Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American

opera company Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

located in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at 50.'' Houston: Herring Press, 2005, p. 83. the company is resident at the Wortham Theater Center. This theatre is also home to the Houston Ballet. In its history, the company has received a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

, two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

, and three

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

, the only opera company in the world to win these three honours. Houston Grand Opera is supported by an active auxiliary organization, the Houston Grand Opera Guild, established in October 1955. __TOC__

History

In 1955, the German-born impresario Walter Herbert and Houstonians Elva Lobit, Edward Bing, and Charles Cockrell founded the company. Its inaugural season featured two performances of two operas, ''Salome'' (starring

Brenda Lewis Brenda Lewis (March 2, 1921 – September 16, 2017) was an American operatic soprano, musical theatre actress, opera director, and music educator. She enjoyed a 20-year-long collaboration with the New York City Opera (NYCO) with whom she notably ...

in the title role) and ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

''.

David Gockley David Gockley (born July 13, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American opera company administrator. He served as general director of Houston Grand Opera from 1972 to 2005 and San Francisco Opera from 2006 to 2016. He was a student of Mar ...

succeeded Walter Herbert as general director in 1972. During Gockley's tenure, the company began regularly commissioning and producing new works, primarily from American composers. Gockley remained as general director until 2005. Anthony Freud succeeded Gockley as general director in 2005, and held the post until 2011. Following Freud's departure, joint leadership was shared between Patrick Summers, who had been music director at HGO since 1998, and Perryn Leech, who joined the company in 2006 and became chief operating officer in 2010. Summers took the titles of artistic director and music director, and Leech became managing director. For the 2017–2018 season, HGO performed at the 'HGO Resilience Theater', a temporary space created in an exhibit hall at the George R. Brown Convention Center, after the Wortham Theater Center was closed due to flooding from

Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...

in August 2017. Leech stood down as managing director of the company in December 2020. In June 2021, the company announced the appointment of Khori Dastoor as its next general director and CEO, effective January 2022. Dastoor is the first woman ever named to the posts.

Musical forces

The Houston Grand Opera Orchestra consists of 49 part time professional musicians and plays all Houston Grand Opera performances. The orchestra is a member of the Regional Orchestra Players Association and is a per service orchestra. No music director was appointed during the Walter Herbert years (1955–72) until 1971, when longtime assistant conductor and chorus master Charles Rosekrans was named. Later music directors/principal conductors include Chris Nance (1974–77), John DeMain (1977–94), and Vjekoslav Šutej (1994–97). Patrick Summers has been the music director since 1998. With the 2019–20 season, Eun Sun Kim became principal guest conductor, the first female conductor ever to hold the post. The Houston Grand Opera Chorus has been led since 1988 by chorus master Richard Bado, an alumnus of HGO's young artist training program, the Houston Grand Opera Studio.

Young Artist Training

Butler Studio

Houston Grand Opera's young artist development program, The Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio, was founded in 1977 to help young artists make the transition between their academic training and professional careers. The Butler Studio primarily trains young singers and pianist/coaches but has also trained aspiring conductors in a residency program of up to three years. An annual competition, now called the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, was inaugurated in 1989 to help identify a pool of potential international artists for the Studio. Studio alumni include sopranos Jan Grissom, Marquita Lister, Ana María Martínez, Edrie Means
Erie Mills

Albina Shagimuratova Albina Anvarovna Shagimuratova (; born 17 October 1979) is a Russian coloratura soprano. In 2019 her recording of the title role in ''Semiramide'' for Opera Rara won the International Opera Awards and the International Classical Music Awards (IC ...

Heidi Stober

Rachel Willis-Sørensen Rachel Willis-Sørensen (born 1984) is an American operatic soprano. Studies She has a bachelor's degree and a masters, the latter in vocal performance and pedagogy, both from Brigham Young University. Among her professors at BYU was Darrell ...

, and Tamara Wilson; mezzo-sopranos Jamie Barton,

Joyce DiDonato Joyce DiDonato (née Flaherty; born February 13, 1969) is an American opera singer and recitalist. A coloratura mezzo-soprano, she has performed operas and concert works spanning from the 19th-century Romantic era to those by Handel and Mozart. ...

Denyce Graves Denyce Graves (born March 7, 1964) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. Early life Graves was born on March 7, 1964, in Washington, D.C., to Charles Graves and Dorothy (Middleton) Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and w ...

