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    The Review is In

    Intrigue on a train and great singing power HGO's elegant The Abduction from the Seraglio

    Joseph Campana
    Apr 29, 2017 | 3:42 pm

    What happens after the end of the world? A little farce with a few pirates, a gallant lover, a love-sick pasha, a pesky valet, a love-sick harem guard with a voice like the earth, a disenchanted maid, and a kidnapped beauty with a voice like the sky.

     

    So we learned from Houston Grand Opera’s elegant and enjoyable production of Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio, which has the unenviable task of following and pairing with the company’s triumphant Götterdämmerung. Admirably it succeeds in escaping from Wagner’s fiery apocalypse with a light-heart and unflagging song.

     

     Abduction returns to a very old and frequently told folk tale, one favored by the great medieval writers Chaucer and Boccaccio. These stories feature a virtuous Christian woman, Constance, who is shipwrecked or kidnapped and begins a journey around the Mediterranean and into the Ottoman Empire. Sometimes she becomes the wife of a great sultan and sometimes returns home to her Christian family.

     

    In Abduction, the Spanish beauty Konstanza is kidnapped by pirates along with her English maid Blonde and Pedrillo, who loves Blonde and serves as valet to Konstanza’s fiancé Belmonte. The three are sold to the Pasha Selim, who falls in love with Konstanza, and guarded the by fierce Osmin, the harem overseer who falls for Blonde. Who wouldn’t fall for a blonde? Although stuffed to the brim with human trafficking, death threats, torture fantasies, and revenge plots, love wins out in the end.

     

     The little engine that could

     

    It’s hard not to start with the exquisite vocalists, whose rendering of Abduction was light and sleek one moment, melancholy and moving the next. In other words they were, moment to moment, exactly what they needed to be and offer the perfect foil to the weighty and world-ending Wagner. Worry not, dear singers: I’ll return for you just as Belmonte returned for his beloved Konstanza.

     

    But I’d be doing a serious injustice if I didn’t start with the little engine that could, and did, and then some. Let me first lend my voice to a hearty “Bravo” to the production team: costume designer Ann R. Oliver, lighting designer Paul Palazzo, projection designer Wendall K. Harrington, and, especially, set designer Allen Moyer. They brought to life the iconic Orient Express, substituting train rides for sea voyages, with a canny and quite literally moving choice.

     

    Staging the opera on a train with Moyer’s eloquent architecture and the exquisite furnishings, utterly transformed the theater.

     

    The low ceiling of the train relative to the normal height of an opera stage created the intimacy of longing but also the claustrophobia of captivity. Tight quarters made marvelous options for close physical comedy, concentrated and amplified the singers, and showcased Mozart’s marvelous groupings.

     

    A single train car might serve beautifully for a solo. Two separate cars help divide frustrated lovers. The space between cars allowed for spying or contemplation or a quick cigarette. And to change scenes, well, the ingenious train just had to move a little down the track in one direction or the other to reveal new locations. Harrington’s projections create a beautiful sense of landscape, motion, and passing time.

     

    Oliver’s costumes were, for the most part, sumptuous and well-chosen, nowhere more so than when Selim “tortures” Konstanza with an array of luxury apparel, all of which could be hers. Shagimuratova’s first frock was, however, downright frumpy and unnecessarily aged the vibrant singer.

     

    More importantly, the choice of burkas for Selim’s other wives is one I’m still wondering about. The production wanted, a couple times, to flag for us that beneath the farcical orientalism of Abduction might be a noteworthy encounter between warring Christians and Muslims. Another such moment featured Osmin attempting to obey the call to prayer only to be interrupted by buffoonery and forgetting all about his devotions. But who, really, is the butt of the joke?

     

     The power of song

     

    It was, very much, a tale of travel and a train, but two voices especially kept the wheels singing down the proverbial tracks. I think I’ve never quite heard a voice so agile and so deep as that of American bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green, who was irresistible in his HGO debut as Osmin, the jealous overseer of the Selim’s harem. He excelled when glowering and threatening. He excelled at physical comedy. And he was enchanting when impotently threatening unimaginable tortures or obediently ironing at the whim his beloved Blonde.

     

    Had you left after the opening scenes, you might be forgiven for thinking you had been to see the opera Osmin starring Green. Until, of course, the voice of the incomparable Albina Shagimuratova soared out over the audience as she took her turn as the fiercely faithful Konstanza.

     

    I’ve had the good fortune of seeing Shagimuratova twice at HGO, starring in Lucia di Lammermoor and La Traviata. It seems all three roles demand a coloratura soprano who can hit every note with exquisite force and timing right out of the gate. This Shagimuratova more than manages in her opening act aria "How I loved him" or her second act showstopper, “Oh what sorrow overwhelms my spirit.”

