director. Craig Kier will succeed Ronald J. Gretz, who announced his retirement in February 2019 after serving as Artistic Director of the Annapolis Opera for 37 years. Kier will assume his role on July 1, 2020 and opens the Annapolis Opera 2020-2021 season conducting Giacomo Puccini's La bohème.

San Diego Opera's 2019-2020 mainstage season continues with Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, which opens on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at the San Diego Civic Theatre for four performances.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has selected the semifinalists for the 32nd annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias, to be presented in the Wortham Theater Center on Feb. 7, 2020 at 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets for the performance are available for purchase here. The program will also be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube for all to enjoy, inviting viewers to cast their votes for the Online Viewers' Choice Award.

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) announces that mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens, scheduled to sing the role of Amneris in Verdi's Aida, recently withdrew from the production due to personal reasons. Renowned soprano Melody Moore, making her role debut as Amneris, sings the first three performances, while HGO Studio Alumna and mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin sings the final three performances. The production runs from Jan. 31 a?" Feb. 16, 2020 at the Wortham Theater Center.

Witness rare and poignant moments of humanity during the world's most brutal war in this stunning musical depiction of the legendary Christmas truce of 1914. a?oeSilent Night,a?? one of the most performed American operas of our time, is based on the 2005 screenplay a?oeJoyeux Noëla??. Tomer Zvulun will direct the production, and Robert Tweten will conduct the cast, Utah Opera Chorus, and Utah Symphony.

Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, presents an Opening Night Cabaret to kick of the Spring 2020 Season on Monday, January 6, 2020 at 7:30pm.  

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) 2020 winter-spring season will run from February 6 through the end of June, bringing music to over a dozen venues across the five boroughs of New York City. The season includes two Carnegie Hall subscription series concerts led by Principal Conductor Bernard Labadie; OSL's signature Chamber Music Series with two all-Beethoven programs; a collaboration with New York's MasterVoices in Sheldon Harnick's English language version of Bizet's Carmen; and Music in Color: Eleanor Alberga, OSL's annual five borough free concert tour highlighting the works and lives of classical composers of color.