HGO 2020

Houston Grand Opera unveils dramatic new season of beloved classics and magical tales

The Theater District comes alive with the sound of music, as Houston Grand Opera announces its 2020-2021 season. This 66th season brings a dramatic variety of programming, including audience favorites, acclaimed new works, a world premiere for the 2020 holidays, and yes, a visit from everyone’s favorite novice nun nanny in The Sound of Music.

Let's take a closer look at all the music, drama, and comedy from HGO that will feed our yearly opera habit.

Bizet’s Carmen (October 23-November 13, 2020)
The season opens with new faces and voices for this Rob Ashford’s acclaimed 2014 production of the beloved, fiery classic. American mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard stars as Carmen along with tenor Andrea Caré as Don José, bass-baritone Christian Pursell as Escamillo, and Anita Hartig as Micaela will all make their HGO debuts.

Massenet’s Werther (October 30-November 17, 2020)
After a 40 year absence, HGO brings back this tragic tale of a poet’s unrequited love for a married woman. Billed as having an all-star cast of HGO Studio alumni, the production boasts Arturo Chacón-Cruz in the title role, Ana María Martínez as the target of this obsession, and Joshua Hopkins as her husband.

Joel Thompson and Andrea Davis Pinkney’s The Snowy Day (December 10-20, 2020)
Declare a family snow day for the perfect holiday world premiere to introduce kids to opera. Based on the children’s picture book by Ezra Jack Keats, Snowy Day tells the story of little Peter waking up to a snowy wonderland in New York. HGO artistic director Patrick Summers conducts.

Wagner’s Parsifal (January 22-February 7, 2021)
Begin 2021 with Wagner’s epic metaphysical masterpiece in the tale of a knightly quest for the Holy Grail. Russell Thomas, who makes his HGO and role debut as Radames in Aida this month returns next year as the title knight.

Rossini’s Cinderella (January 29-February 12, 2021)
For a change in tone, HGO also brings a bit of fairytale magic to the Wortham stage with this revival of HGO’s acclaimed 2007 production, directed by Joan Font. Cinderella also brings new faces and voices to Houston with mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo as Angelina, tenor Jack Swanson as Prince Ramiro, baritone Sean Michael Plumb as Dandini, and conductor Corrado Rovaris all making their HGO debuts.

Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Breaking the Waves (April 16-May 1, 2021)
Always innovative, HGO presents this new production based on the Lars von Trier film. A co-production with Opera Ventures, Scottish Opera, and Théâtre national de l’Opéra Comique in association with Adelaide Festival, Breaking the Waves premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in 2019 and received rave reviews

Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein's The Sound of Music (April 30-May 15, 2021)
HGO presents a classic and audience favorite of musical theater with Jeanine De Bique making her HGO debut as singing governess Maria. As Captain von Trapp, Michael Mayes, returns to HGO after his recent performance in Rigoletto.

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For tickets, subscriptions, and more season announcements, visit Houston Grand Opera online.

HGO takes epic flight with their January 2021 production of Wagner’s Parsifal.

HGO Courtesy Photo

HGO takes epic flight with their January 2021 production of Wagner’s Parsifal.

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And the Winner Is

Houston's Alley Theatre only Texas winner of prestigious new play award

Photo courtesy of Alley Theatre

Bring a friend to the theater for free.

The Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre has once again earned national recognition, becoming the only Texas theater selected for a 2025 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, a prestigious honor known for helping launch some of the most influential plays and musicals of the past two decades.

The award will support the Alley’s May 2026 world premiere of Dear Alien by Liz Duffy Adams, giving the production additional rehearsal time that has proven essential for shaping new work.

The Edgerton Awards have a powerful legacy behind them. Past recipients include phenomenon-level titles such as Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, The Prom, Next to Normal, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike — shows that went on to win Tony Awards, earn Pulitzer Prizes, and define contemporary American theater.

“I’m so grateful to the Edgerton Foundation for their support of Liz Duffy Adams’ play Dear Alien," says Alley artistic director Rob Melrose in a release. "Getting an additional week of rehearsal on a new play makes a tremendous difference. In Dear Alien, the titular role (played by resident acting company member Dylan Godwin) is onstage the entire show, and it is going to be quite a challenge. Supporting new plays is incredibly important for the health of the American theater. Four years ago, Alley Theatre premiered Liz’s play Born with Teeth, and it is currently having a run on the West End after gracing the stages of major theaters in the U.S. such as the Guthrie, Asolo Rep, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival."

Alley Theatre has a significant history with developing new work. In 1996, the Alley won the Regional Theatre Tony Award after debuting the world premiere of the musical Jekyll & Hyde, which went on to tour 40 cities and play for two years on Broadway (it lives on thanks to a DVD and VHS recording starring David Hasselhoff in the title roles).

In 1998, the Alley staged the American premiere of a rediscovered Tennessee Williams play, Not About Nightingales, which later enjoyed a successful Broadway run.

The Edgerton Foundation New Plays Program, directed by Brad and Louise Edgerton, was piloted in 2006 with Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles by offering two musicals in development an extended rehearsal period for the entire creative team, including the playwrights. The Edgertons launched the program nationally in 2007 and have supported 569 plays to date at over 50 different theaters across the country. Over the last 19 years, the Edgerton Foundation has awarded $19,670,534 to 569 productions.

Among the 2025 winners are pop-country star Jennifer Nettles' new musical Giulia: The Poison Queen of Palermo at Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York City; Claudia Shear's The Recipe, about the early life of Julia Child, at La Jolla Playhouse in California; and prolific playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's latest title, The Balusters, at Manhattan Theatre Club. See the complete list here.

awards alley theatre dear alien liz duffy adams edgerton foundation edgerton foundation new play award theater