HGO’s New Season to Feature Six Operas, Each an Original HGO Production or Co-Production,
Including a Stunning New Staging of a Verdi Tragedy; a Highly Anticipated New Staging of a Wagner
Masterpiece; and More Audience Favorites
The new season includes two never-before-seen productions, Il trovatore and Tannhäuser;
the Houston debut of Missy Mazzoli’s boundary-pushing Breaking the Waves; family-friendly classic Cinderella;
Broadway masterpiece West Side Story; and the world’s most beloved opera, La bohème
“HGO’s new season explores the most profoundly human of emotions, in all its myriad forms: romantic love.” —General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor
HOUSTON—March 20, 2024—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce its 2024-25 season, featuring a spectacular, new, season-opening production of Il trovatore; the return of charming, family-friendly Cinderella, classic tragedy La bohème, and blockbuster musical West Side Story; Houstonians’ first-ever chance to see award-winning opera Breaking the Waves; and a lushly beautiful new production of Tannhäuser, the company’s first presentation of the opera in more than two decades.
“Our theme for the 2024-25 season is Truly. Madly. Deeply,” says HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “Whether Verdi or Wagner, a comedy or a tragedy, a centuries-old masterwork or a bold addition to the repertoire, each of the six ravishing operas HGO is planning for our audiences will explore what it means to fall in love—with every last iota of your being. Only opera, through its magical merging of text and musical score, can conjure the profound pleasure and searing pain that accompany pure romantic feeling. And that is what we will be reveling in, with abandon, over the extraordinary season ahead.”
“HGO’s new season is not only largely about young love, but the operas themselves were composed by youngsters—Rossini was 23 when he began his beloved Cinderella, and West Side Story’s lyricist Stephen Sondheim was only 24,” says HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers. “The boundless energy of youth runs through each of next year’s works: Tannhäuser, though not Wagner’s first opera, was his first grandly romantic work in the style for which he would change the world. Il trovatore was a breakthrough opera for the young Verdi, as was Breaking the Waves for the preternaturally gifted young Missy Mazzoli. And, of course, all of the innocence of youth, love, and the pain of loss is wrapped in the ultimate love opera, Puccini’s La bohème.”
The company will open the 2024-25 season with the debut of an original, new HGO-commissioned production, a fresh vision of Verdi’s Il trovatore from industry-leading director Stephen Wadsworth. His awe-inspiring, old-meets-new-world production sets the story in contemporary Europe, where castles sit amid skyscrapers and monuments stand alongside street art, a juxtaposition that accentuates the timelessness of the story.
The opera takes place in Spain, where the royalist Count di Luna and the revolutionary leader Manrico love the same woman, Leonora. As the men face off, they become ensnared in a larger web of lies, murder, and revenge, spun in part by the Romani woman Azucena, whose own mother’s death set the story in motion many years earlier. Superstar soprano Ailyn Pérez, fresh from triumphing in Houston as Madame Butterfly, performs the role of Leonora opposite virtuoso baritenor Michael Spyres as Manrico, with baritone Lucas Meachem as Count di Luna and mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as Azucena. Maestro Patrick Summers conducts.
Also part of HGO’s fall repertoire is Rossini’s frothy delight, Cinderella, presented in the production that has charmed the world. Directed by Joan Font, one of the geniuses behind Barcelona-based collective Els Comediants, the opera shares the story of renamed heroine Angelina, a sweet young beauty who finds love with a prince, in a bright and whimsical HGO co-production that includes a group of hilarious, scene-stealing rats.
Leading the vocally challenging bel canto opera is world-famous mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as Angelina, with baritone Alessandro Corbelli, a revered Rossini specialist, as Don Magnifico. The incredible cast also boasts tenor Jack Swanson as Prince Ramiro, baritone Iurii Samoilov in his company debut as the prince’s valet Dandini, and bass-baritone Cory McGee as the philosopher Alidoro. Lorenzo Passerini, making his company debut, conducts.