, Susanne Mentzer, an
Marietta Simpson
; tenors Bruce Ford, Carroll Freeman an
Norman Reinhardt
baritone
Richard Paul Fink
an
Scott Hendricks
bass-baritones

Greer Grimsley Greer Grimsley (born May 30, 1956) is an American bass-baritone who has had an active international opera career for the last three decades. He has sung leading roles with all of America's leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, ...

Ryan McKinny
, and Eric Owens; and bass

Eric Halfvarson Eric Halfvarson (born December 1, 1951, in Aurora, Illinois) is an American operatic bass. He made his professional debut in 1973 with the Lake George Opera (now the Opera Saratoga) as Don Basilio in Rossini's ''The Barber of Seville''. Since then ...

. Other alumni include HGO Chorus Master Richard Bado, composer/conducto
David Hanlon
former Lyric Opera of Kansas City Artistic Director Ward Holmquist, conductor/arranger/composer James Lowe, conductor/pianist Eric Melear, conducto
Evan Rogister
and conductor/pianist Craig Terry. In 2023 Sarah and Ernest Butler made a transformational gift to Houston Grand Opera, the largest in company history, by creating a new fund within the HGO Endowment. To honor their commitment to supporting excellence in the arts and the future of opera, the Houston Grand Opera Studio was renamed the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio.

Young Artists Vocal Academy

The HGO Young Artists Vocal Academy, established in 2011 and administered by the HGO Studio, is a one-week intensive program for undergraduate vocal music students. Participants selected for the program receive training that includes daily voice lessons and coachings as well as classes in characterization, movement, diction, and score preparation. HGOco (see below) offers training to high school juniors and seniors.

HGOco

In 2007, HGO established HGOco, an initiative designed to create partnerships between the company and the community. HGOco's first project, the ongoing ''Song of Houston'' initiative'','' creates new works focused on people and groups in Houston—the most culturally diverse city in the United States, according to a report of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the Hobby Center for the Study of Texas. For its first commissioned work in 2007, ''The Refuge,'' by Christopher Theofanidis and Leah Lax, HGOco identified seven statistically significant immigrant communities in Houston and the creators began interviewing residents of those communities. The libretto was created from the actual words of some of the residents, and the premiere included performances by members from these communities. In 2009, HGOco received the Leading Lights Diversity Award in Arts and Culture from the National MultiCultural Institute (NCMI) for ''Song of Houston''. As of May 2018, HGOco has premiered 22 new works, including eight short chamber operas focusing on various Asian communities in Houston, which were commissioned and premiered during a four-year series titled ''East + West''. Recent HGOco premieres include Laura Kaminsky and Mark Campbell/Kimberly Reed's ''Some Light Emerges,'' about Houston philanthropist and humanitarian Dominique de Menil and her quest to create the Rothko Chapel; Gregory Spears and Royce Vavrek's ''O Columbia,'' realized through the collaboration of Houston-based NASA astronauts, scientists, and engineers; and David Hanlon and Stephanie Fleischmann's ''After the Storm,'' about the impact that

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

and the Great Storm of 1900 had upon Galveston and the Gulf Coast. Song cycles have also been created in cooperation with workers in the Houston Ship Channel, the veterans community, and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. HGOco also administers: * Houston Grand Opera's Bauer Family High School Voice Studio, a scholarship program for high school juniors and seniors preparing to study vocal music at the college/conservatory level * Summer Opera Camps for students in Pre-K through grade 12. * Opera to Go!, a touring company that focuses on short musical works for children and families.

Houston Grand Opera and new works

HGO has been commissioning and premiering new works since 1974. These include full-length operas for the main stage and chamber works with a community focus or for children/families.

World premieres

Full-length operas

The relationship between HGO and composer Carlisle Floyd is the longest ongoing relationship of any composer with an organization. HGO has commissioned five works from Floyd: ''Bilby's Doll'' (1976), ''Willie Stark'' (1981), ''The Passion of Jonathan Wade'' (new version, 1991), ''Cold Sassy Tree'' (2000), and ''Prince of Players'' (2016). Floyd lived in Houston for a two-decade period after relocating in 1976 from Tallahassee, Florida, to accept the M.D. Anderson Professorship at the University of Houston School of Music (now the Moores School of Music). In 1977, he cofounded the Houston Grand Opera Studio, HGO's young artist training program, which was initially a joint program between HGO and the University of Houston, and was an active participant in training Studio artists. The

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

opera

Nixon in China ''Nixon in China'' is an opera in three acts by John Adams with a libretto by Alice Goodman. Adams's first opera, it was inspired by U.S. president Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China. The work premiered at the Houston ...

debuted at the Wortham Theater Center in 1987. It was co-commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Netherlands Opera and the Washington Opera.