     

    If it seems I only had ears for Green and Shagimuratova then I have undersold the excellence of tenor Lawrence Brownlee, who adds a smash success in Abduction to his HGO triumphs of the last decade in The Italian Girl in Algiers, The Barber of Seville, and La Cenerentola. Brownlee’s marriage of sweetness and accuracy is a nuptial only surpassed by that with his future wife. To not be overshadowed by Shagimuratova is accomplishment enough but to match and enhance her significant voice, as in the late duet “What dreadful fate conspires against us,” is magical.

     

    Former HGO studio artist Uliana Alexyuk and current HGO studio artist Chris Bozeka were a winning pair as Pedrillo and Blonde, though they were more convincing in the second quartet with Belmonte and Konstanza than on their own.

     

    Between pirates and malevolent gods, the world can be unbearably complicated and downright hostile. Through the power of song, Abduction’s journey ends in unexpected generosity. Brünnhilde would have done well to book a ticket on this ride.

     

    ---------------

     

     The Abduction from the Seraglio continues on April 30, May 6, 10, and 12. For more information visit the Houston Grand Opera website.

    A scene from the Houston Grand Opera production of The Abduction from the Seraglio.

    Houston Grand Opera\u2019s Abduction from the Seraglio
      
    Photo by Lynn Lane
    A scene from the Houston Grand Opera production of The Abduction from the Seraglio.
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    news/arts

    Best July Art

    Where to see art in Houston now: 9 fun new exhibits opening in July

    Tarra Gaines
    Jul 9, 2025 | 4:30 pm
    ​Artechouse presents "Blooming Worlds"
    Photo courtesy of Artechouse
    Artechouse presents "Blooming Worlds"

    Art blooms in our world class museums but also on our city streets this July. From exhibitions featuring traditional paintings and sculptures to high tech immersive and interactive shows, we’re weaving art into the best of summertime fun and dreaming up beautiful new artistic creations all over Houston.

    “Town Meeting 1978-2028” at Art League Houston (now through July 20)
    Pioneering Houston-based interdisciplinary artists Nick Vaughan and Jake Margolin continue their decades-long project to create new and sometimes monumental artworks in response to little-known pre-Stonewall queer histories. For this latest exhibition, the duo explore a more recent and influential piece of Houston history, “Town Meeting I,” the pivotal convening of 4,000 LGBTQIA+ Houstonians at the Astro Arena in 1978. For this show at Art League, they’ve used their “wind drawing” technique of stenciling unfixed charcoal powder on paper and blowing it away, leaving a ghost-image. Using archival images of “Town Meeting I” as the bases of their stenciling, the finished “wind drawings” highlight the ephemerality, beauty, and loss of queer histories. In addition to these new works, Vaughan and Margolin hope to inspire, facilitate, and develop programming in 2028 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Town Meeting 1.”

    “Fragmentos de un sueño que yo también soñé (Fragments of a Dream I Also Dreamed)" at Art League Houston (now through July 20)
    “Every house is a body, and every individual body is a house full of memories and hopes,” says award-winning Venezuela born, Chicago-based artist, Jeffly Gabriela Molina, of her artistic focus. Molina’s fragmented, layered, and figural compositions explore that idea of home and memories. Delving into memories and stories, these figurative compositions, depicting people and relationships, fluctuate between stories of the present, past, and future. Taken together, the works in “Fragmentos de un sueño” aim to visually capture the feelings of vulnerability, nostalgia, and hope embedded in the experience of many immigrants. Art League notes that Molina’s pieces emphasize optimism over hardship, specifically addressing the longing for a home that no longer exists while striving to create a new one.

    “Every Fiber of Their Bodies” at Art League Houston (now through July 20)
    Working with natural fibers such as linen, paper collage, and hand-spun paper yarn made from calligraphy paper and book pages, textile artist Lin Qiqing weaves stories ofhuman relationships, gender, immigration, and language. As the title hints, the labor-intensive weaving process brings thematic depth to the images of bodies depicted in the pieces. The woven pieces also make connections to the natural world, as when Lin crumples then smooths handmade mulberry paper to resemble human skin, or when she uses handwoven fiber to mimic the body’s movement. Lin process includes research and experimenting with natural materials to explore themes of the internal human struggle for existence and our interactions with the world around us.

    “Annual Juried Exhibition” at Archway Gallery (now through July 31)
    For the 17th year, the artist owned Archway Gallery celebrates Houston artists with its juried exhibition of area artists who are not members of the space. This year’s exhibition is juried by Project Row Houses founder and MacArthur "genius" fellow, Rick Lowe. The acclaimed artist and social activist has selected work from over 35 area artists representing a diversity of medium and styles. Sales from the exhibition will go to Houston’s Brave Little Company, the theater company for Houston’s kids and their gown ups.

