Otello! – Cosí Fan Tutte! – A Christmas Carol! – Madame Butterfly! – The Magic Flute! – Die Walküre! – Sweeney Todd!
Are you a Puccini or Verdi fan? Or do you prefer Mozart or Wagner? Do you like your music a bit more modern, as from Stephen Sondheim or Iain Bell? In any case, the Houston Grand Opera has a fabulous offer for you. Now is the time to get all of your tickets for the season.
The Houston Grand Opera cordially invites you to the opera: Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association members receive a 15% discount of all operas in the 2014/15 season. Just mention Promo Code: 4514 when ordering tickets online or by telephone. Here is a link to the schedule and ticket sales [https://www.houstongrandopera.org/2014-15-Season/]. Following are excerpts from HGO’s website about the operas.
Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello
Sung in Italian with projected English translation
October 24, 2014 – 7:00 PM | October 26, 2014 – 2:00 PM | November 1, 2014 – 7:30 PM
November 4, 2014 – 7:30 PM | November 7, 2014 – 7:30 PM
The ancient Greeks called it hamartia – a tragic character flaw that can destroy even the mightiest among us. This idea is at the core of Shakespeare’s magnificent play and so inspired Verdi.
Cruelly manipulated by his ensign Iago, Otello becomes convinced of his wife’s infidelity. Although she is innocent, Otello is driven to jealous rage with fatal consequences.
Otello is a virtuosic fusion of great literature and sublime music. The result is riveting entertainment.
“O’Neill has a real trumpet-toned top to his voice and like all true warriors his is fearless… it was refreshing, no thrilling, to hear a young singer really nail those crazed top notes.” – Independent (London)
“Perez’s lyric soprano is pure and honeyed in tone, and she deploys it with elegance and tenderness” – AP
Cast: Otello – Simon O’Neill | Desdemona – Ailyn Perez | Iago – Marco Vratogna | Cassio – Norman Reinhardt | Emilia – Victoria Livengood | Lodovico – Morris Robinson
Creative Team: Conductor – Patrick Summers | Director – John Cox | Set & Costume Designer – Johan Engels | Lighting Designer – Michael James Clark | Houston Grand Opera Chorus and Orchestra | Chorus Master – Richard Bado
A co-production of Teatro Regio di Parma, Los Angeles Opera and Opera di Monte-Carlo.
Photo by: Robert Millard.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte
Sung in Italian with projected English translation
October 31, 2014 – 7:30 PM | November 2, 2014 – 2:00 PM | November 8, 2014 – 7:30 PM
November 13, 2014 – 7:30 PM | November 15, 2014 – 7:30 PM
Così fan tutte, the third and final collaboration between Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte, is a study in contrasts: a story of a friendly wager gone hilariously awry paired with music of luminous beauty.
Having bet their friend Don Alfonso that their fiancées will resist any temptation, two young men are astounded by their lovers’ lack of devotion when courted by two ‘Albanian’ soldiers. Of course, all is forgiven at the end of the comedy. But this farce is underscored by the genius of Mozart’s superb music and keen understanding of human nature.
“[Costello is] a tenor of ineffable sensitivity, with unfailing elegance in singing and a disconcerting ease.” – Opera (London)
Rachel Willis-Sørensen’s Fiordiligi was “stellar… her voice is big, rich, well-tuned, and consistent from the top to the bottom of her impressively wide range. Her two great arias, Act I’s “Come scoglio” an Act II’s “Per pieta,” were both showstoppers.” – St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Cast: Ferrando – Stephen Costello | Guglielmo – Jacques Imbrailo | Fiordiligi – Rachel Willis-Sørensen | Dorabella – Melody Moore | Don Alfonso – Alessandro Corbelli | Despina – Nuccia Focile
Creative Team: Conductor – Patrick Summers | Production – Gõran Järvefelt | Director – Harry Silverstein | Set & Costume Designer – Carl-Friedrich Oberle | Lighting Designer – Duane Schuler | Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus | Chorus Master – Richard Bado
A production of Houston Grand Opera.
World Premiere | A Christmas Carol
A Chamber Opera
Based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Music by Iain Bell, Libretto by Simon Callow.