Chamber operas

HGO has commissioned and premiered 15 chamber operas created for children/families. These chamber works are staged and are approximately 45 minutes long.

American premieres

HGO has presented seven American premieres. Among them, the most significant are the first staged version of Handel's ''Rinaldo'' in 1975 (a concert version had been given in 1972 by the Handel Society of New York), starring Marilyn Horne in the title role and Samuel Ramey as Argante; Rossini's ''La donna del lago'' in a new critical edition in 1981, and more recently, Weinberg's '' The Passenger'', a long-suppressed Holocaust opera composed in 1968 and performed by HGO in 2014. Besides presenting the American premiere in Houston, HGO was also invited to bring the production to the

Park Avenue Armory The Park Avenue Armory, also known as the 7th Regiment Armory, is a historic armory for the U.S. Army National Guard at 643 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Designed in the Gothic Revival style ...

as part of the 2014 Lincoln Center Festival.

Non-traditional opera

During the 2017–18 season, HGOco began a web-only series of 15-minute operas titled ''Star-Cross'd,'' based on true stories with a ''Romeo and Juliet'' theme. The series pilot, "Boundless," by composer Avner Dorman and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann, was released online April 20, 2018. Two more episodes are scheduled for release during 2019. In 2010, HGO commissioned and premiered the world's first "mariachi opera", composed by the late José "Pepe" Martínez, the longtime music director of the ensemble Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, with a libretto by Leonard Foglia. This work, titled ''Cruzar la Cara de la Luna/To Cross the Face of the Moon,'' has been performed at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

in Paris and by a number of opera companies in the United States. In addition to commissioning and premiering new works, HGO has played a role in bringing certain existing works to the attention of the opera world. HGO presented a "triumphant" and "groundbreaking" production of ''Porgy and Bess'' in 1976 that restored portions of the work that had been cut for previous productions (including some made by composer George Gershwin himself for the New York premiere in 1935), thus allowing the public to experience the original vision for the work and making it clear that it was indeed an opera. After the Houston premiere, the production, featuring Donnie Ray Albert as Porgy and Clamma Dale as Bess and conducted by John DeMain, toured to Broadway and won a 1977 Tony Award for Most Innovative Production of a Revival. The complete recording won the 1977 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. Scott Joplin's ''

Treemonisha ''Treemonisha'' (1911) is an opera by American ragtime composer Scott Joplin. It is sometimes referred to as a "ragtime opera", though Joplin did not refer to it as such and it encompasses a wide range of musical styles. The music of ''Treemoni ...

'', which comprises a variety of musical styles even though it is often called a "ragtime opera," received its first fully staged performances at Houston Grand Opera in 1976 with a score HGO commissioned from ragtime expert

Gunther Schuller Gunther Alexander Schuller (November 22, 1925June 21, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, educator, publisher, and jazz musician. Biography and works Early years Schuller was born in Queens, New York City ...

. ''Treemonisha'' also toured to Broadway and was recorded.

Houston Grand Opera and Innovation

Supertitles

In 1984, Houston Grand Opera began using

supertitles Surtitles, also known as supertitles, Captitles, SurCaps, OpTrans, are translated or transcribed lyrics/dialogue projected above a stage or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera, theatre or other musical performances. The word "surtitle" ...

on all non-English productions, becoming one of the first opera companies in the United States to do so.Giesberg, et al., p. 137

Descriptive Services

HGO was one of the first opera companies in the United States (and possibly the first) to offer descriptive services for patrons with vision loss. It has offered descriptive services since the 1987–88 season, the inaugural season in the Wortham Theater Center. The service is offered free of charge and by request for any performance with 48 hours notice.

The Genevieve P. Demme Archives and Resource Center

In 1989, HGO became the first performing arts organization in Houston and the second major U.S. opera company to establish its own archives and resources center. The archives/resource center is named for the late Genevieve P. Demme, a longtime trustee and historian of Houston Grand Opera Association.

