Opera Cues Fall24 Volume 65 Number 01-Il trovatore

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A MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR AND CEO

Fall’s other opera, Cinderella, will be presented in the popular, company-co-commissioned production that made its debut here in Houston in 2007: a masterful interpretation of the story from Barcelona-based troupe Comediants. Led by director Joan Font, these madcap geniuses have infused the piece with streettheater-style comedy, eye-popping color, and equal dashes of the irreverent and the surreal.

Headlined by dazzling mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard in the role of Angelina, the production boasts a superlative cast that includes tenor Jack Swanson as Prince Ramiro; baritone Alessandro Corbelli as Angelina’s stepfather, Don Magnifico; and baritone Iurii Samoilov as the Prince’s valet, Dandini. Lorenzo Passerini, the recently named chief conductor of Finland’s Jyväskylä Sinfonia, takes the podium in his HGO debut.

Welcome to the Wortham Theater Center! We are delighted you have joined us for Houston Grand Opera’s new season, which launches with Verdi’s Il trovatore and Rossini’s Cinderella. These two masterworks are at the beating heart of our art form: the Italian repertoire. To stage them today is to feel them gush with life—as vital as they were centuries ago—and to witness their continued evolution under the great interpreters of our era.

Fall opens with a new, HGO-commissioned production, a fresh vision of Il trovatore from the brilliant mind of director Stephen Wadsworth, who has set the opera’s tragic story of secrets, passion, and revenge in contemporary Spain, weaving the current with the classic into a seamless whole.

This stunning production stars four of the only artists, anywhere on the planet, who possess the ability to take on Verdi’s famously difficult score: baritenor Michael Spyres as revolutionary troubadour Manrico; soprano Ailyn Pérez as his love, Leonora; baritone Lucas Meachem as the royalist Count di Luna; and mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as the woman who controls their destiny, Azucena. Maestro Patrick Summers conducts the piece he calls “the Verdi-est of all the Verdi operas—the ultimate Italian opera.”

Art that is unmissable—that is what we at HGO strive to provide our city and, wonderfully, exactly what Houstonians will experience this fall. The finest singers in the world are right here, right now, ready to bring the profound emotion of their characters to thrilling life as they demonstrate, on the Wortham stage, that opera is vibrant and thriving.

Of course, it is you, our audience, who makes everything possible. So let these incredible performances and unforgettable evenings serve as a love letter to you, from all of us at this company. With all our heart, we hope you enjoy the show.

Khori Dastoor

General Director and CEO

Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

Khori Dastoor at last season's Opening Night for Intelligence

—Dame Jane Glover, conductor, Don Giovanni spring 2024 “ ”

When I started to conduct, there were very few women doing what I am doing. Today it’s much better than it was. This is a great source of pride for me. I would love to feel that my career has inspired other people.

Opera Cues is published by Houston Grand Opera Association; all rights reserved. Opera Cues is produced under the direction of Chief Marketing and Experiences Officer Jennifer Davenport and Director of Communications Catherine Matusow, by Houston Grand Opera’s Audiences Department.

Editor

Catherine Matusow

Designers

Chelsea Crouse

Rita Jia

Contributors

Colin Michael Brush

Joe Cadagin

Khori Dastoor

Amber Francis

Patrick Summers

Stephen Wadsworth

Advertising

Matt Ross/Ventures Marketing 713-417-6857

For information on all Houston Grand Opera productions and events, or for a complimentary season brochure, please email the Customer Care Center at CustomerCare@HGO.org or telephone 713-228-6737.

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Please consider a gift to HGO’s Laureate Society so future generations will continue to experience world-class operatic productions.

For more information on HGO’s Laureate Society, please contact Amanda Neiter at 713-546-0216 or ANeiter@HGO.org.

MARCH 4 - MARCH 23, 2O25 HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW AND RODEO

Photo credit: Todd Rosenberg

OFFICERS

Claire Liu, Chair of the Board

Allyn Risley, Senior Chair of the Board

Janet Langford Carrig, Chair Emeritus of the Board

Lynn Wyatt, Vice Chair of the Board

MEMBERS AT LARGE

Richard E. Agee

Thomas R. Ajamie

Robin Angly *

John S. Arnoldy *

Christopher V. Bacon, Audiences Committee Vice Chair

Michelle Beale, Governance Committee Chair;

Butler Studio Committee Vice Chair

Astley Blair, Audit Committee Chair

Albert Chao

Louise G. Chapman

Mathilda Cochran *

Albert O. Cornelison Jr. *

James W. Crownover

Khori Dastoor

Joshua Davidson

David B. Duthu *

Warren A. Ellsworth IV, M.D.,

Butler Studio Committee Chair

Benjamin Fink, Finance Committee Chair

Joe Geagea

Michaela Greenan, Audit Committee Vice Chair

Dr. Ellen R. Gritz, Community & Learning Committee Chair

Selda Gunsel

Matt Healey, Finance Committee Vice Chair

Richard Husseini

José M. Ivo, Philanthropy Committee Chair

Myrtle Jones, Community & Learning Committee Vice Chair

Marianne Kah, Houston Grand Opera Endowment, Inc. Chair

Bill Kroger

David LePori, Governance Committee Vice Chair

Gabriel Loperena

Beth Madison *

Sid Moorhead

Sara Morgan

Kristin Muessig

Terrylin G. Neale, Houston Grand Opera Endowment, Inc. Secretary; Treasurer

Ward Pennebaker

Cynthia Petrello

Gloria M. Portela

Allyson Pritchett

Matthew L. Ringel, Audiences Committee Chair

Kelly Brunetti Rose

Jack A. Roth, M.D.

Harlan C. Stai

John G. Turner *

Veer Vasishta

Alfredo Vilas

Margaret Alkek Williams

*Senior Director

CONCERT OF ARIAS DINNER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2025

Reinnette and Stan Marek, Chairs

OPERA BALL

SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2025

Margaret Alkek Williams, Chair

Dian and Harlan Stai, Honorees

Sasha Cooke and Norman Reinhardt in The Wreckers (2022).

Photo by Michael Bishop

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Robin Angly and Miles Smith

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ConocoPhillips

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Drs. Liz Grimm and Jack Roth

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M. D. Anderson Foundation

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Nabors Industries

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Shell USA, Inc.

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To learn more about HGO’s Impresarios Circle members, please see page 74.

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IT'S NOT GOODBYE

Patrick Summers announces his final season as artistic and music director.

It's hard to capture the profound impact that Houston Grand Opera’s beloved artistic and music director, Patrick Summers, has had on the company—and opera as a whole—since joining HGO leadership more than 25 years ago.

“Patrick’s impact on opera as an American art form cannot be overstated,” says HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “He has worked closely with leading composers to introduce groundbreaking new works, mentored some of the most prominent names in opera, and guided the HGO Orchestra from its infancy into the exceptional ensemble it is today. Our gratitude to Patrick is immeasurable.”

And now, as Maestro Summers takes the podium for Il trovatore, the 89th production he’s conducted for HGO, he has announced that a new chapter in his life and career is imminent. At the end of the 2025-26 season, he’ll be stepping down from his current role. The company has already begun its search for a new music director. Happily, Summers will stay on with HGO as music director emeritus—and there are already exciting plans in the works for his final full season. Stay tuned!

CAPTURING THE MAGIC

Love Isabel Leonard in Cinderella ? Now you can hear her as Charlotte in HGO’s brand-new recording of Werther !

A beautiful but rare opera, performed by a brilliant cast, accompanied by the HGO Orchestra for a thrilling demonstration of world-class music-making: some performances simply demand to be recorded and shared with the world. Such is the case with the company’s recent presentation of Massenet’s Werther

“Werther is one of the most stunningly gorgeous operas in the entire repertoire,” says HGO General Director & CEO Khori Dastoor, “but when HGO presented it in 2023, it had been 40 years since our audiences had last seen it. Part of the reason for that is the difficulty of this music. When we secured one of the

country's leading musical minds in conductor Robert Spano, with two virtuoso superstars, Isabel Leonard and Matthew Polenzani, as our Charlotte and Werther, we knew we had to record the extraor-

That recording is set be released on November 15, in an album recorded by Soundmirror and released by EuroArts. But listeners can get a taste of what’s to come, as the first single, Act I Prélude, is now available for streaming on the company’s partner platform, Apple Music Classical, as well as on Spotify and Amazon. Don’t miss it! And look for more new recordings from HGO, coming soon…

Photo credit: Lynn Lane

BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER

A new vision for Concert of Arias 2025

It has long been an adored tradition, one that invites young artists with stars in their eyes to Houston, where they compete for bragging rights, cash prizes, and the chance to join the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio. But as it enters its 37th year, the company’s annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias will see some big changes.

“As part of our mission to attract the finest emerging artists from across the globe to HGO,” says General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor, “we’re making some significant investments that will raise the competition’s stakes even further, and enhance both the artists’ and the audience’s experience. We cannot wait for this exciting night!”

In 2025, for the first time in company history, the competition finalists will perform with the HGO Orchestra. The concert will be conducted by Maestro James Gaffigan, the General Music

Director of Komische Oper Berlin, Music Director of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, Music Director of the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra in Switzerland, and noted champion for the support and development of promising young musicians.

In addition, the competition’s prize purse now represents triple the amount from previous years. The first-prize winner will receive $25,000; second prize, $15,000; third prize, $10,000; Audience Choice, $5,000; and non-placing finalists, $3,500 each. It’s going to be a thrilling evening. Join us!

The 37th Concert of Arias takes place at the Wortham Theater Center’s Cullen Theater on January 17, 2025, at 7 p.m. Concert tickets start at $25. You’re invited to support the future of these young artists at a cocktail-attire dinner following the performance. Ticket and gala information at HGO.org/COA.

A HOLIDAY TRADITION

Come out for Carols on the Green at Discovery Green!

There’s no better way to get in the holiday spirit than to gather with your fellow Houstonians for an evening of music at downtown’s gem, Discovery Green, for HGO’s annual celebration, Carols on the Green. This year’s event, which will feature opera, holiday hits, mariachi, and more, promises to be extra-special.

Company favorite Vanessa Alonzo—who has performed in all three of HGO’s world-premiere mariachi operas—will take the stage in the park. She’ll be joined by the UH Mariachi Pumas band, Indigo Diaspora Dance Company, Segundo Barrio Children’s Chorus, members of HGO’s Butler Studio program and Bauer Family High School Voice Studio, and the renowned HGO Chorus.

So don your most festive attire, grab your friends and family, and head downtown for an uplifting evening full of music, connection, and cheer!

Carols on the Green takes place at Discovery Green on December 14, 2024, at 7 p.m. Free!

Butler Studio members performing at Concert of Arias 2024

HGO CELEBRATES: CONOCOPHILLIPS

The HGO team brings opera to an inspiring day with an invaluable partner.

For 45 years, ConocoPhillips has been an invaluable partner to HGO. This summer, HGO had the immense pleasure of returning to ConocoPhillips’ annual “Bring the Future to Work Day,” an event that hosts many of Houston’s outstanding companies and institutions while giving the children of ConocoPhillips employees the chance to explore different career paths.

HGO’s booth featured all our Community & Learning programs as well as musical instruments and our very own Teaching Artist, Sarah Dyer. As Sarah’s voice rang out through the ConocoPhillips offices, curious families were drawn to the HGO table to learn about all the opportunities for arts engagement and education that we provide. HGO is grateful to ConocoPhillips for hosting us and for being a longstanding supporter of the arts. We look forward to many more years of working together to bring the magic of opera to Houston.

HGO Teaching Artist Sarah Dyer, right, with a young attendee of "Bring the Future to Work Day."

HGO WELCOMES OUR NEWEST CORPORATE PARTNERS

Thank you for joining us for the 2024-25 season!

Latham & Watkins LLP became part of the HGO family earlier this year, serving as an underwriter for both our season opener, Il trovatore, and Opera Ball. We are proud to have Bryant Lee, tax partner at the firm, representing the firm as HGO's corporate trustee. Fun fact: Bryant's wife, Sarah, is an HGO Chorus member!

Valentino hosted a fabulous 50-person season kick-off event for HGO's Young Patrons Circle at its Galleria location on August 29 and were generous supporters of last season’s Opera Ball.

Chanel brought their trademark style and elegance as 2024 Opera Ball supporters, and we look forward to seeing them at other events this season.

Frost Brown Todd is a full-service law firm with over 575 lawyers in 17 offices across the U.S. We are delighted that they joined us for our signature events last season and are thrilled to share the opening of this dynamic year with them.

Infosys, a leading global digital consulting firm, has pledged its support for our exciting fall production of Cinderella. HGO is also thankful to have Partner Michaela Greenan serve on our Board of Directors.

We extend our deepest gratitude to all of our dedicated corporate partners!

Sarah and Bryant Lee enjoying HGO's 2024 Opera Ball. Bryant is a Partner and Chair of the Houston Tax Department at Latham & Watkins, which is underwriting both Il trovatore and Opera Ball this season!

Credit: Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

Isabel Leonard, star of Cinderella and director of HGO’s first Family Day production, on her relationship with opera.

By Khori Dastoor, General Director & CEO

When I reach the great mezzosoprano Isabel Leonard for our interview ahead of her third starring role at HGO, I decide to ask her right away: what is your opera love story? Her response, while unexpectedly frank, is not surprising. “I have, over these years now, asked myself that question too, because to be brutally honest, I have a love-hate relationship with opera. And I would suspect and hope that I’m not the only one.”

What Isabel loves: beautiful music. Big love stories. Singing. Dancing. Working with children. “Coming into the theater to be a part of other worlds and other stories,” she says. “You can transport the audience— and, hopefully, yourself—giving those on and off the stage the ability to experience new stories, old stories, delve into them, make discoveries.”

What she doesn’t love: time away from her son. Mistreatment of young artists who don’t know how to advocate for themselves. “Excellence through fear and browbeating,” she says. “The older I get, the less I agree with it.”

As she suspects and hopes, Isabel is indeed far from the first to look back on her life, career, and industry and reevaluate some things. In fact, she is part of a wave of change that represents an incredible opportunity. By channeling her hard-won wisdom into her own artistry, as well as that of the next generation, Isabel is coming into her power.

I tell Isabel that it feels as if Houston has its own love story, with her. Given the intimate and intense relationship she’s established with HGO’s audience, it’s difficult to believe that she made her stunning company premiere, as Charlotte in Werther, less than two years ago. This spring, when she returned to take the stage as Maria in The Sound of Music, HGO felt like her home company.

That production not only captured Houstonians’ hearts—it became the talk of the entire opera world. I’m curious to know what, in Isabel’s view, made HGO’s The Sound of Music so special. “The kids had a lot to do with it, obviously,” she says. “They were so great, and there was just something so wonderful about having them in that space, because they represented what I think theater should be all the time: the unabashed testing of the waters and getting into your character.” Also, being on set was fun. There was room to play. “The kids in our show were not afraid,” she says. “And I think everyone was really generous with each other. We were all there to tell a story.”

I ask Isabel about her interpretation of Cinderella’s Angelina, a vocally demanding role for which she has won rapturous acclaim. Her response is revealing: “As a character, she is challenging. It’s one of those roles where you just go, she’s good all the time? (laughs) I think that in the stagings of these operas, we can miss the core of it. It isn’t necessarily, hey, you have to behave sweetly all the time, or shrink in the face of abuse. It’s that she knows that none of what’s going on is against her personally.

“She happens to be, sadly, a victim of abuse for quite a period. But her inner light is apparent. The prince sees it and falls in love with her. And I think that’s where we see the story. That’s where we understand her. It’s not an accident.”

Isabel, it occurs to me, is speaking like a director. I can just see her standing off the stage during rehearsal, helping performers unlock what’s really going on— which is thrilling, because that’s exactly what she will soon be doing at HGO. In addition to starring in our mainstage production, Isabel will serve as director of this fall’s Family Day Presents: Cinderella

The English-language, family-friendly show, a 90-minute version of the full opera, is not only the first of its kind for HGO, but it will also mark Isabel’s directorial debut. And wonderfully, she already knows what kind of director she wants to be. “After being on the other side of it for so long,” she says, “I’d love to be able to watch and see what people have in them, try to teach and coach it out of them, and create an environment where they feel really, really, really safe to make choices and take risks.”

It's easy to draw a through-line from the beginning of Isabel’s career to this moment. From the start, she has made it a priority to visit local choirs in the cities she visits, give masterclasses, and connect with young people. Along the way, she became a mother herself. So she has a special understanding of how attending a performance like Family Day Presents: Cinderella can change someone’s life.

“I have heard so many times from people that their love for opera started when they were a kid,” she says. “The only way to build your audience base is to remember all of the generations that you have to pay attention to. You can’t ignore kids and young people, and then expect them to be interested in the art form later. Most of the time, it’s, I went with my family as a child, and I fell in love with it. And how could you not?” 

JOIN US FOR FAMILY DAY PRESENTS: CINDERELLA ! NOVEMBER 9 AT 11 A.M. IN THE WORTHAM THEATER CENTER’S BROWN THEATER. TICKETS AT HGO.ORG

DIRECTOR'S NOTE: IL TROVATORE

STEPHEN WADSWORTH

Photo credit Michael Bishop

Il trovatore came into my life when I was seven. My opera-hungry parents took us to the old Met. What I remember was a dark jumble of story pieces and a nondescript set, lit up occasionally by Leontyne Price’s Leonora––indelibly glamorous of voice and person and so eloquent in utterance of music and text––and Franco Corelli’s Manrico, dashing and vocally earpopping with those unforgettable beast-of-prey high notes. Verdi intended Azucena to be the central character, but the Met didn’t cast anyone in that role to match the Price-Corelli power couple.

Some angel landed me in Salzburg 18 months later, where Giulietta Simionato showed me what Azucena might be; she gave costars Price and Corelli a run for their money with her reckless intensity and fabulous singing, and Azucena’s story started to emerge from the gloom. Ettore Bastianini’s Count Di Luna in Salzburg, as handsome and stentorian as Corelli’s Manrico, made their political and romantic rivalry vivid. I thought he and Corelli were going to eat each other alive.

The word on the street had always been, and would continue to be, that Trovatore had a bad plot understandably spoofed by the Marx Brothers; and it needed singers as great as Salzburg’s to really come alive and usually didn’t get them. Nothing could save it from theatrical gloom, not even the brilliant score––a riot of vigor and color, fury and tenderness. I attended performances and listened to different recordings over many years but never for a moment thought of directing it.

I see that ground zero, long before the opera picks up the story, is essentially a lynching: Azucena’s mother is accused of bewitching the old Count’s child and burned at the stake not an hour later, after being dragged there and beaten all the way––because she has dark skin and is Roma. Ferrando tells some of this tale in Verdi’s first scene, and his language brims with racial hatred; ditto that of his men. I’m shocked to read it unsoftened by the music. How to bring the audience to this horror? It’s what starts the whole entanglement of motive and action in the opera.

And it’s why Azucena was, always and only, played as a crazed, demented hag, though she’s the only character who holds all the cards. Might she in fact be a strong, sane, sentient woman who knows exactly what she’s doing? I see the young Count fixed on possessing Leonora. He crashes angrily about, yet also remarks on his own excess––surely, he sees what he’s doing even if he can’t control his behavior. What suffering compels him to flail toward ownership? Does the traumatic loss of his brother, his only childhood companion, and the longing for him, have something to do with it? Why the desperate need to call someone “mine”? He sings that word as often as any other.

I begin to feel these people are very familiar and wonder if they might seem more actual in a contemporary setting.

Then, 60 years after those first performances, Khori Dastoor and Patrick Summers ask me to do just that. And for the first time in my life, I look squarely into Trovatore’s eyes and hold its gaze. This is what I see.

I see two families haunted by emotional and physical trauma––from mistakes made, from violence done, from secrets kept. Scratch any family, and you’ll find all these things. And like any family, these Trovatore people (the Count Di Luna’s family and Azucena’s) have struggled, suffered, found different ways to deal with their losses––some tragic, some transformative, all lonely.

I also see two plots––one that happens before the opera starts (its origin story) and one that is the opera actually happening. The story of the opera isn’t hard to understand, it’s what happens before the opera that makes Trovatore hard to understand. How to tell, or show, both stories?

I see that the opera plays out against the background of a turf war which pits Manrico and the Count against each other politically. It’s based on a civil struggle in 15th-century Spain, in which an aristocrat landowner tries to keep a neighboring army out of his business. In Trovatore’s source play, the meddling army is led by a man brought up to be Roma. The opera isn’t about a civil strife, but it takes place during one.

I start to wonder how it would play if the turf war was in a modern European city––a white-collar militia, titled and entitled, vs. armed rebels of an oppressed ethnic group. I remember the Basque rebellion that played out over 50-plus years in Spain against the official attempt (during and after Franco) to ban Basque language and culture. There are so many parallels today.

Contemporary Bilbao, say, or Valencia, or Barcelona––with a sharp clash of architectures old and new, of street culture, of racial tensions and political disagreement––all feel like arresting contexts in which Trovatore’s haunted families might enact their stories clearly, right outside our doors. 

FLOYD MENDOZA’S PATH TO HOUSTON’S BIGGEST

“ WITH THIS NEW PRODUCTION OF IL TROVATORE , 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.”

—KHORI DASTOOR

“When I look back on my life, I realize, it was right there in front of me,” says 26-year-old Floyd Mendoza, reflecting on his path to becoming a full-time working artist with a dozen commissioned murals around Houston, working with institutions including the Houston Rockets, Rice University, and—now—Houston Grand Opera.

Growing up south of Houston in Pasadena, Mendoza expected to one day work in the refineries. But he was always drawing. It was in his blood. Both Mendoza’s father and grandfather—an electrician and a welder, respectively—were also artists: his grandfather would teach him to draw animals, and his dad was a graffiti artist.

“My father would always draw our names in graffiti. It was pretty neat, but he would tell me, don’t do it, I got in trouble, it’s bad, it’s illegal. But if not for those graffiti artists like him back in the day, artists like me would not be getting commissions.”

After high school, Mendoza did work at the refineries for a time, as well as in railroad construction, while continuing to make his art. He painted his first mural on his uncle’s garage. Then the pandemic hit, he was laid off, and he started painting canvases and selling them. “This was my last option,” he remembers. “If it didn’t work, I didn’t know what else I would do.”

Today Mendoza is grateful he was laid off: his career as an artist has taken off, and he’s busy selling pieces and working on large-scale commissions while making new friends across the city. This summer, he answered HGO’s call for entries to have his work featured at the Wortham Theater Center, as part of the set for the company’s new production of Il trovatore, and was thrilled to be selected to create an original piece for the show.

Look for Mendoza’s collaged mural, which incorporates text with an image of Raehann Bryce-Davis as Azucena, in Act II, Scene 2! And look for Mendoza himself in the theater—he’s bringing his wife Desiree with him to see his first opera, and he can’t wait. “This is a big new experience for me,” he says. “I’m excited.” —Catherine Matusow 

Mendoza with his "Colores de Tradición" mural on Navigation Blvd. in Houston's East End.

Credit: Michael Bishop.

FROM PAGE TO STAGE

Two of Mo Willems’s popular children’s books get the operatic treatment—and they’re coming to HGO!

By Amber Francis, Communications Coordinator

Mo Willems (in suit) first turned his children's books into operatic works for children at the Kennedy Center.

Photo credit: Margaret Rosser

If you have a young child, you likely already know Mo Willems’s hugely popular books. Now, your family has the opportunity to experience two of them in an entirely new way—as an operatic double feature! This season, HGO’s Opera to Go! touring production for students and families, Mo Willems’s Bite-Sized Operas: Slopera! and Don’t Let the Pigeon Sing Up Late!, will be presented at schools, public libraries, and other community spaces across the region.

Willems is a New York Times-bestselling author, as well as an illustrator, animator, and playwright with six Emmy Awards under his belt for his work on Sesame Street. He collaborated with Grammy Award-nominated composer and pal, Carlos Simon, to adapt two of his stories into their operatic stage versions that debuted in 2021 at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., where Willems served as Education Artist-in-Residence and Simon was Composer-in-Residence.

Slopera! sees the friendship between two of Willems’s iconic characters, Elephant & Piggie, put to the test over their different tastes in food, while Don’t Let the Pigeon Sing Up Late! features The Pigeon facing his greatest foe yet: Bedtime. These shows, Willems’s first foray into opera, have been a hit with kids and “former kids” alike. Here in Houston, they will be presented as a bilingual English and Spanish rendition.

The secret to Willems’s success? Treating his audience, no matter their age, with respect. “I try to remember that children share the same DNA as us,” Willems said. “Kids are human beings just like the rest of us. I want to respect their intelligence."

Read on to hear more from Willems about this exciting, family-friendly double feature.

For audiences who may be unfamiliar with Elephant & Piggie and The Pigeon—how would you describe these characters?

Elephant and Piggie are two best friends who fight and make up, like all friends do. And The Pigeon is a bird who, like most people, is unable to differentiate what he wants from what he needs.

Do any of these stories come from a personal place?

So, I am the child of immigrants. I grew up eating my ethnic food when I was a kid. I’m Dutch, so the ethnic food was chocolate sandwiches. I remember people teasing me for it—they called it “bird poop sandwiches” and all this stuff. I couldn’t believe it, because I was eating chocolate, right? I thought that would be cool. Nobody else got chocolate for lunch. But I was teased because it was different. So, I think a lot of the Slopera! original story is, like, How can you not like this? And the fact that Gerald—the elephant—ends up not liking it is fine. Gerald doesn’t try food to do the right thing, necessarily. Gerald is trying to repair a friendship after saying, “No, that’s gross,” and not giving it a fair shot, right? So as a kid, I didn’t want people to want my chocolate sandwiches. I just didn’t want them to hate them without trying it. It’s just what one should do. It’s pure, What would you do in this situation? What would you do when you’re confronted with something new? They’re good questions to ask.

What about these stories do you think lends them to the opera treatment?

The reason to do opera is multifold. One, I knew nothing about it, so that was exciting. I like things that I know nothing about because I can learn from them. The other is that opera and picture books have a lot in common. They only work when they’re performed. You have to say them out loud, unlike a novel, which is quiet. They’re about very big emotions and are very dramatic. Characters have deep, deep, deep feelings. When I discovered that you could make shorter

operas, it really excited me, because I know how to write 22 minutes’ worth of material. I’ve been writing television for 30 years, but I didn’t know how to make opera.

What about going from the written word to the world of opera interested you?

It’s exciting to play with things that happen in books. For instance, with early readers, you only have a certain vocabulary that you can use, so you create a rhythm and a cadence. Well, opera isn’t just about rhyming. It’s about cadence, right? And so being able to discover a cadence that works, tells the story, expresses big emotions, and is both funny and serious at the same time was very exciting. And you know what? Kids don’t know what opera is, which is great. They’re just going to come into it and be like, yeah, this is cool But to have a death scene with Slopera! and to be able to be that dramatic and be that big—is really cool.

What was the process of turning these books into an opera?

So, it was very collaborative. I worked with Carlos Simon, who’s a great composer. And to the same degree that I did not know

opera, he did not know kids. So we were both trying to figure out how to use our vocabulary and our strengths to be able to communicate something. We also had a dramaturg, Megan Alrutz, who I’ve been working with for 16 years. You sort of hope that there’s enough in the story—which is short—to be able to fill it out. You think, What do we need to have? What is in the visual vocabulary? What are the beats that happen in an opera? What are the beats that happen in this book, and where do they overlap? One of the great things about a shorter opera is you can do all the things that happen in a big opera, quickly. That speed also creates a little bit of tension, a little bit of humor.

What about the collaborative process did you enjoy?

I’ve written a bunch of musicals based on my books, so I’ve worked with composers before. I’ve got a basic sense of what I need to do. Fortunately, I had seen some of Carlos’s shorter operas, so I’d heard his music before and was a fan. We were able to discuss what excited us during this process. A scene works best when you can’t really remember who came up with it. When it’s so back and forth, it just sort of grows organically. Both Carlos and I feel very strongly that the story is more important than our egos, so it wasn’t hard for us to throw away things that didn’t work or add things that did. I would write something, and he would say, Yeah, that doesn’t work, I’m just going to write something. I would say, Oh, that’s great, but what if we do that? It was just sort of building things up and tearing them down over and over again, until it felt right.

