Houston Grand Opera

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Houston Grand Opera

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and Houston cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit and Edward Bing. With a current annual operating budget of approximately $20 million, HGO has grown from a small regional company to become an internationally recognized industry leader in artistic excellence and innovation. The opera is located in downtown Houston at the Wortham Theater Center, a 437,500-square foot facility featuring two theaters—the Alice and George Brown Theater and the Roy and Lillie Cullen Theater—which together comprise over 3,500 seats. HGO’s mission is to contribute to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation by producing and performing world-class opera; and by creating a diverse, innovative, and balanced program of performances, events, and community and education projects that reach the widest possible public.

The HGO Board meets three times each year and is broken into three parts: an Executive Committee, a Board of Governors and a Board of Trustees. After an extensive international search, Anthony Freud was selected as HGO's third general director and the company’s first CEO. beginning his tenure in March 2006. Mr. Freud was general director of Welsh National Opera from 1994 to 2005. At HGO, he heads an executive management team that includes internationally acclaimed Music Director Patrick Summers and Executive Director Ann Owens.

Regarded as one of the world’s principal commissioners and producers of new works, HGO has introduced thirty-eight world premieres and six American premieres since 1973. HGO has received a Tony Award, two Grammy Awards, two Emmy Awards and a Grand Prix du Disques; it is the only opera company in the world to have won all four honors. HGO cultivates a varied repertoire that features traditional pieces, rarely performed masterworks, contemporary opera and new commissions.

HGO was among the first companies in the U.S. to embrace the use of supertitles: beginning in 1984, HGO used supertitles on all foreign language operas and now uses them for all operas, including those in English. In 1995, HGO became the first American opera company to simultaneously project a live performance onto a giant screen outside the theater, dubbing the event a Plazacast. The public was invited free of charge to Ray C. Fish Plaza, just outside the Wortham Theater Center, to view the simulcast of a sold-out performance of Rossini’s La Cenerentola, featuring mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. The Opera has subsequently offered ten free Plazacasts.

To broaden the company’s presence in the community, HGO in 2007 established HGOco, an initiative designed to break down barriers to the arts by creating opportunities for observation, participation and creation. The “co” in HGOco represents a focus on company, community, connection and collaboration. With the combined resources of the entire company (staff, chorus, orchestra, designers, technicians, guest artists, etc.), HGOco extends the company’s reach through partnerships with kindred organizations. These efforts include all of HGO’s education and community-focused activities. On average, HGO’s education and outreach programs reach more than 175,000 students, families, and community members annually.

Each year HGOco’s touring group, Opera to Go!, presents shortened versions of traditional and new repertoire for more than 50,000 children and families at schools and community centers throughout the greater Houston area. At the Wortham Theater Center, HGOco offers local elementary, middle, and high school students the opportunity to enjoy mainstage presentations through its Student Matinee and High School Night performances. Training and development for young voices is offered through four programs including the High School Voice Studio, the Children’s Chorus, Opera Camp, and, beginning in the 2008–09 season, the Houston Grand Opera Girls Chorus. Through Song of Houston, an ongoing project of HGOco, the company partners with community leaders and organizations to offer a series of workshops, projects and events that promote the telling of stories about Houston and Houstonians in words and music. The first new work to result from Song of Houston was The Refuge, a large-scale piece of musical theater that drew national attention, including coverage in The New York Times.

The Houston Grand Opera Studio program, which celebrated its thirtieth anniversary during the 2007–08 season, trains singers and pianist/coaches with extraordinary potential for professional careers in opera. Co-founded in 1977 by David Gockley (HGO’s general director from 1972 through 2005) and composer Carlisle Floyd, the program remains one of the most prestigious artist-in-training programs worldwide. Singers Joyce DiDonato, Bruce Ford, Denyce Graves, Greer Grimsley, Eric Halfvarson, Ana María Martínez and Susanne Mentzer all attended the HGO Studio before establishing successful careers.

HGO reaches more than five million people each year through a variety of performances, community activities, special events, broadcasts and recordings. The company has toured extensively, including trips to Europe and Asia.