Plazacasts

On November 10, 1995, Houston Grand Opera became the first performing arts company in the United States to simulcast a live performance to an audience in another location. (The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, was the only other company at the time to have staged a similar event.) The performance of Rossini's ''La Cenerentola'' featuring mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli that was taking place inside the Wortham Theater Center's Brown Theater was projected in real time onto a large screen mounted on the outside of the theater building. The event was free to the public. The audience was seated on the Ray C. Fish Plaza outside the theater, which prompted HGO to call the event a Plazacast. HGO held free public Plazacasts each year through the 2004–05 season (HGO's 50th season). In April 2005, the company simulcast both a performance of Gounod's ''Romeo and Juliet'' and its 50th anniversary gala concert.

Multimedia Modular Stage

In May 1998, Houston Grand Opera unveiled its Multimedia Modular Stage, a large steel structure with moving lights, projection screens for live-feed video and still images, and a big sound system. It was designed for large outdoor venues but could be adapted for other locations. HGO used it several times for outdoor performances in Houston and on tour, and once for an indoor production of Stephen Sondheim's ''A Little Night Music'' in 1999. Its last use in Houston was the night of June 8, 2001, in a production of ''Carmen'' at Houston's Miller Outdoor Theatre. That night,

Tropical Storm Allison Tropical Storm Allison was a tropical cyclone that devastated southeast Texas in June 2001. An arguable example of the " brown ocean effect", Allison lasted unusually long for a June storm, remaining tropical and subtropical for 16 days, most o ...

struck Houston, where the storm's worst flooding occurred. The two remaining performances in Houston were canceled, although the production went on tour as scheduled on June 15 and 16 to the Mann Center in Philadelphia. The effects of the storm, along with the impact of 9/11 and the collapse of Enron just months afterward, led to the retirement of the Multimedia Modular Stage, which was costly to assemble and disassemble.

OperaVision

In the fall of 2000, HGO devised and implemented a system of plasma and projection screens mounted in the Grand Tier and Balcony sections of the larger of the two halls in the Wortham Theater Center. This system—designed to provide close-up views of the action on stage and improve sightlines in the unusually steep Grand Tier and Balcony areas—was called OperaVision and received mixed appraisals from opera patrons. OperaVision was discontinued at the end of the 2004–05 season.

Awards

Emmy Awards

* ''HGO: The Ring Cycle,'' Sculpting With Time Productions (Alex Douglas and Whitney Douglas), 2017, regional Emmy Awards for directing and photography * ''Hitting the High Cs'', Marion Kessell and Rick Christie, 1998, regional Emmy for editing * ''

'', John Adams and Alice Goodman, 1988, for Outstanding Musical Program

Grammy Awards

* ''

'',

and Alice Goodman, 1988, Best Contemporary Composition * ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'',

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

and

DuBose Heyward Edwin DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1925 novel '' Porgy''. He and his wife Dorothy, a playwright, adapted it as a 1927 play of the same name. The couple worked with composer Georg ...

, 1977, Best Opera Recording

Grand Prix du Disque

* ''Porgy and Bess'', George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, 1977

National MultiCultural Institute Award

* HGOco's ''Song of Houston ''initiative, 2009, Leading Lights Diversity Award in Arts and Culture

Tony Award

* ''Porgy and Bess'', George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, 1977, Most Innovative Production of a Revival

Premieres, recordings, and television appearances

World premieres through the 2022–23 season

* ''The Seagull'''',''

Thomas Pasatieri Thomas Pasatieri (born October 20, 1945) is an American opera composer. Life and career Pasatieri was born in New York City, United States. He began composing at age 10 and, as a teenager, studied with Nadia Boulanger, although his main teachers ...

and

Kenward Elmslie Kenward Gray Elmslie (April 27, 1929 – June 29, 2022) was an American author, performer, editor and publisher associated with the New York School of poetry. Life and career Kenward Gray Elmslie was born to William Gray Elmslie and Constance ...

'','' 1974 * ''

Bilby's Doll ''Bilby's Doll'' is an opera in three acts composed by Carlisle Floyd. The libretto is based on the 1928 American novel ''A Mirror for Witches'' by Esther Forbes. ''Bilby's Doll'' was Floyd's eighth opera. It had its premiere on February 27, 1976, ...

'', Carlisle Floyd, 1976 * ''

Willie Stark ''Willie Stark'' is an opera in three acts and nine scenes by Carlisle Floyd to his own libretto, after the 1946 novel '' All the King's Men'' by Robert Penn Warren, which in turn was inspired by the life of the Louisiana governor Huey Long. T ...