How did the way you approached the pieces evolve over time?

Carlos and I worked on Slopera! first, and by the time we got to the Pigeon piece, we had a shared vocabulary. We knew how to communicate with each other. He would say, Well, I really want a scene that does this because, musically, I want to get to

amazing I am (laughs) and, two, to think, I could do that. I could draw a story. I could write a book. I could sing an opera. When I have big feelings, I can express them through music. That’s my hope.  this point. Or, I feel like the story is asking this question. I want to be able to orchestrate it in this way. I was able to say, Look, I really want a lush sequence, or I want a scary sequence, or I want this. It became just two pals hanging out, playing around, with every now and then, their dramaturg reminding them that, Hey, you’ve got to make sure it’s 20 minutes, got to make sure it’s performable —and the more technical and creative limitations that we wanted to play with.

How does it feel to have your first show with HGO?

I am very excited. I’m super-happy that it’s going to be traveling and that so many kids are going to get to see it. I love the idea that it is bilingual now. Well, trilingual, right? It’s English, Spanish, and the language of music. I think that’s awesome. I love the idea of introducing big ideas and big emotions and new art forms to as many kids as possible, so this is a really great opportunity.

Now that you’ve been bitten by the opera bug, are there any plans on the horizon for future operatic endeavors?

Yes, Carlos and I are very much hoping to do a full-scale opera. We’ve been working on some ideas, putting some stuff together and talking with different organizations. It would be great to really make a big production.

What do you hope audiences take away from this experience?

I hope that they enjoy themselves. I hope even more that when they leave, they start singing, and they start turning their lives into operas, and they start performing. You know, if you’re a kid and you’re frustrated by something, rather than just losing your temper or being sad, to be able to sing about how sad you are is a great way to communicate, right? So, in anything that I do, I’m hoping for two opposite things— one is for people to be impressed by how

Bring Opera to Go!’s touring production of Mo Willems’s Bite-Sized Operas: Slopera! and Don’t Let the Pigeon Sing Up Late! to your school, library, or community space. For information, call 713-225-0457 or email OperaToGo@HGO.org.

GUARANTORS

Robin Angly and Miles Smith

The Brown Foundation, Inc.

Mathilda Cochran

William Randolph Hearst Foundation

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Sara and Bill Morgan

National Endowment for the Humanities

Shell USA, Inc.

The Wortham Foundation, Inc.

GRAND UNDERWRITERS

Judy and Richard Agee

City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board

ConocoPhillips

The Elkins Foundation

H-E-B

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo ™

Powell Foundation

UNDERWRITERS

Joan and Stanford Alexander Family Fund

Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation

Ms. Kiana K. Caleb and Mr. Troy L. Sullivan"

Rebecca and Brian Duncan

Halliburton

Albert & Ethyl Herzstein Charitable Foundation

Rosemary Malbin

Dr. Laura Marsh

Mr. David Montague

Vivian L. Smith Foundation

SUPPORTERS

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Ardell

Adrienne Bond

Mr. and Mrs. Lester P. Burgess

The Lawrence E. Carlton, MD, Endowment Fund

The Cockrell Family Fund

Experience modern luxury with a touch of historic charm at the Magnolia Hotel Houston, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel. Our offerings provide the perfect backdrop for a weekend escape, a memorable celebration, or a pre- or post-show indulgence at our on-site restaurant, The Dispatch, ideally situated in downtown Houston.

James J. Drach Endowment Fund

Trish Freeman and Bruce Patterson

Monica Fulton

Mrs. Geraldine C. Gill

Rhoda Goldberg

George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation

William E. and Natoma Harvey Charitable Trust

Houston Grand Opera Guild

Lee Huber

Ms. Joan Jeffrey OPERA America

Mr. Geoffry H. Oshman

Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Pancherz

Texas Commission on the Arts

The activities of Houston Grand Opera are supported in part by funds provided by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

It tells the same story we know and love, but Rossini’s Cinderella, with its libretto by Jacopo Ferretti, does have a few twists. Read on to get to know all the players, as represented by a selection of colorful costume sketches from Joan Guillén, the set and costume designer for this production:

Meet4 t2he2 Characters5

Angelina

She’s a charming beauty in a shabby dress—also known as Cinderella, because she’s always covered in cinders—but in Rossini’s opera, her character's given name is Angelina. Put to work in her own household, Angelina serves as maid to her two stepsisters. Despite being treated poorly, she is goodness personified, prizing kindness above all else, quick to forgive others, and always ready to help another in need. But that doesn’t stop her from liking a good party: like her stepsisters, she’s dying to go to the prince’s ball.

Don Magnifico

In most retellings of the story, our heroine has a wicked stepmother. In this one, the wine-swilling, down-on-his-luck baron Don Magnifico, Angelina’s stepfather, steps into that role. He orders Angelina around, tries to stand in the way of her attending the ball, and schemes to secure a royal marriage for one of his biological daughters, Clorinda and Tisbe. But Magnifico is more a buffoon than anything, constantly getting tricked, making it tough to truly despise him.

Alidoro

There’s no magic-wielding Fairy Godmother in Rossini’s opera either. Instead, there’s Alidoro, the court philosopher and tutor to Prince Ramiro, who observes Angelina’s goodness (and her stepsisters’ rottenness) when he visits their home on the prince’s behalf, disguised as a beggar. Magic or no, Alidoro’s an excellent ally, whisking Angelina off to the ball—and working behind the scenes to ensure she gets her happy ending.

Tisbe

Don Magnifico’s eldest daughter, Tisbe, competes with her sister Clorinda for Prince Ramiro’s affections. Of course, the two are actually flirting with the valet-in-disguise, Dandini—who soon falls in love with Angelina himself!

Dandini

Prince Ramiro’s valet, Dandini, is delighted by the chance to impersonate the prince. At the ball, he tests the true character of Don Magnifico’s daughters and helps the prince find his true love.

Clorinda

Like Tisbe and Don Magnifico, the younger stepsister, Clorinda, is unkind to Angelina. Clorinda tries to make her case to the “prince,” explaining to Dandini that she should be selected because she’s younger so will die later and, also, doesn’t wear rouge. But the real prince has eyes for another…

Prince Ramiro

All these disguises have been put in place so that the handsome Prince Ramiro—seeking to be loved for himself, not his noble position—can find a suitable bride. Ramiro, too, impersonates someone else, pretending to be his valet to observe how he’s treated in a servant role. From the start, he’s mesmerized by the sweet, kind Angelina, but thanks to her family’s deception, doesn’t know her identity. At the ball, instead of leaving a slipper, Angelina gives Ramiro one of her bracelets, telling him that when he finds the matching one, he’ll find her.

The Rats

There are no rats in Rossini’s opera, but, perhaps inspired by the Disney film, the creator of this production, Joan Font, has added them. The rats are supernumeraries, or extras with no lines to speak or sing, and they surround Angelina, adding to the comedy of the story and supporting our soon-to-be princess until she gets her prince and, at opera’s end, reminds us all of the healing power of forgiveness. 

IF THE SHOE FITS

THE POPULARITY OF ROSSINI’S OPERA CINDERELLA

By Patrick Summers,

Artistic and Music Director, Houston Grand Opera

Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as Angelina.

If you’re an opera connoisseur, skip these first paragraphs. If you’re new to opera, welcome. You may notice some curious things, starting with Rossini’s Cinderella being in Italian, enhanced with what we call supertitles, which are real-time English translations of what the characters are singing. This means that attending a performance of an opera can involve a couple of hours of reading, in addition to everything else. More on that in a bit.

You might notice something else: we talk about compos ers a lot. This isn’t true in other mediums: how often do you know the name of the person who wrote your favorite television mini-series? Why do we do this in opera?

In opera, the composer is everything. It is always the music of an opera that keeps it popular for generations. Opera is an amalgam of many arts: theater, philosophy, dance—led by music, and only a great composer can successful ly bring all of these competing elements together. Often, we are talking about a composer who is a he. That is happily changing: later in our season we have Missy Mazzoli’s extraordinary Breaking the Waves But the composer, she or he, will provide everything about an operatic story: the dramatic timing, the feel of the story, even often the colors of the scenery—all of that is suggested in music, and that music comes from their imagination. How does this mysterious alchemy take place? There are many wonderful operas, but there is a central canon of composers who created multiple masterpieces: Monteverdi, Handel, Gluck, Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Wagner, Massenet, Strauss, Puccini…and in the center of all of those, known by a few of them and admired by all, was the man who composed Cinderella, Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), pictured above.

The Pirates of Penzance, Rossini was a leap-year baby—he has officially celebrated only 58 birthdays. It is perfect for Rossini to be only 58 despite being born more than two centuries ago, because his music feels perpetually young. He composed music that has maintained its youthfulness all of these years. It is often like hearing a toddler laugh, which is one of the most universally wonderful sounds any of us can experience.

A lot of lore about Rossini focuses not on his music, but on his funny way with words, and he had quite a way with them: he said, after all, that “one cannot understand Wagner’s Lohengrin on one hearing, and I certainly don’t intend on hearing it twice.”

When he heard the world’s most famous singer at the time, soprano Adelina Patti, sing Rosina’s famous aria from his The Barber of Seville, dripping with improvised vocal decorations that he disliked, he said to her, “what a delightful aria; who wrote it?”

Rossini is one of the most interesting of all of the opera composers. He wrote almost 40 in the span of about 20 years, then retired in his late thirties and lived the rest of his long life as the toast of Paris—for decades of Parisian musical life, no invitation was more coveted than one from him. He was born 232 years ago, on February 29, 1792, three months after Mozart’s death. Like Frederic in Gilbert and Sullivan's

For various reasons, most people recognize music by Rossini, even if they don’t know it is his. His most famous composition is the overture to his epic opera William Tell, a brilliant four-part tone poem that miniaturizes the opera’s plot: a Swiss uprising against Austrian occupiers in the 13th century. So strong is the association with The Lone Ranger that it is probably useless to hope it can ever be thought of any other way. What is amazing is that The Lone Ranger has not been produced on network television since 1957, and its maximum popularity was nearly a century ago, in the 1930s on radio, when nearly 3,000 episodes were produced.

Rossini also composed a tune that was easily the most popular of the 19th century across the spectrum of

society: “Di tanti palpiti” from his opera Tancredi he wrote on the eve of his 21st birthday. This was a tune that literally went around the world in an era when that was very difficult. You can easily listen to many great performances of this wonderful aria on YouTube, but I suggest listening to the Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli’s performance with Giuseppe Patanè conduct ing. Rossinian heaven.

Rossini’s most famous opera, The Barber of Seville is as wondrous as his Cinderella, and the two operas produce similar feelings. There were at least ten operas based on Beaumarchais’s play The Barber of Seville by the 1780s, when Mozart wrote his Marriage of Figaro, and broad knowledge of Figaro’s characters was undoubtedly one of the motivators for Rossini to compose it. This isn’t so different from today’s rival movie studios creating several films about similar subjects. Rossini’s Barber of Seville, though dramati cally the prequel to Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro was composed nearly 30 years after Mozart’s opera, and its premiere was a famous fiasco, largely because of a cabal organized by friends of the composer Paisiello, who had composed a beloved version of The Barber of Seville that was then popular but is now totally forgotten.

Rossini bridged several worlds. He had a famous meeting with Wagner in Paris, and the account of their meeting by the music critic Stendhal is entertain ing reading. But there was a much more important composer-to-composer meeting in Rossini’s life. In April 1822, Vienna launched a Rossini celebration which the composer attended. He had just turned 30 and was quite a celebrity. He had only one wish: to meet Beethoven. Rossini walked himself over to Beethoven’s home at the time, one of 60 apartments in which the moody composer lived during his Viennese years. Beethoven praised The Barber of Seville, but Rossini was despondent after meeting the slovenly and irritable man living in relative squalor. We sadly don’t know what else they talked about.

Cinderella is a story for the ages because hers is a story that needs constant re-learning—it speaks to every culture and has done so for centuries. It is beloved in many languages: the famous girl of the ashes is Cenicienta in Spanish, Huī Gūniang in Chinese, Zolushka in Russian, Aschenputtel in German, Cendrillon in French, La Cenerentola in Italian, and, as immortalized in English-language fairytales, Cinderella.

Rossini’s Cinderella is one of the most ebullient of the many musical versions of it: Massenet’s, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s, and the still-very-famous Disney

Isabel Leonard has made Angelina, a challenging bel canto role, her own.

"

ROSSINI'S CINDERELLA IS A PARTICULARLY TOUCHING OPERA, A VERY HUMAN COMEDY, DELIGHTFUL, TUNEFUL, TOE-TAPPING, AND SWEET."

animated film from 1950. His Cinderella is a particularly touching opera, a very human comedy, delightful, tuneful, toe-tapping, and sweet. It teaches us, differently in each scene, many lessons on how to live, and emphasizes important and humane qualities while presenting them as humor. We are reminded at the opera’s finale that forgiveness and goodness are better for the world than their opposites.

Though Rossini was very young when he composed Cinderella, it was his 20th opera. He composed it, incredibly, in about three weeks. Most operas take at least a year to compose, and many take much longer. Wagner’s vast Ring of the Nibelungen took 27 years from initial sketches to premiere. Rossini’s Cinderella bubbles with musical life, and so many highlights, starting with the simple sad song Cinderella sings when she is alone. Cinderella also has one of opera’s greatest “frozen” moments in the great second act sextet—a long passage about each character being in a terrible tangle, a knot, nodo in Italian, and we both hear and see it in Rossini’s music. The music is like a glass of the lightest champagne. The glass shoe in many versions of Cinderella is a bracelet in Rossini’s opera.

The end of Rossini’s Cinderella brings the opera’s best-known music, the famous aria, “Non più mesta” (no more tears), an ebullient ray of golden sunlight after a long storm. There are few moments in any opera as potentially moving as this one. Cinderella, suddenly a princess after a life of working in the ashes, has a newfound power that she easily could use to exact revenge on her stepsisters and her stepfather Don Magnifico, all of whom have treated her terribly for her entire life. What does Rossini have her do in that moment? She not only forgives them, but she also invites them all to finally be a family. Think of how much happier the world would be if there were more people like Cinderella at the end of this opera, choosing forgiveness over revenge.

The feeling of conducting Rossini, and hopefully of listening to him, is of levitating weightlessness. The air of the theater vibrates in a particular way when filled with Rossini’s music, so back to my first thought: the supertitles. Of course, use them as you like, but to really find the feelings of being in the room with this opera, take time to listen without reading. Take in the pulsating air of the voices, which are wrapping around you naturally, with no microphones to enhance them. Take in the toe-tapping energy of the orchestra. Enjoy the colors of the scenery and costumes. Opera is a total experience, and can be overwhelming, but more than anything, it doesn’t require reading. Listening is everything. It is almost like the 58-year-old Rossini, slightly grumpy and stuffed from a heaping plate of tournedos Rossini, is sitting in some celestial salon watching us, delighted that we are delighted, and wondering what took us so long. 

Joan Font's production is full of eye candy.

LITTLE ANGELS

ROSSINI’S CINDERELLA AT HOUSTON GRAND OPERA

By Patrick Summers

The name of the title character of Rossini’s Cinderella is Angelina, though her family never even bothers to call her by her name. Angelina means, in Italian, a “little angel,” which relates her to the subtitle of the opera, “the triumph of goodness.” And what a group of little angels have performed this role in our history—angels on stage, giants of their art.

We consider the legacy of a role very heavily, not only when we are casting but when we are deciding whether to perform an opera at all. We would never decide to present Cinderella to our public unless an artist is available who will honor the legacy of the voices who have come before them.

HGO was the first major U.S. company to present Rossini’s opera in modern times. Of all of Rossini’s nearly 40 operas, Cinderella was an extreme rarity on world stages throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, occasionally getting revived for a star mezzo-soprano. It was only in 1952, in a famous production at the Glyndebourne Festival in Sussex, England, that the opera found a public again. So, HGO’s decision to perform it so early in our history was an innovative one. That first HGO production, in 1957, starred the remarkable Frances Bible (1919-2001), one of the great stars of the New York City Opera, and one of those rare singers who could sing almost anything with incredible accomplishment. Two years after Cinderella, Frances returned to Houston as our very first Rosenkavalier, so she was an important part of the company’s legacy.

Nearly 20 years would pass before Cinderella returned, in 1979, this time starring Maria Ewing (1950-2022), one of the most versatile singers in opera, who performed everything from Cherubino to Salome. No one who experienced a performance from Ewing was ever likely to forget her.

The Italian sensation Cecilia Bartoli (b. 1966) made her U.S. stage debut at HGO in 1993, in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, igniting a sensation for her artistry. She returned two years later for the composer’s Cinderella, filmed for television, and with a company of Italians that brought the opera to memorable life. Bartoli set a new standard for Rossini that had been established by Callas, Sutherland, Horne, and others—and audiences could never get enough of her.

The most recent little angel is one of the most treasured artists in our history, Joyce DiDonato, who performed the premiere of this new Comediants production of Cinderella in 2007, conducted by Edoardo Müller, and she and I recorded the opera for Decca a few months later at Barcelona’s Liceu. Joyce brought to Rossini a rare energy and depth, and her finale, “Non più mesta,” remains one of the greatest single moments in the company’s memories.

These remarkable artists now pass the baton to Isabel Leonard, who has already won Houston hearts for her Charlotte in Werther and her unforgettable Maria in The Sound of Music. The angels are watching and smiling, and no doubt humming along. 

Frances Bible

Maria Ewing

Cecilia Bartoli

Joyce DiDonato

Isabel Leonard

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PRODUCTION FUNDERS

PRINCIPAL GUARANTORS

Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg

Dian and Harlan Stai

The Wortham Foundation, Inc.

PREMIER GUARANTORS

Houston Grand Opera Endowment, Inc.

GRAND GUARANTORS

The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation

Mr. John G. Turner and Mr. Jerry G. Fischer

GUARANTORS

Judy and Richard Agee

Louise G. Chapman

Drs. Liz Grimm and Jack Roth

Nabors Industries

Elizabeth and Richard Husseini

Donna Kaplan and Richard A. Lydecker

Nabors Industries

Mr. Veer Vasishta

Margaret Alkek Williams

GRAND UNDERWRITERS

Mr. Eliodoro Castillo and Dr. Eric McLaughlin

Molly and Jim Crownover

Jennifer and Benjamin Fink

Amanda and Morris Gelb

Marianne and Joe Geagea

Matt Healey

Tracy Maddox and John Serpe

Laura and Brad McWilliams

Diane Morales

Saurage Marketing Research

Helen Wils and Leonard Goldstein

Alan and Frank York

UNDERWRITERS

Nana Booker, Booker•Lowe Gallery

Ms. Kiana K. Caleb and Mr. Troy L. Sullivan

The Elkins Foundation

SPONSORS

Rebecca and Brian Duncan

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Sarah and Bryant Lee

Michele Malloy

Samuels Family Foundation

Loretta and Lawrence Williams

October 18, 20m, 26, 29, November 3m

An Original HGO Production

Sung in Italian with projected English translation

Brown Theater, Wortham Theater Center

The performance lasts approximately 2 hours and 42 minutes, including one intermission

CONTENT ADVISORY: This production contains gunshot effects.

The activities of Houston Grand Opera are supported in part by funds provided by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.

MUSIC BY

Giuseppe Verdi

LIBRETTO BY

Salvadore Cammarano

QUICK START GUIDE

THE OPERA IN ONE SENTENCE

Fueled by the fiery deaths of her mother and child, Azucena seeks vengeance against the Count di Luna, who’s locked in a political and romantic rivalry with her troubadour son Manrico.

BACKGROUND

Composed between Verdi’s two other middle-period masterpieces, Rigoletto and La traviata, Il trovatore is based on an 1836 verse drama by Spanish playwright Antonio García Gutiérrez. The title translates to “The Troubadour”—a medieval minstrel who sang songs of courtly love. Verdi was attracted to what he called the “bizarre” qualities and “strangeness” of García Gutiérrez’s text, which was adapted by librettist Salvadore Cammarano. But the composer would have also sensed important parallels between the story and his own time. Il trovatore unfolds against the backdrop of a real-life civil war that raged in Aragon during the 15th century. Likewise, at the opera’s 1853 premiere in Rome, Italy was in the throes of its own political turmoil. Verdi’s music—including the tenor aria “Di quella pira” from Il trovatore —became a rallying cry for Italians fighting for unification during the Risorgimento movement.

MUSIC

Verdi often gave his operas a tinta—a pervasive musical color that lends the score a distinctive “feel.” The tinta of Il trovatore might be described as “Gothic horror.” You can almost hear the flapping of bat wings in “Di due figli,” Ferrando’s spooky retelling of the events that set the opera in motion. When Azucena shares her own memories of that night in “Stride la vampa,” her skipping

rhythms and flickering trills conjure the tongues of flame that burned both her mother and child. Listen for the reprises of this melody throughout the opera— reminders of the debt of vengeance she still owes her mother’s spirit.

Verdi evokes the setting of his tale by imitating specific styles. He approximates the whirling folkdances of Spanish Romani bands in the iconic Anvil Chorus, which calls for actual anvils in the refrain. And Manrico’s troubadour songs are composed in a vaguely medieval mode, with a harp accompaniment standing in for a lute. Verdi wrote some particularly swashbuckling tunes for the tenor lead. Audiences have long appreciated the vigorous “Di quella pira,” in which Manrico heroically resolves to rescue Azucena. His inevitable capture sets the stage for the multilayered “Miserere” scene—one of the most chilling passages in the opera. A tolling bell and funeral dirge herald Manrico’s execution, while a chorus of monks intones a mournful chant. Over this, Leonora expresses her desperation in groan-like phrases, interrupted by the disembodied voice of her imprisoned lover.

FUN FACT

The “Miserere”—along with some of the other numbers mentioned above—figures prominently in the madcap final sequence of the Marx Brothers’ 1935 film A Night at the Opera. Determined to sabotage the career of an undeserving tenor, the brothers wreak havoc on a performance of Il trovatore. Chico and Harpo dress as Romani women and infiltrate the stage to join in the Anvil Chorus, and Harpo does a hilarious Azucena impression during “Stride la vampa.” Owing to its hypercomplex plot, the opera has long been the target of such parody. The impossible “mixed-up-babies” trope was lampooned in Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnes t as well as Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta H.M.S. Pinafore, which features a Roma-descended character modeled after Azucena.

CAST & CREATIVE

CAST

(in order of vocal appearance)

Ferrando

Ines

Leonora

Count di Luna

Manrico

Azucena

Romani Man

Messenger

Ruiz

Morris Robinson

Elizabeth Hanje †*

Ms. Marty Dudley / Amy and Mark Melton Fellow

Ailyn Pérez

Lucas Meachem

Generously underwritten by Tracy Maddox and John Serpe

Michael Spyres

Raehann Bryce-Davis *

Saïd Henry Pressley

Michael McDermott †

Michelle Beale and Dick Anderson / Dr. Ellen R. Gritz and Mr. Milton D. Rosenau Jr. Fellow

Demetrious Sampson, Jr. †

Dr. Dina Alsowayel and Mr. Anthony R. Chase / Mr. Eliodoro Castillo and Mr. Eric McLaughlin / Mr. and Mrs. Hector Torres / Mr. Trey Yates Fellow

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor

Director

Scenic Designer

Costume Designer

Lighting Designer

Choreographer

Fight Director

Intimacy Director

Chorus Director

Italian Diction Coach

Music Preparation

Stage Manager

Assistant Director

Patrick Summers

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair

Stephen Wadsworth

Charlie Corcoran *

Camille Assaf *

Jiyoun Chang *

Amy Hall Garner *

H. Russ Brown *

Olivia Knight *

Richard Bado ‡

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus

Director Chair

Jennifer Ringo ‡

Jenny Choo † *

Peter Pasztor ‡

Teddy Poll

William Woodard

Annie Wheeler

Kaley Karis Smith

* Mainstage debut

† Butler Studio artist

‡ Former Butler Studio artist

PRODUCTION CREDITS

English supertitles by Lucas Nguyen. Supertitles called by Matthew Neumann.

Performing artists, stage directors, and choreographers are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO, the union for opera professionals in the United States.

Scenic, costume, and lighting designers and assistant designers are represented by United Scenic Artists, IATSE Local USA-829. Orchestral musicians are represented by the Houston Professional Musicians Association, Local #65-699, American Federation of Musicians.

Stage crew personnel provided by IATSE, Local #51.

Wardrobe personnel provided by Theatrical Wardrobe Union, Local #896.

This production is being recorded for archival purposes.

SYNOPSIS

Original setting: Aragon, Spain, 15th century. The Count Urgel leads a rebellion against King Ferdinand and his royalist supporters, who are led by Count di Luna.

Previously: Di Luna lost his younger brother as a child. A Romani woman was accused of bewitching the child, then was burned at the stake. Her daughter was assumed to have exacted revenge by kidnapping the child and throwing him into the flames. But Di Luna’s father died convinced that his lost child was still alive….

The main players: Count di Luna. Ferrando, his captain. Azucena, a Romani woman. Manrico, her son, a troubadour, a leader of Urgel’s rebellion. Leonora, lady-in-waiting in Ferdinand’s court.

ACT I : The Duel

Night. The Count spends the nights yearning for Leonora under her window. Ferrando, his captain, awakens his men to stand by for Di Luna’s return and tells the old story as it has been passed down––of the Romani woman’s curse on Di Luna’s brother, her immediate punishment, and her daughter’s revenge––a child’s charred bones were found among the ashes at the foot of the stake. Ferrando whips the men into a frenzy of hatred and fear, describing appearances of the old woman’s spirit as an owl, or a crow. They disperse, cursing the “gypsy witch.”

Leonora emerges from her apartments eager for her lover and tells her friend Ines how they met––she crowned an unknown knight the winner of a tournament, and he has returned, despite the chaos of the ongoing rebellion, to serenade her by night. Leonora rejects Ines’s foreboding and describes the rapture and certainty of her love. Ines pulls Leonora inside, and Di Luna returns to her window as the strains of a serenade announce the approach of the troubadour. The two rivals meet, Leonora mistakes Di Luna for her beloved, and an argument ensues, in which the troubadour reveals that he is Manrico, Urgel’s follower. Now double enemies, the men agree to duel but each has trouble firing the first shot.

ACT II : The Romani Woman

A Roma community greets the dawn as they work. Azucena, her wounded son lying by her side, remembers the savage persecution and prejudicial murder of her mother, as well as her mother’s last cry, “Avenge me.” Alone with his mother, Manrico, who has survived his encounter with Di Luna, asks her to tell him more about the night his grandmother died. For the first time Azucena tells him the whole story––including her terrible error: she did kidnap Di Luna’s little brother but, in the confusion, threw her own son into the fire, not the Di Luna boy. Manrico, realizing that Azucena is not his real mother, though she has raised and loved him as her own, tells her that something prevented him from killing Di Luna when he had the chance. News arrives that Leonora, thinking Manrico died after the duel, intends to enter a convent, and he hurries off to stop her before mother and son can say more.

The Count arrives early at the convent meaning to prevent Leonora from taking the veil. He and his men stand aside as Leonora takes her leave of Ines at the convent door. When Di Luna steps forward to intervene, Manrico appears with his fighters, holds off the Count’s men, and ultimately escapes with Leonora, who is ecstatic to see him alive.

INTERMISSION

ACT III : Her Son

As Ferrando and Di Luna’s men prepare to storm Manrico’s stronghold, they find Azucena wandering nearby and bring her to the Count, who interrogates her. Ferrando and Di Luna come to realize she is the Romani woman who kidnapped and killed his brother years before. Di Luna, delighted to have his enemy’s mother in his hands, sentences her to burn like her mother, and she is dragged away, cursed by his men.

On the night before Di Luna’s attack, Manrico and Leonora share their love and prepare to marry. Manrico’s captain Ruiz interrupts with news of Azucena’s seizure and sentence. Manrico leaves Leonora to take his men into battle and save the woman he still thinks of as his mother.