WORLD PREMIERES
- Sleeping Beauty, Edward Charles Winkler, 2008 (OTG)
- Last Acts (Three Decembers), Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, 2008
- The Refuge, Christopher Theofanidis and Leah Lax, 2007
- Send (who are you? I love you), Michael John LaChiusa, 2006
- Strega Nona, Mary Carol Warwick and Mary Ann Pendino, 2006 (OTG)
- Lysistrata, or the Nude Goddess, Mark Adamo, 2005
- The Princess and the Pea, Mary Carol Warwick and Mary Ann Pendino, 2005 (OTG)
- Salsipuedes, a tale of Love, War and Anchovies, Daniel Catán and Eliseo Alberto / Francisco Hinojosa, 2004
- The End of the Affair, Jake Heggie and Heather McDonald, 2004
- The Velveteen Rabbit, Mary Carol Warwick and Kate Pogue, 2004 (OTG)
- The Little Prince, Rachel Portman and Nicholas Wright, 2003
- Sibanda!, Michael Remson, 2003 (OTG)
- The Emperor’s New Clothes, Mary Carol Warwick and Kate Pogue, 2001 (OTG)
- Cold Sassy Tree, Carlisle Floyd, 2000
- Resurrection, Tod Machover and Laura Harrington with additional materials by Braham Murray, 1999
- Little Women, Mark Adamo, 1998 (HGOS)
- Cinderella in Spain/Cinderella en España, Mary Carol Warwick and Kate Pogue, 1998 (OTG)
- Jackie O, Michael Daugherty and Wayne Koestenbaum, 1997 (HGOS)
- Florencia en el Amazonas, Daniel Catán and Marcela Fuentes-Berain, 1996
- The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a liberation through hearing, Ricky Ian Gordon and Jean-Claude van Itallie, 1996 (HGOS)
- Puppy and the Big Guy, Sterling Tinsley and Kate Pogue, 1995 (OTG)
- Harvey Milk, Stewart Wallace and Michael Korie, 1995
- The Outcast (fully realized version), Noa Ain, 1994
- The Dracula Diary, Robert Moran and James Skofield, 1994 (HGOS)
- TEXAS!, Mary Carol Warwick and Kate Pogue, 1993 (OTG)
- The Achilles Heel, Craig Bohmler and Mary Carol Warwick, 1993 (TOT)
- Desert of Roses, Robert Moran and Michael John LaChiusa, 1992
- ATLAS: an opera in three parts, Meredith Monk, 1991
- The Passion of Jonathan Wade (new version), Carlisle Floyd, 1991
- New Year, Sir Michael Tippett, 1989
- Where’s Dick?, Stewart Wallace and Michael Korie, 1989 (TOT)
- The Making of the Representative for Planet 8, Philip Glass and Doris Lessing, 1988
- Nixon in China, John Adams and Alice Goodman, 1987
- A Quiet Place, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Wadsworth, 1983
- Starbird, Henry Mollicone and Kate Pogue, 1980 (TOT)
- Willie Stark, Carlisle Floyd, 1981
- Bilby’s Doll, Carlisle Floyd, 1976
- The Seagull, Thomas Pasatieri and Kenward Elmslie, 1974

AMERICAN PREMIERES
- Akhnaten, Philip Glass, 1984
- La donna del lago (new critical edition), Gioacchino Rossini, 1981
- The Panther, Philip Glass, 1981 (HGOS)
- Robinson Crusoe, Jacques Offenbach, 1977 (TOT)
- Rinaldo (stage premiere), George Frideric Handel, 1975
- Hugh the Drover, Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1973

OTG = work was premiered by Opera to Go!
TOT = work was premiered by Texas Opera Theater, HGO’s former touring company
HGOS = work was premiered by Houston Grand Opera Studio

TOURS Houston Grand Opera productions have toured to Broadway, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Lincoln Center Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the American Music Theater Festival and The Mann Center, and to San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington D.C. and numerous other U.S. cities. Internationally, HGO productions have traveled to Paris, Milan, Berlin, Cairo, Zurich, Genoa and Palermo, and to Japan, Canada and Israel.

RECORDINGS, TELEVISION AND RADIO APPEARANCES
Audio Recordings
- The Refuge, Albany, to be released May 2008
- Cold Sassy Tree, Albany, 2005
- Of Mice and Men, Albany, 2004
- Florencia en el Amazonas, Albany, 2002
- Resurrection, Albany, 2002
- Little Women, Ondine, 2001
- Jackie O, Argo/Decca, 1997
- Song of Majnun, Delos, 1997
- The Dracula Diary, Catalyst/BMG, 1994
- ATLAS: an opera in three parts, ECM, 1992
- Nixon in China, Nonesuch, 1988
- Treemonisha, Deutsche Grammophon, 1982
- Porgy and Bess, RCA, 1976

Nationally Televised Productions
- Little Women, PBS’s Great Performances, August 2001
- La Cenerentola, PBS’s Great Performances, April 1996
- Nixon in China, PBS’s Great Performances, April 1988
- Aida, PBS’s Great Performances, October 1987
- Treemonisha, PBS, February 1986
- Willie Stark, PBS’s Great Performances, October 1981

Videocassette Recordings
- La Cenerentola, London/Decca, 1996
- Treemonisha, Kultur Video, 1982

Radio Broadcasts
- WFMT Radio Network, 2007–present
- Australian Broadcast Corporation broadcasts HGO’s performances, 2003
- European Broadcast Union broadcasts HGO’s performances, 2002–present
- New York City’s WQXR broadcasts HGO’s performances, 2002–present
- NPR’s World of Opera broadcasts HGO’s performances nationally, 1999–2007
- KUHF 88.7FM broadcasts HGO’s seasons locally, 1996-1999
- KRTS 92.1FM broadcasts HGO’s seasons locally, 1987-1995

