Ring_mark_1000Do you know that we in Houston are blessed with an extraordinarily outstanding opera?  Less than a handful of cities in the United States can claim a world-renown opera company; there are the Met in New York, the Lyric Opera in Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, and then there is the Houston Grand Opera – a truly outstanding company.  It is the only opera company in the world to have won all three awards in the music world:  a Tony, two Emmys, and two Grammys!  We are so lucky to have this fabulous opera company in our city!

We have such a treat for you for our first meeting of 2014:  a backstage visit to the Houston Grand Opera to see who and what actually produce such magic for the audience in front of the curtain.  Currently the scenery and backdrops of The Passenger, an American premiere by HGO, will be onstage during our visit.

Dr. Mena Mark Hanna, dramaturg of HGO, will conclude our backstage tour by a presentation of the most ambitious undertaking by the opera to-date:  a performance of the entire ring cycle by Richard Wagner, consisting of Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), Die Walkuere (The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Goetterdaemmerung (Twilight of the Gods).  For those of you new to Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Das Rheingold is the shortest opera and lasts about 2-1/2 hours. For our meeting in April we will visit Das Rheingold on April 23 with a special reception at the Wortham Center before the performance.

We will meet on Tuesday, January 14, 2014, at 5:45 p.m. at the backstage entrance to the opera at 510 Preston.  Please allow enough time for parking, and be sure to bring photo identification.  After our visit to the opera, we will adjourn to The Wine Cellar at Little Napoli at 540 Texas Avenue, a block or so from the theater for our customary reception.  Rebecca Koteras from HGO will accompany us to answer any additional questions you may have.  The meeting cost for the tour and food are $15 per person; wine and other beverages are separate.

Several of you have already informed us that you will join us for the tour, but we need everyone to please respond now to angelika@houstonleipzig.org to let us know that you wish to participate, as spaces for the tour are limited, and we need to let security at the opera know how many of us and  whom to expect.

The Houston Grand Opera has come long ways since 1955, when it performed Salome and Madame Butterfly as its first season offering.  Since then it has grown in leaps and bounds: it serves over five million people every year, has introduced an astonishing 43 world premieres and six American premieres since 1973.  Just a few of the world stars appearing at the opera over the years include Plàcido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Cecilia Bartoli, Marilyn Horne, Kiri Te Kawana, Beverly Sills, Joan Sutherland, and on and on . . . the list of stars is ever increasing.  It takes over 1,000 people, 120 of whom are permanent employees, to bring pleasure and enjoyment of music and theater to Houston. HGO brings opera to the schools, runs an exemplary Opera Studio to train promising singers, and commissions operas in and from the diverse ethnic and cultural communities in Houston. Check out this cultural treasure at  http://www.houstongrandopera.org/.

17Jan 2016

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17Jan 2016

Dear Members and Friends of the Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association, I am excited and honored to serve as your President in 2016. I became involved with Houston-Leipzig in 2013 and I have served on the Board since 2014. My interest in joining Houston-Leipzig arose when I met some of your members through other organizations. My […]

29Dec 2015

Dear speakers and friends of the German language, I would like to invite you to help promote the study of the German language in the Houston area by serving as a “judge” at the Houstonfest German contest. Some of you have helped us before, and for others it would be the first time — it […]

09Nov 2015

Report of the Nominating Committee Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association November 9, 2015 The nominating committee, consisting of Kathryn Kennedy, Steve Braun and Angelika Schmidt-Lange met on during various times and by telephone to consider eligible candidates for the board of directors of the association for the 2014/2015 term of office. The nominating committee presents the […]

07Oct 2015

Imagine helping tens of thousands of Texans for over 30 years of Gulf Coast disaster relief, and then a few months ago, the rains start and you yourself become a victim of the floods with three feet of water in your home. Meet Steve Vetrano, Regional Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Houston Area Chapter […]