ACT IV: The Execution

Manrico is defeated and imprisoned by Di Luna. Ruiz brings Leonora secretly to where Manrico is held. She gathers her strength, beaming her love to him, then after hearing him sound a farewell to her from his cell vows to save him, even at the cost of her own life. Di Luna enters, wondering where she is. She presents herself and offers to surrender her body and her hand in exchange for Manrico’s freedom. Di Luna accepts the deal.

Manrico and Azucena are confined together in the courtyard. While Azucena sleeps, dreaming of her return to the mountains, Leonora comes to liberate Manrico, but he guesses the price of his freedom and flares up at her––until she gradually weakens. She has taken poison to avoid fulfilling her promise to Di Luna. Enraged by her deception, Di Luna orders Manrico executed immediately. When Azucena awakens to witness this, she tells Di Luna he has just killed his own brother––the unexpected final stage of her reprisal. “You are avenged, Mother!” she cries.

HGO Performance History

HGO previously performed Il trovatore in the 1962-63; 1974-75; 1980-81; 1991-92; 2004-05; and 2012-13 seasons.

HGO ORCHESTRA

Patrick Summers,

Artistic and Music Director

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair

VIOLIN

Denise Tarrant*, Concertmaster

Sarah and Ernest Butler Concertmaster Chair

Chloe Kim*, Assistant Concertmaster

Natalie Gaynor*, Principal Second Violin

Carrie Kauk*, Assistant Principal Second Violin

Miriam Belyatsky*

Anabel Ramirez-Detrick*

Rasa Kalesnykaite*

Hae-a Lee Barnes*

Chavdar Parashkevov*

Mary Reed*

Erica Robinson*

Linda Sanders*

Oleg Sulyga*

Sylvia VerMeulen*

Melissa Williams*

Zubaida Azezi

Andres Gonzalez

Kana Kimura

Mila Neal

Augusta Schubert

Rachel Shepard

Emily Zelaya

VIOLA

Eliseo Rene Salazar*, Principal

Lorento Golofeev*, Assistant Principal

Gayle Garcia-Shepard*

Elizabeth Golofeev*

Erika C. Lawson*

Suzanne LeFevre†

Matthew Carrington

Gabe Galley

Meredith Harris

CELLO

Barrett Sills*, Principal

Erika Johnson*, Assistant Principal

Wendy Smith-Butler*

Sebastian Berofsky

Shino Hayashi

Ellie Herrera

DOUBLE BASS

Dennis Whittaker†, Principal

Erik Gronfor*, Acting Principal

Carla Clark*, Acting Assistant Principal

Hunter Capoccioni

Deborah Dunham

FLUTE

Henry Williford*, Principal

Tyler Martin*

OBOE

Elizabeth Priestly Siffert*, Principal

Mayu Isom†

Katherine Hart

CLARINET

Eric Chi*, Acting Principal

Julian Hernandez

BASSOON

Amanda Swain*, Principal

Micah Doherty

HORN

Sarah Cranston*, Principal

Kimberly Penrod Minson*

Spencer Park†

Aaron Griffin

Kevin McIntyre

TRUMPET

Tetsuya Lawson*, Principal

Randal Adams*

TROMBONE

Thomas Hultén*, Principal

Mark Holley*

Eric Garcia

CIMBASSO

Mark Barton*, Principal

TIMPANI

Alison Chang*, Principal PERCUSSION

Richard Brown†, Principal

Christina Carroll, Acting Principal

Robert McCullagh

Karen Slotter

BANDA

Caitlin Mehrtens*, Principal Harp

Thomas Marvil, Organ

Gavin Reed, Horn

* HGO Orchestra core musician † HGO Orchestra core musician on leave this production

HGO CHORUS

Richard Bado,

Chorus Director

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair

Nathan Abbott

Ofelia Adame

Geordie Alexander

Maggie Armand

Dennis Arrowsmith

Cody Ryan Arthur

Sarah Bannon

Megan Berti

Steve Buza

Christopher Childress

Scott Clark

Patrick Contreras

Robert Dee

Callie Denbigh

Gloria M. Deveraux

Ashly Evans

Zack Scott Frank

Michelle Girardot

Dallas Gray

Lauren Henderson-Turner

Austin Hoeltzel

Julie Cathryn Hoeltzel

Jon Janacek

Cole Jones

Katherine Jones

Joe Key

Alison King

Melissa Krueger

Wesley Landry

Carolena Belle Lara

Sarah L. Lee

Marcus Lonardo

Aarianna B. Longino

Alejandro Magallón

Norman Mathews

Jason Milam

Jeff Monette

Natasha Monette

Lance Orta

Patrick Perez

Abby Powell

Saïd Henry Pressley

Nicholas Rathgeb

Roberto J. Reyna

Matthew Reynolds

Francis Rivera

Hannah Roberts

Priscilla Salisbury

Johnny Salvesen

Hillary Schranze

Valerie Serice

Kade I. Smith

Kaitlyn Stavinoha

Lisa Borik Vickers

Miles Ward

John Weinel

HGO CORPS DANCERS

Caitlyn Cork

Maya Parker

Donald Sayre

Andrew Robert Smith

LaKesha Sowell

SUPERNUMERARIES

Bodhi Bryant

Navi Dixon

Reyna Janelle

Robby Matlock

Austin McLeod

Patrick O’Keefe

Seth Carter Ramsey

Anika Rohra

Christa Ruiz-Lundgren

WHO'S WHO

PATRICK SUMMERS (UNITED STATES) CONDUCTOR

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair

Patrick Summers has been a central figure at HGO for over 25 years, conducting a vast range of repertoire during his tenure. First appointed to the company in 1998 as Music Director, he then transitioned to Artistic and Music Director in 2011 with the chief task of elevating the company’s artistic quality. Highlights at HGO include Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, and Lohengrin; Verdi’s Requiem, Don Carlo, Rigoletto, and La traviata; Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, Don Giovanni, and The Marriage of Figaro; Britten’s Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, and The Turn of the Screw ; Handel’s Saul and Julius Caesar; Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, and Turandot, and Smyth’s The Wreckers; premieres of Tarik O’Regan’s The Phoenix ; André Previn’s Brief Encounter ; Christopher Theofanidis’s The Refuge; Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life, The End of the Affair, and Three Decembers; Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree; Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince; Tod Machover’s Resurrection; Joel Thompson’s The Snowy Day ; and the American premiere of Weinberg’s The Passenger, both at HGO and the Lincoln Center Festival. At the Metropolitan Opera, he has conducted Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodelinda, Salome, I puritani, and The Enchanted Island, among others. He has enjoyed a long association with San Francisco Opera and was honored in 2015 with the San Francisco Opera Medal, the company’s highest honor. He has taken the podium at major houses around the world. In 2017, Summers was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree by his alma mater, Indiana University. At Aspen Music Festival and School, he currently serves as Co-Director of the Aspen Opera Theater and Vocal Arts alongside Renée Fleming. During HGO’s 2024-25 season, he conducts Il trovatore and Breaking the Waves. This year, Summers will release two novels and a volume of poetry, with more to come, on Amazon and Audible.

STEPHEN WADSWORTH (UNITED STATES)

DIRECTOR

Stephen Wadsworth debuted at HGO in 1983 as co-author with Leonard Berstein of A Quiet Place, and he returned to direct La Clemenza di Tito for the company’s Mozart Festival in 1991. Wadsworth has directed on and off Broadway, in London’s West End, and in many opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera (Rodelinda, Boris Godunov, Iphigénie en Tauride), Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, San Francisco Opera, and many others, notably Seattle Opera, where his famous staging of Wagner’s Ring Cycle played for many years. Wadsworth’s productions of classic plays by Aeschylus, Shakespeare, Molière, Beaumarchais, and Goldoni––often in his own landmark translations––have established him as

a master of classical style. His books Marivaux: Three Plays and Molière: Don Juan are published by Smith and Kraus; the government of France named him a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for services to French literature. Wadsworth is co-author of the operas Amelia (music by Daron Hagen) and The Flood (music by Korine Fujiwara). An acting teacher and mentor to many of opera’s current stars, he taught for 38 years in the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and is The James S. Marcus Faculty Fellow at The Juilliard School, where he developed the first and only intensive acting course for singers in the world––the cutting-edge AD (Artist Diploma) program. He also takes one directing student a year at Juilliard, where he has trained some of the top young opera directors working today.

CHARLIE CORCORAN (UNITED STATES)

SCENIC DESIGNER

Charlie Corcoran, an award-winning scenic designer based in New York, is making his HGO debut. He has designed sets for Fidelio at Santa Fe Opera; La Calisto at Glimmerglass Opera; The Bartered Bride and Così fan tutte in co-productions between the Metropolitan Opera and Juilliard Opera; Don Giovanni for Juilliard Opera; The Magic Flute for Music Academy of the West, and L’opera Seria for Wolf Trap Opera. In New York, Corcoran has designed at venues including Cherry Lane Theatre, Primary Stages, 2nd Stage, Irish Repertory Theatre, DR2, Theatre Row, Ars Nova, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Regional credits include productions at the Goodman Theatre, Center Theatre Group, The Guthrie, The Old Globe, The Cleveland Playhouse, Westport County Playhouse, and Bucks County Playhouse. He previously served as the production designer on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and is currently a set designer for The Equalizer on CBS. Corcoran has been a visiting artist at Playwrights Horizons Theater School at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and The University of Seattle.

CAMILLE ASSAF (FRANCE/UNITED STATES) COSTUME DESIGNER

Camille Assaf is making her HGO debut. A costume designer for opera, theater, dance, and film, she is a lead design editor at Chance, a photography magazine that looks at the world through the lens of theatrical design. She is a longtime collaborator with Il trovatore director Stephen Wadsworth, working with him on Fidelio at Santa Fe Opera, Così fan tutte in a co-production between Juilliard Opera and the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Program, Don Giovanni at Juilliard Opera, and the Beaumarchais Plays, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, at the McCarter Theater. Her recent opera credits include Le Roman de Fauvel at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Médée for the Berlin State Opera, and

Beatrice di Tenda for the Opéra de Paris. Other career highlights include Don Carlos at Basel Opera (Switzerland) and Zaza at Opera Holland Park (London). She regularly collaborates with director Marshall Pynkoski for the Opéra Royal de Versailles, designing costumes for Richard Coeur de Lion and La Caravane du Caire. In 2007, Assaf created costumes for the world premiere of Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein’s American opera Elmer Gantry, and later designed the Florentine Opera’s revival production. Additional credits include designs for Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Wolf-Ferrari’s Curious Women, both at Wolf Trap, and a touring production of Max and Moritz, which had its world premiere at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

JIYOUN CHANG (KOREA/UNITED STATES) LIGHTING DESIGNER

Jiyoun Chang is making her HGO debut. Her Broadway credits include Stereophonic, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, The Cottage, KPOP Broadway, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf, and Slave Play. Among her recent credits are Gavin Creel’s Walk on Through: Confessions of a Museum Novice, and The Far Country with Atlantic Theater Company. She received a 2020 Tony Award nomination for Slave Play on Broadway, a Henry Hewes Design Award nomination, also for Slave Play, and a 2019 Drama Desk Nomination for Slave Play at New York Theatre Workshop, as well as Drama Desk nominations for The Far Country in both 2023 and 2024. Chang is the recipient of the Suzie Bass Award for Lighting Design in Bina’s Six Apples, as well as the Obie Award for her work on The World is Round.

AMY HALL GARNER (UNITED STATES)

CHOREOGRAPHER

Amy Hall Garner is making her HGO debut. Her work includes commissions by New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Miami City Ballet, ABT Studio Co., Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Carolina Ballet, Collage Dance Collective, and many more. Theatrical choreography credits include The Color Purple (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), Dreamgirls (Paramount Theatre), and Choir Boy (Yale Repertory Theatre). In 2018, she was selected to participate in Alvin Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab supported by the Ford Foundation. In addition, Garner was one of the first recipients of the Joffrey Ballet’s Choreography of Color Award (now titled Winning Works). She recently created a new children’s ballet, Rita Finds Home, for The Joffrey Ballet and reimagined Baltimore School for the Arts’ new production of The Nutcracker. Garner is an adjunct professor at New York University’s New Studio on Broadway at Tisch School of the Arts and is the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation Choreographer-in-Residence at BalletX. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

H. RUSS BROWN (UNITED STATES) FIGHT DIRECTOR

H. Russ Brown is making his HGO debut as fight director in Il trovatore, Cinderella, Family Day Presents Cinderella, La bohème, and West Side Story. Elsewhere this 2024-25 season, Brown’s engagements include the world premiere of his original farce, Funny Boned, at COM Theatre as well as fight direction duties for Esther at A.D. Players and Private Lives at The Alley Theatre. His theatrical credits include The Three Musketeers at The Alley Theatre; Return of Neverland with Quest Theatre Ensemble in Chicago; Hamlet with Trama Theatre Company; Ruby Nelle at York Theatre; Dead Man Walking with Northwestern Opera; Romeo and Juliet at Iowa State University; Macbeth at Tyler Junior College; Run for Your Wife at Maples Repertory Theatre; Newsies with Stratford High School Players; Moon Over Buffalo at Lon Morris College; Sweeney Todd and Jekyll & Hyde with Columbia Entertainment Company; The Fantasticks and Oklahoma! at Lon Morris College; Julius Caesar, The Pirates of Penzance, and Aida at UW-Stevens Point; I Hate Hamlet at Nicolet College; and Burning The Saint at UMC Corner Playhouse. Brown has taught and given guest lectures at the University of Missouri-Columbia, the University of Houston, Texas Tech University, Illinois State University, North Carolina School of the Arts, Ball State University, Lon Morris College, Nicolet College, Spoon River College, Elgin Community College, Roosevelt University, and Western Illinois University. He has also served as the Society of American Fight Director’s (SAFD) Governing Body Secretary and as Coordinator of the National Stage Combat Workshop (EXCELSIOR!). Brown currently serves as Head of Theatre/Artistic Director for the College of the Mainland Theatre Program in Texas City.

OLIVIA KNIGHT (UNITED STATES) INTIMACY DIRECTOR

Olivia Knight is making her HGO debut as intimacy director for Il trovatore, both the mainstage and HGO Family Day Presents productions of Cinderella, and La bohème. Knight’s other engagements for the 2024-25 season include Una in Blackbird with Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. and the premiere of Synapse with The Octarine Accord. She has led movement, fight and intimacy workshops in the Houston community at various educational institutions as well as working as a teacher at both the college and high school levels. She was awarded the VCUarts Research Grant in 2021 for her work on The Penelopiad. Previous theatrical credits include Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Gregory in Romeo & Juliet with the Houston Shakespeare Festival (2024); Ursula in Much Ado About Nothing and First Witch/Lady Macduff in Macbeth with the Houston Shakespeare Festival (2023); Ash in Wolf Play with Rec Room Arts (2023); #25 in The Wolves at Quintero Theatre (2023); Princess of France in Love’s Labour’s Lost with Studio 108 (2023); the title role of Rumpelstiltskin and Katherine/Boy in Henry V at the Wortham

(2022); Sonia in Our Lady of 121st Street at Quintero Theatre (2021); and Olivia in Twelfth Night at Richmond Catholic Theatre (2020).

RICHARD BADO (UNITED STATES)

CHORUS DIRECTOR

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Richard Bado made his professional conducting debut in 1989 leading Houston Grand Opera’s acclaimed production of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, Bado has conducted at Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, HGO, New York City Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, Tulsa Opera, the Russian National Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, Wolf Trap Opera, and has conducted the Robert Wilson production of Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts at the Edinburgh Festival. This season, Bado conducts performances of The Nutcracker for Houston Ballet and performances of West Side Story for Houston Grand Opera. An accomplished pianist, Bado has appeared regularly with Renée Fleming and numerous other leading artists. Bado—who holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award, and West Virginia University—has studied advanced choral conducting with Robert Shaw. He is the Director of Artistic Planning and Chorus Director for HGO, where he received the Silver Rose Award in 2013. He has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. For 12 years, he was the Director of the Opera Studies Program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Bado has served on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Dolora Zajick Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, the International Vocal School in Moscow, the Texas Music Festival, and has served on the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, the Bolshoi Opera Young Artist Program, Opera Australia, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Utah Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera. He regularly judges for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

MICHAEL SPYRES (UNITED STATES) BARITENOR—MANRICO

Michael Spyres has previously been seen at HGO as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (2022) and as Fernand in one performance of La favorite (2020). Elsewhere during the 2024-25 season, Spyres performs the title role of Palestrina, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos and Florestan in Fidelio at the Vienna State Opera; the title role of Jephtha in Paris, Madrid, and London; and Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Bayreuth Festival. During the 2023-24 season, Spyres made his debut in the title role of Lohengrin at the Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg and Siegmund in Die Walküre at the Bayreuth Festival. He also sang Licinius in a new staging of La vestale at the National Opéra de Paris and Énée in Les Troyens at Salzburger Festspiele,

BBC Proms, and Berliner Festspiele. Other recent highlights include the title role in Idomeneo and Pollione in Norma at the Metropolitan Opera, Don José in Carmen at Opéra National de Paris and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Jupiter in Handel’s Semele at Bavarian State Opera. Spyres has performed at opera houses and festivals worldwide such as Teatro alla Scala, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Chicago Lyric Opera, and Teatro Real de Madrid. He has been the Artistic Director of the Ozarks Lyric Opera since 2015. Spyres won the Male Singer Award in the 2023 International Opera Awards, was named Best Male Singer of the Year at the 2024 Oper! Awards, and received the Opus Klassik 2024 award for his solo album In The Shadows. In 2021, he was honored with the prestigious Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres designation by the government of France.

AILYN PÉREZ (UNITED STATES) SOPRANO—LEONORA

Ailyn Pérez has previously been seen at HGO as Cio-Cio-San in Madame Butterfly (2024), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (2019), Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro (2016), and Desdemona in Otello (2014). Pérez’s additional operatic engagements for 2024-25 include Mimì at the Metropolitan Opera and the Chicago Lyric Opera, Cio-Cio-San at Grand Teatre del Liceu, Tosca at the Staatsoper Berlin, and Nedda in Pagliacci at the Bavarian State Opera. Her engagements during the 2023-24 season included Cio-Cio-San at Teatro di San Carlo and Teatro Real de Madrid; role debuts as Florencia Grimaldi in Florencia en el Amazonas and Micaëla in Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera; her debut with Washington Concert Opera as Magda in La Rondine; and the title role in Tosca at Hamburg State Opera. Career highlights include Violetta (La traviata) at the Zürich Opera House, the Hamburg State Opera, Berlin State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and London’s Royal Ballet and Opera. Other highlights include Blanche (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Alice Ford (Falstaff ), Mimì and Musetta (La bohème), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), and Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) at the Metropolitan Opera; and Tatyana Bakst in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Great Scott. Pérez won the 2012 Richard Tucker Award, becoming the first Hispanic recipient in the award’s 35-year history, as well as the 15th annual Plácido Domingo Award.

RAEHANN BRYCE-DAVIS (UNITED STATES)

MEZZO-SOPRANO—AZUCENA

Raehann Bryce-Davis is making her HGO debut. Other highlights of her 2024-25 season include Dalila in Samson et Dalila at New Orleans Opera, Marfa in Khovanshchina at Grand Théâtre de Genève, and Marina in Boris Godunov at Dutch National Opera. During the 2023-24 season she made her house debut at Oper im Steinbruch performing as Amneris in Aida and sang the roles of Jezibaba in Rusalka at

Santa Fe Opera; Fricka in Das Rheingold with LA Philharmonic, Lizzie in 10 Days in a Madhouse at Opera Philadelphia; Ella in X, the Life and Times of Malcolm X at Detroit Opera and the Metropolitan Opera; and La Zia Principessa in Il trittico at Dutch National Opera. Recent highlights include her returns to both LA Opera and the Staatstheater Nürnberg as Azucena in Il trovatore, as well as performances at La Monnaie de Munt, Brussels as Zia Principessa in Il trittico. Additional credits include Leonora in La favorite at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Ms. Alexander in Satyagraha at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, and Wellgunde in Wagner’s Ring cycle at Theater an der Wien. She produced the digital short, Brown Sounds, which won Best Music Video at the New York International Film Awards, New York Cinematography Awards, Hollywood Boulevard Film Awards, and the Silk Road Film Awards in Cannes. Bryce-Davis is a 2018 recipient of the George London Award, the first place and Audience Prize winner of the 2017 Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino competition, a winner of the 2016 Richard F. Gold Career Grant, a winner of the 2015 Hilde Zadek Competition at the Musikverein in Vienna, and a winner of the 2015 Sedat Gürel-Güzin Gürel International Voice Competition in Istanbul.

LUCAS MEACHEM (UNITED STATES)

BARITONE—COUNT DI LUNA

Previously for HGO, Lucas Meachem performed the role of Figaro in The Barber of Seville (2018). The 2023-24 season saw Meachem in the title role of Don Giovanni with the Los Angeles Opera; the lead role of Jean-Dominique Bauby in the world premiere of Joby Talbot’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly at The Dallas Opera; the dual roles of Michele and Gianni Schicchi in Il trittico at Hamburg State Opera; and Sharpless in Madame Butterfly with the Metropolitan Opera and Teatro Real. In the 2024-25 season, Meachem’s engagements include roles of Sharpless in Madame Butterfly and Germont in La traviata at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Marcello in La bohème at San Francisco Opera, and Guglielmo da Baskerville in the world premiere of Filidei’s Il Nome Della Rosa at Teatro alla Scala. Other highlights include the title role in The Barber of Seville at San Diego Opera, Vienna State Opera, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, and Los Angeles Opera, where he gave his Grammy Award-winning performance as Figaro in The Ghosts of Versailles He has performed with Glyndebourne Festival, Semperoper Dresden, Opéra National de Paris, Bavarian State Opera, and Bilbao Opera. In 2020, Meachem and his wife founded the Perfect Day Music Foundation to promote inclusivity and diversity through the medium of classical music. Meachem released his solo album Shall We Gather in 2021.

MORRIS ROBINSON (UNITED STATES)

BASS—FERRANDO

Previously for HGO, Morris Robinson performed the roles of Sarastro in The Magic Flute (2015); Lodovico in Otello (2014); and Joe in Show Boat and the Commendatore in Don Giovanni (2013). Elsewhere during the 2024-25 season, Robinson performs the roles of both The King of Egypt and Ramfis in a new production of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera and Banquo in Macbeth at Atlanta Opera. During the 2023-24 season, Robinson created the role of The Commander in the world premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded at Washington National Opera and performed the role of Timur in Turandot at Los Angeles Opera. Other recent appearances include the roles of Daland in The Flying Dutchman at Santa Fe Opera (2023), Lodovico in Otello at LA Opera (2023), Ramfis in Aida for LA Opera (2022), and King Marke in Tristan and Isolde at Seattle Opera (2022). Robinson has performed at houses around the world, including the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Volksoper Wien, Opera Australia, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. His solo album, Going Home, was released on the Decca label. He appears as Joe in the DVD of the San Francisco Opera production of Show Boat, and in the DVDs of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Salome and the Aix-enProvence Festival’s production of Mozart’s Zaide. He was Artistic Advisor to the Cincinnati Opera from 2019 to 2021.

DEMETRIOUS SAMPSON, JR. (UNITED STATES)

TENOR—RUIZ

Dr. Dina Alsowayel and Mr. Anthony R. Chase / Mr. Eliodoro Castillo and Mr. Eric McLaughlin / Mr. and Mrs. Hector Torres / Mr. Trey Yates Fellow

A second-year Butler Studio artist from Albany, Georgia, Demetrious Sampson, Jr. also performs the roles of Parpignol in La bohème and Younger Sailor in Breaking the Waves during HGO’s 2024-25 season. The previous season for the company, Sampson performed the role of 3rd Esquire in Parsifal. Sampson is the second place and Audience Choice Winner in HGO’s 2023 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias and a 2022 alumnus of HGO’s Young Artists Vocal Academy. He made his professional debut with The Atlanta Opera at the age of 20 as Crab Man in Porgy and Bess, a role he reprised at Des Moines Metro Opera in summer 2022 as an apprentice artist. During summer 2023, he joined the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco. In summer 2024, he made company and role debuts with Cincinnati Opera as Gastone in La traviata and with Wolf Trap Opera as the Kronprinz in Kevin Puts’s Silent Night. A previous Encouragement Award winner, he was named a National Finalist in the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Sampson received his bachelor’s degree from Georgia State University in 2023.

ELIZABETH HANJE (UNITED STATES)

SOPRANO—INES

Ms. Marty Dudley / Amy and Mark Melton Fellow

First-year Butler Studio artist Elizabeth Hanje, a Tanzanian-American soprano from Vestavia Hills, Alabama, is making her HGO debut. The first-place winner at HGO’s 2024 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias, she is a 2022 alumna of HGO’s Young Artist Vocal Academy and the Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Program. At Oberlin Conservatory, her roles have included Ernestina in L’occasione fa il ladro, Comedian in Matthew Recio’s The Puppy Episode, and Lyra in Melissa Dunphy’s Alice Tierney, as well as performing in the chorus of Acis and Galatea. In April 2022, she performed the role of Lyra in Alice Tierney in her debut with Opera Columbus. Hanje has sung in masterclasses with director Michael Capasso, soprano Christine Goerke, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, and soprano Harolyn Blackwell. She is a winner of the 2023 Duncan Williams Voice Competition and the 2022 George Shirley Vocal Competition. In 2021, she received the Richard Miller Award for Fine Singing and a YoungArts Award. In spring 2024, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory.

MICHAEL MCDERMOTT

(UNITED STATES)

TENOR—MESSENGER

Michelle Beale and Dick Anderson / Dr. Ellen R. Gritz and Mr. Milton D. Rosenau Jr. Fellow

A second-year Butler Studio artist from Huntington Beach, California, Michael McDermott is the third-place winner in HGO’s 2023 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias and a 2021 alumnus of HGO’s Young Artists Vocal Academy. During HGO’s 2024-25 season, he also performs the role Don Ramiro in student and Family Day performances of Cinderella, and serves as a tenor soloist in Breaking the Waves. During HGO’s 2023-24 season, he performed the roles of Bardolph in Falstaff and 4th Esquire in Parsifal. In 2022, he covered the role of Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at the Aspen Music Festival and returned in 2023 to perform Arbace in Idomeneo. At The Juilliard School in New York, he performed the roles of Spärlich in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Filippo in Haydn’s L’infedeltà delusa, as well as appearing in Liederabends and recitals. In summer 2024, McDermott sang the role of Camille de Rosillon in The Merry Widow at the Glyndebourne Festival. His recent competition wins include first prize in the 2024 Grand Concours Vocal Competition, first prize in the Schmidt Vocal Competition, and first prize in the Scholarship Division of the National Opera Association’s Carolyn Bailey Argento Competition. McDermott received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, and pursued his master’s degree at Rice University.

SAÏD HENRY PRESSLEY (UNITED STATES)

BASS-BARITONE—ROMANI MAN

Saïd Henry Pressley is a member of the HGO Chorus. During the 2024-25 season at HGO, he also performs the role of Customs Officer in La bohème. His previous HGO mainstage roles include Messenger in La traviata (2022), a Jailer in Tosca (2015), and Hyde in Prince of Players (2016). He also appeared in the company world premiere of The Pastry Prince (2015) and Cinderella in Spain (2014). He has performed as Presto in Les mamelles de Tirésias, Simone/Maestro Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Wu Tianshi in the American premiere of Peter Maxwell Davies’s Kommilitonen! with Juilliard Opera; as well as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Sebastian in the world premiere recording of Lee Hoiby’s The Tempest (Albany Records), Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Sarastro in The Magic Flute with Purchase Opera. Pressley performed in Unsung Activist by Steve Wallace with Opera in the Heights and has appeared with The Dacameron Opera Coalition. With Houston’s Transitory Sound and Movement Collective, he has performed at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and MATCH Houston. He won first prize in the Tony and Sally Amato Opera Competition (2010); second prize in the Harlem Opera Theater Competition (2013); and was named a semi-finalist in Dallas Opera Guild’s Annual Vocal Competition (2014) and Best Vocalist at the Sid Wright Accompanying Competition (2018). A graduate of Purchase College Conservatory and The Juilliard School, he is pursuing a doctorate degree at the Butler School of Music.

