hgo goes digital

Houston Grand Opera unveils free new way to enjoy performances at home

Houstonians can now enjoy the opera from the comfort of their homes.

Photo by Tristram Kenton

In May, Houston Grand Opera produced some much-needed good news when it announced that it had restored all furloughed employees and canceled salary rollbacks with a $2.5 million PPP loan.

Now, opera fans can rejoice, as HGO has unveiled HGO Digital, its new program of digital works for the 2020–21 season. The opera will release free, original, bimonthly video content starting in September and running through April 2021, according to a press release.

The digital programming includes one three-act opera, three one-act operas, three concert events, and a special documentary project on the making of HGO’s world-premiere opera based on the children’s book The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

Additionally, HGO Digital will present the Live from the Cullen Recital Series, featuring opera stars Tamara Wilson, Arturo Chacón-Cruz, Reginald Smith Jr., and select HGO Studio artists in the fall 2020 releases.

Viewers can stream exclusive HGO Digital content worldwide through Marquee TV, an on-demand streaming platform dedicated to arts and culture. This season’s partnership between HGO and Marquee TV, the first of its kind between the streaming service and a US-based performing arts organization, grants audiences access to Marquee TV so they can stream HGO’s 2020–21 season using their televisions.

The subscription-based arts channel will host HGO’s brand-new content and allow users to access it for free through Marquee TV’s website or app, or through Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and other platforms.

To support the series, Sarah and Ernest Butler, longtime HGO supporters, have pledged $1 million to help underwrite HGO Digital programming. The pledge will support both Houston Grand Opera and Austin Opera, creating a strategic partnership between the two Texas companies.

Here is the current HGO Digital schedule:

Friday, September 11, at 7:30 pm – Live from The Cullen: Tamara Wilson
Friday, September 25, at 7:30 pm – Studio Showcase
Friday, October 9, at 7:30 pm – Live from The Cullen: Reginald Smith Jr.
Friday, October 23, at 7:30 pm – Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera
Friday, November 13, at 7:30 pm – Live from The Cullen: Arturo Chacón-Cruz
Friday, November 27, at 7:30 pm – The Impresario and Bon Appétit!
Thursday, December 10, at 7:30 pm – The Snowy Day documentary
Friday, January 8, 2021, at 7:30 pm – Live from The Cullen: Singer to be announced
Friday, January 22, 2021, at 7:30 pm – Giving Voice II
Friday, February 5, 2021, at 7 pm – Concert of Arias

opera

taking center stage

Stage adaptation of iconic Black movie Jason's Lyric to debut in Houston

Courtesy of Jason's Lyric

Most of the movie's cast will appear in the play.

Next year, Houston writer/producer/director/promoter Je’Caryous Johnson will be bringing another beloved Black movie to the live stage.

Jason’s Lyric will join New Jack City and Set It Off in the lineup of ‘90s Black-movie favorites that Johnson has adapted for the stage. The 1994 made-in-Houston drama stars Allen Payne and a pre-Will Smith Jada Pinkett as young lovers trying to maintain a relationship as conflicts and obstacles keep getting in the way.

Jason’s Lyric Live will go on a nationwide, 22-city tour, premiering right here in H-Town on Thursday, February 13 — just in time for Valentine’s Day.

“Houston is my home, and bringing Jason’s Lyric Live to life here first is my way of paying homage to the city and its people who inspired this story,” Johnson said in a statement. “This is more than a play; it’s a love letter to the community.”

Payne will reprise his role as Jason, with actress/model Eva Marcille stepping in Pinkett’s role as Lyric. Naughty by Nature rapper Treach, who played Lyric’s criminal big brother Alonzo in the movie, will also return to the role for the stage production. Tyrin Turner (Menace II Society), K. Michelle (Love & Hip Hop), and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Welcome Back, Kotter) will round out the cast.

"Jason’s Lyric is one of the films that defined my career as an actor,” Payne said. “To bring it to life on stage for audiences who loved the movie — and a new generation experiencing it for the first time — is an incredible honor."

Marcille is also psyched for the show, taking on the role that Pinkett memorably brought to life. "Lyric is a character who embodies resilience and hope, and I’m honored to bring her story to life on stage,” Marcille said.

Tickets will go on sale this Friday, December 13, at 10 am. For a full list of dates and ticket information, visit the website.

hgo goes digital

Houston Grand Opera unveils free new way to enjoy performances at home

taking center stage

Stage adaptation of iconic Black movie Jason's Lyric to debut in Houston

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