The company’s winter repertoire will launch with Puccini’s heart-wrenching La bohème, in a revival co-production from HGO, Canadian Opera Company, and San Francisco Opera, created by Tony Award-winning director John Caird. The production’s intimate set, constructed from paintings and canvases, perfectly conjures belle époque Paris, where tragedy awaits the story’s irresistible band of bohemians.
Soprano Yaritza Veliz makes her HGO debut in the role that has garnered her international acclaim—that of the fragile Mimì—opposite Grammy Award-winning lyric tenor Joshua Guerrero as her Rodolfo. Baritone Edward Parks, also a Grammy winner, performs the role of the painter Marcello with Juliana Grigoryan, an electrifying new star who recently took top honors at Operalia, as his lover Musetta. Another Grammy winner, the celebrated conductor Karen Kamensek, takes the HGO podium to conduct Puccini’s unforgettable score.
Next, HGO presents a Broadway masterpiece, West Side Story, the creation of composer Leonard Bernstein, lyricist Stephen Sondheim, choreographer Jerome Robbins, and playwright Arthur Laurents. Directed by the legendary Francesca Zambello and co-produced by HGO, Glimmerglass Festival, and Lyric Opera of Chicago, this production received raves in Houston in 2018, when the company was displaced from the Wortham Theater Center by Hurricane Harvey. Now audiences have the chance to experience Zambello’s full vision of the romantic tragedy, which transports Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to a New York setting.
The opera boasts a superlative lead cast, including rising soprano Shereen Pimentel in her HGO debut as Maria, the role that won her an Outer Critics Circle Award on Broadway; dazzling tenor Brenton Ryan as Tony; and famed Broadway artist Kyle Coffman, who also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 film version, in his company debut as Riff. Internationally acclaimed conductor Roberto Kalb takes the podium in his HGO debut.
Spring will bring the highly anticipated Houston debut of Breaking the Waves, the critically acclaimed contemporary opera from sought-after composer-and-librettist team Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek, which made its world premiere in 2016. Directed by Tom Morris, this powerful, highly praised HGO co-production brings to life the strict Calvinist community in 1970s Scotland, where the tragic story, adapted from the art film by Lars von Trier unfolds.
Luminous soprano Lauren Snouffer performs the role of the impressionable young Bess, with charismatic bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as the offshore oil rigger Jan. After the two marry, Bess embarks on a journey of sexual exploration that, following a series of shocking events, ends in tragedy. Sara Brodie directs the revival of Morris’s production of the award-winning, boundary-pushing opera, with Maestro Patrick Summers conducting Mazzoli’s rich, intriguing, original score.
HGO will close the mainstage season with a highly anticipated new staging of Wagner’s Tannhäuser from internationally acclaimed director Francesca Zambello. Houston audiences will be the first to experience this strikingly beautiful co-production from HGO and Washington National Opera.
A powerhouse cast up to the formidable challenges of Wagner’s sublime score is set to deliver an unforgettable experience for HGO audiences. Tenor Russell Thomas, an acclaimed Wagnerian and HGO’s Parsifal in 2024, performs the role of Tannhäuser, a poet struggling between the forces of lust and love. World-famous soprano Tamara Wilson portrays his spiritual love, the pure Elisabeth, with sought-after mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as the tempting goddess Venus. The superb lead cast is completed by baritone Luke Sutliff as Wolfram von Eschenbach and bass Alexandros Stavrakakis in his company debut as Landgraf Hermann. Erik Nielsen, acclaimed music director of Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, makes his company debut at the podium.
The 2024-25 Season Beyond the Mainstage
Augmenting HGO’s mainstage season is a host of programming intended to serve students, families, and the entire Houston community, including several new initiatives.
“HGO’s mission is to serve the entire city of Houston with the inspiration and transformation that results from forging a connection with great art and world-class artists—and families are at the center of that,” says Dastoor. “As we enter a new era for the art form, and the company assumes an ever-greater leadership role in the industry, we will continue to place a premium on multi-generational programming. We cannot wait to welcome Houstonians of all ages to the family-friendly performances we’re planning for next season.”