A Co-Production of Houston Grand Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Welsh National Opera, and Grand Théâtre de Genève

Sung in Italian with projected English translation Brown Theater, Wortham Theater Center

The performance lasts approximately 3 hours and 13 minutes, including one intermission.

CONTENT ADVISORY

This production contains strobe light effects.

The activities of Houston Grand Opera are supported in part by funds provided by the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts.

MUSIC BY Gioachino Rossini

LIBRETTO BY Jacopo Ferretti

QUICK START GUIDE

THE OPERA IN ONE SENTENCE

Forced into servitude by her stepfather and stepsisters, Cinderella is lifted out of her misery when the royal tutor recognizes her virtue and helps her win the prince’s heart at the palace ball.

BACKGROUND

Rossini’s Cinderella more-or-less follows the traditional fairytale as you’ve heard it retold in storybooks and cartoons—but with a few significant changes. Censors at the time of the opera’s 1817 premiere in Rome would have never permitted a woman’s bare foot to appear onstage. So Rossini’s librettist, Jacopo Ferretti, substituted a tasteful pair of bracelets for the glass slippers. You’ll also notice that Cinderella’s stepmother has been replaced with a stepfather. The work belongs to a comic genre known as opera buffa, which features clownish roles for male soloists. Audiences would have expected a bumbling basso buffo character like the pompous Don Magnifico.

Finally, you may be surprised by the conspicuous lack of magic in the libretto— no fairy godmother or bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. Instead, it’s the prince’s tutor, Alidoro, who supplies Cinderella with a coach and outfit for the ball. Rather than some supernatural intervention, the heroine is rewarded solely for her integrity—hence the opera’s subtitle, “the Triumph of Goodness.” This removal of any hocus-pocus is sometimes mistakenly attributed to Rossini. But the composer had no say in the plot, which was adapted by Ferretti from two earlier Cinderella-inspired operas. To be sure, HGO’s production by Spanish director Joan Font restores some of the missing magic—he decks Alidoro in a wizard getup and transforms Cinderella’s rat friends into a team of rodent footmen.

WHAT TO LISTEN FOR

The manic energy of Rossini’s music is attributable to an opera buffa vocal technique known as patter. Confined to a single pitch, a singer recites tonguetwister texts at breakneck speeds. Listen for Don Magnifico’s patter aria “Sia qualunque delle figlie” in Act II, where he rattles off a list of gifts and favors he expects to receive once his daughters marry into royalty. In brilliant ensemble numbers, Rossini combines the soloists’ patter lines into clockwork-like textures that gradually build to thrilling climaxes. These passages have become known as the composer’s signature “Rossini crescendos” or “Rossini rockets.” There are some especially effective examples in the Act I quartet “Cenerentola vien qua,” when the stepsisters drive Cinderella dizzy with their bossy demands.

Amid the musical chatter of Cinderella’s frivolous stepfamily, Rossini sets his dignified heroine apart by assigning her more expansive and lyrical melodies. Listen for her recurring cavatina “Una volta c’era un re,” a melancholy tune that expresses her hopeless longing for a fairytale ending. When her dream really does come true, Cinderella takes center stage for her curtain-closing number, the beloved aria “Non più mesta.” Her uncontainable happiness bursts forth in long stretches of

virtuosic coloratura—the sparkling runs and acrobatic ornaments associated with the Italian bel canto school of singing.

FUN FACT

Rossini only had three weeks to complete the score of Cinderella. But he was used to impossibly tight deadlines and had developed ways of expediting the creative process. The recitatives—i.e., the speechlike passages of sung dialogue—were outsourced to another composer. So, too, were a couple of arias and a chorus. Rossini later rewrote one of these numbers himself, and the other two “counterfeits” are usually left out of contemporary performances. Self-borrowing was another standard shortcut. Cinderella’s grandfinale number is a reworking of a tenor showpiece from The Barber of Seville. And the famous Cinderella overture, with its jaunty syncopations and mischievous clarinet solo, is lifted note-for-note from Rossini’s La gazzetta

CAST & CREATIVE

CAST

(in order of vocal appearance)

Clorinda Alissa Goretsky †*

Nancy Haywood / Susan Bloome / James M. Trimble and Sylvia Barnes Fellow

Tisbe Emily Treigle ‡

Angelina Isabel Leonard

Lynn Wyatt Great Artist

Alidoro Cory McGee ‡

Don Magnifico Alessandro Corbelli

Don Ramiro Jack Swanson

Dandini Iurii Samoilov *

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor Lorenzo Passerini *

Director

Joan Font

Associate Director / Choreographer Xevi Dorca

Set and Costume Designer Joan Guillén

Original Lighting Designer Albert Faura

Revival Lighting Designer Michael James Clark

Chorus Director

Fortepiano Continuo

Richard Bado ‡

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair

Nicholas Roehler *

Musical Preparation

Stage Manager

Assistant Director

Laura Bleakley †*

Ms. Lynn Des Prez / Dr. and Mrs. Miguel Miro-Quesada Fellow

Teddy Poll

Nicholas Roehler *

Madeline Slettedahl

Brian August

Stephanie Smith

* Mainstage debut

† Butler Studio artist

‡ Former Butler Studio artist

PRODUCTION CREDITS

English supertitles by Patricia Houk, adapted by Lucas Nguyen. Supertitles called by Judy Frow.

Performed by arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, sole agent in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for Casa Ricordi/ Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.R.L., publisher and copyright owner.

Performing artists, stage directors, and choreographers are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO, the union for opera professionals in the United States.

Scenic, costume, and lighting designers and assistant designers are represented by United Scenic Artists, IATSE Local USA-829.

Orchestral musicians are represented by the Houston Professional Musicians Association, Local #65-699, American Federation of Musicians.

Stage crew personnel provided by IATSE, Local #51.

Wardrobe personnel provided by Theatrical Wardrobe Union, Local #896.

This production is being recorded for archival purposes.

SYNOPSIS

ACT I

Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Angelina who lived in the dilapidated mansion of her stepfather, the boastful baron Don Magnifico. Angelina was forced to do all the household chores by her lazy stepsisters, Tisbe and Clorinda. They gave her the cruel nickname “Cinderella,” because she was always covered in cinders from stoking the fire. Seated by the hearth, Angelina would sing herself a ditty about a king who rejected prideful and pompous suitors in favor of a virtuous bride.

As our story opens, a beggarman knocks at the door. While Tisbe and Clorinda spurn his supplications, Angelina feeds the poor wretch. Little does she know that this “beggar” is Alidoro, the wise tutor of a local prince named Don Ramiro. Heaven will reward you, he tells Angelina. Just then, messengers arrive with news: Don Ramiro himself is coming to invite the eligible ladies of the household to a ball! Tisbe and Clorinda fawn over “his highness,” unaware that it’s really Don Ramiro’s valet, Dandini. Master and servant have exchanged identities so that the prince can better observe his potential princesses from afar. However, Don Ramiro is far more impressed by the generous Angelina.

Don Magnifico, sensing an opportunity to lift his family out of poverty, accepts the invitation. But he forbids Angelina from accompanying them, leaving her sad and alone as he sets off with his daughters for the palace. Suddenly, Alidoro appears, no longer in his beggarly disguise. The tutor has come to reward Angelina for her good deeds, furnishing her with a gown, a pair of bracelets, and a coach to attend the ball. Arriving at the palace incognito, Angelina causes a jealous stir among her stepfather and stepsisters, who can’t believe this mysterious lady’s resemblance to Cinderella…

INTERMISSION

ACT II

With the party in full swing, Don Magnifico makes himself at home, picturing the fine life he will soon lead once the prince picks one of his daughters. But Don Ramiro has already chosen a fiancée, and it isn’t Tisbe or Clorinda. Rather, his heart belongs to the mysterious guest who so enchanted him. Before departing that night, she gifts the prince one of her two bracelets. Seek me wearing its companion, she tells him, and then decide if you still wish to wed me. Meanwhile, Dandini reveals his true identity to Don Magnifico, explaining that it had all been a trick—the daughters have been courting a lowly valet.

Next day, back at Don Magnifico’s, Angelina redons her rags and sets to cooking and cleaning again, secretly admiring the bracelet she still possesses. The grumbling of her stepfamily, all the crosser for having been made fools of, is drowned out by a sudden storm. At that moment, Dandini shows up at their doorstep. The royal carriage has overturned in the torrent and the prince is seeking shelter. Don Ramiro enters and instantly recognizes Angelina as both the kindly kitchen maid and the unknown beauty at the ball. A glint of jewels at her wrist confirms that they were one and the same woman all along, and Don Ramiro triumphantly offers his hand in marriage. Humbled and penitent, Don Magnifico and his daughters lay themselves at the mercy of the newly crowned princess. Angelina graciously forgives them. The past is forgotten—it was nothing more than a dream.

HGO PERFORMANCE HISTORY

HGO previously performed Cinderella in the 1956-57, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1995-96, and 2006-07 seasons.

HGO ORCHESTRA HGO CHORUS

Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair

VIOLIN

Denise Tarrant*, Concertmaster

Sarah and Ernest Butler Concertmaster Chair

Chloe Kim*, Assistant Concertmaster

Natalie Gaynor*, Principal Second Violin

Carrie Kauk*, Assistant Principal Second Violin

Miriam Belyatsky*

Anabel Ramirez-Detrick*

Rasa Kalesnykaite†

Hae-a Lee Barnes*

FLUTE

Henry Williford*, Principal

Tyler Martin*

OBOE

Elizabeth Priestly Siffert*, Principal

Mayu Isom†

Katherine Hart

CLARINET

Eric Chi*, Acting Principal

Justin Best

Richard Bado, Chorus Director

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair

Nathan Abbott

Geordie Alexander

Dennis Arrowsmith

Steve Buza

Christopher Childress

Scott Clark

Patrick Contreras

Zack Scott Frank

Dallas Gray

Jon Janacek

Joe Key

Marcus Lonardo

Chavdar Parashkevov*

Mary Reed*

Erica Robinson*

Linda Sanders*

Oleg Sulyga*

Sylvia VerMeulen*

Melissa Williams†

Zubaida Azezi

Hanna Hrybkova

Kana Kimura

Augusta Schubert

Rachel Shepard

VIOLA

Eliseo Rene Salazar*, Principal

Lorento Golofeev*, Assistant Principal

Gayle Garcia-Shepard*

Elizabeth Golofeev*

Erika C. Lawson*

Suzanne LeFevre†

Sarah Mason

CELLO

Barrett Sills*, Principal

Erika Johnson*, Assistant Principal

Wendy Smith-Butler*

Shino Hayashi

Kristiana Ignatjeva

DOUBLE BASS

Dennis Whittaker*, Principal

Erik Gronfor*, Assistant Principal

Carla Clark*

BASSOON

Amanda Swain*, Principal

Micah Doherty

HORN

Sarah Cranston*, Principal

Kimberly Penrod Minson*

Spencer Park†

Gavin Reed

TRUMPET

Tetsuya Lawson*, Principal

Randal Adams*

TROMBONE

Thomas Hultén*, Principal

Mark Holley†

TUBA

Mark Barton†, Principal

TIMPANI

Alison Chang†, Principal

PERCUSSION

Richard Brown†, Principal

HARP

Caitlin Mehrtens†, Principal

* HGO Orchestra core musician

† HGO Orchestra core musician on leave this production

Alejandro Magallón

Norman Mathews

Jeff Monette

Patrick Perez

Saïd Henry Pressley

Nicholas Rathgeb

Brad King Raymond

Roberto J. Reyna

Matthew Reynolds

Francis Rivera

Benjamin Rorabaugh

John Weinel

SUPERNUMERARIES

Ceasar F. Barajas

Ian M. Gallagher

Kiya Green

Paige Klase

David A. Quiroz

Hayden West

WHO'S WHO

LORENZO PASSERINI (ITALY) CONDUCTOR

Lorenzo Passerini is making his HGO debut. The founder and artistic director of the Orchestra Antonio Vivaldi, he was named the chief conductor of Finland’s Jyväskylä Sinfonia in fall 2024. Elsewhere during the 2024-25 season, Maestro Passerini has engagements at Vienna State Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Hamburg State Opera, Tiroler Festspiele Erl, Las Palmas Opera, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Philharmonie Essen, and Konzerthaus Dortmund. In summer 2024, he made his U.S. debut at the Cincinnati Opera Festival with La traviata. During the 2023-24 season he performed two gala concerts with soprano Pretty Yende and the Antwerp Symphony at Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, in addition to conducting Romeo and Juliet at the ABAO Bilbao Opera; Aida at Opera Australia; The Barber of Seville at Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro; Lucia di Lammermoor at the Hamburg State Opera; The Pearl Fishers at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; Norma at Teatro San Carlo; and Medea at Canadian Opera Company. A former trombonist, Passerini graduated with honors in trombone at the Conservatoire in Como in 2009. In 2014, he received a second-level academic diploma, with honors, from the Conservatoire in Aosta.

JOAN FONT (SPAIN) DIRECTOR

Joan Font returns to HGO to direct Cinderella, the same production he directed for the company in 2007. Also for the company, Font directed The Barber of Seville (2018, 2011) and The Italian Girl in Algiers (2012). Font is founding director of the Barcelona-based company Comediants, for which he has created more than 30 productions internationally. His operatic work began with The Magic Flute (Gran Teatre del Liceu), Orfeo ed Euridice (Perelada Festival), the zarzuela La verbena de la Paloma (Granada Festival), and this production of Cinderella, which has also been presented at La Monnaie in Brussels, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Welsh National Opera, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Omaha, Washington National Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. His production of The Italian Girl in Algiers has been seen in Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Comunale of Florence, the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, and Teatre de les Arts in Valencia, and his Barber of Seville has been presented at Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Canadian Opera Company. In 2010, Font directed a new production The Magic Flute for the Auditorio de Murcia. Outside opera, Font and Comediants have presented special performances for Shanghai’s World Expo and for the celebration of Hanoi’s Millenium (Vietnam). Font has worked on special projects for the Festival d’Avignon and Venice’s Biennale, as well as other projects in Paris, New York, Chicago, Bogotá, Sydney, Tokyo, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Hannover, Beijing, Moscow, and other cities.

XEVI DORCA (SPAIN) ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR/ CHOREOGRAPHER

Previously for HGO, Xevi Dorca choreographed productions of The Barber of Seville (2018, 2011), The Italian Girl in Algiers (2012), and this production of Cinderella (2007), all created with director Joan Font, with whom he has worked throughout Europe and North America. Their Cinderella, which made its premiere in Houston, has been presented in revival productions at La Monnaie in Brussels, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Welsh National Opera, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Omaha, Washington National Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Atlanta Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. The Italian Girl in Algiers also has been seen at Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Comunale of Florence, the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Royal Opera House Muscat, and Teatre de les Arts in Valencia; and The Barber of Seville at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Wolf Trap Opera, and Canadian Opera Company, where he earned an Outstanding Choreography nomination for Canada’s prestigious Dora Mavor Moore Award. Additional choreographic work includes Leonardo Balada’s Faustball at Teatro Real in Madrid. Additional stage director credits include Dido and Aenas (Purcell) and La serva padrona (Pergolesi), which premiered in Barcelona. Dorca studied at Barcelona’s Institut del Teatre. He was awarded Best Dancer by the Madrid Choreographic Competition, which enabled him to work with the Transitions Dance Company at London’s Laban Centre. Dorca co-manages Barcelona’s XeviXaviXou dance company.

JOAN GUILLÉN

(SPAIN)

SET AND COSTUME DESIGNER

Joan Guillén has designed sets, costumes, masks, and props for opera and theater. Previously for HGO, he served as set and costume designer for The Barber of Seville (2018, 2011), seen also at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, Gran Teatre del Liceu, and Canadian Opera Company; The Italian Girl in Algiers in (2012), also seen at Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Comunale of Florence, the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, and Teatre de les Arts in Valencia; and this production of Cinderella (2007), which was also staged at La Monnaie in Brussels, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Welsh National Opera, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Omaha, Washington National Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Another important production was Faust-Bal at Madrid’s Teatro Real. Guillén has done extensive work in the arts as a painter, sculptor, and cartoonist. He has taught at the School of Dramatic Art at Barcelona’s Theatre Institute for many years, in addition to serving as a visiting professor at schools and universities around the world. The most recent of his many honors was the 2016 National Culture Prize, awarded by the Catalan

National Council of Culture and the Arts. Other awards include the gold medal for costume design at the 1999 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, the world’s largest exhibition in the field of set design and theater architecture.

ALBERT FAURA (SPAIN)

ORIGINAL LIGHTING DESIGNER

He holds a degree in lighting design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

RICHARD BADO (UNITED STATES)

CHORUS DIRECTOR

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair

For information on Richard Bado, please see page 46.

Albert Faura’s original lighting designs have previously been seen at HGO for this production of Cinderella (2007), The Barber of Seville (2018, 2011), and The Italian Girl in Algiers in (2012). Faura’s recent work includes La Bella Susona at Teatro Maestranza, Così fan tutte at Teatro Calderon, The Saffron Rose and Benamor at Teatro Lirico Nacional de la Zarzuela, La torre de Nadal at Gran Teatre del Liceu, La dama del alba at Opera de Oviedo, and The Pirate at Teatro Real de Madrid. He designed the lighting for The Magic Flute (Barcelona), Turandot (Valencia), Madame Butterfly (Venice), Carmen (Palermo), and Tristan and Isolde (Lyon), and many other productions. As a member of Barcelona’s Comediants theater collective, he has worked with such distinguished directors as Núria Espert, Nicolas Joël, Rafael Durán, Sergi Belbel, Alfredo Arias, and Frédérico Alagna. Faura has designed lighting for Alan Ayckbourn’s House and Garden at Teatro Bartrina and Teatro Fortuny; Gani Mirzo’s 1,001 Nights (Syracuse, Perelada, Cordóba); The Magic Flute (Opéra National de Paris, Teatro Real, Ruhr Triennale Festival); Bretón’s La verbena de la Paloma (Granada’s International Festival of Music and Dance, Bilbao’s Teatro Arriaga, Perelada Festival). He has won three Butaca Awards, a Max Award, and two Barcelona Critics’ Awards.

MICHAEL JAMES CLARK (UNITED STATES)

REVIVAL LIGHTING DESIGNER

Michael James Clark is the head of lighting and production media for HGO. During the company’s 2024-25 season, he also serves as lighting designer for Family Day Presents: Cinderella and La bohème. In the 2023-24 season, he was lighting designer for Falstaff and The Big Swim and revival lighting designer for Parsifal. During the 2022-23 season, Clark was associate lighting designer for The Marriage of Figaro, Werther, and Tosca, and during the company’s 2021-22 season he created the lighting design for the world premiere production of The Snowy Day, and served as the assistant lighting designer for The Magic Flute and associate lighting designer for Carmen. He served as revival lighting designer for HGO’s production of Aida (2020) and designed lighting for mainstage and Miller Outdoor Theatre productions of La bohème (2018-19) and the world premiere of The Phoenix (2019). He lit the HGO world premieres of Some Light Emerges (2017), After the Storm (2016), O Columbia (2015), and Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (2010), as well as many more mainstage and outdoor HGO productions. Clark also has designed lighting for Teatro La Fenice, San Francisco Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, Stages Repertory Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Rice University, and the 2007 Prague Quadrennial.

ISABEL LEONARD (UNITED STATES)

MEZZO-SOPRANO—ANGELINA

Lynn Wyatt Great Artist

Isabel Leonard returns to HGO after performing the roles of Maria in The Sound of Music (2024) and Charlotte in Werther (2022). Also during HGO’s 2024-25 season, she serves as director of HGO Family Day Presents Cinderella. In repertoire that spans from Vivaldi to Mozart to Nico Muhly, Leonard has graced the stages of the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Salzburg Festival, Bavarian State Opera, Carnegie Hall, Glyndebourne Festival, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Aix-en-Provence Festival, The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, and Santa Fe Opera in The Barber of Seville (Rosina), Cinderella (Angelina), The Marriage of Figaro (Cherubino), Così fan tutte (Dorabella), Don Giovanni (Zerlina/ Donna Elvira), La clemenza di Tito (Sesto), Werther (Charlotte), Dialogues of the Carmelites (Blanche de la Force), Griselda (Costanza), La bohème (Musetta), Giulio Cesare (Sesto), and the title roles in Carmen, La Périchole, Cendrillon, Marnie, and Der Rosenkavalier. During the 2024-25 season, she performs the role of Rosina in The Barber of Seville at Opéra National de Paris and The Metropolitan Opera, and makes her house debut with Gran Teatre del Liceu as Anita in a concert performance of Bernstein’s West Side Story. Leonard is a recipient of the Richard Tucker Award and a multiple Grammy Award winner. In 2023, Leonard appeared in the films She Came to Me and the Academy Award-nominated Maestro She was Rice University Shepherd School of Music’s 2023-24 Aleko Endowed Masterclass Artist.

JACK SWANSON (UNITED STATES)

TENOR—DON RAMIRO

Previously for HGO, Jack Swanson performed the role of Fenton in Falstaff (2023). The 2023-24 season saw him perform Ferrando in Così fan tutte at Den Norske Opera, Don Ramiro in Cinderella at Den Norske Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago, Count Almaviva in The Barber Of Seville at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and the Arena di Verona, and Belfiore in Il viaggio a Reims in Pesaro. During the 2024-25 season, he performs the role of Almaviva in The Barber of Seville in his debut with the Metropolitan Opera and Ernesto in Don Pasquale

with Hamburg State Opera. Recent operatic highlights include the title role in Paola Prestini’s Edward Tulane with the Minnesota Opera (2022) and house debuts with Austin Opera as Almaviva in The Barber of Seville (2022), Utah Opera as Tonio in La Fille du Régiment (2023), and Atlanta Opera as the title role in Candide (2022). In concert, Swanson has joined Houston’s Mercury Chamber Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah, The Utah Symphony for Carmina Burana, The Houston Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem, and performed in recital with Matinee Musicale in Duluth. Swanson has performed at such opera houses as Teatro Regio di Torino, Oper Frankfurt, Los Angeles Opera, Opera National du Rhin, the Opéra National de Lorraine, and Santa Fe Opera, as well as making concert appearances at Lausitz Festival, Regio Opera Festival, and Rossini Opera Festival. He is the recipient of a Richard Tucker Career Grant and a two-time winner of the Richard Tucker Memorial Award from Santa Fe Opera.

ALESSANDRO CORBELLI (ITALY)

BARITONE—DON MAGNIFICO

Alessandro Corbelli has previously performed with HGO as Dandini in Cinderella (1995), Leporello in Don Giovanni (1999), Dr. Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love (2009), and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (2014). His 2023-24 season included Don Magnifico in Cinderella and Sulpice in La Fille du régiment at Chicago Lyric Opera. In recent seasons, Corbelli has sung Don Magnifico in Cinderella with LA Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, Doctor Bartolo in The Barber of Seville with San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago, Gianni Schicchi at the Teatro Regio di Torino and Geronio in a new production of Il turco in Italia at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Since his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1997 as Dandini in Cinderella, he has returned regularly for The Italian Girl in Algiers, The Elixir of Love, Gianni Schicchi, and Cinderella. Corbelli has sung in all the major opera houses: Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Colon, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, Paris Opera, and Vienna State Opera. He has also sung in Munich, Cologne, Geneva, Madrid, Barcelona, Toulouse, Rome, Naples, Bologna, Florence, and Turin, as well as festivals in Edinburgh, Salzburg, and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Corbelli has received many awards, including the prestigious Premio Abbiati della Critica for his performance as Leporello in Don Giovanni at Teatro alla Scala and the Premio Rossini d’Oro for Don Geronio in Il turco in Italia in Pesaro.

IURII SAMOILOV (UKRAINE)

BARITONE—DANDINI

Iurii Samoilov is making his HGO debut. In the 2023-24 season he made company debuts at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and Finnish National Opera and Ballet in the title role of Eugene Onegin, the Olympia Municipal Music Theater Maria Callas as Sir Riccardo Forth in I puritani, and the Irish National Opera as Marcello in La bohème. Elsewhere during the 2024-25

season, Samoilov will perform the title role of Eugene Onegin with Teatro Real, sing Marco in Gianni Schicchi at Opéra National de Paris, and take the stage with Cleveland Orchestra for Das Lied von der Erde. Recent highlights include debuts at the Metropolitan Opera as Schaunard in La bohème, Oslo’s Den Norske Opera in the title role of Eugene Onegin, and Opéra National de Paris as Papageno in The Magic Flute. Samoilov’s other operatic appearances include his role debut as Sonora in La fanciulla del West at Cleveland Orchestra’s Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival, Marco in Gianni Schicchi at the Salzburg Festival, the title role in Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro at the Semperoper Dresden, and Eugene Onegin at the Teatro San Carlo. Samoilov has appeared at renowned opera houses and festivals including the Teatro Real in Madrid, La Monnaie in Brussels, Rossini Opera Festival, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Alte Oper Frankfurt. He was a finalist at the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and a recipient of the Päsel Foundation Award.

CORY MCGEE

(UNITED STATES)

BASS-BARITONE—ALIDORO

During the 2024-25 season at HGO, Butler Studio alumnus Cory McGee also performs the roles of Colline in La bohème and Biterolf in Tannhäuser. In HGO’s 2023-24 season, McGee performed as Second Knight in Parsifal and Imperial Commissioner in Madame Butterfly. Elsewhere the same season, he performed the roles of Pietro in Simon Boccanegra with Opera Philadelphia, Colline in La bohème with Chattanooga Symphony and Orchestra, Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with The Atlanta Opera, and as a bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Santa Fe Symphony. HGO roles for 2022-23 included Doctor Grenvil in La traviata, Johann in Werther, Jailer in Tosca, and Fifth Jew in Salome. During the 2021-22 HGO season, he performed the role of Billy in The Snowy Day. In summer 2019, McGee joined Santa Fe Opera as an apprentice artist, portraying the role of the Gardener in Ruder’s The Thirteenth Child. He returned to Santa Fe in summer 2021 as an apprentice artist, performing the role of Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and in 2022 debuted the role of Colline in La bohème at Detroit Opera. In summer 2022, he sang the role of Caspar in Der Freischütz with Wolf Trap Opera, where he returned in 2023 to perform the title role in Don Giovanni. McGee was the second prize winner in HGO’s 2020 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias. He completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

ALISSA GORETSKY (UNITED STATES)

SOPRANO—CLORINDA

Nancy Haywood / Susan Bloome / James M. Trimble and Sylvia Barnes Fellow

First-year Butler Studio artist Alissa Goretsky, a Los Angeles native, is making her HGO debut. She was the third-place winner of HGO’s 2024 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias. This season at HGO, she also performs as Clorinda in Family Day

Presents: Cinderella. She made her operatic debut as Gismonda in Ottone at Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall under the baton of Corey Jameson in 2019. In March 2024 she performed the role of Ma Zegner in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up, also at Caroline Hume Hall. Other recent roles include Foreign Woman in The Consul, Mimì in La bohème, Contessa Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, and Emilia in Flavio, as well as covering the roles of Sister Alice and Sister Catherine at San Francisco Opera in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Goretsky was a San Francisco District Winner in the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and received the Special Encouragement Award in the competition’s second round in Los Angeles. In 2023, she won the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition, and in 2022, she took First Place in the Palm Spring Opera Guild competition. Goretsky holds both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

and Juliet). She has also covered the roles of Herodias (Salome) and Marcellina (The Marriage of Figaro). In competition, Treigle was named a Grand Finals Winner of the 2021 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, as well as a 2024 winner of the George and Nora London Foundation Competition. As a Filene Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, Treigle performed as Despina (Così fan tutte) in 2024, and Juno/Ino (Semele) in 2023. She appeared at the Aspen Music Festival as a Fleming Artist in 2022, and as a Studio Artist at Wolf Trap Opera in 2020 and 2021, where she covered the title role in Holst’s Savitri. She pursued her Master of Music degree at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in 2020. An undeniable legacy, her grandfather was world-renowned bass-baritone Norman Treigle.

