a grand new season

Houston Grand Opera raises the curtain on a new season of fan favorites

Tragedy and triumph take center stage in Houston Grand Opera's 2023 - 2024 season, announced yesterday afternoon. The six-opera series includes a world premiere by Jake Heggie, Intelligence; , a co-production of The Sound of Music; the company's first-ever production of Wagner's Parsifal; and beloved classics Falstaff, Madame Butterfly, and Don Giovanni.

HGO general director and CEO Khori Dastoor called that the season's theme "surrounds finding truth within art," in a press release announcing the shows.

The season opens October 20 with composer Jake Heggie's world premiere, Intelligence, with a libretto by Gene Scheer. It marks the first time the company has ever opened a season with a new opera. Based on a little-known story of the Civil War, it's the extraordinary story of two women from very different backgrounds who form a Union soy ring. Internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano and HGO Studio alumna Jamie Barton sings the role of Elizabeth Van Lew, member of a prominent Confederate family; soprano Janai Brugger, praised by Opera News for her "rapturously beautiful" voice, sings the role of Mary Jane Bowser, born into slavery in Elizabeth's house. The opera runs from October 20 through November 3.

Verdi's masterpiece Fallstaff is the other half of the company's fall repertoire, sung in Italian with English translation The story of Shakespeare's drunken knight who concocts a wild scheme to pay off his debts features baritone Reginald Smith Jr. in the title role. He's joined by other company favorites soprano Nicole Heaston as Alice, baritone Blake Denson as Ford, and soprano Andrea Carroll as Nannetta. Patrick Summers, HGO's artistic and music director, conducts. Falstaff runs from October 27 to November 10.

Opening 2024 for the company is Wagner's Parsifal, a vibrant production from Tony Award-winning director John Caird. Sung in German with projected English translation, it's the story of a group of knights on a quest to protect both the Holy Grail and their wounded king, who can only be healed by Parsifal and the holy spear. Tenor Russell Thomas, called "impressive" by the Los Angeles Times, sings the title role. He's joined by worldwide superstar soprano Christine Goerke, globally acclaimed bass-baritone Ryan McKinney and ward-winning bass Kwangchul Youn. The show runs January 19 through February 4, 2024.

Puccini's tragic love story, Madame Butterfly, lights up the stage with a diverse cast, including sought-after soprano Ailyn Pérez, as Cio-Cio-San, opposite tenor Yongzhao Yu as Pinkerton, making his role debut. They are joined by mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce as Suzuki, bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as Sharpless in Michael Grandage's production, directed by Jordan Braun. Summers will conduct. Sung in Italian with projected English translation, Madame Butterfly runs January 26 through February 11, 2024.

The spring repertoire brings two much-adored classics to the HGO stage. First comes Don Giovanni, Mozart's towering masterpiece about the womanizing title character who refuses to atone for his wicked ways. Superstar Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni sings the title role alongside sensational soprano Andriana Chuchman in her role debut as Donna Anna. The opera is sung in Italian with projected English translation and runs April 19 through May 3, 2024.

Closing HGO's season is Rodgers and Hammerstein's beloved The Sound of Music, co-produced by HGO and the Glimmerglass Festival. This dazzling new production by Francesca Zambello is led by Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as Maria, a nun sent to be a nanny to the seven children of Captain Von Trapp. Baritone Alexander Birch Elliott sings the role of the captain. It's set in Austria in the last days before World War II, the timeless love story, based on a true story and immortalized in the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The production runs April 26 through May 12, 2024.

Full season subscriptions start at $90 and are available for purchase online.

Photo by Lynn Lane

Verdi's comedic opera Falstaff sees the title character engaging in a hair-brained scheme to pay off his debts.

welcome to houston

Musical theater veteran joins prominent Houston company

Courtesy of Stages

Stages has named Valerie Rachelle as its new associate artist director.

A Houston theater company is adding an accomplished artist to its ranks. Stages announced that Valerie Rachelle will be the company’s new associate artistic director beginning in January 2026.

For more than a decade, Rachelle has been artistic director of the Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland, Oregon, where she oversaw artistic vision and operations. That theater specializes in musical theater performances offered in a cabaret setting.

Rachelle comes to Houston with a career spanning nearly 30 years as a director and choreographer. She has extensive experience in developing new musicals and plays for regional theaters and opera companies across the United States, including the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Sierra Repertory Theatre. She was appointed to her position at Stages following a nationwide search.

“I’m beyond thankful for this opportunity to join this incredible company, and I’m excited to be a part of a creative entity that has a strong mission and vision as Stages,” Rachelle said in a statement.

In her role with Stages, she will support artistic director Derek Charles Livingston with season planning and casting; liaise with artists, press, and staff; and coordinate day-to-day operations for the artistic department. She will also assist with crafting educational materials, direct and choreograph productions, and serve as the primary liaison with theatrical unions.

“We are thrilled to welcome Valerie to Stages in this role,” said Livingston. “I have seen her work as a director and director choreographer — she's excellent. Those skills combined with her experience as a theatre artistic director and manager only further fortify Stages' commitment to artistic excellence and community engagement.”

Born and raised in Eugene, Oregon, Rachelle began her career as a dancer and apprentice ballerina with the Eugene Ballet Company before earning her BFA in acting from California Institute of the Arts. She received her MFA in Directing from the University of California, Irvine. She has held teaching and directing positions at numerous institutions, including the University of Southern California, Southern Oregon University, Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and others. She has also served as a mentor through Statera Arts, an organization dedicated to gender equity in the arts.

Rachelle teaches musical theater, auditioning, and singing at Southern Oregon University when she isn’t on the road as a freelance director and choreographer. She’s also a classically trained singer and toured the world with her parents and their illusionist show as a child.

“Joining the team that has a long-standing reputation of excellence in theater is an honor,” Rachelle added.

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Houston Grand Opera raises the curtain on a new season of fan favorites

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welcome to houston

Musical theater veteran joins prominent Houston company