Thursday, January 12, 2017

Houston Grand Opera Season Announcement, 2017-18

Houston Grand Opera season 2017-18, copy/paste from PDF. Some comments in line.

Verdi: La traviata
October 20, 22m, 28, Nov. 1, 3, 5m†, 11†, 2017
Violetta Valéry Albina Shagimuratova #
Alfredo Germont Dimitri Pittas
Giorgio Germont George Petean *
Conductor Eun Sun Kim *
Director Arin Arbus
Set Designer Riccardo Hernandez
Costume Designer Cait O’Connor *
Lighting Designer Marcus Doshi *
Projection Designer Christopher Ash *
Choreographer Austin McCormick *
Chorus Master Richard Bado #
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus
A co-production of Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Canadian Opera Company

Handel: Julius Caesar
October 27, 29m, Nov. 4, 8, 10, 2017
Julius Caesar Anthony Roth Costanzo *
Cleopatra Heidi Stober #
Cornelia Stephanie Blythe
Sextus Megan Mikailovna Samarin #
Ptolemy David Daniels
Achillas Federico De Michelis #
Conductor Patrick Summers
Director James Robinson
Associate Director Michael Shell *
Set Designer Christine Jones
Costume Designer James Schuette
Lighting Designer Christopher Akerlind
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra


A Houston Grand Opera production
World Premiere
The House without a Christmas Tree
A Chamber Opera in One Act
Based on The House without a Christmas Tree, a book by Gail Rock
Music by Ricky Ian Gordon; Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Sung in English with projected English text
November 30, Dec. 2, 3m, 6, 8, 10m, 14, 16m, 17m, 2017
Addie Mills Lauren Snouffer #
James Addison Mills III (“Dad”) Daniel Belcher #
Miss Thompson/ Heidi Stober #
Helen Mills/
Adelaide Mills
Grandma Mills Patricia Schuman
Conductor Bradley Moore
Director James Robinson
Set Designer Allen Moyer
Costume Designer James Schuette
Lighting Designer Christopher Akerlind
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Juvenile Chorus
Commissioned and produced by Houston Grand Opera

R. Strauss: Elektra
January 19, 21m, 27, 31, Feb. 2, 2018 [Nice cast and maybe this offers clues to us.]
Elektra Christine Goerke
Chrysothemis Tamara Wilson #
Klytaemnestra Michaela Martens *
Orest Greer Grimsley #
Aegisth Chad Shelton #
Conductor Patrick Summers
Production David McVicar
Revival Director Nick Sandys*
Set and Costume Designer John Macfarlane
Lighting Designer Jennifer Tipton
Chorus Master Richard Bado #
Houston Grand Orchestra Orchestra and Chorus
A Lyric Opera of Chicago production


Rossini: The Barber of Seville
January 26, 28m, Feb. 3, 8, 10, 2018
Figaro Lucas Meachem *
Count Almaviva David Portillo
Rosina Sofia Selowsky#
Don Basilio Eric Owens #
Doctor Bartolo Peixin Chen #
Conductor Julian Wachner *
Director Joan Font
Set and Costume Designer Joan Guillén
Lighting Designer Albert Faura
Choreographer Xevi Dorca
Chorus Master Richard Bado #
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus
A co-production of Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Opera Australia


West Side Story
Based on a Conception of JEROME ROBBINS
Book by ARTHUR LAURENTS, Music by LEONARD BERNSTEIN, Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM
Entire Original Production Directed and Choreographed by JEROME ROBBINS
Sung in English with projected text
April 20, 22m, 28, May 1, 3, 4, 6m, 2018
Maria Andrea Carroll #
Tony Norman Reinhardt #
Anita Alicia Gianni #
Riff Brian Vu *
Conductor Timothy Myers
Director Francesca Zambello [Well, she did direct our Show Boat!]
Choreographer Julio Monge *
Set Designer Peter J. Davison
Costume Designer Jessica Jahn
Lighting Designer Mark McCullough
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra
A co-production of Houston Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, and Lyric Opera of Chicago [And that tells you where this production is headed, eh?]

Bellini: Norma
Sung in Italian with projected English translation
April 27, 29m, May 5, 8, 11, 2018
Norma Liudmyla Monastyrska
Adalgisa Jamie Barton #
Pollione Simon O’Neill
Oroveso Peixin Chen #
Conductor Patrick Summers
Director Kevin Newbury
Set Designer David Korins *
Costume Designer Jessica Jahn
Lighting Designer Duane Schuler
Chorus Master Richard Bado #
Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus
A co-production of San Francisco Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Gran Teatre del Liceu [If you're a subscriber to SFO, you have likely seen this, with a different cast]

2 comments:

Keith said...

No, no, no. WEST SIDE STORY is a musical, not an opera, and will be ruined by operatic voices (as Bernstein himself demonstrated with his Te Kanawa/Carreras monstrosity).

Lisa Hirsch said...

It's pretty likely to be amplified (sigh), which did way more to ruin Sweeney Todd and Show Boat in SF than operatic voices did. Back before amplification, everybody sang using the same technique anyway....