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    Shelby's Social Diary

    A heavenly recital with Ana María Martínez generously rewards the University ofSt. Thomas

    Shelby Hodge
    Dec 18, 2011 | 11:17 pm
    • Photo by Gary Fountain
    • Photo by Gary Fountain
    • Photo by Gary Fountain
    • Photo by Gary Fountain
    • Photo by Gary Fountain
    • Photo by Gary Fountain
    • Photo by Gary Fountain
    • Photo by Gary Fountain

    "Transcendent." In a word, gala co-chair Dr. Kelli Cohen Fein captured the essence of the remarkable recital that internationally-renowned soprano Ana María Martínez gifted upon the University of St. Thomas in a truly exceptional fundraiser for its planned Performing Arts Center.

    The Hobby Center's intimate Zilkha Hall has never hosted a more glorious evening than that in which Martínez enchanted the gathering of 370 UST supporters and opera fans with an hour of her heavenly singing.

    A bit of opera from Madame Butterfly and The Barber of Seville, a sprinkling of art songs, a touch of zarzuela and seasonal songs left the audience —some actually in tears at the beauty of her voice — in an almost stunned exhilaration.

    A bit of opera from her Houston Grand Opera performances in Madame Butterfly and The Barber of Seville, a sprinkling of art songs, a touch of zarzuela and seasonal songs ("Ava Maria" and "O Holy Night") left the audience —some actually in tears at the beauty of her voice —in an almost stunned exhilaration.

    Congratulations to gala chairs Cohen Fein and her husband Martin Fein and Marianne Ivany, wife of UST president Bob Ivany and co-chair of the university's Performing Arts Society. Marianne Ivany, who shares the society chairmanship with Priscilla Plumb, orchestrated the connection between Martínez and UST.

    Explaining this most generous gift to the university, Martínez told CultureMap, "I love the community of the University of St. Thomas and I love what they stand for, giving a complete, well-rounded education to their student body that really shapes them to be the most complete human beings that they can be, grounded in faith and emphasizing the liberal arts no matter what their specialty is. So you're really seeing the beautiful formation of outstanding individuals.

    "So when they asked me to give them a recital to help their fundraising efforts, I felt very blessed and privileged and it fills me with great joy."

    The recital and dinner that followed in Artista raised $250,000 for the planned center. The evening honored Margaret Alkek Williams with special recognition for her generosity and her family foundation which provided funding for plans for the center by Studio Red Architects. Those plans were revealed on stage by Bob Ivany.

    The center will include a black box flex theater for dramatic productions, a proscenium theater for musical performances and lectures, classrooms, offices and additional meeting spaces. Ivany and others described the new building, which will occupy an entire block, as another "jewel" in the crown that is the city's Museum District.

    In addition to traditional UST supporters such as Raye White, Trini Mendenhall Sosa and Frank Sosa, Mary and Vincent Kickerillo, Kelli Kickerillo and Todd Forester, and Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Fiorenza, there were cultural and social leaders in the audience. HGO music director Patrick Summers and managing director Perryn Leech and wife Caroline, Houston Symphony CEO Mark Hanson and wife Christina, Donna and Bob Bruni, Phyllis and Tony Mandola and Lucia and Michael Cordua, who hosted the dinner in Artista, were among the notables.

    For the record, Martínez, who has called Houston home for several years, joined the dinner and stayed late into the night visiting with the well-heeled crowd that included Cora Sue and Harry Mach, Jan Duncan, Ginger and Jack Blanton, Donna and Bob Bruni, Betty and Jesse Tudor, Isla and Tommy Reckling, Denish Bush Bahr and Philip Bahr, Beth Madison and Ralph Burch and Olga and Gerald Bush.

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    A Roman Holiday (Season)

    All roads lead to Houston museum's blockbuster exhibit of Imperial Rome

    Tarra Gaines
    Jun 11, 2025 | 3:15 pm
    ​The Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times"
    Photo courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
    The Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times" ("Statue of Trajan" Minturno, Italy, 2nd century, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Naples)

    Houston's holiday season will have a distinctly Roman feeling this year, as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is bringing the glory of the Gladiator era to Texas. On November 2, 2025 through January 25, 2026 the MFAH presents the monumental new exhibition “Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times.”

    Featuring 160 objects of antiquity, including marble sculptures, frescoes, mosaics, delicate glass vessels, and exquisite bronze artifacts, the exhibition will transport visitors back in time to the Roman Empire during a flowering of art and architecture. The MFAH partnered with the Saint Louis Art Museum to organize the exhibition, which will showcase many pieces that have never been on view in the U.S.

    While Emperor Trajan might not be the most famous — or in some cases, most infamous — of the Roman emperors, he ruled between 98 and 117 C.E. during the empire’s height and was the second of the so-called “Five Good Emperors” of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. He was also the first emperor born outside of present-day Italy, in what is now Andalusia, Spain. During his reign, he granted citizenship and rights to some peoples from conquered lands. The exhibition will explore how this time period expanded what it meant to be a Roman and how art reflected Rome’s power and promoted the empire’s values and ideals.

    \u200bThe Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times"
      

    Photo courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

    The Museum of Fine Arts Houston presents "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times" ("Statue of Trajan" Minturno, Italy, 2nd century, marble, National Archaeological Museum, Naples)

    From statues of prominent men and women of the era, including Trajan, to vivid frescoes and furnishing from the villas of Pompeii, the objects in the exhibition will tell fascinating cultural and political stories of life in imperial Rome. To add context to the artworks and objects of antiquity, the MFAH will recreate a section of Trajan’s Column, which was a towering pillar with a spiraling narrative frieze, one of the few monumental sculptures to have survived the fall of Rome.

    “Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times” brings such a wealth of objects to Houston thanks to unprecedented loans from the renowned antiquities collections of Italian museums including Museo Nazionale Romano, the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, the Parco Archeologico di Ostia, and the Musei Vaticani. It would would likely take months of travel across Italy to see this much art.

    “This is truly a rare opportunity for U.S. audiences to experience spectacular objects from this glorious era of the Roman Empire,” said Gary Tinterow, director and Margaret Alkek Williams chair of the MFAH, in a statement. “We are enormously grateful to our colleagues in Rome, Naples, and Vatican City for lending these treasures to us and broadening the appreciation of Italy’s cultural heritage.”

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