November 9, 2024, will usher in a new tradition at the company: HGO Family Day. The first annual event, HGO Family Day Presents Cinderella, will feature a 90-minute, relaxed-environment performance of the Rossini opera the company is presenting as part of its fall repertoire. Directed by superstar mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, this show is perfect for young guests, complete with kid-centric lobby activities. Subscribers enjoy presale access to tickets, which will go on sale on May 15, 2024.
Throughout the 2024-25 season, HGO will present a double bill of touring operas for students and families, Opera to Go!: Mo Willems’s Bite-Sized Operas!, presented as a bilingual English and Spanish edition. The show features two children’s books by popular, Emmy Award-winning author Mo Willems, with music by Carlos Simon. Slopera! shares the story of Piggie and Elephant, two best friends who learn to appreciate one another’s differences. And Don’t Let the Pigeon Sing Up Late!, starring The Pigeon and some delightful new companions, recounts The Pigeon’s losing battle against bedtime. In addition to schools and other community spaces throughout the region, the family-friendly double bill will be presented at Miller Outdoor Theatre from October 8-10, 2024.
On January 17, 2025, HGO will host the Concert of Arias, the live final round of the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, featuring a small group of talented young artists selected following an extensive international search. In 2025, for the first time in company history, the singers performing in the concert will be accompanied by the HGO Orchestra. Subscribers receive first access to tickets.
In winter 2025 HGO will present the sixth annual Giving Voice—an adored company tradition created by renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee, showcasing the monumental artistry and historic contributions made by Black artists in opera and song. Subscribers receive premier access to register.
This season, HGO is featuring a variety of ticket offerings, from flexible three-opera packages to the full six-opera season. Full subscriptions start as low as $90. Subscriptions to the 2024-25 season are now available at HGO.org. Single tickets will be available later this summer. The deadline for renewal is May 24, 2024.
Subscribers to the company’s 2024-25 season will receive a host of benefits, including a 25 percent discount on additional tickets, free tickets to the company’s popular Butler Studio Showcase, special deals at downtown-area restaurants, a monthly subscriber newsletter, and access to Opera America’s Opera Passport program, which offers discounted tickets to performances from Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and many more companies across the country.
HGO continues to encourage younger audiences to experience the art form through several opportunities, including its popular Opening Nights for Young Professionals (ONYP) discounted subscription series; and tickets starting at $25 for all productions.
In 2024, HGO announced the launch of a new initiative to offer $20 student tickets for mainstage productions. Students with a valid student ID are invited to take advantage of this offer one month prior to the opening of every performance.
HGO’s mainstage season will comprise 34 mainstage, 1 family, and 2 student performances of six productions. Additional details of the upcoming HGO productions are provided below, and more information is available at the company’s website: HGO.org. All repertoire, dates, pricing, productions, and casting are subject to change without notice.
PHOTOS: Photos that can be used with coverage of the HGO 2024-25 season announcement news can be found here. All are courtesy of Houston Grand Opera unless otherwise indicated.
About Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is one of the largest, most innovative, and most highly acclaimed opera companies in the United States. General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor assumed leadership of the organization and responsibility for its strategic vision in 2021. HGO was the only American finalist for Opera Company of the Year in the 2019 International Opera Awards, and the only American company to be nominated twice. In fulfilling its mission to advance the operatic art, to serve the Houston community, and to be a global leader in the future of opera, HGO has led the field in commissioning and producing new works (76 world premieres to date) and in training and nurturing promising young artists and administrators. The company contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a diverse and innovative program of performances, community events, and education projects that reaches the widest possible public. HGO’s pioneering Community and Learning initiative has served as a model for other arts organizations. The company invites all Houstonians to experience superlative opera without the barrier of price through discounted single tickets and subscriptions, subsidized student performances, and free productions.