EMILY TREIGLE (UNITED STATES) MEZZO-SOPRANO—TISBE

Butler Studio alumna Emily Treigle is making her first return to the company for Cinderella, both on the mainstage and in the Englishlanguage Family Day production of the same opera. During the 2023-24 season at HGO, Treigle sang Meg Page (Falstaff ) and Suzuki (select performances of Madame Butterfly), and covered Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni). In previous seasons at HGO, following her 3rd place win in HGO’s 33rd annual Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias, Treigle has been seen as Flora (La traviata), Miss Violet (Another City, world premiere), Mère Jeanne (Dialogues of the Carmelites), and Gertrude (Romeo

DISCOVERY GREEN

7 p.m. Saturday, December 14. FREE! More info at HGO.org

CLOWNING AROUND

JOAN FONT’S WHIMSICAL CINDERELLA PRODUCTION HAS ITS ROOTS IN CATALAN STREET THEATER.

By Joe Cadagin, Audience Education and Communications Manager

joan Font is an absolute clown. And we use that word with the utmost respect. The 75-year-old Spanish director, who stages this season’s production of Rossini’s Cinderella, is a master in the ancient art of physical humor.

Font was born in Olesa de Montserrat, nestled in the foothills northwest of Barcelona. The village is famous for its elaborate Passion Play—a Holy Week tradition that has been performed since at least 1538. Font’s participation in these pageants as a boy inspired a deep love for theater, which he later pursued as a student in Barcelona and Paris. In France he trained under Jacques Lecoq, a legendary French thespian who specialized in mime, masks, and clowning.

When Font returned to his homeland in the early 1970s, Spain was in the last years of Franco’s dictatorship. The fascist regime had long suppressed Font’s native language of Catalan by restricting literature and instruction. Often mistakenly described as a dialect of Spanish, Catalan is a separate Romance language, primarily spoken in the Catalonia and Valencia regions.

Spanish director Joan Font founded Comediants in 1972.

Photo credit: Dani Codina

Members of Comediants take to the streets in Bergamo, Italy, in 1977.

(big heads) in Comediants’s 1985 film Karnabal

Inspired by the fight for Catalan autonomy, Font and a group of like-minded Barcelona actors took to the streets—on stilts and in red noses. Their resistance naturally assumed a theatrical form. But this was a theater of liberation that broke free of the auditorium, spilling out into the open air to mingle with everyday people. Officially banding together in 1972, they founded an artistic collective called Comediants— Catalan for “Comedians.”

Far from political demonstrations, Comediants’s performances are brimming with a spirit of mischief and whimsy. Their unclassifiable “theater of the senses” combines elements of circus, puppetry, pantomime, carnival, and commedia dell’arte. Enormous glowing balloons drift through the air. A ragtag marching band accompanies jugglers and prancing acrobats. Masked demons dance beneath streams of flying sparks. A pair of clowns clink out a duet on a set of glass bottles filled with colorful liquids. All the world’s a stage for Comediants— whether on a plaza, in a park, or on a pond, they conjure fantastic universes of endless possibility.

True to the troupe’s Catalan roots, Comediants look to local customs for inspiration. Their shows frequently incorporate the eccentric papier-mâché costumes worn during Barcelona’s Feast of Corpus Christi processions. Capgrossos (big heads) are oversized masks that fit overtop the wearer’s noggin and shoulders. Gegants (giants) are massive effigies—some over ten

feet tall—that completely cover one’s body, with only their feet sticking out from the bottom. Such traditions, which date to the Middle Ages, are part of what Font terms cultura popular—less “pop culture” than “folk culture.”

In 1999, Font was approached by Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu to direct a production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. It was an opportunity to invade the realm of High Art with Comediants’s revelries—to bring the party indoors, so to speak. “The aim was to transport this cultura popular to the world of opera,” Font tells Opera Cues “We took all these elements from the street—the elements of a fiesta—and put them on a stage.”

The comic operas of Rossini, which are filled with absurd situations and cartoonish characters, were well suited to Font’s directorial style. In 2007, he staged the composer’s Cinderella at Houston Grand Opera. This was followed by HGO productions of The Barber of Seville in 2011 and The Italian Girl in Algiers the year after.

Cinderella, with its fairytale source, taps into something deep. His work with Comediants, so steeped in

Comediants performing on St. Mark's Square at the 1980 Venice Biennale

Capgrossos

folkloric influences, has always been about returning to the mythical, pagan, and ritualistic origins of theater— the primoradial archetypes that connect us as human beings. “Cinderella is a universal myth of all cultures and all time periods,” says Font. “All people have this image of transforming, of emerging from the darkness—from the blackness, the weight, the pain.”

The theme of transformation is at the core of Font’s production. “Nothing is as it appears,” he explains. “And our point of view is on this line between reality and dream.” In his staging, the doorway emerges as a powerful symbol. This magic portal, which Font likens to Lewis Carroll’s looking glass, represents the gateway to the imaginary—the threshold where we cross into make-believe.

Indeed, the characters always seem engaged in an elaborate game of dress-up: Alidoro disguises himself as a beggar, Dandini and Don Ramiro swap identities, Cinderella trades her rags for a ballgown. Font compares all this masquerading to another tradition of street theater: “It’s like carnaval. You can change your life for one day. Because you’re dressed in a way, you will be treated in different ways. But it isn’t reality.”

It’s crucial for Font that his productions be understood by all. Many of his projects with Comediants transcend language entirely, relying on the kind of physical storytelling the director studied as a young man in Paris. In this sense, he found a kindred spirit in Xevi Dorca, a choreographer and fellow Catalan Spaniard. Dorca’s performances blend clowning and dance, depicting hilariously bizarre sketches. Font enlisted the dancer to devise a language of movement for Cinderella that could be “read” as clearly as a text.

“At the beginning, I had the responsibility of making the rats’ movements,” says Dorca. With their pointy snouts, Cinderella’s silent rodent companions (who don’t figure in Rossini’s original opera) are indebted to the masked mimes of Comediants. “I had to work a little bit on what gestures could represent this animal. And it just came very naturally—going to the floor and finding a few movements that they could repeat.” As a demonstration, he lifts his bent-wristed hands to mimic paws and turns his head sharply to the side.

“Day by day,” Dorca continues, “I’d be working in more detail with the chorus and principals, giving gestures to the characters so that they’re better defined. And I’m always using the music for this. Rossini is very clever. The music explains the story. Even the words are not necessary. You could just listen to the music, and you could understand a little bit of what was going on. And I really use the music—the accents, the atmosphere—to build the different characters. When they go down the stairs, when they walk, when they take

" CINDERELLA IS A UNIVERSAL MYTH OF ALL CULTURES AND ALL TIME PERIODS. ALL PEOPLE HAVE THIS IMAGE OF TRANSFORMING, OF EMERGING FROM THE DARKNESS."

a prop, when they move furniture—it’s always connected to the music.”

“The real choreographer here is Rossini,” admits Dorca. He goes on to recount a moment in rehearsal when he proposed adding some dance steps to the ensemble number “Questo è un nodo avviluppato.” It’s a “freeze-frame” moment when each of the characters expresses their shock, oneby-one, in a kind of tongue-twister. “But Joan said, ‘No choreography,’” recalls Dorca. “So I said to him, ‘Let’s do some gestures.’ And I created a sequence that was very, very simple.” He demonstrates an adorable bit of fingerplay, recognizable from “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” “It develops with the structure of the score,” explains Dorca. “The audience can see the characters singing more clearly.”

After performances of Cinderella, Dorca is always delighted to spot young operagoers trying out the “Questo è un nodo” hand motion or doing their best impression of what he calls the “rat attitude.” “The child can focus on different aspects of the opera that an adult isn’t going to focus on,” he says. “And Comediants also have these popular performances that are very watchable for different ages and different social levels.”

“We want all the audience to participate as if they were breathing together,” Dorca adds. “All the audience: children, old people, young people, different races, different cultures, religions. We want to give some pleasure and joy—laughing, screaming, whatever they feel!”

“You can tell stories in a way that’s not literal, but emotional,” Font chimes in. “And that was the beginning of Comediants.” 

Comediants’s 1995 play Book of Beasts

OPERA BALL

SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2024 / ISABEL AND IGNACIO TORRAS, CHAIRS

This spring, the Houston Grand Opera Mirror Ball—An Evening of Reflection, chaired by dynamic couple Isabel and Ignacio Torras, transformed the Grand Foyer of the Wortham Theater Center into a silver spectacle for 450 guests. The event was a celebration of the diversity of the Houston community, as reflected by HGO. As General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor announced to the electric crowd, the ball raised $1.3 million in support of HGO’s community programming, ensuring that opera reaches all corners of our vibrant city.

The foyer sparkled thanks to The Events Company, bringing the theme to life with shimmering surfaces, mini disco balls, and lavish florals. The dance floor, a vast reflective circle, was crowned with glittering chandeliers. The Torrases enlisted Luis Roger, executive chef of their acclaimed Houston restaurants MAD and BCN Taste & Tradition, to craft the Spanish-inspired menu. Dessert was accompanied by gelato from Rocambolesc, the couple’s Uptown Park gelato shop, which provides professional opportunities to young adults with developmental disabilities.

Young artists from HGO’s production of The Sound of Music charmed the audience with “So Long, Farewell” before the celebrated mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, in Houston to perform the role of Maria in the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic, gave a stunning performance of the Carmen “Habanera.” Dancing and celebration followed, brought to life by the sounds of Nashville’s Universal Crush and the lively human disco ball bobbleheads on the dance floor.

The next Opera Ball will take place on Saturday, April 5, 2025. HGO.org/OperaBall

Photography by Katy Anderson and Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

Guests of Valentino

Drs. Liz Grimm and Jack Roth

Anne and Albert Chao

Alejandra and Hector Torres

Chairs Isabel and Ignacio Torras

Molly and Jim Crownover; Dina Alsowayel and Tony Chase

Ann and Jonathan Ayre; Betty and Jess Tutor; Rachel and Warren Ellsworth

Dancie and Jim Ware, Cynthia and Tony Petrello

Emily Bivona, Ryan Manser, Roya Gordon

Beth Madison; Sushila and Durga Agrawal

Joe Greenberg and Claire Liu

Dian and Harlan Stai

Katrina and Nick Peacock

OPERA BALL

Rachelle and Jeff Ball

Cheryl and Mike Clancy, Greg Robertson

Luca Pisaroni, Teresa Ivo, Andriana Chuchman, José Ivo

Maria and Omar Alaoui

Tony Chase, Khori Dastoor, Dina Alsowayel

Gabriel Alonso, Teresa Sancho, Isabel and Ignacio Torras, Julia Olmo, Juan Avello, Daniela and Manolo Sanchez

Patrick Summers, Dian Stai, Lauren Suttle

Michael Horner, Emily Treigle, Jack Bell, Randy Mitchmore

Joe Geagea, Lorenzo Simonelli

Brian Dunham, Allyson Pritchett

PATRON CIRCLE RECITAL

APRIL 23, 2024

HGO’s spring Patrons Circle Recital was an inspiring showcase of the extraordinary talents of bass-baritone Ryan McKinny and pianist Madeline Slettedahl. McKinny, a long-time company favorite, delivered a mesmerizing performance spanning Wagner’s arias to American art songs. His deep, resonant voice was enhanced by Slettedahl’s sensitive and dynamic artistry, as together, they left the event’s 300 guests in awe. The recital, sponsored by Frost Bank, took place at the Corinthian in downtown Houston, where guests also enjoyed a selection of gourmet hors d'oeuvres and elegant desserts. The evening was a testament to the enduring power of music and the community that supports it. For information about HGO’s Patrons Circle, contact Madeline Sebastian, director of philanthropy, MSebastian@HGO.org.

Photography by Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

YOUNG PATRONS CIRCLE STUDIO DINNER

APRIL 29, 2024

HGO’s spring Young Patrons Circle Studio Dinner, an enchanting evening of music and mingling, took place at POST Houston, blocks from the Wortham Theater Center. The venue, with its stylish decor and stunning views of the city skyline, provided the perfect ambiance for the gathering of members of HGO’s Young Patrons Circle, a dynamic group of young professionals passionate about supporting the arts. As guests arrived, they were greeted with classical music, setting the stage for a special evening filled with lively conversations with fellow opera enthusiasts, artists, and Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio members. For information about HGO’s Young Patrons Circle, contact Tessa Larson, philanthropy officer, TLarson@HGO.org.

by Michelle Watson/Catchlight Group

David LePori, Khori Dastoor, Mathilda Cochran

Ryan McKinny and Luján Stasevicius

Ian and Patricia Butler

Ellen Gritz, Terrylin Neale, Patrick Summers, Tonya McKinny, Laura McWilliams

Photography

Teresa Procter, Constance RoseEdwards, Luján Stasevicius, Ilana Walder-Biesanz, Emily Bivona, Ruain Flanagan

Melanie Smith, Yin Yiu, Teresa Procter, Katherine Price

Kalinda Campbell, Demetrious Sampson, Jr, Renée Richardson

Allyson Pritchett, Ani Kushyan

SUMMERS IN THE MOUNTAINS

JULY 19, 2024

Two longtime HGO supporters, former chair of the Board of Directors Scott Arnoldy and his wife Jana Arnoldy, hosted a special reception for HGO in their Aspen home this summer. The event featured two special guests: the soprano Renée Fleming and HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers, who together serve as co-directors of the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS. Guests enjoyed a fascinating conversation about Fleming’s illustrious career in opera, including her many celebrated performances at HGO. Afterward, they enjoyed an Aspen Music Festival and School performance of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, conducted by Maestro Summers.

Photography by Blake Nelson

Renée Fleming, Joy Dinsdale Susana Stern, Jana Arnoldy Terrylin Neale, Steve Newton

Dr. Juan and Susana Stern

Harlan Stai, Patrick Summers

Jana Arnoldy, Dian Stai

Renée Fleming, Patrick Summers

Ticket sales cover less than 20% of the cost of producing great opera. Your contributions make up the rest. Bring grand opera to families and students across Houston—give today.

Your gift to HGO gives you exclusive benefits like artist recitals, lecture series, and Green Room access.

For more information, visit HGO.org/ Donate. Please contact Sarah Bertrand, assistant director of philanthropy, at 713-546-0276 or SBertrand@HGO.org.

BEST FRIENDS ON THE BROWN STAGE

TWO RECENT BUTLER STUDIO GRADUATES, EMILY TREIGLE AND CORY MCGEE, COME HOME TO HGO FOR CINDERELLA .

By Colin Michael Brush and Catherine Matusow

Performing a scene from The Italian Girl in Algiers in the 2021 Butler Studio Showcase

attended the Rice University Shepherd School of Music together, but also spent a summer at Wolf Trap Opera, which is where they first truly connected.

“We became inseparable during that time, and this continued in Houston!” says Treigle. “Later that year, we managed to break my ankle and get COVID on the same day… so we sort of trauma-bonded through that experience.”

Treigle broke her ankle while giving McGee a piggyback ride. If you watched Concert of Arias on HGO Digital in 2021, you would have seen McGee, already a member of Butler Studio, following behind Treigle and holding her gown as she wheeled herself onto the stage to perform her arias. You also would have seen her win third place despite the circumstances. Soon, she was invited to become part of the HGO family.

“I was with Cory when I found out I had been accepted into the Butler Studio,” says Treigle. “I will never forget that feeling—my wildest dream came true, and to make it even better: I got to go to work with my very best friend every day! Anyone who spends any amount of time near us knows, we have more fun together than should be legal.”

“We clicked, and stayed that way ever since,” says McGee. “Through thick and

Studio really felt like I was constantly accelerating on a huge ramp,” says McGee. Treigle, too, remembers a time of rapid development as an artist. “I really started believing in myself and what it is I have to say,” she says.

“Part of this is trial by fire—performing on stage with some of the greatest artists alive, under the baton of some of the most prolific conductors of all time. You sort of sink or swim in these situations, and I really feel like with the support of everyone at HGO, I learned to swim.”

McGee graduated from the Butler Studio program in 2023. Since then, he’s embarked upon his professional career, performing with companies including Atlanta Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and HGO, where last season he had two roles, as Second Knight in Parsifal and Imperial Commissioner in Madame Butterfly

“It’s great to be able to take everything I learned at such an amazing place and go out in the world and share it,” he says. “There were so many times I caught myself smiling, laughing, or crying tears of joy in thinking about how grateful I am that my life has led me to this point.”

Treigle graduated this May, a year after McGee. “I went straight from HGO to Wolf Trap, where I performed the role

together last season,” shares McGee, “but we quickly found out that our cats didn’t get along. After many futile attempts, we decided it’d be best to get our own apartments again and just take turns staying at each other’s places until 3 a.m.”

And now, the two opera singers who cannot get enough of each other have received the perfect opportunity: the chance to perform together again on the Brown stage in Cinderella, her as one of the “absolutely hilarious” stepsisters, she says, and him as the philosopher he describes as “magically rewarding people for their good deeds.” Both are putting their training with the Butler Studio to work as they prepare to make their role debuts in Rossini’s opera.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am for this,” says Treigle. “Ever since signing the contract, this production has been at the forefront of my mind. I get to perform a full Rossini role for the first time, I am returning to my home company for the first time post-Butler Studio, and I get to sing on stage with my very best friend.”

“I cannot wait to be on stage together again, especially in this capacity,” adds McGee. “It’s going to be fun to see who makes whom break character first (insert devil smile emoji here).” 

Laura Bleakley, Pianist/Coach

Ms. Lynn Des Prez / Dr. and Mrs. Miguel Miro-Quesada Fellow

Jenny Choo, Pianist/Coach

Dr. Laura E. Sulak and Dr. Richard W. Brown Fellow

Sam Dhobhany, Bass-Baritone

Dian and Harlan Stai Fellow

Alissa Goretsky, Soprano

Nancy Haywood / Susan Bloome / James M. Trimble and Sylvia Barnes Fellow

Navasard Hakobyan, Baritone

Melinda and Bill Brunger/ Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Nickson/ Gloria M. Portela Fellow

Elizabeth Hanje, Soprano

Ms. Marty Dudley / Amy and Mark Melton Fellow

Ani Kushyan, Mezzo-Soprano

Donna and Ken Barrow/

Barbara and Pat McCelvey/

Jill A. Schaar and George Caflisch Fellow

Michael McDermott, Tenor

Michelle Beale and Dick Anderson/ Dr. Ellen R. Gritz and Mr. Milton D. Rosenau Jr. Fellow

Shawn Roth, Tenor

Drs. Liz Grimm and Jack Roth/ Drs. Rachel and Warren A. Ellsworth IV / Kathleen Moore and Steven Homer / Sharon Ley Lietzow and Robert Lietzow Fellow

BUTLER STUDIO FACULTY & STAFF

Colin Michael Brush, Director

Sponsored by Christopher Bacon and Craig Miller, Mr. Jack Bell, and Lynn Gissel

Dr. Maureen Zoltek, Music Director

Mr. and Mrs. Albert B. Alkek Chair

Kiera Krieg, Butler Studio Manager

Dr. Stephen King, Director of Vocal Instruction

Sponsored by Jill and Allyn Risley, Janet Sims, and the James J. Drach Endowment Fund

Patrick Summers, Conducting Instructor and Coach

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair

BUTLER STUDIO SUPPORTERS

The Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio is grateful for the underwriting support of Ms. Marty Dudley, Ms. Stephanie Larsen, and Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Langenstein. The Butler Studio is also thankful for the in-kind support of the Texas Voice Center and for the outstanding support of the Magnolia Houston hotel.

Additional support for the Butler Studio is provided by the following funds within the Houston Grand Opera Endowment, Inc.:

Peter Pasztor, Principal Coach Sponsored by the Mr. and Mrs. James A. Elkins Jr. Endowment Fund

Madeline Slettedahl, Assistant Conductor

William Woodard, Assistant Conductor

Brian Connelly, Piano Instructor

Mo Zhou, Showcase Director and Guest Acting Faculty

Stephen Neely, Dalcroze Eurhythmics Instructor

Adam Noble, Movement Instructor

Demetrious Sampson, Jr., Tenor

Dr. Dina Alsowayel and Mr. Anthony R. Chase/ Eric McLaughlin and Elliot Castillo/ Alejandra and Héctor Torres/ Mr. Trey Yates Fellow

Ziniu Zhao, Bass  Carolyn J. Levy / Jill and Allyn Risley / Dr. Peter Chang and Hon. Theresa Chang and Friends / Dr. Ron Galfione and Carolyn Galfione Fellow

Christa Gaug, German Instructor

Enrica Vagliani Gray, Italian Instructor Sponsored by Marsha Montemayor

Dr. Neda Zafaranian, English Instructor

Margo Garrett, Guest Coach

Warren Jones, Guest Coach

Hemdi Kfir, Guest Coach

Matthew Piatt, Guest Coach

Leon Major, Guest Acting Faculty

The Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation Endowment Fund

Marjorie and Thomas Capshaw Endowment Fund

James J. Drach Endowment Fund

The Evans and Portela Family Fund

Carol Lynn Lay Fletcher Endowment Fund

William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship Fund

Charlotte Howe Memorial Scholarship Fund

Elva Lobit Opera Endowment Fund

Marian and Speros Martel Foundation Endowment Fund

Erin Gregory Neale Endowment Fund

Dr. Mary Joan Nish and Patricia Bratsas Endowed Fund

John M. O’Quinn Foundation Endowed Fund

Shell Lubricants State Company Fund

Mary C. Gayler Snook Endowment Fund

Tenneco, Inc., Endowment Fund

Weston-Cargill Endowed Fund

RAEHANN BRYCE-DAVIS CHARACTER OUT OF

By Joe Cadagin, Audience Education and Communications Manager

"ONCE YOU BELIEVE IN THE STORYTELLING AND ARE LIVING THAT CHARACTER, THEN IT’S A BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE. AND I ALWAYS FEEL THAT WAY WITH AZUCENA."

Mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis has forged an unordinary path in opera—what she calls “going at it your own way.” The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, she was born in Mexico and raised in Keene, Texas. Her training was typical: studies at UT Arlington and the Manhattan School of Music were followed by a young artist program at Florida Grand Opera. Afterward, Bryce-Davis traveled through Europe with a 2015 touring production of Porgy and Bess. Rather than splurge on “touristy stuff,” she saved her money and used the opportunity to enter competitions across the continent. The sacrifice paid off, and the mezzo established herself on the other side of the Atlantic—a relatively unusual move for an American artist.

It wasn’t until 2020 that she made her Stateside professional debut at Los Angeles Opera. With three days left until rehearsals, she was asked to step in for a vocalist who had pulled out of Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux. When the pandemic suddenly brought that production to a halt, Bryce-Davis recorded her aria as a self-produced music video titled “To the Afflicted.” This was the first in a series of music videos she recorded over the next few years. It’s a medium that’s more MTV than opera, but it’s helped to spread her name and reach untapped audiences.

Bryce-Davis’s career is now evenly split between Europe and the United States. It’s a nomadic existence, but not a lonely one. Her husband Allan Virgo, a fashion designer, joins her on this “roadie life,” along with their dog Cora Petrushka. The cities change as often as her eclectic repertoire, which spans Mahler symphonies, Czech and Russian opera, and contemporary works. But one composer remains a reliable constant: Verdi. When we talk, Bryce-Davis is in Austria singing Amneris in Aida. She’s also earned acclaim as Princess Eboli in Don Carlos. But the complex Azucena in Il trovatore feels tailor-made to her vocal and dramatic strengths.

Opera Cues: Your HGO debut in Il trovatore marks the fifth time you’ve played Azucena. How have you settled into this role?

Raehann Bryce-Davis: Verdi is just such a gift. Specific roles by Verdi—I just put them on, and they’re immediately comfortable. He writes things that make my voice happy. Once you believe in the storytelling and are living that character, then it’s a beautiful experience. And I always feel that way with Azucena.

At the end of the day, I think she’s a woman who loves her child desperately—certainly the baby that she lost.

This page and opposite: Raehann Bryce-Davis as Azucena in LA Opera's 2021 production of Il trovatore. Photograph by Cory Weaver

She loves her mother desperately. And I think what changes from production to production is how much she loves Manrico. Has the love transferred to the new child, or is it really a long-game manipulation?

OC: Oh, that’s dark!

RBD: Real dark. But it’s also beautiful because she’s someone trying to stand up for her family, which was so brutally harmed. And this is her justice—making the Count pay.

OC: Beyond Verdi, you’ve taken on quite a bit of modern repertoire.

RBD: When I was in school, I was in the contemporary opera ensemble. So I made friends with several composers who were always like, “Hey, I wrote this piece. I have a recital in a week.” But I realized that something I could do was learn very complex music rather quickly—if I have the time. That’s a skill that’s enabled me to take advantage of a lot of opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Like that Devereux at LA Opera, or when I made my Metropolitan Opera debut in 2022 as Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress. That was another situation where the mezzo couldn’t make it, and five days before rehearsal started, they were like, “Can you learn Stravinsky?”

OC: A year later, you returned to the Met for Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcom X. Is it important for you to explore music by Black composers?

RBD: The first music that I heard was my mother singing Jamaican folk songs. So it’s just something that’s always been a part of me and that always will continue to be. You have to make sure that folks from your own heritage and your own culture are also being featured. If art is how we analyze humanity and experience humanity and grow in humanity, then we have to see the full world in art. Otherwise, it’s not real—it’s not the world we live in.

OC: You’ve also worked to achieve change through the organization you co-founded, the Black Opera Alliance. Could you tell me a little about your mission?

RBD: In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, there was a wonderful opportunity to collectively have conversations. We created a list of steps that would really resonate in the industry and make it a truly more inclusive place—things like hiring Black

artists and administrators or making sure that Black artists are prepared for the stage in terms of makeup and hair. Just getting systemic things in the books that would continue.

OC: Tell me about your upcoming album. You recently released a music video of the single “I Praise the Dance” by composer Rene Orth, which is a kind of an opera/dance-pop hybrid.

RBD: I’m so excited about what opera can be. It’s never stayed stagnant. If we listen to Monteverdi and then we listen to Puccini, it sounds like a different being, you know? This is the nature of art: it’s flexible, and it changes. So the album is called Evolution. Every track is a different journey—the operatic voice translating and transforming into Latin beats, into dance hall, into a jazz piece.

My partner was doing a fashion show, and his theme was about the Black cowboys of the Old West. He wanted a soundtrack for when he was showing at Fashion Week in New York, so we commissioned a track by Maria Thompson Corley called “Black Riders’ Freedom Song.” And that thing is such fire!

OC: A country song? You’re going to be the operatic Beyoncé. Then again, Beyoncé did incorporate an Italian art song, “Caro mio ben,” into the track “Daughter” from

RBD: I was so sad that my album wasn’t ready when all that hype went out. But I was like, “Oh, well. We’ll make our own hype.” It’s such an exciting time because the popular world is experimenting with classical music. We have so many drag performers that love opera and are featuring opera. Classical music is always reacting to things. And I want us to be at the forefront of experimentation and doing what’s hot.

OC: You definitely don’t play it by the books.

RBD: It’s been an adventurous road, not necessarily the most traditional. I didn’t do the whole, “follow all of the rules and then somebody will find you.” I think if I had tried to do the waiting for someone to find me, I would be in another career now.

The Impresarios Circle is Houston Grand Opera’s premier donor recognition society. These vanguard supporters who provide annual support of at least $100,000 are instrumental to HGO’s success. For information, please contact Deborah Hirsch, chief philanthropy officer, at 713-546-0259 or DHirsch@HGO.org.

JUDY AND RICHARD AGEE

HGO subscribers for more than two decades, Judy and Dick are ardent believers in the power of storytelling through words and music. They partnered with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Inner-City Catholic Schools to expand student access to HGO Community & Learning programs. Judy and Dick, the founder and chairman of Wapiti Energy LLC and Bayou Well Holdings Company LLC, also support mainstage productions. Dick is a member of the HGO Board of Directors.