December 5, 2014 – 8:00 PM | December 7, 2014 – 2:30 PM | December 9, 2014 – 8:00 PM
December 11, 2014 – 8:00 PM | December 14, 2014 – 2:30 PM | December 16, 2014 – 8:00 PM
December 17, 2014 – 8:00 PM | December 19, 2014 – 8:00 PM | December 20, 2014 – 8:00 PM
December 21, 2014 – 2:30 PM
God bless us, everyone!
When Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol appeared in 1843, it delighted Victorian London and still inspires imaginations today.
Iain Bell, a promising young British composer, has written a captivating score to a libretto by Simon Callow, the renowned film and stage actor. Remembered for roles in films like A Room with a View and Four Weddings and a Funeral, Callow has also played Ebenezer Scrooge and Dickens himself on the screen.
Together, they have penned a spellbinding, intensely theatrical experience for HGO’s intimate Cullen Theater. The opera is a true tour de force – a one man show – with Houston favorite Anthony Dean Griffey as the narrator of this beloved fable. We will, without doubt, leave the theater with a deeper understanding of the holiday each time we say, “Merry Christmas.”
“Bell shows he can create gentle, lyrical moments, tumultuous structures that build in atmosphere and action scenes that excite.” – Kurier (Vienna)
“The amazing tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, with his beautiful lyric yet powerful and seemingly inexhaustible voice, meets every challenge.” – New York Times
Cast: The Narrator – Anthony Dean Griffey | The Narrator – Kevin Ray (Dec. 17 and 20)
Creative Team: Conductor – Warren Jones | Director – Simon Callow | Set & Costume Designer – Laura Hopkins | Lighting Designer – Mark McCullough | Houston Grand Opera Orchestra
A Production of Houston Grand Opera.
Image by Pattima Singhalaka.
Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly
Sung in Italian with projected English translation
January 23, 2015 – 7:30 PM | January 25, 2015 – 2:00 PM | January 28, 2015 7:30 PM
January 31, 2015 – 7:30 | February 6, 2015 – 7:30 PM | February 8, 2015 – 2:00 PM
When Puccini heard the story of a young Japanese girl who sacrifices everything for a faithless U.S. Navy lieutenant, he knew he had found a winning idea for a new opera and immediately began work on Madame Butterfly. It would become one of the most beloved operas of all time.
Puccini’s score, infused with atmospheric Eastern motifs, is mesmerizing. From the passionate Act I love duet, to Butterfly’s steadfast declaration of her love, “Un bel di,” to the tender, anticipatory beauty of the “Humming Chorus,” this is opera for the ages.
Cast: Cio-Cio-San – Ana María Martinez | Pinkerton – Alexey Dolgov | Sharpless – Scott Hendricks | Goro – John Easterlin
Creative Team: Conductor – Giancarlo Guerrero | Production – Michael Grandage | Director – Louisa Muller | Set & Costume Designer – Christopher Oram | Lighting Designer – Neil Austin | Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus | Chorus Master – Richard Bado
“Ana Maria Martinez making a memorable role debut with her gloriously sung and powerfully acted Cio-Cio-San.” – Houston Chronicle
Alexey Dolgov’s “voice has a ringing, heroic tone, with a bold top.” – Washington Post
A co-production of Houston Grand Opera, Grand Theatre de Geneve and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute
Sung in English with projected English text
January 30, 2015 – 7:30 PM | February 1, 2015 – 2:00 PM | February 4, 2015 – 7:30 PM
February 7, 2015 – 7:30 PM | February 14, 2015 – 7:30 PM
Mozart’s genius is supremely evident in his last opera, The Magic Flute. The fairytale is matched with some of the most stunningly beautiful music ever written. From the coloratura pyrotechnics of the Queen of the Night to Pamina’s anguished lament, to the comic love duet of Papageno and Papagena, the music illustrates what set Mozart apart from his many rivals: a unique and profound understanding of humanity.
Visually, this Flute finds a perfect balance between grandeur and comedy. Replete with elaborately detailed period costumes, Egyptian influences, and dancing bears, it is a feast for the eyes and the ear.
Cast: Tamino – David Portillo | Pamina – Lisette Oropesa | Queen of the Night – Kathryn Lewek | Sarastro – Morris Robinson | Speaker – Patrick Carfizzi | Papageno – Michael Sumuel | Monostatos/Man in Armor – Aaron Pegram | Third Lady – Renee Tatum
Creative Team: Conductor – Robert Spano | Production – Sir Nicholas Hytner | Director – Ian Rutherford | Set & Costume Designer – Bob Crowley | Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus | Chorus Master – Richard Bado
“Kathryn Lewek has a luscious sound, especially in her unforced upper range… she dispatched the darting runs and passage work with agile technique.” – New York Times
“David Portillo, scored high marks and high notes with ease, singing with a luxuriant warm glow that seduced the ear.” – Opera News
“[Lisette Oropesa] has established an excellent reputation for singing with luminous tones and precise coloratura.” – Opera Today
This production was originally created by the English National Opera.
Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre
Sung in German with projected English translation.
April 18, 2015 – 6:00 PM | April 22, 2015 – 6:00 PM | April 25, 2015 – 6:00 PM
April 30, 2015 – 6:00 PM | May 3, 2015 – 2:00 PM
The journey continues…
In Die Walküre, the story of the Ring moves from the gods’ home, Valhalla, to earth: Having brought Freia’s freedom with the ring in Das Rheingold, Wotan sets about regaining the golden band and its unique power.
Wotan must sacrifice his son Siegmund, renounce a daughter, Sieglinde, and abandon his favorite child, Brünnhilde, the leader of the Valkyries. Like all the Ring operas, Die Walküre stands on its own as great spectacle, masterful storytelling, and electrifying music.
Cast: Brünnhilde – Christine Goerke | Wotan – Iain Paterson | Sieglinde – Karita Mattila | Siegmund – Simon O’Neill | Fricka – Jamie Barton | Hunding – Ain Anger
Creative Team: Conductor – Patrick Summers | Director – Carlus Padrissa/La Fura dels Baus | Associate Director: Esteban Muñoz | Set Designer – Roland Olbeter | Costume Designer – Chu Uroz | Lighting Designer – Peter van Praet | Video Designer – Franc Aleu | Houston Grand Opera Orchestra
‘Iain Paterson made a Wotan of unforced dignity, endowing the role with a voice of quality…” – Financial Times (London)
“And Ms. Goerke, as usual, had everything: rich and full sound, interpretive insight, affecting expressivity.” – New York Times
“Karita Mattila is an artist who confounds expectations… She has a voice that is most often described in terms reserved for varieties of light – radiant, luminous, incandescent, shining.” – Opera News
“One should notice the amazing Siegmund of Simon O’Neill, … The timbre is of a splendid colour throughout the register, the voice flies to treble with a disconcerting ease, the forces are inexhaustible, the style is of the first order, with a perfect articulation, classy phrase and nuances.” – Opera (London)
“Ms. Barton, who won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in June, has a big, rich voice from the top to the bottom of its range.” – New York Times
A co-production of Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia and Maggio Musicale, Florence.
Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd:The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sung in English with projected English text
April 24, 2015 – 7:30 PM | April 26, 2015 – 2:00 PM | April 29, 2015 – 7:30 PM
May 2, 2015 – 7:30 PM | May 8, 2015 – 7:30 PM | May 9, 2015 – 7:30 PM
Countless serial novels gripped Londoners during the Victorian era – the more gruesome, the better. One of them, The String of Pearls, spawned the character of Sweeney Todd.
His happiness destroyed by a corrupt judge, Sweeney Todd – the Demon Barber of Fleet Street – is obsessed with revenge. With his partner in crime, amoral pie shop owner Mrs. Lovett, he quenches his thirst for justice with a murderous rampage that leaves few of the characters breathing. Stephen Sondheim’s dark, magnificent score turns this sordid and bloody tale into riveting entertainment.
Sweeney Todd is a masterpiece of the American musical theater – it will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Cast: Sweeney Todd – Nathan Gunn | Mrs. Lovett – Susan Bullock | Tobias Ragg – Nicholas Phan | Judge Turpin – Jake Gardner | Beggar Woman – Cynthia Clayton
Creative Team: Conductor – James Lowe | Director – Lee Blakeley | Set & Costume Designer – Tanya McCallin | Lighting Designer – Rick Fisher | Choreographer – Lorena Randi | Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus | Chorus Master – Richard Bado
“Nathan Gunn commands an operatic baritone whose mighty heft and richness confer an outsize authority on everything he touches.” – New York Times
“Susan Bullock, as always profoundly musical and bringing tears to one’s eyes with the tenderness of phrasing that seems second nature to her. Her virtue is total absorption in the role and her diction is immaculate.” – Opera Magazine (London)
Production originally created by Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris
Co-owned by Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Théâtre du Châtelet