Winner will contribute an original, large-scale artwork to the set for
company’s new production of Verdi’s Il trovatore, opening in fall 2024
HOUSTON—June 3, 2024—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to invite Houston street artists to apply for the opportunity to showcase a large-scale art piece on stage at the Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theater. Applicants will submit a sample of their work for judging, with one artist selected to create a custom work for the company’s new production of Verdi’s Il trovatore, opening the new season on Oct. 18, 2024, and receive an honorarium of $3,000. Houston-area artists are invited to apply for consideration at HGO.org/StreetArt.
HGO’s new, company-commissioned production of Verdi’s perennially popular Il trovatore represents the vision of influential director Stephen Wadsworth, who has set the story in contemporary Europe, where the old world meets the new, castles sit amid skyscrapers, and monuments stand alongside street art. The selected artist will collaborate with Wadsworth and award-winning scenic designer Charlie Corcoran to incorporate a mural-size, street art-style work into the production’s clever, colorful set.
“The stories shared through masterpieces like Il trovatore are universal,” says HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “As in Verdi’s opera, all families have ancient secrets; unresolved problems; mysteries long buried that come to the fore. With this new production, we want to emphasize that the great operas are about and for us—and that is why we want to feature a homegrown-Houston artwork on the Brown stage. Lucky for HGO, there is an amazing talent pool of street artists in our great city. I cannot wait to see which one helps bring this incredible production to life.”
Artists from the region are invited to submit one image of their original street art, which may take the form of graffiti, murals, stencils, or wheat-pasted posters; a short bio; and other materials detailed in the application. The deadline for submission is June 21. The winner, to be selected on July 15, will have two weeks to create an original piece, to be featured as part of the set for HGO’s new production of Il trovatore. Full guidelines for applying can be found at HGO.org/StreetArt.
In addition to a $3,000 honorarium, the selected artist will receive invitations to attend the opera’s opening night and other special events. Two additional artists will be chosen to create smaller-scale artworks inspired by HGO’s 2024-25 season, which may be displayed by HGO online or in a public showing, with each receiving an honorarium of $500 and an invitation to Il trovatore.
HGO has engaged Houston gallerist Janice Bond, chief curator and art advisor for Bond Creative Advisors, as creative consultant for this initiative. In addition to assisting with the public call for entries, Bond will serve as a judge alongside Dastoor, Wadsworth, and Corcoran.
Il trovatore, running Oct. 18 through Nov. 3, 2024, will star sublime soprano Ailyn Pérez as Leonora, opposite virtuoso baritenor Michael Spyres as her revolutionary lover Manrico, with baritone Lucas Meachem as the royalist Count di Luna and mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as the fascinating woman Manrico knows as his mother, Azucena. Maestro Patrick Summers conducts.
Subscriptions for HGO’s 2024-25 season are available now. Single tickets, which range from $25 to $210, will be available starting August 6, 2024. For more information, visit HGO.org or call the Box Office at 713-228-6737.
PHOTOS: Photos that can be used with coverage of HGO’s public call for Houston street artists can be found here. Credit: Courtesy of Houston Grand Opera.
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.