ROBIN ANGLY AND MILES SMITH

HGO subscribers Robin and Miles joined the Founders Council in 2010. The company is honored to have Robin as a senior member of the HGO Board of Directors and a member of HGO’s Laureate Society. The couple is familiar with the view from the HGO stage as well— both are former singers in the HGO Chorus. Robin and Miles have been donors to HGO signature events, the Young Artists Vocal Academy, and HGO’s Ring cycle, as well as Community & Learning Initiatives. They are charter members of the Impresarios Circle and generously underwrite a mainstage production each season.

ASTLEY BLAIR

An HGO subscriber for 20 years, Astley is a member of the HGO Board of Directors and serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee. He is currently the CFO of the Marine Well Containment Company, and his experience is built on years of technical education with the Association of Accounting Technicians. Active throughout Houston, Astley gives his time to Houston Food Bank, United Way, and initiatives to support STEM education. He is the past chairman of the Center for Houston’s Future and a board member of the Houston Airport System Development Corporation. Astley is an enthusiastic supporter of HGO signature events and chaired the Opening Night Dinner for the 2014-15 season. This season, Astley is underwriting HGO’s production of Breaking the Waves.

THE BROWN FOUNDATION, INC.

The Brown Foundation, Inc., established in 1951 by Herman and Margarett Root Brown and George R. and Alice Pratt Brown, has been a treasured partner of HGO since 1984. Based in Houston, the Foundation distributes funds principally for education, community service, and the arts, especially the visual and performing arts. HGO is tremendously grateful for The Brown Foundation’s leadership support, which has been critical to the company’s unprecedented growth and success in recent years. The Brown Foundation was among the lead contributors to HGO’s Hurricane Harvey and COVID-19 recovery efforts.

SARAH AND ERNEST BUTLER

HGO subscribers for over 35 years, Sarah and Ernest made the largest gift to HGO in company history in 2023, creating a new fund within the HGO Endowment valued at $22 million and becoming the naming partner for the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio. They are also the lead underwriters for the company’s digital artistic programming and have generously endowed three chairs at HGO: those of HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers, Chorus Director Richard Bado, and HGO Orchestra Concertmaster Denise Tarrant. Ernest and Sarah reside in Austin and are longtime supporters of Ballet Austin, Austin Opera, Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Cultural Trust, and the University of Texas Butler School of Music, which has carried their name since 2008. Sarah and Ernest are world travelers, and they never miss an opportunity to see opera in the cities they visit.

JANET AND JOHN CARRIG

Janet and John have been HGO supporters and subscribers since 2007. Both worked at ConocoPhillips before retiring, Janet as Senior Vice President and John as President and Chief Operating Officer. Active members of their community, Janet and John serve on many boards including the advisory board of the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Council of Overseers for the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, and The Alley Theater in Houston. Janet also serves as Chair Emeritus on the HGO Board of Directors and Chair Emeritus on the HGO Endowment’s Board of Directors. The company is grateful to Janet and John for helping underwrite our 2024-25 season.

ANNE AND ALBERT CHAO

Anne and Albert have been subscribers and supporters of HGO for over 20 years. While serving as Executive Chairman of the Board of Westlake Corporation, Albert finds time for numerous cultural causes including serving on the board of Rice University and the Asia Society Texas Center. He is a member of the HGO Board of Directors and was the co-chair of Inspiring Performance—The Campaign for Houston Grand Opera. Over the years, the Chaos have sponsored HGO signature events, the Butler Studio, Song of Houston, and mainstage productions. The couple has also supported the HGO Endowment. In April 2023 they chaired the Opera Ball.

LOUISE G. CHAPMAN

Louise Chapman of Corpus Christi, Texas, a longtime supporter of HGO, is a member of the HGO Board of Directors. Louise’s late husband, John O. Chapman, was a South Texas agricultural businessman and philanthropist. In addition to HGO, the Chapmans have supported numerous organizations in health, education, and the arts, including Texas A&M University, the Corpus Christi Symphony, and the Art Museum of South Texas. Louise and HGO Trustee Connie Dyer have known each other since they were college roommates at The University of Texas.

CONOCOPHILLIPS

For over 40 years, ConocoPhillips has supported various programs at HGO, from signature events to mainstage productions, including a long-standing tradition of supporting HGO’s season-opening operas. In 2009, the company gave a major multiyear grant to establish ConocoPhillips New Initiatives, a far-reaching program that allows the Opera to develop new and innovative education and community collaboration programs. Kelly Rose, general counsel and SVP, serves on the HGO Board of Directors.

MOLLY AND JIM CROWNOVER

Molly and Jim have been HGO subscribers for over 30 years and are members of the Impresarios Circle and Laureate Society. Jim has been a member of HGO’s Board of Directors since 1987, including service as chairman from 2016-18 and on the Executive, Governance, Development, and Finance Committees. In 1998, Jim retired from a 30-year career with McKinsey & Company, Inc. and has served on myriad corporate and non-profit boards including Rice University (past board chair), United Way (past campaign chair), and most recently as M.D. Anderson Foundation President. Molly serves on the Butler Studio Committee. She also serves on the Advisory Board of The Shepherd Society at Rice University and the Houston Ballet Board of Trustees (past Executive Committee and Ballet Ball chair). In addition to chairing both Concert of Arias and Opening Night Dinner, Molly and Jim have been honorees at both events.

THE CULLEN FOUNDATION

For more than three decades, The Cullen Foundation has been a vital member of the HGO family. Established in 1947, the Foundation has more than a half-century history of giving generously to education, health care, and the arts in Texas, primarily in the Greater Houston area. HGO is grateful for the Foundation’s longstanding leadership support of HGO’s season activities and special support for HGO’s COVID-19 recovery efforts.

THE CULLEN TRUST FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts has been a lead underwriter of HGO’s mainstage season for nearly 30 years. The Trust was established from assets of The Cullen Foundation to specifically benefit Texas performing arts institutions, particularly those within the Greater Houston area. The Cullen Trust has provided lead support for memorable productions including HGO’s Family Opera Series and, most recently, has funded an expansion of Community & Learning's partnerships with MacGregor Park and other Third Ward organizations. HGO is grateful for the Trust’s leadership contribution to HGO’s Hurricane Harvey recovery fund, as well as a generous gift to HGO’s COVID-19 recovery efforts.

MS. MARTY DUDLEY

Ms. Marty Dudley became a lover of HGO when she started subscribing and attending HGO special events in 2023. Marty currently serves as the vice president and secretary of the Dudley Family Foundation and believes deeply in funding research and education at Houston Methodist Hospital, Inova Health System, and Purdue University, to name a few. Her profound love of education and young artists make Marty a wonderful supporter of the Butler Studio. This season, Marty is underwriting first-year Butler Studio artist and First Prize Concert of Arias winner Elizabeth Hanje.

CONNIE DYER

Connie Dyer has been an important member of the HGO family for decades. Connie loves Opening Night festivities and the Concert of Arias. She is a leadership donor, Trustee, and a member of the Laureate Society and the Founders Council for Artistic Excellence. With her late husband Byron, she has hosted receptions for HGO Patrons in their beautiful home in Santa Fe. They were early and enthusiastic underwriters for the company’s Seeking the Human Spirit initiative, and Connie also made a Grand Guarantor pledge for HGO’s COVID Relief Campaign. HGO Board Member Louise Chapman and Connie were college roommates at the University of Texas, Austin.

THE ELKINS FOUNDATION

This year marks the 25th anniversary of HGO’s partnership with The Elkins Foundation. Each year since 1956, The Elkins Foundation has contributed to numerous organizations serving Houston and the Greater Gulf Coast. They are guided by a belief that a community’s strength lies in the vision of its people and the health of its institutions. The Elkins Foundation’s support for HGO’s Community & Learning programs makes it possible for thousands of children across greater Houston to experience the transformative power of opera and the arts. The Foundation also supports HGO’s thrilling musical theater series, introducing families and newcomers to the magic of HGO.

FROST BANK

Frost Bank has supported HGO for over a decade, helping bring to life some of the world’s most treasured operas as well as sponsoring one of the company’s most beloved events, the Patrons Circle Recital. Since Frost’s founding in 1868, the bank has invested in the communities it serves through hard work, customer service, and support of the arts, education, economic development, and health and human services. David LePori, Regional President, serves on the HGO Board of Directors, and Executive Vice President Michelle Huth serves on HGO’s corporate council.

JOE AND MARIANNE GEAGEA

Joe and Marianne have been supporters and subscribers of HGO since 2022. After a distinguished 40-year career with the Chevron Corporation, Joe retired in June 2022 as Executive Vice President and Senior Advisor to Chevron’s Chairman and CEO. Joe and Marianne love all manner of art and support institutions such as the Museum of Houston Fine Arts Houston and the Houston Ballet where Marianne serves on the board of trustees. Joe has been on the HGO board of trustees for two years and is currently leading our strategic planning committee. Joe and Marianne are also grand underwriters for this season’s production of Puccini’s La bohème

DRS. LIZ GRIMM AND JACK ROTH

HGO subscribers since the 2013-14 season, Liz and Jack have both committed themselves to cancer research and patient care through their work at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Jack is a member of the HGO Board of Directors and served as Butler Studio Committee Chair. Liz and Jack were generous underwriters of the company’s historic, first-ever Ring cycle and lead supporters of its German repertoire, including Elektra. Additionally, Liz and Jack chaired the 2018 Opera Ball and the 2022 Concert of Arias.

NANCY HAYWOOD

Long-time Trustee Nancy Haywood loves HGO and has a particular passion for the Butler Studio and young artists. Her enthusiasm is infectious. This season Nancy is underwriting first-year Butler Studio artist Alissa Goretsky. Her love for supporting young artists goes beyond HGO to the Houston Boy Choir, where she is one of their most ardent benefactors and board members. Nancy is a member of HGO’s Butler Studio Committee, Philanthropy Committee, and the Laureate Society. Most recently, she made a guarantor pledge for the company’s COVID Relief Campaign. Nancy and her late husband, Dr. Ted Haywood, approached every opera performance as a “date night.” Ted Haywood was a prince.

MATT HEALEY

Matt Healey serves on the HGO Board of Directors. He is Vice President of Finance and Planning at Cheniere Energy, responsible for budgeting, capital planning, forecasting, and capital raising. He also owns El Segundo Swim Club, a full-service bar and swimming pool in the historic Second Ward. Matt became a huge fan of HGO the moment the curtains opened on the water tank Rhinemaidens in Das Rheingold in 2014. Although he has seen the Ring cycle in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, the HGO production is by far his favorite. A passionate fan of German repertoire, he underwrote Salome in the 2022-23 season, Parsifal in the 2023-24 season, and is underwriting Tannhäuser this season.

WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST FOUNDATION

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation is a national philanthropic resource for organizations working in the fields of culture, education, health, and social services. The Foundation identifies and funds outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive, and inspiring lives. A dedicated supporter of HGO’s Community & Learning initiatives, the Foundation helps Houstonians of all ages to explore, engage, and learn through the inspiring art of opera.

H-E-B

For over 115 years, H-E-B has contributed to worthy causes throughout Texas and Mexico, a tradition proudly maintained today. And for over 20 years, H-E-B has been a lead supporter of HGO’s arts education programs for Houston area students. H-E-B’s partnership helps over 60,000 young people experience the magic of opera each season. Always celebrating Houston’s cultural diversity, H-E-B supports thrilling programming like HGO’s Giving Voice concert and various Community & Learning initiatives.

CITY OF HOUSTON / HOUSTON ARTS ALLIANCE

Houston Arts Alliance partners with HGO to bring operatic excellence to Houston. A subsidiary of the City of Houston, Houston Arts Alliance works to implement the City of Houston’s vision, values, and goals for its arts grantmaking and civic art investments. HGO is also grateful to Houston Arts Alliance for its support throughout Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic.

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA ENDOWMENT, INC.

Established and incorporated in 1982, the Houston Grand Opera Endowment (HGOE) is a vital financial management tool that ensures HGO has a reliable, regular source of income. Today, the Endowment contains over 50 named funds, both unrestricted and restricted, and annually distributes 4.5 percent of the Endowment’s average market value to HGO, making it the company’s largest single annual funder. The Houston Grand Opera Endowment Board is led by Marianne Kah.

HOUSTON METHODIST

For over ten years, Houston Grand Opera has partnered with Houston Methodist, the official health care provider for HGO. Houston Methodist’s Center for Performing Arts Medicine (CPAM) is the only center of its kind in the country, comprising a specialized group of more than 100 physicians working collaboratively to address the specific demands placed upon performing artists. In addition to the first-rate medical care CPAM provides HGO artists, Houston Methodist also generously supports HGO’s mainstage season and partners frequently on Community & Learning collaborations. HGO is fortunate to have Dr. Warren Ellsworth and Dr. Apurva Thekdi serve as Houston Methodist’s corporate trustees.

HUMPHREYS FOUNDATION

Based in Liberty, Texas, the Humphreys Foundation has been a major underwriter of HGO’s mainstage season since 1980. Geraldine Davis Humphreys (d. 1961), a member of the pioneer Hardin family of Liberty, Texas, bequeathed her estate to Humphreys Foundation, which was formally established in 1959. The Foundation provides support for performing arts in Texas and college scholarship funding for students in the arts. Linda Bertman, Louis Paine, and Jeff Paine serve as trustees of Humphreys Foundation. The Foundation is a lead supporter of HGO’s musical theater series, including last season’s recordbreaking production of The Sound of Music.

ELIZABETH AND RICHARD HUSSEINI

We like to think that HGO helped “set the stage” for Elizabeth and Richard Husseini’s love story. When a set malfunction at the end of the first act of HGO’s The Flying Dutchman forced Maestro to re-start the opera from the top, the two seatmates bonded in their shared delight that they got to hear more Wagner! The two got engaged one year later (at HGO, of course). Richard is a tax partner at Kirkland & Ellis, a generous HGO corporate supporter, and a member of both the HGO Board of Directors and the HGO Endowment Board. Elizabeth retired from Baker Botts as a corporate and securities partner and devotes her attention to family and community matters, including Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Preservation Houston, the Junior League, and River Oaks Baptist School, which the Husseinis’ two sons attend. Enthusiastic supporters of the young artists and alumni of the Butler Studio, the couple chaired the 2019 Concert of Arias. True to their love of Wagner, the Husseinis are generously underwriting this season’s production of Tannhäuser.

CLAIRE LIU AND JOE GREENBERG

Claire and Joe have subscribed to HGO for many seasons and are members of HGO’s Founders Council for Artistic Excellence. Claire assumed the role of Chair of the Houston Grand Opera Board of Directors in August 2022. She is retired from LyondellBassell Industries, where she led the corporate

finance team, and was formerly a managing director with Bank of America. Joe is founder and CEO of Alta Resources, L.L.C., a private company involved in the development of shale oil and gas resources in North America. Claire and Joe support many organizations, with particular emphasis on educational organizations including YES Prep and Beatrice Mayes Charter School. An avid runner, Claire has completed marathons in all 50 states.

M. D. ANDERSON FOUNDATION

The M. D. Anderson Foundation has provided general operating support to HGO for more than 30 years, as well as several innovative investments to advance HGO’s digital infrastructure. The Foundation was established in 1936 by Monroe Dunaway Anderson, whose company, Anderson, Clayton and Co., was the world’s largest cotton merchant. While the Foundation started the Texas Medical Center and was instrumental in bringing to it one of the premier cancer centers in the world, the Foundation’s trustees also looked to improve the wellness of communities through the arts. HGO is privileged to have such a longstanding and committed partner in enhancing the quality of life for all Houstonians.

BETH MADISON

Beth has been an HGO subscriber for more than two decades. HGO has had the honor of her support since 2004. Past chair of the HGO Board of Directors, she is a senior director of the HGO Board of Directors, serves on the Butler Studio Committee, and is an active member of HGO’s Founders Council. She was the honoree at the 2017 Concert of Arias. Beth generously supports the Butler Studio, signature events, and mainstage operas. She has been inducted into the Greater Houston Women’s Hall of Fame and serves on the University of Houston System Board of Regents.

THE ROBERT AND JANICE MCNAIR FOUNDATION

Janice and the late Bob McNair, longtime HGO subscribers and supporters, are well known for their incredible philanthropy and for bringing the NFL back to Houston. Bob was a former chair of the HGO Board of Directors (1995-97). Through the family’s passionate support of students, young entrepreneurs, medical research, and the community, The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation is transforming some of the biggest challenges our nation faces today into the solutions of tomorrow. The Foundation is a lead supporter of HGO’s family-friendly operas and musicals, helping thousands of students and families to experience opera each season.

LAURA AND BRAD MCWILLIAMS

HGO subscribers for 35 years, Laura and Brad are passionate advocates for HGO. A longtime Trustee, Laura has served on the HGO Finance Committee, chaired the Annual Fund Drive, and serves on the Laureate Society Council. Laura and Brad’s generosity has impacted almost every area of the company including its

signature events – they chaired the 32nd Annual Concert of Arias in 2020. They most recently created the McWilliams Fund for Artistic Excellence to underwrite HGO’s mainstage operas for the 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 seasons.

SARA AND BILL MORGAN

Sara and Bill have been supporting HGO since 2002. Sara is a co-founder of the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, where she currently serves on the board. Bill is a co-founder of the Kinder Morgan companies and the retired vice chairman and president of Kinder Morgan, Inc., and Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, LP. The Morgans support Community & Learning initiatives, HGO’s signature events, and mainstage productions. HGO is thrilled to have Sara serve on the HGO Board of Directors and as a member and past chair of the Community & Learning Committee.

NABORS INDUSTRIES

Nabors Industries is a leading provider of advanced technology for the energy industry. The company owns and operates one of the largest land-based drilling rig fleets and is a provider in numerous international markets. By leverage its core competencies, Nabors aims to innovate the future of energy and enable the transition to a lower carbon world. HGO is grateful for the generous support of Nabors, and Tony and Cynthia Petrello, for HGO’s first ever Family Day Presents: Cinderella

NOVUM ENERGY/MARCIA AND ALFREDO VILAS

Founder and President of Novum Energy, Alfredo Vilas serves on the HGO Board of Directors. He is a passionate lover of opera and together with his wife Marcia chaired HGO’s unforgettable “Cielito Lindo” Opera Ball in 2019. The Vilases and Novum Energy have generously supported many operas over the past decade, including all three of HGO’s celebrated mariachi operas and were proud underwriters for the 2022 production of El Milagro del Recuerdo.

ALLYSON PRITCHETT

Allyson Pritchett, a member of the HGO Board of Directors, is the Founder & CEO of Bodka Creek Capital, a Houston-based real estate private equity firm with over $100 million in assets under management. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics & Archaeology from Harvard University. After attending her first opera at HGO in 2021 (Carmen), she joined the Young Patrons Circle and quickly demonstrated her passion for opera by underwriting soprano Angel Blue in La traviata the following year.

SHELL USA, INC.

Shell USA, Inc. is a leader in the Houston arts community, supporting HGO for over 40 years. Shell USA, Inc.’s leadership support makes opera more accessible and inspires young minds with STEM-aligned arts education opportunities like HGO’s annual Opera Camps. Shell USA, Inc. was also a major supporter of HGO’s Hurricane Harvey recovery. HGO is honored to have Selda Gunsel, president, Shell Global Solutions, as a member of the HGO Board of Directors, and Christos Angelides, head of energy transition integration, as a Trustee.

DIAN AND HARLAN STAI

Harlan, a member of the HGO Board of Directors, and Dian are charter members of HGO’s Founders Council for Artistic Excellence. Their leadership support has touched every part of HGO, including mainstage productions, the Butler Studio, the HGO Endowment, and signature events. The Stais have also sponsored Butler Studio artists, and they host annual recitals featuring Butler Studio artists at Mansefeldt, their renowned Fredericksburg ranch. HGO was privileged to recognize Dian and Harlan as the honorees of Opening Night 2008 as well as the 2014 Concert of Arias, and we are honored that they will be this year’s Opera Ball honorees

TEXAS COMMISSION ON THE ARTS

The mission of the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA) is to advance our state economically and culturally by investing in creative projects and programs. TCA supports a diverse and innovative arts community in the state, throughout the nation, and internationally by providing resources to enhance economic development, arts education, cultural tourism, and artist sustainability initiatives. Over the years, TCA has provided invaluable support to many HGO projects, including mainstage productions (like this season’s West Side Story) and a wide array of Community & Learning initiatives.

JOHN G. TURNER & JERRY G. FISCHER

John and Jerry, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, travel around the world to experience the best that opera has to offer. HGO subscribers and donors for over a decade, the couple’s leadership support of Wagner’s Ring cycle (2014-17) was the largest gift ever made to the company for a single production, and they will continue their love of Wagner this season by acting as lead underwriters for Tannhäuser John, a shareholder at Turner Industries Group, is a senior member of the HGO Board of Directors and past chair of the Butler Studio Committee. Jerry is a board member of Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra. In recent years, John and Jerry have supported HGO mainstage productions, the Butler Studio, and signature events. They are members

of the Founders Council for Artistic Excellence, and John is a member of the Laureate Society.

VEER VASISHTA

Veer Vasishta is a passionate lover of opera and a proud member of the HGO Board of Directors and Impresarios Circle. Following his education in mechanical engineering and a successful career in finance, Veer co-founded a technology firm based in Montreal, Canada, with staff in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the U.K., and Asia. He trained as a classical guitarist after a short time playing violin and in a rock band in high school. Veer began attending HGO performances as soon as he arrived in Houston.

VINSON & ELKINS LLP

HGO has been privileged to have the support of international law firm Vinson & Elkins LLP for 40 years. For more than 100 years, Vinson & Elkins LLP has been deeply committed to empowering the communities in which it serves. The firm has enriched the cultural vibrancy of Houston by supporting HGO through in-kind legal services and contributions to signature events and mainstage productions, including this season’s production of Puccini’s La bohème.

VITOL

Established in 2006, The Vitol Foundation was created to make a difference in people’s lives. For the past three years, Vitol has made that difference through its support of HGO’s Community & Learning programs. Vitol’s commitment to education gives children in the greater Houston area the opportunity to experience the magic of opera no matter their background. HGO is grateful to Vitol, and to its Vice President, HGO board member Kristin Muessig, for underwriting Opera Ball in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

MARGARET ALKEK WILLIAMS

Margaret, a longtime singer, possesses a deep affinity for all music, and especially opera, and has supported HGO for over 30 years. Currently, Margaret continues her parents’ legacy as chairman of their foundation, where her son Charles A. Williams serves as president. HGO is humbled by Margaret’s incredible generosity and dedication to the company, both as an individual donor and through her family’s foundation. She has endowed the Margaret Alkek Williams Chair, held by HGO General Director Khori Dastoor, and is a member of HGO’s Laureate Society. A valued member of the HGO Board of Directors, Margaret was the honoree of the 2009 Opera Ball and chairman of the 2014 Ball. She also generously chaired the 2018 Hurricane Harvey benefit concert, HGO and Plácido: Coming Home! During the 2024-25 season, she will be the chair of Opera Ball.

THE WORTHAM FOUNDATION, INC.

In the 1980s, the Wortham Foundation contributed $20 million to lead the capital campaign for the Wortham Theater Center, guided by businessman Gus S. Wortham’s early recognition of the vital role of the arts in making Houston an appealing place to live and work. During their lifetimes, Gus and his wife, Lyndall, were dedicated to improving the lives of Houstonians. The Foundation continues to support HGO through the Wortham Foundation Permanent Endowment and generous annual operating support. This leadership support has been vital to the Opera’s growth and commitment to excellence. The Wortham Foundation’s support of HGO’s Hurricane Harvey recovery helped to bring the company back home, and its special support of HGO’s COVID-19 recovery efforts helped us come back stronger than ever.

ANNUAL SUPPORT

Houston Grand Opera Trustees and Patrons Circle members support the Opera with annual donations of $10,000 or $5,000, respectively, and make possible the incredible work of HGO. Trustees and Patrons enjoy many benefits at the Opera, including Masterson Green Room privileges during performance intermissions, behind-the-scenes experiences, personalized ticket service, two tickets to all open dress rehearsals, Opera Guild membership, a discount on Opera Guild Boutique purchases, and much more. For information on joining as a Trustee or Patron, please contact David Krohn, senior director of philanthropy, at 713-980-8685 or DKrohn@HGO.org.