'', Carlisle Floyd, 1981 * ''Starbird'',

Henry Mollicone Henry Mollicone (March 20, 1946 – May 12, 2022) was an American composer and musical instructor. He died on May 12, 2022, following a lengthy illness. At the time of his death, his home was in Saratoga, California. ''The Washington Post'' calle ...

and Kate Pogue, 1980 * ''A Quiet Place'''',''

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

and Stephen Wadsworth, 1983 * ''

'',

and Alice Goodman, 1987 * ''The Making of the Representative for Planet 8'''',''

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

and

Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing ( Tayler; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British novelist. She was born to British parents in Qajar Iran, Persia, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where ...

'','' 1988 * '' Where's Dick?'', Stewart Wallace and

Michael Korie Michael Korie (born April 1, 1955) is an American Libretto, librettist and lyricist whose writing for musical theater and opera includes the musicals ''Grey Gardens (musical), Grey Gardens'' and ''Far from Heaven (musical), Far From Heaven'', and ...

, 1989 * ''New Year,'' Sir

Michael Tippett Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as o ...

'','' 1989 * ''The Passion of Jonathan Wade'' (new version), Carlisle Floyd, 1991 * ''ATLAS: an opera in three parts'',

Meredith Monk Meredith Jane Monk (born November 20, 1942) is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, filmmaker, and choreographer. From the 1960s onwards, Monk has created multi-disciplinary works which combine music, theatre, and dance, recordi ...

, 1991 * ''Desert of Roses'', Robert Moran and

Michael John LaChiusa Michael John LaChiusa (born July 24, 1962) is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for musically esoteric shows such as '' Hello Again'', '' Marie Christine'', '' The Wild Party'', and '' See W ...

, 1992 * ''The Achilles Heel'',

Craig Bohmler Craig Bohmler (born April 7, 1956)Hansen, Niels-Henning."En tilgang til den klassiske Musik" NielsHenning.dk. p. 145. Retrieved August 12, 2019. is an American composer who specializes in opera and musical theater. His musicals include ''Gunmetal B ...

and Mary Carol Warwick, 1993 * ''TEXAS!'', Mary Carol Warwick and Kate Pogue, 1993 * ''The Dracula Diary'', Robert Moran and James Skofield, 1994 * ''The Outcast'' (fully realized version), Noa Ain, 1994 * ''Harvey Milk'', Stewart Wallace and

, 1995 * ''Puppy and the Big Guy'', Sterling Tinsley and Kate Pogue, 1995 * ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead'', ''a liberation through hearing'',

Ricky Ian Gordon Ricky Ian Gordon (born May 15, 1956) is an American composer of art song, opera and musical theatre. Life Gordon was born in Oceanside, New York. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam, and he grew up on Long Island with his three sist ...

and

Jean-Claude van Itallie Jean-Claude van Itallie (May 25, 1936 – September 9, 2021) was a Belgian-born American playwright, performer, and theatre workshop teacher. He is best known for his 1966 anti-Vietnam War play '' America Hurrah;'' ''The Serpent'', an ensemble p ...

, 1996 * '' Florencia en el Amazonas'', Daniel Catán and Marcela Fuentes-Berain, 1996 * ''Jackie O'''',''

Michael Daugherty Michael Kevin Daugherty (born April 28, 1954) is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American composer, pianist, and teacher. He is influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism. Daugherty's notable works include his Superman comic b ...

and

Wayne Koestenbaum Wayne Koestenbaum (born 1958) is an American artist, poet, and cultural critic. He received an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature in 2020. He has published over 20 books to date. Koestenbaum works as a Distinguished Profess ...

'','' 1997 * ''Cinderella in Spain/Cinderella en España'', Mary Carol Warwick and Kate Pogue, 1998 * ''Little Women'', Mark Adamo, 1998 * ''Resurrection'',

Tod Machover Tod Machover (born November 24, 1953, in Mount Vernon, New York), is a composer and an innovator in the application of technology in music. He is the son of Wilma Machover, a piano, pianist and Carl Machover, a computer scientist. He was named ...

and

Laura Harrington Laura Harrington (born April 29, 1958)Connelly, Sherryl (June 22, 1981)"Fresh and flirtatious Laura Harrington" ''New York Daily News''. p. M6. Retrieved September 1, 2024. is an American actress and screenwriter. Biography A native of Ann ...

with additional materials by Braham Murray, 1999 * ''Cold Sassy Tree'',

Carlisle Floyd Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote not only the music but also the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American So ...