AWARDS Emmy Awards
- Hitting the High Cs, Marion Kessell and Rick Christie, 1998
- Nixon in China, John Adams and Alice Goodman, 1987

Grammy Awards
- Nixon in China, John Adams and Alice Goodman, 1987
- Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, 1976

Tony Awards
- Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, 1976
- Grand Prix du Disques
- Porgy and Bess, George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, 1976

WORTHAM THEATER CENTER In 1987, Houston Grand Opera officially moved to the Wortham Theater Center, HGO’s $72 million home. The sum was raised entirely from private funds during a major downturn in Houston’s economy. In 1997, improvements were made to the Wortham Theater Center that included the addition of 180 seats in the main orchestra section and the expansion and reconfiguration of the orchestra pit. Another major renovation and expansion of the orchestra pit was completed in 2005.

HGOco There is a compelling need for a sustained and broadly diverse arts organization that makes community collaboration a chief priority. HGO has responded to this dilemma with HGOco, a far-reaching initiative that seeks to break down barriers to the arts by creating opportunities for observation, participation and creation. Through collaborative artistic projects, the company can engage many members of our community who have traditionally remained outside the reach of Houston Grand Opera. These programs are included under the umbrella of HGOco:

Houston Grand Opera Studio Co-founded in 1977 by David Gockley (HGO’s general director from 1972 to 2005) and composer Carlisle Floyd, Houston Grand Opera Studio is a nationally acclaimed training and performance program dedicated to the advancement of young artists with the potential for major careers in the opera/music theater profession. The program serves as a model for other apprenticeship programs in the United States. Among the distinguished alumni of the Houston Opera Studio who now enjoy major careers are Joyce DiDonato, Ana María Martínez, Richard Paul Fink, Bruce Ford, Denyce Graves, Jan Grissom, Eric Halfvarson, John Keyes, Marquita Lister, Susanne Mentzer, Lee Merrill, Erie Mills, Eugene Perry, Herbert Perry, Marietta Simpson, Mark Thomsen, Margaret Jane Wray, Raymond Very and Stella Zambalis. Laura Canning will become program director of the Studio in August 2008, succeeding baritone Hector Vásquez; Kathleen Kelly is the Studio’s music director.

The Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers (formerly the Eleanor McCollum Auditions and Awards program) was established in 1989 to identify young singers and award career development grants to promising young artists. The competition secures a pool of candidates for the Houston Grand Opera Studio. Each year HGO auditions more than 400 singers throughout the U.S. for the opportunity to compete in Houston for awards and cash prizes. Semi-finals are held over the course of three days, followed by three days of intensive auditions and interviews leading to the finals Concert of Arias gala evening.

PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS High School Night at the Opera and Student Matinees—performances of a main stage production offered exclusively to students and their teachers.

Opera to Go! — a collaboration with a local professional touring company to present fully staged “portable” operas in English for students in grades K–12. Opera to Go! performances reach over 50,000 students through performances given for school groups and for the public.

Opera Camps — summer day camps for students. Participants are taught proper vocal technique, music theory, stage movement, ensemble performance and other facets of opera stagecraft. Each camp culminates with solo and ensemble performances for the public.

High School Voice Studio — students are selected from local auditions open to seniors attending high school in Harris County. The year-long program is designed to prepare students for further vocal music study in college and conservatory programs. Training includes private weekly voice lessons, monthly voice classes, vocal coachings and recitals. Upon completion of their studies, participants are presented in an adjudicated recital with scholarships awarded to the top three finalists. All participants meeting performance standards receive stipends to assist with college expenses.

The Genevieve P. Demme Archives and Resource Center In 1989, Houston Grand Opera became the first performing arts organization in Houston and the second major U.S. opera company to establish its own archives and resource center. The facility preserves valuable materials from throughout the company’s history. The archive houses 3500 linear feet of institutional records including programs, artist files, production records, audio and video recordings, financial records and photographic images in a wide range of formats. The Archives and Resource Center is named for Genevieve P. Demme, a longtime member of the board of trustees and historian of Houston Grand Opera Association.

NEXUS INIATIVE The Nexus Initiative is a ground-breaking audience development program that will allow more Houston community members to experience the joy of live performance. Funded by a consortium of Houston's visionary corporate leaders, Nexus provides $10 tickets to eligible groups attending HGO for the first time, such as students (elementary through graduate school), community, church, service and cultural organizations, and senior citizens. The Nexus initiative also underwrites selected subscription packages in the Orchestra, Grand Tier and Balcony, allowing HGO to keep subscription prices affordable for new audiences. The Nexus Initiative has received leadership support from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Chevron and KPMG LLP.