CHAIR, DONOR ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Ms. Gwyneth Campbell, Co-Chair, Donor Engagement Committee

Mauricio Perillo

Co-Chair, Donor Engagement Committee

TRUSTEE—$10,000 OR MORE

Chris and Michelle Angelides

Blanche S. and Robert C. Bast, Jr., MD

Mr. and Mrs. James Becker

Drs. Robert S. and Nancy Benjamin

Stephanie and Dom Beveridge

Adrienne Bond

Nancy and Walt Bratic

Mr. Stephen Brossart and Mr. Gerrod George

Dr. Janet Bruner

Mollie and Wayne Brunetti

Elise Bungo and Eric Rodriguez

Mr. and Mrs. Lester P. Burgess

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Burleson

Mrs. Carol Butler

Drs. Ian and Patricia Butler

Mr. Robert Caballero

Ms. Gwyneth Campbell and Mr. Joseph L. Campbell

ANNUAL SUPPORT

Patricia and Jess Carnes

Dr. Peter Chang and Hon. Theresa Chang

Mr. Robert N. Chanon

Mr. Anthony Chapman

Cheryl and Michael Clancy

Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Clarke

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Collier

Dr. Laurence Corash and Ms. Michele Corash

Julie and Bert Cornelison

Mr. Robert L. Cook and Mrs. Giovanna Imperia

Jayne and Peter Davis

Anna M. Dean

Dr. and Mrs. Roupen Dekmezian

Ms. Elisabeth DeWitts

Valerie and Tracy Dieterich

Jeanette and John DiFilippo

Dr. and Mrs. William F. Donovan

Joanne and David Dorenfeld

Mr. James Dorough-Lewis and Mr. Jacob Carr

Anna and Brad Eastman

Mr. Bob Ellis

Mary Ann and Larry Faulkner

Ms. Mary Foster and Mr. Don DeSimone

Mr. John E. Frantz

Caroline Freeman

Trish Freeman and Bruce Patterson

Monica Fulton

Gina and Scott Gaille

Mr. and Mrs. Scott J. Garber

Gerard and Christine Gaynor

Dr. and Mrs. David P. Gill

Mrs. Geraldine C. Gill

Mr. Wesley Goble

Sandy and Lee Godfrey

Ms. Dianne L. Gross

Ms. Julia Gwaltney

Mr. and Mrs. Melvyn Hetzel

Rosalie and William M. Hitchcock

Dr. Patricia Holmes

Alan and Ellen Holzberg

Lee M. Huber

Ann and Stephen Kaufman

Mr. Mark Klitzke and Dr. Angela Chen

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Knull III

Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Kolb

Ann Koster

Elizabeth and Bill Kroger

Mr. and Mrs. Blair Labatt

Mr. and Mrs. Randall B. Lake

Rita Leader

Mr. Bryant Lee

Dr. and Mrs. Ernst Leiss

Ms. Bernice Lindstrom

Mrs. Marilyn Lummis

Ms. Michele Malloy

Ms. Diane M. Marcinek

Mary Marquardsen

Mr. R. Davis Maxey

Dorothy McCaine

Ms. Janice McNeil

Prof. and Mrs. D. Nathan Meehan

Ginger Menown

Chadd Mikulin and Amanda Lenertz

Dr. Indira Mysorekar Mills and Dr. Jason Mills

Dr. and Mrs. William E. Mitch

Marsha L. Montemayor

Mr. and Mrs. Shahin Naghavi

Erik B. Nelson and Terry R. Brandhorst

John Newton and Peggy Cramer

Geoffry H. Oshman

Susan and Edward Osterberg

Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Pancherz

Mr. Mark Poag and Dr. Mary Poag

Mr. and Mrs. Andrey Polunin

Dr. Angela Rechichi-Apollo

Carol F. Relihan

Mr. Todd Reppert

Ed and Janet Rinehart

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Ritchie

Dr. and Mrs. Franklin Rose

Mr. Mike Rydin

Adel and Jason Sander

Judy Sauer

Mrs. Helen P. Shaffer

Merrill Shields and Ray Thomasson

Ms. Janet Sims

Diana Strassmann and Jeffrey Smisek

Mr. and Mrs. George Sneed

Bruce Stein

Kathy and Richard Stout

Rhonda Sweeney

Mr. Minas and Dr. Jennifer Tektiridis

Mr. and Mrs. John Untereker

Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Wakefield

John and Mo Lovett Warren

Mr. and Mrs. Jay Watkins

Mr. and Mrs. K.C. Weiner

Loretta and Lawrence Williams

Mr. and Mrs. C. Clifford Wright, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. John W. Wright

Mr. Hugh Zhang and Ms. Lulu Tan

Rini and Edward Ziegler

3 Anonymous

YOUNG TRUSTEE—$5,000 OR MORE

Emily Bivona and Ryan Manser

Mr. and Mrs. Damian Gill

Meredith and Joseph Gomez

Ms. Roya Gordon

Alecia Harris

Ms. Ellen Liu and Ms. Ilana Walder-Biesanz

Emily and Adrian Melendez

Mr. Andrew Pappas

Drs. Mauricio Perillo and Luján Stasevicius

Lauren Randle

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Ritter

Dr. Nico Roussel and Ms. Teresa Procter

Jennifer Salcich

Mr. Michael Steeves

Mrs. Stella Tang and Mr. Steven Tang

Dr. Yin Yiu

1 Anonymous

NATIONAL TRUSTEE—$5,000 OR MORE

Ms. Alissa Adkins, Corpus Christi, TX

Ms. Jacqueline S. Akins, San Antonio, TX

Mrs. Estella Hollin-Avery, Fredericksburg, TX

Jorge Bernal and Andrea Maher, Bogota, Colombia

Mr. Tom Burley and Mr. Michael Arellano, Philadelphia, PA

Dr. Dennis Berthold and Dr. Pamela Matthews, College Station, TX

Mr. Richard E. Boner and Ms. Susan Pryor, Austin, TX

Mrs. Carol W. Byrd, Wetumka, OK

Mr. Bryce Cotner, Austin, TX

Dr. Thomas S. DeNapoli and Mr. Mark Walker, San Antonio, TX

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Evans, Coldspring, TX

Jack and Marsha Firestone, Miami, FL

Mr. and Mrs. Larry Gay, McNeil, AR

Mr. Raymond Goldstein and Ms. Jane T. Welch, San Antonio, TX

Mr. Charles Hanes, San Jose, CA

Brian Hencey and Charles Ross Jr., Austin, TX

Edward and Patricia Hymson, San Francisco, CA

Mrs. Judy Kay, Dallas, TX

Dr. and Mrs. Morton Leonard Jr., Galveston, TX

Paul and Judy Lerwick, Asheville, NC

Cathleen C. and Jerome M. Loving, Bryan, TX

Barbara and Camp Matens, Baton Rogue, LA

Mr. Kenton McDonald, Corpus Christi, TX

Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Mehrens, Longview, TX

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Misamore, Sedona, AZ

Mr. Juan Moreno, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Mr. John P. Muth, Wimberly, TX

Dr. James F. Nelson and Mr. Yong Zhang, San Antonio, TX

Ms. Claire O'Malley, San Antonio, TX

Matilda Perkins, Santa Fe, NM

Ms. Wanda A. Reynolds, Austin, TX

Michelle and Chuck Ritter, Kansas City, MO

James and Nathanael Rosenheim, College Station, TX

Mr. Bruce Ross, Los Angeles, CA

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ryan, San Francisco, CA

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Welch, Shepherdstown, WV

Mr. Donald Wertz, Austin, TX

Valerie and David Woodcock, College Station, TX

PATRONS CIRCLE—$5,000 OR MORE

Ms. Jacquelyn M. Abbott

Mr. W. Kendall Adam

Mrs. Nancy C. Allen

Alfredo Tijerina and JP Anderson

Shaza and Mark Anderson

Dr. Tom Anderson

Dr. Julia Andrieni and Dr. Robert Phillips

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Ardell

Mr. Neely Atkinson

Heather and Richard Avant

Ms. Kristi Axel

Nancy and Paul Balmert

Mr. William Bartlett

Dr. James A. Belli and Dr. Patricia Eifel

Dr. and Mrs. Joel M. Berman

Drs. Henry and Louise Bethea

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley C. Beyer

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen D. Bickel

Dr. Matthew J. Bicocca and Mrs. Yvonne Pham Bicocca

Dr. Joan Hacken Bitar

Dr. Jerry L. Bohannon

Mr. Al Brende and Mrs. Ann Bayless

Mr. Chester Brooke and Dr. Nancy Poindexter

Joan M. C. Bull, M.D.

Ms. Marion Cameron-Gray

Mr. Patrick Carfizzi

Mr. and Mrs. Thierry Caruso

Mrs. John R. Castano

Drs. Danuta and Ranjit Chacko

Dr. Beth Chambers and Mr. J. Michael Chambers

Dr. Cindy Childress and Mr. Jack Charles

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Christiansen

Janet Clark

Ms. Donna Collins

Dr. and Mrs. J. Michael Condit

Dr. Nancy I. Cook

Mr. and Mrs. Sam Cooper

Mr. and Mrs. Larry Dooley

Mrs. Eliza Duncan

Mr. John Egbert and Mrs. Kathy Beck

Kellie Elder and David Halbert

Mrs. James A. Elkins III

Parrish N. Erwin Jr.

Ms. Thea M. Fabio and Mr. Richard Merrill

Ms. Ann L. Faget

Mr. Brian Faulkner and Ms. Jackie Macha

Ms. Vicki Schmid Faulkner

Ms. Ursula Felmet

Ms. Jianwei Feng and Mr. Yujing Li

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Fish

Wanda and Roger Fowler

Cece and Michael Fowler

Mr. and Mrs. William B. Freeman Jr.

Mr. Mauro Garcia-Altieri

Dr. Layne O. Gentry

Nancy Glass, M.D. and John Belmont, M.D.

Rhoda Goldberg

Mr. Thomas K. Golden and Mrs. Susan Baker Golden

Mary Frances Gonzalez

Sue Goott

Mrs. Gwynn F. Gorsuch

Dr. and Mrs. David Y. Graham

Dr. and Mrs. Stephen B. Greenberg

Dr. Selda Gunsel and Mr. Don Pferdehirt

Ms. Dianne Halford

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Halsey

Mrs. Mary Hankey

Mr. Frank Harmon III and The Honorable Melinda Harmon

Mr. and Mrs. A. John Harper III

Mr. and Mrs. Melvyn Hetzel

Pam Higgins

Mrs. Ann G. Hightower

Doug Hirsch and Maureen Semple-Hirsch

Deborah and Michael Hirsch

Dr. Holly Holmes

Mr. and Mrs. John H. Homier

Dr. and Mrs. Gabriel N. Hortobagyi

Mr. and Mrs. Clay Hoster

Dr. Kevin Hude

Ms. Heather Hughes

Dr. Alexandra Ikeguchi

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Jacob

Mr. and Mrs. Malick Jamal

Ms. Joan Jeffrey

Mr. and Mrs. Basil Joffe

Dr. Susan John and Mr. Darrell John

Charlotte Jones

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Kauffman

Mr. Anthony K.

Mr. and Mrs. George B. Kelly

Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Rice Kelly

Mr. and Mrs. Albert Kidd

Ms. Carey Kirkpatrick

Mr. Lannis E. Kirkland

Ms. Rie Kojima Angeli

Dr. and Mrs. Lary R. Kupor

Dr. Helen W. Lane

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Le

Mr. Richard Leibman

Ms. Eileen Louvier

Ms. Lynn Luster

Mr. and Ms. Frank Liu

Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Lynn

Mark and Juliet Markovich

Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Mazow

Shawna and Wynn McCloskey

Gillian and Michael McCord

Mimi Reed McGehee

Elizabeth and Keith McPherson

Wendy and Patrick McWilliams

Kay and Larry Medford

Mrs. Anne C. Mendelsohn

Terry and Hal Meyer

Mr. and Mrs. Sidney S. Moran

Mr. Steve Morang

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen J. Morris

Ms. Shannon Morrison

Ms. Linda C. Murray

Mrs. Bobbie Newman

Ms. Geri Noel

Ms. Lisa L. Ng

Drs. John and Karen Oldham

Mrs. Maria Papadopoulos

Mr. and Ms. Carl Pascoe

Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Pinson

Mr. and Mrs. Elvin B. Pippert Jr.

Mrs. Jenny Popatia

Joan and Lou Pucher

The Radoff Family

Ms. Judith Raines

Ms. Deree Reagan

Dr. David Reininger and Ms. Laura Lee Jones

Mr. Serge Ribot

Mr. Robert Richter Jr.

Mrs. Carol Ritter

Kate and Greg Robertson

Mrs. Henry K. Roos

Drs. Alejandro and Lynn Rosas

Dr. and Mrs. Sean Rosenbaum

Mrs. Shirley Rose

Mr. Dave O. Schein and Ms. Karen M. Somer

Mr. and Mrs. Dayo Seton

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Shearouse

Hinda Simons

Kris and Chris Sonneborn

Mr. and Mrs. Aaron J. Stai

Dr. and Mrs. C. Richard Stasney

Mr. Per A. Staunstrup and Ms. Joan Bruun

Richard P. Steele and Mary McKerall

Dr. Pavlina Suchanova

Drs. Adaani E. Frost and Wadi N. Suki

Dr. and Mrs. Demetrio Tagaropulos

Mrs. Carolyn Taub

Ms. Susan L. Thompson

Mr. Leon Thomsen and Mrs. Pat Thomsen

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Tobias

Fiona Toth

Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Trainer Jr.

Dr. Elizabeth Travis and Mr. Jerry Hyde

Gregoria and Frances Vallejo

Mr. and Mrs. Larry Veselka

Greg Vetter and Irene Kosturakis

Ms. Marie-Louise S. Viada

Ms. Vera D. Vujicic

Mr. and Mrs. M. C. "Bill" Walker III

Geoffrey Walker and Ann Kennedy

Diane and Raymond Wallace

Mr. and Mrs. John Wallace

Mr. Alexander Webb

Ms. Pippa Wiley

Randa Duncan Williams and Charles Williams

Dr. Courtney Williams

Ms. Jane L. Williams

Nancy and Sid Williams

Dr. Alice Gates and Dr. Wayne Wilner

Geraldina and Scott Wise

Ms. Debra Witges

Dr. Randall Wolf

Drs. Edward Yeh and Hui-Ming Chang

Mr. and Mrs. Rick Zachardy

John L. Zipprich II

Mr. and Ms. Min Zheng

6 Anonymous

YOUNG PATRONS—$2,500 OR MORE

Mr. Robert Anderson

Sarah and Steve Bond

Mr. J.P. Bosco III

Mr. Michael Daus

Dr. Mhair Dekmezian

Mr. Albert Garcia Jr.

Taryn and Lauren Gore

Mr. Campbell Haynes-Dale

Ms. Kathleen Henry

Lauren and Birk Hutchens

Mr. Brett Lutz and Mrs. Elizabeth Lutz

Rachael and Daniel MacLeod

Tara and Liam McElhiney

Ms. Zoe Miller

Renee Palisi

Ms. Morgan A. Pfeil

Ms. Cristina M. Romeu

Ms. Constance Rose-Edwards

Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Rosen

Mr. Justin Rowinsky and Ms. Catarina Saraiva

Ms. Joan Sanborn and Mr. Dan Parisian

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Muri

Mr. Parashar Saika and Ms. Lori Harrington

Ms. Emily Schreiber

Emily Schultz and Pavel Blinchik

Mr. Lars Seemann and Mrs. Nancy Elmohamad

Melanie Smith

Mr. Jake D. Stefano

Mr. Jeff Taylor

Joshua and Rebekah Wilkinson

Mr. and Mrs. Jamie Yarbrough

Mr. Kenneth Young and Mrs. Emmelie Young

NATIONAL PATRONS—$2,500 OR MORE

Ms. Cynthia Akagi and Mr. Tom Akagi, Madison, WI

Yoko and Tom Arthur, Santa Fe, NM

Mr. Murray Beard, Cordova, TN

Tom and Kay Brahaney, Midland, TX

Dr. Bernd U. Budelmann, Galveston, TX

Ms. Louise Cantwell, San Antonio, TX

Ms. Susan Carvel, New Braunfels, TX

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Carvelli, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

Dr. Raymond Chinn, San Diego, CA

Mr. and Mrs. Terry Cloudman, Boulder, Colorado

Ms. Kathleen Devine and Mr. Richard Reeves, New Braunfels, TX

Mr. James M. Duerr and Dr. Pamela Hall, San Antonio, TX

David Edelstein, Carbondale, CO

Dr. and Mrs. Marvin A. Fishman, NM

Mr. Raymond Goldstein and Ms. Jane T. Welch, San Antonio, TX

Ms. Gabriella M. Guerra, San Antonio, TX

Mr. Mark Jacobs, Dallas, TX

Ms. Gail Jarratt, San Antonio, TX

Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey S. Kay, Austin, TX

Ms. Alison D. Kennamer and Joyce Kennamer, Brownsville, TX

Jeff and Gail Kodosky, Austin, TX

Ms. Heidi Munzinger and Mr. John Shott, Coronado, CA

Mr. William Nicholas, Georgetown, TX

John and Elizabeth Nielsen-Gammon, College Station, TX

Mr. James R. Rogers, College Station, TX

Mr. and Mrs. Victor E. Serrato, Pharr, TX

HGO DONORS

Ms. Alice Simkins, San Antonio, TX

Dr. David N. Tobey and Dr. Michelle Berger, Austin, TX

Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Tucker, Bryan, TX

Mr. Tom Turnbull and Mr. Darrell Smith, Eunice, LA

Mr. Jerre van den Bent, Dallas, TX

Mrs. Rons Voogt, Huntsville, TX

Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Weaver, Washington, D.C.

Martin R. Wing, San Antonio, TX

Houston Grand Opera appreciates all individuals who contribute to the company’s success. Support in any amount is received most gratefully. Our donors share a dedication to supporting the arts in our community, and the generosity of these individuals makes it possible for HGO to sustain world-class opera in the Houston area. For information on becoming a Houston Grand Opera donor, please contact David Krohn, senior director of philanthropy, at 713-980-8685 or DKrohn@HGO.org.

ASSOCIATE PATRONS—

$2,000 OR MORE

Ms. Cecilia Aguilar

Dr. Robert E. Anderson

Mr. Amos Avidan and Mrs. Susan P. Donnelly

Mr. and Mrs. V. G. Beghini

Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Castelberg

Kenneth T. Chin

Mr. Donald W. Clarke

Vicki Clepper

Mr. Jerry Conry

Ms. Joyce Cramer

Mr. and Mrs. Warren Dean

Ms. Linnet Frazier Deily

Peggy DeMarsh

Mr. Alan England

Mr. and Mrs. Blake Eskew

Travis Fenstermaker

Ms. Julie Fischer

Dr. Wm. David George

Susan Giannatonio and Bruce Winquist

Mr. Michael Gillin and Ms. Pamela Newberry

Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Girouard

Mr. and Mrs. David Guenther

Dr. and Mrs. Carlos R. Hamilton, Jr.

Margaret Hawk

Mr. and Mrs. Michael F. Henderek

Mr. Stanley A. Hoffberger

Mr. Steven Jay Hooker

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald E. Huebsch

Dr. Alan J. Hurwitz

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Jackson

Linda Katz

Mr. John Keville

Lynn Lamkin

Mr. Robert Lorio

Mr. Joel Luks

Ms. Nadine Littles

Ana María Martínez

Mr. James L. McNett

Mr. Nicolo Messana

Ms. Chris Miller and Mr. Gary Flaser

Ms. Maria C. (Macky) Osorio

Mr. Rick Pleczko

Mr. Nigel Prior

Suzanne Page-Pryde and Arthur Pryde

Linda Peterson

Dr. and Mrs. Florante A. Quiocho

Mr. Jack Rooker

Mr. and Mrs. Risher Randall

Ramon and Chula Sanchez

Ms. Jo Ann W. Schaffer

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Schufreider

Christopher B. Schulze, M.D.

Dr. Daniel Sessler and Dr. Ximena Sessler

Ms. Diana Skerl

Virginia Snider and Michael Osborne

Nancy Thompson

Ms. Dorian Vandenberg Rodes

Mr. and Mrs. Alton L. Warren

Ms. Susan Trammell Whitfield

Pamela and James Wilhite

Ms. Elizabeth D. Williams

Drs. William and Huda Yahya Zoghbi

3 Anonymous

CONTRIBUTING FELLOWS—$1,000 OR MORE

Mr. and Mrs. Neil Ken Alexander

Joan Alexander

Mrs. Linda Alexander

Mr. Robert K. Arnett Jr.

Ms. Dorothy B. Autin and Mr. Daniel Coleman

Dr. Carlos Bacino

Mrs. Deborah S. Bautch

Jim and Susan Boone

Mr. Bob F. Boydston

Ms. Julia Cambra

Ms. Mary Clark

Dr. Claude Cech

Mr. and Mrs. James Collins

Mr. and Mrs. Larry Corona

Mr. Carl R. Cunningham

Mr. John Dazey

Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Davis

Dr. Susan E. Denson

Mrs. Sarah D. Donaho

Mr. and Mrs. J. Thomas Eubank

Steve and Marie Fay Evnochides

Sylvia B. Fatzer

Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. Ferenz

Mrs. Madeleine Ferris

Mr. David Fleischer

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Fowler

Lucy Gebhart

Mr. Enrico R. Giannetti

Mr. David Gockley

Ruzena Gordon

Ms. Janet Graves

Ms. Suzanne Green

Dr. James E. Griffin III and Dr. Margo Denke

Mr. and Mrs. Ira Gruber

Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Guinee

Mr. and Mrs. Philip Gunnels

Mr. Donald Hang

Ms. Rebecca Hansen

Mr. Rawley Penick and Mrs. Meredith L. Hathorn

Dr. Ralph J. Herring

Ms. Eliane S. Herring

Dr. Sallie T. Hightower

Ms. Susan Hirtz

Kay and Michael W. Hilliard

Deronica Horn

Mr. John Hrncir

Mr. Francisco J. Izaguirre

Mr. Mark E. Jacobs

The Jewels

Mr. and Mrs. John Jordan

Mr. David K. Johnson

Dr. Ngaruiya Kariuki

Lynda and Frank Kelly

Ms. Nancy J. Kerby

Dr. Milton and Gail Klein

Mr. and Mrs. John Lattin

Mr. John Lauber and Ms. Susan M. Coughlin

Mr. David Leebron and Ms. Ping Sun

Mr. Marshall Lerner

Dr. Benjamin Lichtiger

Dr. Robyn T. Lincoln

Mrs. Sylvia Lohkamp

Mr. and Mrs. Karl R. Loos

Dr. Robert Louis

Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Y. Lui

Mr. and Mrs. C. Robert Mace

Ms. Nancy Manderson

Dr. and Mrs. Moshe H. Maor

Mr. and Mrs. Ben Marshall

Mr. H. Woods Martin

Onalee and Dr. Michael C. McEwen

Mr. Bob McLaughlin

Dr. Mary Fae McKay

Keith and Shawntell McWilliams

Dr. Gilda McFail

Alexandra and Frank Meckel

Mrs. Theresa L. Meyer

Judy Miner

Mr. Frank Modruson

Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Moynier

Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Mueller

Mr. and Mrs. Mike Newman

Mr. Dean Niemeyer and Dr. Marlowe D. Niemeyer

Ms. Jeanne M. Perdue

Mrs. Davonda and Dr. Eric Peterson

Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Phillips

Ms. Felecia Powell-Williams

Mr. and Mrs. Phil Plant

Dr. V.A. Pittman-Waller

Susie and Jim Pokorski

Mr. and Mrs. William Rawl

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Reynolds

Mr. and Mrs. Gene Steve Rhea

Mr. William K. Rice

Mansel and Brenda Rubenstein

Sharon Ruhly

Dr. Mo & Mrs. Brigitte Saidi

Alan J. Savada

Kathleen and Jed Sazama

Ms. Joan M. Shack

Mr. Frederick Schacknies

Mr. Alan Schmitz

Kenneth and Deborah Scianna

Dr. Paul E. Setzler

Ms. Valerie Serice

Mr. Nick Shumway and Mr. Robert Mayott

Mr. Herbert Simons

Jan Simpson

Mr. John S. Skaggs

Mr. and Mrs. Louis. S. Sklar

Ms. Anne Sloan

Len Slusser

Mr. Arthur Smith

Ms. Linda F. Sonier

Mr. and Mrs. George Stark

Mr. Leon Strieder

Mr. Kiyoshi Tamagawa and Mr. Bill Dick

Ann Tornyos

Mr. Robert Trussell

Mr. and Mrs. Tim Unger

Dr. and Mrs. Lieven J. Van Riet

Mr. Arie Vernes

Mr. Albert T. Walko

Dr. Nicole McZeal Walters

Andrea Ward and David Trahan

Dr. Jackie Ward

Mr. Peter J. Wender

J. M. Weltzien

Mrs. Dolores Wilkenfeld

Mr. and Mrs. Bert B. Williams

Robert and Michele Yekovich

3 Anonymous

CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORTERS

Michaela Greenan, Corporate Council Chair

Houston Grand Opera’s corporate, foundation, and government partners make it possible for HGO to create and share great art with our community. We are incredibly proud to work with these organizations and grateful for all they do. For information on joining HGO’s valued team of corporate and foundation supporters, please contact Kelly Finn, senior director of institutional giving, at 713-546-0265 or KFinn@HGO.org.

CORPORATE, FOUNDATION, GOVERNMENT

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA

CORPORATE COUNCIL

Thomas R. Ajamie, Ajamie LLP

J. Scott Arnoldy, Triten Corporation

C. Mark Baker, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

Astley Blair, Marine Well Containment Company

Meg Boulware, Boulware & Valoir

Albert Chao, Westlake Corporation

Adam Cook, Tokio Marine HCC

Joshua Davidson, Baker Botts L.L.P.

Susan R. Eisenberg, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Warren Ellsworth, MD, Houston Methodist

Richard Husseini, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Michelle Huth, Frost Bank

Bill Kroger, Baker Botts L.L.P.

Bryant Lee, Latham & Watkins

David LePori, Frost Bank

Bryce Lindner, Bank of America

Claire Liu, LyondellBasell (Retired)

Craig Miller, Frost Bank

Kristin Muessig, Vitol, Inc.

Ward Pennebaker, Pennebaker

Anthony Petrello, Nabors Industries

Gloria M. Portela, Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Allyn Risley, GTT North America

Susan Rivera, Tokio Marine HCC

Kelly Rose, ConocoPhillips

Silvia Salle, Bank of America

Susan Saurage-Altenloh, Saurauge Marketing Research

Apurva Thekdi, MD, Houston Methodist

Ignacio Torras, Tricon Energy

Alfredo Vilas, Novum Energy

CORPORATE SUPPORTERS

GUARANTORS—$100,000 OR MORE

ConocoPhillips †

Frost Bank †

H-E-B †

Houston Methodist †*

Nabors Industries

Novum Energy

Vinson & Elkins LLP †*

Vitol, Inc.

GRAND UNDERWRITERS—

$50,000 OR MORE

Ajamie LLP

Bank of America †

Nana Booker and Booker · Lowe Gallery

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo™ †

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Shell USA, Inc. †

UNDERWRITERS—$25,000 OR MORE

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Boulware & Valoir

Halliburton

Latham & Watkins

Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

POST Houston

Tokio Marine HCC

Westlake Corporation

SPONSORS—$10,000 OR MORE

CenterPoint Energy

Frost Brown Todd

Infosys

Swagelok Texas Mid-Coast

Wells Fargo

MEMBERS—$1,000 OR MORE

Avance Houston, Inc.

USI Insurance Services

IN-KIND CONTRIBUTORS TO OPERATIONS AND SPECIAL EVENTS

UNDERWRITERS—$25,000 OR MORE

Abrahams Oriental Rugs and Home Furnishings

ALTO

City Kitchen Catering

The Events Company

Jackson & Company Catering

SPONSORS—$15,000 OR MORE

Kirksey Gregg Productions

Magnolia Houston

CO-SPONSORS—$7,500 OR MORE

BCN Taste and Tradition

Elegant Events and Catering by Michael

Medallion Global Wine Group

BENEFACTORS—$5,000 OR MORE

The Corinthian at Franklin Lofts

David Peck

The Lancaster Hotel

Masterson Design/Mariquita Masterson

Shaftel Diamond Co.

MEMBERS—$1,000 OR MORE

Brasserie du Parc

Connie Kwan-Wong/CWK Collection Inc.

Dar Schafer Art

Elliott Marketing Group

Ellsworth Plastic Surgery

Gittings Portraiture

Glade Cultural Center

Hayden Lasher

The Hotel ZaZa

La Colombe d'Or Hotel

Las Terrazas Resort & Residences

Lavandula Design

Mayfield Piano Service

Shoocha Photography

FOUNDATIONS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

PREMIER GUARANTOR—

$1,000,000 OR MORE

The Brown Foundation, Inc. †

Houston Grand Opera Endowment Inc. †

The Wortham Foundation, Inc. † Anonymous

PRINCIPAL GUARANTORS—

$500,000 OR MORE

City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance † Anonymous

GRAND GUARANTORS—

$250,000 OR MORE

The Alkek and Williams Foundation †

Carol Franc Buck Foundation

The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts †

Humphreys Foundation †

Mellon Foundation †

National Endowment for the Humanities

Texas Commission on the Arts †

Anonymous

GUARANTORS—$100,000 OR MORE

M.D. Anderson Foundation †

The Robert & Jane Cizik Foundation

The Cullen Foundation †

The Elkins Foundation

The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation †

The Sarofim Foundation

William Randolph Hearst Foundation

GRAND UNDERWRITERS—

$50,000 OR MORE

City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board †

John P. McGovern Foundation †

The Powell Foundation †

UNDERWRITERS—$25,000 OR MORE

Joan and Stanford Alexander Family Fund

Ruth and Ted Bauer Family Foundation †

OPERA America †

Vivian L. Smith Foundation

Stedman West Foundation †

Sterling-Turner Foundation

SPONSORS—$10,000 OR MORE

Cockrell Family Fund

Samuels Family Foundation

William E. and Natoma Pyle

Harvey Charitable Trust

MEMBERS—$1,000 OR MORE

George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation †

Albert & Ethyl Herzstein

Charitable Foundation

Houston Endowment Inc.

Houston Grand Opera Guild †

Houston Saengerbund

The Nathan J. Klein Fund

University of Houston

Bauer College of Business

CULTURAL PARTNERS

Consulate General of Italy in Houston

Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles

* Contribution includes in-kind support † Ten or more years of consecutive support

CORPORATE MATCHING

Baker Hughes Foundation

Bank of America Charitable Foundation

BP Foundation

Chevron Humankind

CITGO Petroleum

Coca-Cola North America

ConocoPhillips

Encana

EOG Resources, Inc.

EQT Foundation

ExxonMobil Foundation

Fannie Mae

Hewlett-Packard Company

IBM Corporation

Illinois Tools Works Inc.

LyondellBasell Chemical Company

Macquarie

Microsoft Employee Giving

Nintendo Of America

Quantlab Financial, LLC

Salesforce

Shell USA, Inc. Foundation

The Boeing Company

Union Pacific

Williams Companies

LAUREATE

Craig Miller, Chair

The Laureate Society comprises individuals who have helped ensure the future of Houston Grand Opera by remembering the Opera in their wills, retirement plans, trusts, or other types of estate plans. The Laureate Society does not require a minimum amount to become a member. Planned estate gifts to the Houston Grand Opera Endowment can be used to support general or specific Opera programs. Houston Grand Opera is deeply grateful to these individuals. Their generosity and foresight enable the Opera to maintain its growth and stability, thus enriching the lives of future generations. For information regarding charitable estate gift planning and how it might positively impact you, your loved ones, and Houston Grand Opera, please contact Amanda Neiter, director of legacy giving, at 713-546-0216 or ANeiter@HGO.org.