HGO has toured extensively and has won a Tony, two Grammy awards, and three Emmy awards. It is the only opera company to win all three honors.
Houston Grand Opera: 2024-25 Season
* Company mainstage debut
# Alternate cast
† Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio artist
‡ Former Butler Studio artist
(Butler Studio artist designations apply to the program’s 2024-25 class; HGO’s announcement of the new season’s members can be found here.)
Verdi: Il trovatore
Performance dates: October 18, 20m, 26, 29, November 3m, 2024
Sung in Italian with projected English translation
CAST:
Michael Spyres
Manrico
Ailyn Pérez
Leonora
Raehann Bryce-Davis *
Azucena
Lucas Meachem
Count di Luna
Morris Robinson
Ferrando
Demetrious Sampson, Jr. †
Ruiz
Michael McDermott †
Messenger
Elizabeth “Hanje” * †
Ines
CREATIVE TEAM:
Patrick Summers
Conductor
Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair
Stephen Wadsworth
Director
Charlie Corcoran *
Scenic designer
Camille Assaf *
Costume Designer
Jiyoun Chang *
Lighting Designer
Amy Hall Garner *
Choreographer
Richard Bado ‡
Chorus Director
Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair
HGO Orchestra
HGO Chorus
An Original HGO Production
SPONSORS:
PRINCIPAL GUARANTORS
Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg
Dian and Harlan Stai
GUARANTOR
Margaret Alkek Williams
GRAND UNDERWRITERS
ConocoPhillips
Molly and Jim Crownover
Laura and Brad McWilliams
Rossini: Cinderella
Performance dates: October 25, 27m, November 1 (morning Student Matinee and evening mainstage), 7, 9 (morning Family Day and evening mainstage), 2024
Sung in Italian with projected English translation. Student Matinee and Family Day performances will be sung in English with an alternate cast TBA.
CAST:
Isabel Leonard
Angelina
Jack Swanson
Don Ramiro
Alessandro Corbelli
Don Magnifico
Iurii Samoilov *
Dandini
Cory McGee ‡
Alidoro
Alissa Goretsky * †
Clorinda
Emily Treigle ‡
Tisbe
CREATIVE TEAM:
Lorenzo Passerini *
Conductor
Joan Font
Director
Xevi Dorca
Associate Director and Choreographer
Joan J. Guillén
Set and Costume Designer
Albert Faura
Original Lighting Designer
Michael James Clark
Revival Lighting Designer
Richard Bado ‡
Chorus Director
Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair
HGO Orchestra
HGO Chorus
A Co-Production of Houston Grand Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Welsh National Opera, and Grand Théâtre de Genève
SPONSORS:
PREMIER GUARANTOR
Houston Grand Opera Endowment, Inc.
Puccini: La bohème
Performance dates: January 24, 26m, February 1, 6, 9m, 12, 14, 2025
Sung in Italian with projected English translation
CAST:
Joshua Guerrero
Rodolfo
Yaritza Véliz *
Mimì
Edward Parks *
Marcello
Juliana Grigoryan *
Musetta
Cory McGee ‡
Colline
Navasard Hakobyan †
Schaunard
Héctor Vásquez
Benoit/Alcindoro
Demetrious Sampson, Jr. †
Parpignol
CREATIVE TEAM:
Karen Kamensek *
Conductor
John Caird
Director
Katherine M. Carter
Associate Director
David Farley
Set and Costume Designer
Michael James Clark
Lighting Designer
Richard Bado ‡
Chorus Director
Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair
Karen Reeves
Children’s Chorus Director
HGO Orchestra
HGO Chorus
HGO Children’s Chorus
A Co-Production of Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera Company, and San Francisco Opera
SPONSORS:
GUARANTORS
Vinson & Elkins
Margaret Alkek Williams
GRAND UNDERWRITERS
Marianne and Joe Geagea
Laura and Brad McWilliams
Bernstein: 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
Originally Produced on Broadway by Robert E. Griffith and Harold S. Prince, by Arrangement with Roger L. Stevens
Performance dates: January 31, February 2m, 4 (High School Night) 5, 7, 8, 13, 15, 2025
Sung in English with projected English text
CAST:
Shereen Pimentel *
Maria
Brenton Ryan
Tony
Kyle Coffman *
Riff
Yurel Echezarreta *
Bernardo
Nathan Keen *
Action
Ana María Martínez ‡
“Somewhere” soloist
CREATIVE TEAM:
Roberto Kalb *
Conductor
Francesca Zambello
Director
Eric Sean Fogel
Associate Director
Jerome Robbins
Original Choreographer
Joshua Bergasse *
Reproducing the original choreography
Kiira Carper *
Associate Choreographer
Peter J. Davison
Set Designer
Jessica Jahn
Costume Designer
Mark McCullough
Lighting Designer
Andrew Harper
Sound Designer
Richard Bado ‡
Chorus Director
Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair
HGO Orchestra
HGO Chorus
A Co-Production of Houston Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, and Lyric Opera of Chicago
SPONSORS:
PRINCIPAL GUARANTOR
The Wortham Foundation, Inc.
