a high note for Houston

New international partnership brings fresh talent to Houston Grand Opera

Houstonians know that Houston Grand Opera is among the city’s finest arts organizations. What they may not know is that it is also among the leading opera companies in the world, garnering awards like a Grammy and being praised as an innovator in the arts.

Now, the company is pushing its innovation and arts leadership reputation even further by launching a partnership with another internationally renowned opera company. This week, HGO announced its new alliance with Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu to foster cultural exchange and collaboration.

The partnership officially launches January 26, 2025 at the Liceu’s 62nd Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition, where HGO will present the Torras Family Foundation Prize of $25,000. The prize will be awarded to a finalist whose voice and artistry demonstrate potential for an international opera career. It is underwritten by the Torras Foundation and Ignacio and Isabel Torras. Ignacio “Nacho” Torras, who founded Tricon Energy in 1996 — now a leading multinational commodities trading platform — also owns Houston restaurants MAD, Rocambolesc, and BCN Taste & Tradition, which was recently awarded a Michelin star.

The Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition is one of Europe’s most prestigious contests for new voices in opera. HGO’s Colin Michael Brush, director of the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio, the company’s elite training program for young artists, will travel to Barcelona to select the first winner of the annual prize.

“We are honored to be part of this partnership between two great houses, Houston Grand Opera and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, from two cities that are so close to our hearts,” said Ignacio Torras. “By creating and underwriting this new prize to be awarded at the Tenor Viñas International Singing Competition, we expect to build a strong bridge that allows art to transcend borders and cultures through the sublime form of opera.”

HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor expressed gratitude for the underwriting support of the partnership and her excitement at working with Gran Teatre del Liceu.

“HGO is an international company serving a vast, diverse metropolis where people from across the world live and do business,” she said. “With this new partnership, we seek to build upon Houston’s emerging identity as a global hub, attracting the finest young artists from around the world to Houston while welcoming international audiences from throughout our city to the Wortham Theater Center to experience our art form. We are thrilled to join forces with our close colleagues at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.”

The winner of the Torras Family Foundation Prize also receives automatic entry as a semifinalist to Houston Grand Opera’s 38th annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers Concert of Arias in 2026. The annual event recognizes the most talented emerging artists in opera while helping the company to identify candidates for its highly competitive Butler Studio program. Tickets for the 2025 Concert of Arias, which takes place on January 17, are available now.

Courtesy of Houston Grand Opera/Instagram

Houston Grand Opera's new partnership with Gran Teatre del Liceu means new collaborations between the two internationally renowned companies.

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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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