LAUREATE SOCIETY MEMBERS

Ms. Gerry Aitken

Margaret Alkek Williams

Mr. William J. Altenloh and Dr. Susan Saurage-Altenloh

Robin Angly and Miles Smith

Bill A. Arning and Aaron Skolnick

Christopher Bacon and Craig Miller

Gilbert Baker

Dr. Saúl and Ursula Balagura

Mr. William Bartlett

Mr. James Barton

Mr. Lary Dewain Barton

Michelle Beale and Dick Anderson

Marcheta Leighton-Beasley

Jack Bell

Mrs. Natalie Beller

Dr. James A. Belli and Dr. Patricia Eifel

Mr. and Mrs. Stanley C. Beyer

Dr. Joan Hacken Bitar

Susan Ross Black

Ms. Susan Bloome

Dr. and Mrs. Jules H. Bohnn

Adrienne Randle Bond

Ms. Lynda Bowman

Mrs. Zarine Meherwan Boyce

Mr. and Mrs. Harry W. Bristol

Ms. Zu Dell Broadwater

Catherine Brock

Myra Brown

Mr. Richard S. Brown

Mr. Logan D. Browning

Mr. Richard H. Buffett

Mr. Tom Burley and Mr. Michael Arellano

Mr. Ralph Byle

Ms. Gwyneth Campbell

Roxi Cargill and Peter Weston, M.D.

Jess and Patricia Carnes

Ms. Janet Langford Carrig

Sylvia J. Carroll

Ms. Nada Chandler

Mr. Robert N. Chanon

Ms. Virginia Ann Clark

Mathilda Cochran

Mr. William E. Colburn

Mr. and Mrs. Paul L. Comstock

Mr. Jim O. Connell

Mrs. Christa M. Cooper

Mr. Efraín Z. Corzo and Mr. Andrew Bowen

Mr. and Mrs. James W. Crownover

Shelly Cyprus

Mr. Karl Dahm

Dr. Lida Dahm

Mr. Darrin Davis

Ms. Sasha Davis

Ms. Anna M. Dean

Peggy DeMarsh

Ian Derrer and Daniel James

Ms. Elisabeth DeWitts

Connie Dyer

Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Evans

Ms. Thea M. Fabio and Mr. Richard Merrill

Ms. Ann L. Faget

Ms. Vicki Schmid Faulkner

Mrs. Thomas Fauntleroy

Jack and Marsha Firestone

Julie Fischer

Nancy Fischer

Mr. Bruce Ford

Dr. Donna Fox

Dr. Alice Gates and Dr. Wayne Wilner

Dr. Layne O. Gentry

Mr. Michael B. George

Dr. Wm. David George

Dr. and Mrs. David P. Gill

Lynn Gissel

Mr. Wesley Goble

Mr. David Gockley

Rhoda Goldberg

Leonard A. Goldstein and Helen B. Wils

Mary Frances Gonzalez and Ross I. Jackson

Jon Kevin Gossett

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Gott

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Graubart

Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg

Dr. Nichols Grimes

Dr. Ellen R. Gritz and Mr. Milton D. Rosenau Jr.

Mr. Jas A. Gundry

Mr. Claudio Gutierrez

Mr. and Mrs. William Haase

Dr. Linda L. Hart

Mrs. Brenda Harvey-Traylor

Nancy Haywood

Teresita and Michael Hernandez

Dr. Ralph J. Herring

Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Hewell

Mr. Edward L. Hoffman

Gary Hollingsworth and Ken Hyde

Alan and Ellen Holzberg

Mr. Frank Hood

Ms. Ami J. Hooper

Mr. and Mrs. George M. Hricik

Lee M. Huber

Robert and Kitty Hunter

Greg Ingram

José and Teresa Ivo

Brian James

Spencer A. Jeffries and Kim Hawkins

Ms. Charlotte Jones

Cynthia J. Johnson

Ms. Marianne Kah

Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Kauffman

Ann and Stephen Kaufman

Charles Dennis and Steve Kelley

Mr. Anthony K.

Ms. Virginia E. Kiser

Ann Koster

David Krohn

Dr. Lynn Lamkin

Ms. Michele LaNoue and Mr. Gerald Seidl

Carolyn J. Levy

Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Liesner

Mr. Michael Linkins

Virola Jane Long

Mr. and Mrs. Karl R. Loos

Mrs. Marilyn Lummis

Dr. Jo Wilkinson Lyday

Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Lynn

Mrs. Rosemary Malbin

Dr. Brian Malechuk and Mr. Kevin Melgaard

Ms. Michele Malloy

Emily Bivona and Ryan Manser

Mrs. J. Landis Martin

Ms. B. Lynn Mathre

Ms. Nancy Wynne Mattison

Dr. and Mrs. Malcolm Mazow

Mrs. Dorothy McCaine

Mrs. Sarah McCollum

Deirdre McDowell

Muffy and Mike McLanahan

Will L. McLendon

Mr. Allen McReynolds

Ms. Maryellen McSweeney

Mr. and Mrs. D. Bradley McWilliams

Christianne Melanson and Durwin Sharp

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Menzie

Ms. Georgette M. Michko

Ms. Suzanne Mimnaugh

Kathleen Moore and Steven Homer

Sid Moorhead

Juan R. Morales

Mr. and Mrs. Sidney S. Moran

Mr. and Mrs. Marvin H. Mueller

Ms. Linda C. Murray

Terrylin G. Neale

Erik B. Nelson and Terry R. Brandhorst

Mrs. Bobbie Newman

Mrs. Tassie Nicandros

Beverly and Staman Ogilvie

Geoffry H. Oshman

Ms. Maria C. (Macky) Osorio

Susan and Edward Osterberg

Mrs. Joan D. Osterweil

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Percoco

Sara M. Peterson

Mark and Nancy Picus

Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Pinson

Susie and Jim Pokorski

Gloria M. Portela

Suzanne Page-Pryde and Arthur Pryde

Dr. Angela Rechichi-Apollo

Mr. Todd Reppert

Conrad and Charlaine Reynolds

Ms. Wanda A. Reynolds

Ed and Janet Rinehart

Gregory S. Robertson

Edward N. Robinson

Mrs. Shirley Rose

Mr. John C. Rudder Jr.

H. Clifford Rudisill and Ray E. Wilson

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Rushing

Dr. Mo & Mrs. Brigitte Saidi

Mr. and Mrs. Terrell F. Sanders

Ms. Wanda Schaffner

Mr. Chris Schilling

Kenneth and Deborah Scianna

Mr. and Mrs. Charles Senuta

Mrs. Helen P. Shaffer

Ms. Sue A. Shirley-Howard

Hinda Simon

Mr. Herbert Simons

Ms. Susan Simpson

Ms. Janet Sims

Bruce Smith

Ms. Linda F. Sonier

Dian and Harlan Stai

Ms. Darla Y. Stange

Dr. and Mrs. C. Richard Stasney

Catherine Stevenson

Patrick Summers

Rhonda Sweeney

Susan Tan

Mrs. Carolyn Taub

Mr. Quentin Thigpen and Ms. Amy Psaris

Fiona Toth

Mr. John G. Turner and Mr. Jerry G. Fischer

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Turner

Mr. and Mrs. Jesse B. Tutor

Birgitt van Wijk

Mr. and Mrs. Alfredo Vilas

Mrs. Rons Voogt

James and Mary Waggoner

Dean Walker

Mr. William V. Walker

Shirley Warshaw

Mr. Gordon D. Watson

Ms. Rebecca Weaver

Mr. Jesse Weir

Mr. Geoffrey Westergaard

Pippa Wiley

Ms. Jane L. Williams

Mr. and Mrs. David S. Wolff

Dr. Fabian Worthing

Jo Dee Wright

Lynn Wyatt

Alan and Frank York

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Yzaguirre

Mrs. Lorena Zavala

John L. Zipprich II

18 Anonymous

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA ENDOWMENT

The Houston Grand Opera Endowment, Inc., is a separate nonprofit organization that invests contributions to earn income for the benefit of Houston Grand Opera Association. The Endowment Board works with CAPTRUST, an independent investment counsel, to engage professional investment managers. An endowed fund can be permanently established within the Houston Grand Opera Endowment through a direct contribution or via a planned gift such as a bequest. The fund can be designated for general purposes or specific interests. For a discussion on endowing a fund, please contact Deborah Hirsch, chief philanthropy officer, at 713-546-0259 or DHirsch@ HGO.org. HGO acknowledges with deep gratitude the following endowed funds.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Officers

Marianne Kah, Chair

Mark Poag, Vice Chair

Terrylin Neale, Secretary; Treasurer

Yolanda Knull, Senior Chair

Tom Rushing, Chair Emeritus

Members at Large

Thomas R. Ajamie

Khori Dastoor

Carolyn Galfione

Richard Husseini

Stephen Kaufman

Claire Liu

Scott Wise

GENERAL ENDOWMENT FUNDS

Susan Saurage-Altenloh and William Altenloh Endowed Fund

The Rudy Avelar Patron Services Fund

Barrow Family Endowed Fund

Charles T. (Ted) Bauer Memorial Fund

Sandra Bernhard Endowed Fund

The Stanley and Shirley Beyer Endowed Fund

Ronald C. Borschow Endowment Fund

Mary Frances Newton Bowers Endowment Fund

Pat and Daniel A. Breen Endowment Fund

The Brown Foundation Endowment Fund

Joan Bruchas and H. Philip Cowdin Endowed Fund

Sarah and Ernest Butler Endowment Fund

Jane and Robert Cizik Endowment

Michael and Mathilda Cochran Endowment Fund

Douglas E. Colin Endowment Fund

The Gerald and Bobbie-Vee Cooney

Rudy Avelar Fund

The Renee and Benjamin Danziger Endowed Fund

In loving memory: Gail and Milton Klein Family and Leslie Danziger

Mary Jane Fedder Endowed Fund

Linda K. Finger Endowed Fund

Robert W. George Endowment Fund

Harold Gilliland Endowed Fund

Adelma Graham Endowed Fund

Frank Greenberg, M.D. Endowment Fund

Roberta and Jack Harris Endowed Fund

Jackson D. Hicks Endowment Fund

General and Mrs. Maurice Hirsch Memorial Opera Fund

Ann Holmes Endowed Fund

Ira Brown Endowment Fund

Elizabeth Rieke and Wayne V. Jones Endowment Fund

Leech Family Resilience Fund

Lensky Family Endowed Fund

Mary R. Lewis Endowed Fund

Beth Madison Endowed Fund

Frances Marzio Fund for Excellence

Franci Neely Endowed Fund

Constantine S. Nicandros Endowment Fund

Barbara M. Osborne Charitable Trust

Cynthia and Anthony Petrello Endowed Fund

Mary Ann Phillips Endowed Fund

C. Howard Pieper Endowment Fund

Kitty King Powell Endowment Fund

Glen Rosenbaum Endowment Fund

Rowley Family Endowment Fund

The Ruddell Endowment Fund

Sue Simpson Schwartz Endowment Fund

Shell Lubricants (formerly Pennzoil — Quaker State Company) Fund

Dian and Harlan Stai Fund

The John and Fanny Stone Endowment Fund

Dorothy Barton Thomas Endowment Fund

John G. Turner and Jerry G. Fischer Endowed Fund

John and Sheila Tweed Endowed Fund

Marietta Voglis Endowed Fund

Bonnie Sue Wooldridge Endowment Fund

The Wortham Foundation Permanent Endowment Fund

PRODUCTION FUNDS

Edward and Frances Bing Fund

Tracey D. Conwell Endowment Fund

The Wagner Fund

PRINCIPAL ARTISTS FUNDS

Jesse Weir and Roberto Ayala Artist Fund

The Lynn Wyatt Great Artist Fund

ENDOWED CHAIRS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Margaret Alkek Williams Chair: Khori Dastoor, General Director and Chief Executive Officer

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair: Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director

Sarah and Ernest Butler

Chorus Director Chair: Richard Bado

Sarah and Ernest Butler

Concertmaster Chair: Denise Tarrant

Mr. and Mrs. James A. Elkins Jr. Endowed Chair: Peter Pasztor

Mr. and Mrs. Albert B. Alkek Chair: Maureen Zoltek

Marianne Kah, Chair

James A. Elkins Jr. Endowed Visiting Artist Fund

ELECTRONIC MEDIA FUNDS

The Ford Foundation Endowment Fund

SARAH AND ERNEST BUTLER HOUSTON GRAND OPERA STUDIO FUNDS

Audrey Jones Beck Endowed Fellowship Fund/Houston Endowment, Inc.

The Gordon and Mary Cain Foundation Endowment Fund

Marjorie and Thomas Capshaw Endowment Fund

Houston Grand Opera Guild Endowment Fund

James J. Drach Endowment Fund

Evans and Portela Family Endowed Chair

Carol Lynn Lay Fletcher Endowment Fund

William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship Fund

Charlotte Howe Memorial Scholarship Fund

Elva Lobit Opera Endowment Fund

Marian and Speros Martel Foundation Endowment Fund

Laura and Brad McWilliams Endowed Fund

Erin Gregory Neale Endowment Fund

Dr. Mary Joan Nish and Patricia Bratsas Endowed Fund

John M. O’Quinn Foundation Endowed Fellowship Fund

Shell Lubricants (formerly Pennzoil — Quaker State Company) Fund

Mary C. Gayler Snook Endowment Fund

Dian and Harlan Stai Fund

Tenneco, Inc. Endowment Fund

Weston-Cargill Endowed Fund

EDUCATION FUNDS

Bauer Family Fund

Sandra Bernhard Education Fund

Lawrence E. Carlton, M.D., Endowment Fund

Beth Crispin Endowment Fund

James J. Drach Endowment Fund

Fondren Foundation Fund for Educational Programs

David Clark Grant Endowment Fund

The Schissler Family Foundation Endowed Fund for Educational Programs

OUTREACH FUNDS

Guyla Pircher Harris Project

Spring Opera Festival Fund (Shell Lubricants, formerly Pennzoil—Quaker State Company)

CONCERT OF ARIAS

Eleanor Searle McCollum Endowment Fund

Khori Dastoor

General Director and CEO

Margaret Alkek Williams Chair

Patrick Summers

Artistic and Music Director *

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP GROUP

Richard Bado, Director of Artistic Planning/ Chorus Director *

Sarah and Ernest Butler Chorus Director Chair

Jennifer Bowman, Director of Community and Learning

Jennifer Davenport, Chief Marketing and Experience Officer

Molly Dill, Chief Operating Officer *

Elizabeth Greer, Chief Financial Officer

Deborah Hirsch, Chief Philanthropy Officer *

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL DIRECTOR

Mary Elsey, Chief of Staff to the General Director and CEO

Caleb Grochalski, Executive Assistant to the OGD

Claire Padien-Havens, Director of Strategic Projects & Initiatives

Joel Thompson, Composer-in-Residence

Tyler Thormählen, Governance Administrator

ARTISTIC

Chris Abide, Manager of Rehearsal Planning & Artist Services

ChloeSue Baker, Artist Services Administrator

Colin Michael Brush, Director of the Butler Studio

Nico Chona, Music Administrator and Orchestra Personnel Manager

Bart Dunn, Music Librarian

Joel Goodloe, Associate Director of Rehearsal Planning & Artist Services

Kiera Krieg, Butler Studio Manager

Mark C. Lear, Associate Artistic Administrator *

Alexa Lietzow, Artistic & Media Coordinator

Lucas Nguyen, Assistant Music Librarian & Supertitle Manager

Peter Pasztor, Principal Coach *

Teddy Poll, Resident Conductor

Karen Reeves, Children’s Chorus Director *

Jack Ruffer, Rehearsal Planning Administrator

Madeline Slettedahl, Assistant Conductor

Monica Thakkar, Director of Artistic Partnerships & Music Planning

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA MANAGEMENT

William Woodard, Assistant Conductor

Maureen Zoltek, Head of Music Staff and Butler Studio Music Director

Mr. & Mrs. Albert B. Alkek Chair

AUDIENCES

Marc Alba, Customer Care Specialist

Ellen Bergener, Customer Care Representative

Steve Butler, Video Producer

Joe Cadagin, Audience Education and Communications Manager

Gabrielle Castillo, Customer Care Specialist

Nicholas Chavez, Sr. Sales and Customer Service Specialist

Chelsea Crouse, Sr. Creative Manager

Juan Flores, Customer Care Specialist

Amber Francis, Communications Coordinator

Clarisa Galindo, Marketing Coordinator

Jessica Gonzalez, Marketing Manager

Sofia Heggem, Guest Experience Coordinator

Scott Ipsen, Director of Patron Experience *

Rudy Avelar Chair

Rita Jia, Graphic Designer

Latrinita Johnson, Customer Care Specialist

Tory Lieberman, Director of Marketing

Aaron Marsh, Guest Experience Manager

Sam Mathis, Patron Services Manager

Catherine Matusow, Director of Communications

Matt McKee, Associate Director of Sales and Service

Destiny McQuarters, Customer Sales and Service Specialist

Brian Mitchell, Archivist, The Genevieve P. Demme

Archives and Resource Center *

Roselyn Rios, Digital Content Coordinator

Michelle Russell, Ticketing & Marketing Data Manager

Armando Urdiales, Group Sales Coordinator

Dorian Valenzuela, Digital Content Manager

Beverly Vich, Customer Sales and Service Specialist

COMMUNITY AND LEARNING

Favour Aimufua, Programs Coordinator, Administration

Fernando Barajas, Administrative Manager

George Heathco, Programs Coordinator, Programming & Engagement

Patty Holley, Program Manager of School & Educator Engagement

Alisa Magallón, Associate Director of Programming & Engagement *

Dr. Lisa Vickers, Bauer Family High School Voice Studio Manager

Dr. Kiana Day Williams, Associate Director of School & Educator Engagement

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

Christian Davis, Human Resources Manager

Ariel Ehrman, Business Intelligence Manager

Matt Gonzales, Manager of Information Technology *

Vicky Hernandez, Business Intelligence Coordinator

Chasity Hopkins, Accounting Manager

Ty Jones, Network Administrator

Elia Medina, Payroll Administrator

Noorwali Punjwani, Controller

Sarah Saulsbery, Accounts Payable Administrator

Denise Simon, Human Resources Coordinator *

Grace Tsai, Manager of Data and Analytics

Ahna Walker, Human Resources Generalist

Chaedron Wright, Information Technology Assistant

Joy Zhou, CRM Manager

PHILANTHROPY

Lyanne Alvarado, Philanthropy Officer, Corporate Partnerships

Stephen Beaudoin, Director of Major Gifts

Sarah Bertrand, Assistant Director of Philanthropy

Brooke Caballero, Philanthropy Associate

Kedrienne Day, Director of Foundation Giving

Kelly Dolan, Donor Events Specialist

Kelly Finn, Sr. Director of Institutional Giving *

Ross S. Griffey, Associate Director of Institutional Giving

David Krohn, Sr. Director of Philanthropy

Tessa Larson, Philanthropy Officer

Olivia Lerwick, Philanthropy Writer

Scott Lee, Philanthropy Officer

Ana Llamas, Prosect Researcher and Manager

Patrick Long-Quian, Philanthropy Operations Manager

Meredith Morse, Assistant Director of Institutional Giving

Amanda Neiter, Director of Legacy Giving

Allison Reeves, Director of Signature Events

Gregory S. Robertson, Managing Director of Strategic Campaigns *

Madeline Sebastian, Director of Philanthropy

PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS

Kaleb Abide, Costume Coordinator

Philip Alfano, Lighting Associate & Principal Draftsman *

Brian August, Stage Manager

Kristen E. Burke, Director of Production *

April Cagle, Wardrobe Supervisor

Elliott Carnell, Assistant Technical Director

Michael James Clark, Head of Lighting & Production Media *

Andrew Cloud, Properties Associate *

Norma Cortez, Costume Director *

Katherine Cunningham, Associate Director of Signature Events

Bui Dung, Junior Stitcher

Meg Edwards, Assistant Stage Manager *

Heather Rose Ervin, Wig and Makeup Assistant

Caitlin Farley, Assistant Stage Manager

Joseph B. Farley, Production Manager

Vince Ferraro, Head Electrician *

Luis Franco, Office Services Coordinator *

Beth Goodill, Assistant Stage Manager

Bridget Green, Wig and Makeup Assistant

Jackson Halphide, Assistant Technical Director

Eduardo Hawkins, Head of Sound *

David Heckman, Costume Coordinator Assistant

John Howard, Head Carpenter *

Esmeralda De Leon, Costume Coordinator *

Nara Lesser, Costume Production Assistant *

Jae Liburd, Operations Driver

Melissa McClung, Technical and Production Administrator

Megan, Properties Design Director *

Tatyana Miller, Junior Draper

Amanda Mitchell, Wig & Makeup Design Director

Cam Ngyuen, Costume Technician

Rovion Reed, Production & Projects Manager, Community & Learning

Bradley Roast, Technical Director

Emma Rocheleau, Assistant Stage Manager

Leslie Romero, Junior Stitcher

Colter Schoenfish, Assistant Director

Ian Silverman, Assistant Director

Kaley Karis Smith, Assistant Director

Rachel Smith, Assistant Head Electrician and Board Operator

Stephanie Smith, Assistant Director

Meghan Spear, Assistant Stage Manager

Dotti Staker, Principal Wig Maker and Wig Shop Manager *

Christopher Staub, Director of Operations & Institutional Projects *

Bryan Stinnet, Assistant Carpenter/Head Flyperson

Paully Tran, Senior First Hand *

Myrna Vallejo, Costume Shop Supervisor *

Sean Waldron, Head of Props *

Annie Wheeler, Production Stage Manager *

*denotes 10 or more years of service

Houston’s Annual Met Opera Competition

Discover the stars of tomorrow as they perform your favorite arias and display their extraordinary vocal techniques.

Alice Pratt Brown Hall at The Shepherd School of Music.

Save the Date! January 11, 2025 — Doors open 9:00 a.m., auditions start 10:00 a.m., winners announced 4:00 p.m. For information, search Facebook.com/MetCompHouston.

Of course we use SRT and AI, we're the Transcription Experts! We ensure meetings adhere to Robert's Rules. We index every transcript for thorough analysis. We focus on voice and nuance, providing context so words strike an emotional chord. We banish distractions, polish grammar, zap crutch words, and outsmart pesky AI gaffes. 30 years of experience, and we LOVE what we do!

Winners of the 2024 Houston District Laffont Competition

Take advantage of the company’s user-friendly one-stop shop for everything HGO. Resources include:

Your all-access guide to performances, on the mainstage and in the community: HGO.org/On-Stage

The Backstage Pass blog, for taking a deep dive into the season’s operas, company artists, and more: HGO.org/ Backstage-Pass

Plan Your Visit information, from parking options, to hotel

recommendations, to FAQs, and more: HGO.org/Plan-Your-Visit

HGO’s Customer Care Center, including performance information, ticket assistance, and more: HGO.org/ Contact-Us

And much more!

ENJOY THE WORTHAM

We encourage our guests to make full use of the Wortham Theater Center when they come to the opera. You’re invited to:

Relax and reflect: Find a spot in one of the Wortham Theater Center’s Brown or Cullen alcoves, or another area in the concourse—now with expanded seating!

Explore our Stories to Stage Gallery: Don’t miss the chance to learn more about HGO’s fall operas, with history displays, behind-the-scenes looks at productions, and more. Now on view in the Grand Foyer East Wing.

Browse the merchandise: Volunteers from the HGO Guild operate a gift and souvenir boutique in the Grand Foyer.

Soak in the scene over lunch or dinner: Food services are available prior to each performance in the Grand Foyer. For something quick,

find parfait kits, naan sandwiches, and much more at the Grab N Go station.

Dine at the Founders Salon: Enjoy a prix-fixe, seasonally inspired menu. Reservations are required, with a priority reservation window open for Patrons Circle members up to 72 hours before the performance date. Reservations then open to full-season subscribers. To reserve, call 713-533-9318 or email Cafe@ ElegantEventsByMichael.com.

Attend a free Opera Insights lecture: Brush up on the day’s opera during one of HGO's popular pre-show talks from HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers. Join us on the Orchestra level of the Brown Auditorium 45 minutes before curtain time.

Have a drink: The lobby bars are open before each performance and during intermission. Don’t forget—premium wine selections are available in the center bar of the Grand Foyer. And don’t miss Happy Half Hour— guests receive $2 off all beer, wine, and cocktails at all bars for the first 30 minutes the theater is open (each bar begins service 90 minutes before performance time).

Pro-tip: Pre-order beverages for intermission at any of the bars when you arrive at the theater, and your drinks will be waiting for you!

SAVE THE DATES

OCTOBER 18

Opening Night Dinner: HGO celebrates the launch of the 2024-25 season following the opening performance of the company’s new production of Il trovatore. Wortham Theater Center. Janet Gurwitch and Ron Franklin, Chairs. For more info, visit HGO.org/ OpeningNight, or contact Special Events at SpecialEvents@HGO.org or 713-546-0700.

OCTOBER 18, 20M, 26, 29, NOVEMBER 3M

Performances of Verdi’s Il trovatore Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theater. Ticketholders are invited to Opera Insights lectures presented by HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers, held in the Brown’s Orchestra section 45 minutes prior to each performance. Special intermission reception for members of Opening Nights for Young Professionals at the October 18 performance only, and for members of Overture at the October 26 performance only.

OCTOBER 22, NOVEMBER 12, DECEMBER 10

Crain Garden Recital at Methodist Hospital: HGO teaching artists inspire hope and healing with a public performance.

OCTOBER 25

Under 40 Friday: Rossini’s Cinderella Audiences under 40 years old enjoy discounted tickets.

OCTOBER 25, 27M, NOVEMBER 1, 7, 9

Performances of Rossini’s Cinderella Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theater. Ticketholders are invited to Opera Insights lectures presented by HGO Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers, held in the Brown’s Orchestra section 45 minutes prior to each performance. Special intermission reception for members of Opening Nights for Young Professionals at the October 25 performance only.

NOVEMBER 1

Student Matinee: HGO hosts an inviteonly, 90-minute, English-language performance of Cinderella for students grades 6-12 and their chaperones. Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theater. 10 a.m.

NOVEMBER 1

Military Appreciation Night : Rossini’s Cinderella. A special evening honoring veterans and active-duty service members.

NOVEMBER 2, 12, 16, 19, 20, 22, DECEMBER 4, 7, 14

Storybook Opera at Harris County Public Libraries. For information, visit HGO.org/Community-and-Learning.

NOVEMBER 9

HGO Family Day Presents Cinderella: a 90-minute, English-language, relaxedenvironment performance, directed by Isabel Leonard. Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theater. 11 a.m.

DECEMBER 8

HGO presents singers from the Bauer Family High School Voice Studio in a masterclass with a company artist. 2 p.m. Free; public invited. Contact Dr. Lisa Vickers at LVickers@HGO.org for information.

DECEMBER 14

Carols on the Green, an evening full of beautiful music—opera, holiday hits, mariachi, and more—at Discovery Green. 7 p.m.

THROUGH DECEMBER 12 & JANUARY 12-MAY 1

Opera to Go! Presents Mo Willems’s Bite-Sized Operas! This year’s touring production for students and families presents a double bill of two shows, both based on children’s books by popular, Emmy Award-winning author Mo Willems with music by Grammy Award-winning composer Carlos Simon: Slopera! and Don’t Let the Pigeon Sing Up Late! Recommended for children grades 2-8. To book this exciting show at your school, community center, or other venue, email OperaToGo@HGO.org or visit HGO.org/OperaToGo.

THROUGHOUT THE 2024-25 SEASON

Storybook Opera at Levy Park: Every Saturday at 11 a.m. (except Nov. 29, Jan. 31, and May 30).

TICKETS START AT $25 / HGO.ORG

MUSIC BY LEONARD BERNSTEIN

BOOK BY ARTHUR LAURENTS

LYRICS BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM

BASED ON A CONCEPTION OF JEROME ROBBINS