Jay Hunter News

Houston, March 28, 2016—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) opens its spring repertory with Siegfried, the much- anticipated third installment of Wagner's epic Ring cycle, on April 16. The ground-breaking Ring by Carlus Padrissa of Catalan theater company La Fura dels Baus, with its cutting-edge visuals and acrobats in tableaux of human scenery, has thrilled Houston audiences and played to sold-out houses.

Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT) and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) today announce their 2016-17 season.

Opera Philadelphia General Director & President David B. Devan today announced that baritone Jarrett Ott, recently praised by Opera News as a “rising star” with “a voice that is polished and immaculately produced,” will replace Nathan Gunn as protagonist W.P. Inman for all five performances of Cold Mountain, Feb. 5-14 at the Academy of Music. Mr. Gunn, who performed the role in August's World Premiere at The Santa Fe Opera, was compelled to withdraw from the Philadelphia production due to a serious family illness.

The Dallas Opera is proud to announce its spectacular 2016-2017 Season, consisting of five brilliant mainstage productions, including two repertoire classics never before performed by this company. 

Houston Grand Opera (HGO) opens its 2016 winter repertory on January 22with an inventive staging by multiple-award-winning theater director Michael Grandage of Mozart's genial farce, The Marriage of Figaro. Performances continue through February 7. Co-produced by HGO and the Glyndebourne Festival and premiered at Glyndebourne in 2012, this production, set in 1970s Spain with sets and costumes by award-winning designer Christopher Oram, was hailed for its beauty and for affirming “Mozart's comic masterpiece as both of its time and perennially modern” (Sunday Times). HGO is delighted to bring this elegant staging to Houston under the direction of Ian Rutherford, who worked with Grandage and toured the production following its Glyndebourne run.   

Houston, January 6, 2016— Houston Grand Opera (HGO) opens its 2016 winter repertory on January 22with an inventive staging by multiple-award-winning theater director Michael Grandage of Mozart's genial farce, The Marriage of Figaro. Performances continue through February 7. Co-produced by HGO and the Glyndebourne Festival and premiered at Glyndebourne in 2012, this production, set in 1970s Spain with sets and costumes by award-winning designer Christopher Oram, was hailed for its beauty and for affirming “Mozart's comic masterpiece as both of its time and perennially modern” (Sunday Times). HGO is delighted to bring this elegant staging to Houston under the direction of Ian Rutherford, who worked with Grandage and toured the production following its Glyndebourne run.   

It is almost Mountain time in Philadelphia! Cold Mountain, the first opera by Philadelphia-based, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, makes its East Coast Premiere with five performances at the Academy of Music, February 5-14, 2016.

 DALLAS, TX, December 8, 2015 – The Dallas Opera will present opera legend Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano, for another magnificent performance in The Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Art Song Recital Series. The one-time-only recital will be presented Sunday, January 31, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at City Performance Hall (a 749-seat venue located at 2520 Flora Street in the Arts District, Dallas, TX 75201). Also featured at the exclusive event will be Jake Heggie, composer (Great Scott, Moby-Dick) and accomplished pianist, who has had a long-standing artistic collaboration with Miss von Stade.

The Glimmerglass Festival, which presents four mainstage productions of opera and musical theater every summer, rounds out each season with a schedule of guest appearances, concerts, public master classes, youth opera performances and more.

The Glimmerglass Festival, which presents four mainstage productions of opera and musical theater every summer, rounds out each season with a schedule of guest appearances, concerts, public master classes, youth opera performances and more.

LA Opera's 30th Anniversary Season will include the company premiere of Moby-Dick, by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, opening tonight, October 31, 2015. 

Houston, October  6, 2015— Houston Grand Opera (HGO) opens its 2015–16 season October 23 with Puccini's heart-wrenching tale of love and tragedy, Tosca, featuring the reprise of HGO's “gripping” 2010 production and a stellar cast of returning and debut artists. Performances run through November 14. 

(Los Angeles) October 13, 2015 — LA Opera's 30th Anniversary Season will include the company premiere of Moby-Dick, by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, opening on October 31, 2015. 

Houston, October  6, 2015— Houston Grand Opera (HGO) opens its 2015–16 season October 23 with Puccini's heart-wrenching tale of love and tragedy, Tosca, featuring the reprise of HGO's “gripping” 2010 production and a stellar cast of returning and debut artists. Performances run through November 14. 

OPERA San Antonio's Board of Directors and Chairman Mel Weingart today announced the slate for OPERA San Antonio's second season as the Resident Opera Company of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

Houston, August 17, 2015—Houston Grand Opera's (HGO) 2015–16 season showcases the vibrant and diverse artistic mix that marks HGO as a leading 21st-century American opera company: Wagner's Siegfried, the third installment of La Fura dels Baus's imaginative Ring cycle featuring a new generation of Wagnerians; the world premiere of Prince of Players by eminent American composer Carlisle Floyd, the Lynn Wyatt Great Artist for 2015–16; Dvoák's fairy tale rarity Rusalka; a holiday revival of family favorite The Little Prince from the award-winning composer Rachel Portman and librettist Nicholas Wright; a new production of The Marriage of Figaro; a new-to-Houston Eugene Onegin; a beloved core production, Tosca; and the Houston debut of Broadway sensation Rob Ashford's take on the classic musical Carousel. Through its community collaboration program HGOco, the company will present two additional world premieres: O Columbia, a chamber opera by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Royce Vavrek that examines the past, present, and future of the American spirit of exploration; and The Root of the Wind is Water, a chamber opera by composer David Hanlon and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann about the impact of hurricanes on the Texas Gulf coast.

Today in 2011, the first Broadway revival of Master Class opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, where it ran for 67 performances. Master Class is a play by Terrence McNally, which opened on Broadway on November 15, 1995 at the John Golden Theatre, where it ran for 598 performances. The original cast included Zoe Caldwell, Audra McDonald, Karen Kay Cody, David Loud, and Jay Hunter Morris. Caldwell and McDonald won Tony Awards for their performances in 1996. Tyne Daly starred as Callas in a summer 2011 revival of the play at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

The Glimmerglass Festival, Central New York's opera and musical theater company, has announced its 2016 season.

The Glimmerglass Festival, Central New York's opera and musical theater company, has announced its 2016 season.