GRAND UNDERWRITERS
Laura and Brad McWilliams
Mazzoli: Breaking the Waves
Music by Missy Mazzoli
Libretto by Royce Vavrek
Performance dates: April 19, 26, 30, May 2, 4m, 2025
Sung in English with projected English text
CAST:
Lauren Snouffer ‡
Bess McNeill
Ryan McKinny ‡
Jan Nyman
Michelle Bradley *
Mother
Maire Therese Carmack *
Dodo McNeill
David Portillo
Dr. Richardson
Michael Mayes
Councilman
Sam Dhobhany * †
Terry
Demetrious Sampson, Jr. †
Younger Sailor
CREATIVE TEAM:
Missy Mazzoli *
Composer
Royce Vavrek
Librettist
Patrick Summers
Conductor
Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair
Tom Morris *
Original Director
Sara Brodie *
Revival Director and Movement Director
Soutra Gilmour *
Scenic and Costume Designer
Richard Howell *
Lighting Designer
Will Duke *
Projection Designer
Jon Nicholls *
Sound Designer
Richard Bado ‡
Chorus Director
Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair
HGO Orchestra
HGO Chorus
A Co-Production of Houston Grand Opera, Opera Ventures, Scottish Opera, Théâtre National de l’Opéra Comique, and Adelaide Festival
SPONSORS:
GUARANTOR
Drs. Liz Grimm and Jack Roth
Wagner: Tannhäuser
Performance dates: April 25, 29, May 3, 8, 11m, 2025
Sung in German with projected English translation
CAST:
Russell Thomas
Tannhäuser
Tamara Wilson ‡
Elisabeth
Sasha Cooke
Venus
Luke Sutliff ‡
Wolfram von Eschenbach
Alexandros Stavrakakis *
Landgraf Hermann
Cory McGee ‡
Biterolf
Martin Luther Clark *
Walther von der Vogelweide
Shawn Roth * †
Heinrich der Schreiber
Ziniu Zhao * †
Reinmar von Zweter
Ani Kushyan †
Shepherd
CREATIVE TEAM:
Erik Nielsen *
Conductor
Francesca Zambello
Director
Peter J. Davison
Scenic Designer
Constance Hoffman
Costume Designer
Amith Chandrashaker
Lighting Designer
- Katy Tucker
Projection Designer
Eric Sean Fogel
Choreographer
Richard Bado ‡
Chorus Director
Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair
HGO Orchestra
HGO Chorus
A Co-Production of Houston Grand Opera and Washington National Opera
SPONSORS:
PRINCIPAL GUARANTOR
Dian and Harlan Stai
GRAND GUARANTOR
Mr. John G. Turner and Mr. Jerry G. Fischer
GUARANTORS
Louise G. Chapman
Elizabeth and Richard Husseini
Drs. Liz Grimm and Jack Roth
GRAND UNDERWRITER
Matt Healey