, 2000 * ''The Emperor's New Clothes'', Mary Carol Warwick and Kate Pogue, 2001 * ''Sibanda!'', Michael Remson, 2003 * ''The Little Prince'',

Rachel Portman Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman (born 11 December 1960)), a collection of original pieces for piano, violin and cello, with Portman playing the piano. In 2023 she released a second album ''Beyond the Screen – Film Works on Piano'' which features ...

and Nicholas Wright, 2003 * ''The Velveteen Rabbit'', Mary Carol Warwick and Kate Pogue, 2004 * ''The End of the Affair'', Jake Heggie and Heather McDonald, 2004 * ''Salsipuedes, a tale of Love, War and Anchovies'', Daniel Catán and

Eliseo Alberto Eliseo Alberto de Diego García Marruz (September 10, 1951 – July 31, 2011) was a Cuban-born Mexican writer, novelist, essayist and journalist. His numerous works include the novel ''Caracol Beach''. Alberto was nicknamed Lichi. Biography Albert ...

/ Francisco Hinojosa, 2004 * ''The Princess and the Pea'', Mary Carol Warwick and Mary Ann Pendino, 2005 * ''Lysistrata, or the Nude Goddess,''

Mark Adamo Mark Adamo (born 1962) is an American composer, librettist, and professor of music composition at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He was born in Philadelphia. Early life and education A native ...

, 2005 * ''Strega Nona'', Mary Carol Warwick and Mary Ann Pendino, 2006 * ''Send (who are you? I love you)'',

, 2006 * ''The Refuge'', Christopher Theofanidis and Leah Lax, 2007 * ''Three Decembers'' (premiered under the title ''Last Acts''),

Jake Heggie Jake Heggie (born March 31, 1961)Slonimsky, Nicholas; Kuhn, Laura; ed. (2001). Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians Volume 3: Haar-Levi'. New York: Schirmer Books. pp. 1509–1510. . is an American composer of opera, vocal, orchestra ...

and

Gene Scheer Gene Scheer (born April 28, 1958) is an American songwriter, librettist and lyricist. He is the brother of Samuel Scheer, who is an English teacher at Windsor High School and a part-time musician. Education and early career Scheer was born in New ...

, 2008 * ''Sleeping Beauty'', Edward Charles Winkler, 2008 * ''Brief Encounter'',

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

and John Caird, 2009 * ''A Way Home'', Ethan Frederick Greene and Irene Keliher, 2010 * ''Cruzar la Cara de la Luna / To Cross the Face of the Moon'', José "Pepe" Martínez and Leonard Foglia, 2010 * ''Courtside'', Jack Perla and Eugene Chan, 2011 * ''Your Name Means the Sea'', Franghiz Alizadeh, 2011 * ''Pieces of 9/11,'' Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, 2011 * ''The Clever Wife—a Chinese Folktale,'' Mary Carol Warwick and Hugh Behm-Steinberg, 2012 * ''The Bricklayer'', Gregory Spears and Farnoosh Moshiri, 2012 * ''New Arrivals,'' John Glover and Catherine Filloux, 2012 * ''From My Mother's Mother,'' Jeeyoung Kim and Janine Joseph, 2012 * ''Past the Checkpoints'', David Hanlon and Joann Farías, 2013 * ''The Memory Stone,'' Marty Regan and Kenny Fries, 2013 * ''Rapunzel,'' Mary Carol Warwick and Alvaro Saar Rios, 2014 * ''Bound,'' Huang Ruo and Bao-Long Chu, 2014 * ''A Coffin in Egypt'', Ricky Ian Gordon and Leonard Foglia, 2014 * ''River of Light'', Jack Perla and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, 2014 * ''A Christmas Carol,'' Iain Bell and Simon Callow, 2014 * ''The Pastry Prince,'' Mark Buller and

Charles Anthony Silvestri Charles Anthony "Tony" Silvestri (born 1965) is an American poet and lyricist, and a lecturer in history at Washburn University. Early life and education Silvestri was born in Las Vegas in 1965. He studied ancient and medieval history at Loyola M ...