    “Foyer Installation: René Magritte” at Menil Collection (now through August 3)
    After a critically acclaimed trip to Australia, some of our favorite Belgian-born Houstonians are back home. Yes, the Magritte paintings have returned to the Menil Collection after taking a star turn in a monumental Magritte retrospective at Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales. Now the Menil is celebrating their return with a special installation in the main building foyer. The Menil Collection owns the largest collection of work by René Magritte outside the artist’s native Belgium, and this display focuses on a core group of paintings from the 1950s and ’60s that truly represent Magritte’s status as a master creator of impossible painted worlds and an icon of the Surrealist movement. The paintings were purchased within a couple years of their making by the museum’s founders, John and Dominique de Menil. They represent and important part of 20th century art history, as the de Menils became Magritte’s biggest champions in the United States, helping to shape the artist’s reception and reputation in the postwar American art world. Stop by to welcome them home and slip into their enigmatic wonder.

    “Blooming Wonders” at Artechouse (now through September)
    The latest immersive exhibition from the Houston venue that brings art, science, and technology home together, Artechouse, lets the flowers blossom. The exhibition contains several dynamic installations, including “Timeless Butterflies,” a 270 degrees projection space that puts visitors in the middle of a butterfly cloud. Audiences journey with a flock of butterflies into an immense garden of flowers. Another immersive piece, “Infinite Blooms” takes audiences on a journey through an endless digital forest of cherry blossoms. The installation, “Akousmaflore et Lux” creates a very different type of garden where plants transform into musical instruments. “Clay Pillar” by Interactive Items / Vadim Mirgorodskii invites visitors to sculpt new forms using clay and a little help from an AI program. Note that “Blooming Wonders” runs simultaneously with the rock ‘n’ roll exhibition, “Amplified” with “Wonders” open during the daytime.

    “Weci | Koninut” at Avenida Houston (now through September 1)
    Houston is a place for big dreams, and this wondrous outdoor exhibition near George R. Brown Convention Center gives us the space to do so. Created by First Nations artists Julie-Christina Picher and Dave Jenniss, this interactive installation weaves together visual arts, Indigenous storytelling and sensory technologies in the form of six immense sculptural dreamcatchers. Each of these dreamcatchers are unique and represent one of the six seasons from the Atikamekw culture, an Indigenous people in Canada. Activated by people passing by, the dreamcatchers come to life with lights, sounds, and story, making the whole installation truly interactive. “Weci | Koninut” creators say that they want the installation to offer a total immersion experience for visitors, to create a moment where nature and dreams converge. Each piece offers a place for the public to slow down, sit, reflect, and yes, dream.

    New Murals in the East End and Midtown (ongoing)
    We could spend days viewing all the new murals painted across town, just in the last few years. But in honor of summer outdoor art viewing, we thought we’d spotlight two noteworthy new additions to our city-wide gallery of murals. As part of his major exhibition last spring at the CAMH, Vincent Valdez worked with San Antonio muralist Rubio and local students to create “Memoria, Memory.” Dedicated to his mother Theresa Santana Valdez (1947–2020), the vivid mural on historic Navigation Boulevard features her favorite bird and flower. Over in Midtown, check out “Stellar Illumination,” the latest installation in the city’s Big Walls Big Dreams mural series. Created by Robin Munro, also known as Dread, the seven stories high “Illumination” depicts a celestial scene of an astronaut gazing at Earth from space.

    “The Weight of Place” at Anya Tish Gallery (July 11-August 23)
    This group exhibition will explore themes of memory and the emotional, psychological, and physical landscapes memories can evoke. The will showcase three contemporary Texas-based female artists: Megan Harrison, Marisol Valencia, and Lillian Warren. While these artists work in different mediums–including large-scale paintings, mixed media works, and elegant porcelain sculptures–they are inspired by personal reflection and nature to create artworks that reflect on the ways we hold onto the past through sensory experience.

    “In Residence: 18th Edition” at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (July 12-June 27, 2026)
    This annual exhibition celebrating the Center’s Artist Residency Program reaches it’s big 18th anniversary. Over the many years, the residency program has supported so many emerging, mid-career, and established artists working in all craft media. The program gives them a space for creative exploration, exchange, and collaboration with other artists, arts professionals, and the public. Now arts and craft lovers will get a chance to see the culmination of that work with this exhibition featuring pieces in fiber, clay, copper, and found objects by 2024-2025 resident artists Prerata Bradley, Stephanie Bursese, Atisha Fordyce, Nela Garzón, Gbenga Komolafe, Gabo Martinez, Preetika Rajgariah, Macon Reed, Jamie Sterling Pitt, Adam Whitney, and Dongyi Wu.

    “My Texas” at Our Texas Cultural Center (July 27-August 22)
    Award winning, Russian-born photographer, Anatoliy Kosterev, chronicles his personal exploration of Texas with photographs he took around the Lone Star State. The photos offer extraordinary views of Texas, from our dynamic cities to dramatic and sometimes lonesome landscapes. Kosterev’s photographic style blends science and technology with an artistic eye. He puts those two perspectives into practice when documenting all facets of life in Texas. Using HDR, drone imaging, macro photography, and traditional camera methods, he captures a diversity of subjects from quiet human moments to vast landscapes to delicate close-ups of insects and flowers.

    \u200bArtechouse presents "Blooming Worlds"
      

    Photo courtesy of Artechouse

    Artechouse presents "Blooming Worlds."

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