, 2015 * ''O Columbia,'' Gregory Spears and Royce Vavrek, September 2015 * ''The Puffed-Up Prima Donna,'' Mark Buller and Charles Anthony Silvestri, January 2016 * ''Prince of Players,'' Carlisle Floyd, March 2016 * ''What Wings They Were: The Case of Emeline,'' John L. Cornelius II and Janine Joseph, April 2016 * ''After the Storm,'' David Hanlon and Stephanie Fleischmann, May 2016 * ''It's a Wonderful Life,'' Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, December 2016 * ''Some Light Emerges'', Laura Kaminsky and Mark Campbell/Kimberly Reed, March 2017 * ''The House without a Christmas Tree'', Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek, November 2017 * ''Monkey & Francine in the City of Tigers'',

Kamala Sankaram Kamala Sankaram (born 1978) is an American composer, vocalist, playwright and actress. Based in New York City, she is best known for chamber operas about women who find themselves in situations where they are forced to confront patriarchal structu ...

and David Johnston, January 2018 * ''The Phoenix'',

Tarik O'Regan Tarik Hamilton O'Regan (; born 1 January 1978) is a British and American composer. His compositions are partially represented on numerous recordings which have been recognised with two Grammy nominations. He is also the recipient of two British ...

and John Caird, April 2019 * ''El Milagro del Recuerdo,'' Javier Martínez and Leonard Foglia, December 2019 * ''Marian's Song,'' Damien Sneed and Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, March 2020 * ''The Impresario of Oz,'' Mark Buller and Charles Anthony Silvestri, June 2020 * ''The Snowy Day,'' Joel Thompson and Andrea Davis, December 2021 * ''Another City,'' Jeremy Howard Beck and Stephanie Fleischmann, March 2023

American premieres

* '' Hugh the Drover'',

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, 1973 * ''Rinaldo'' ''(stage premiere),''

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

'','' 1975 * ''

Robinson Crusoé ''Robinson Crusoé '' is an opéra comique with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Eugène Cormon and Hector-Jonathan Crémieux. It premiered in Paris on 23 November 1867. The writers took the theme from the 1719 novel ''Robinson Crusoe'' ...

'',

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

'','' 1977 * ''The Panther'', Philip Glass, 1981 * ''

La donna del lago ''La donna del lago'' (English language, English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationO ...

'' (new critical edition),

Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

'','' 1981 * ''Akhnaten'''','' Philip Glass'','' 1984 * ''The Passenge''''r'', Mieczyslaw Weinberg, 2014

Video recordings

* ''

'', Kultur Video, VHS, 1982 * ''

La Cenerentola ("Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant") is an operatic in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera '' Cendrillon'' with music by Nico ...

'', London/Decca, VHS and DVD, 1996 * ''Little Women'', Naxos, DVD, 2010

Nationally televised productions

* ''

'', PBS's ''Great Performances'', October 1981 * ''

'', PBS, February 1986 * ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'', PBS's ''Great Performances'', October 1987 * ''

'', PBS's ''Great Performances'', April 1988 * ''

'', PBS's ''Great Performances'', April 1996 * ''Little Women'', PBS's ''Great Performances'', August 2001

Audio recordings

* ''

'', RCA, 1977 * ''

'', Deutsche Grammophon, 1982 * ''

'', Nonesuch, 1988 * ''ATLAS: an opera in three parts'', ECM, 1992 * ''The Dracula Dia'', Catalyst/BMG, 1994 * ''The Song of Majnun'', Delos, 1997 * ''Jackie O'', Argo/Decca, 1997 * ''Little Women'', Ondine, 2001 * ''Resurrection'', Albany, 2002 * '' Florencia en el Amazonas', Albany, 2002 * ''Of Mice and Men'', Albany, 2003 * ''Cold Sassy Tree'', Albany, 2005 * ''The Refuge'', Albany, 2008 * ''Three Decembers'', Albany, 2008 * ''Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, Albany, 2011 * ''Brief Encounter'', Deutsche Grammophon, 2011 * ''Dead Man Walking'', Virgin Classics, 2012 * ''A Coffin in Egypt'', Albany, 2014 * ''It's a Wonderful Life'', PENTATONE, 2017 * ''The House Without a Christmas Tree'', PENTATONE, 2018

External links

HGO's official websiteHGO's main stage repertoire
(by subscription)

References

{{authority control Culture of Houston American opera companies Texas classical music Music of Houston Musical groups from Houston Tourist attractions in Houston 1955 establishments in Texas Musical groups established in 1955 Articles containing video clips Performing arts in Texas