EarRelevant Staff | 3 APR 2025
HOUSTON, Texas— Houston Grand Opera (HGO) has announced its 2025-26 season, which will feature seven productions, including the return of an American classic, a company premiere of a Puccini work, and the American debut of a new staging of Handel’s Messiah.
The season opens with George and Ira Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, the opera that helped establish HGO’s reputation when the company restored its original form five decades ago. Presented in a production from Washington National Opera and directed by Francesca Zambello, with James Gaffigan conducting, the opera will feature bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as Porgy, soprano Angel Blue as Bess, and baritone Blake Denson as Crown. Soprano Latonia Moore will make her HGO mainstage debut as Serena.
Another highlight of the fall lineup is the company’s first full staging of Puccini’s Il trittico, a trilogy of one-act operas: Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi. The production, directed by James Robinson, will star soprano Corinne Winters in her company debut, alongside mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, bass-baritone Ryan McKinny, and tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz. HGO artistic and music director Patrick Summers will conduct.
In the winter, HGO will present Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Silent Night, inspired by the 2005 film Joyeux Noël. The opera, which depicts the 1914 Christmas truce during World War I, will be staged in a revised version co-produced with the Metropolitan Opera. The production, directed by Robinson, will feature tenor Duke Kim, soprano Sylvia D’Eramo, and baritone Thomas Glass, with Kensho Watanabe conducting.
Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel follows as a family-friendly offering, staged in collaboration with the Royal Opera House and San Francisco Opera. The production, set in a fairy-tale landscape, will star mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and soprano Mané Galoyan as the title siblings, with Jamie Barton as the Witch. Andreas Ottensamer will conduct.
In the spring, Houston Grand Opera’s Sarah and Ernest Butler Studio artists will present Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men in the intimate Cullen Theater. This gripping adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novella explores themes of loneliness, dreams, and survival through Floyd’s poignant score and lyrical storytelling. Conducted by Benjamin Manis and directed by Kristine McIntyre. Co-produced with Des Moines Metro Opera, Florida State University, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, this performance highlights emerging operatic talent in a powerful retelling of an American classic.
Then in April, HGO will present its first-ever Messiah, composed by Handel and arranged by Mozart, in a production directed by Robert Wilson. The staging, co-produced with several European houses, will include soprano Ying Fang, countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, tenor Benjamin Bliss, and bass-baritone Nicholas Newton, with Summers conducting.
The season concludes with Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, directed by Joan Font. The cast includes baritone Will Liverman as Figaro, tenor Jack Swanson as Count Almaviva, mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack as Rosina, baritone Alessandro Corbelli as Dr. Bartolo, and bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni as Don Basilio. Gemma New will conduct.
The season will also celebrate Summers, who will transition to music director emeritus in May 2026 after more than 25 years with HGO.
Subscriptions are now available at hgo.org, with individual tickets set to go on sale May 22. ■
2025-26 Houston Grand Opera Season
All performances are at the the Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theater except ‘Of Mice and Men’ which will be performed in the Cullen Theater.
- October 24–November 15, 2025
Gershwin: Porgy and Bess
Director: Francesca Zambello; Conductor: James Gaffigan (Richard Bado: Nov. 11, 13, 15); Cast: Michael Sumuel (Porgy), Angel Blue (Bess), Blake Denson (Crown), Demetrious Sampson, Jr. (Sportin’ Life), Latonia Moore (Serena), Raven McMillon (Clara), Justin Austin (Jake), La’Shelle Q. Allen (Maria), Donnie Ray Albert (Lawyer Frazier); Creative: Peter J. Davison (Scenic Designer), Paul Tazewell (Costume Designer), Mark McCullough (Lighting Designer), Andrew Harper (Sound Designer), Eric Sean Fogel (Original Choreographer), Eboni Adams (Revival Choreographer), Richard Bado (Chorus Director) - October 30–November 14, 2025
Puccini: Il trittico
Director: James Robinson; Conductor: Patrick Summers; Cast: Corinne Winters (Giorgetta/Suor Angelica/Lauretta), Ryan McKinny (Michele/Gianni Schicchi), Arturo Chacón-Cruz (Luigi/Rinuccio), Jamie Barton (Frugola/La Principessa/Zita), Andrea Silvestrelli (Talpa/Simone), Matthew DiBattista (Tinca/Gherardo), Meryl Dominguez (Nella/Sister Genevieve); Creative: Allen Moyer (Scenic Designer), Bruno Schwengl (Costume Designer), Marcus Doshi (Lighting Designer), Richard Bado (Chorus Director), Karen Reeves (Children’s Chorus Director) - January 23–February 8, 2026
Puts & Campbell: Silent Night
Director: James Robinson; Conductor: Kensho Watanabe
Cast: Duke Kim (Nikolaus Sprink), Sylvia D’Eramo (Anna Sørensen), Ryan McKinny (Lieutenant Horstmayer), Iurii Samoilov (Lieutenant Audebert), Thomas Glass (Lieutenant Gordon)
Creative: Mimi Lien (Scenic Designer), Catherine Zuber (Costume Designer), Lap Chi Chu (Lighting Designer), Andrew Harper (Sound Designer), Richard Bado (Chorus Director) - January 30–February 15, 2026
Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel
Director: Antony McDonald; Conductor: Andreas Ottensamer (William Long: Feb. 12, 14); Cast: Sasha Cooke (Hansel), Mané Galoyan (Gretel), Jamie Barton (The Witch), Alexandra Loutsion (Gertrude), Reginald Smith, Jr. (Peter); Creative: Antony McDonald (Scenic/Costume Designer), Lucy Carter (Lighting Designer), Lucy Burge (Choreographer), Karen Reeves (Children’s Chorus Director) - March 13 & 15, 2026
Floyd: Of Mice and Men
(presented in the Wortham’s intimate Cullen Theater)
Director: Kristine McIntyre; Conductor: Benjamin Manis
Cast: Demetrious Sampson, Jr. (Lennie Small), Sam Dhobhany (George Milton), Alissa Goretsky (Curley’s Wife), Shawn Roth (Curley), Ziniu Zhao (Candy), Geonho Lee (Slim); Creative: Luke Cantarella (Scenic/Projections Designer), Kara Harmon (Costume Designer), Kate Ashton (Lighting Designer) - April 17–May 3, 2026
Handel (arr. Mozart): Messiah
Director: Robert Wilson; Conductor: Patrick Summers; Cast: Ying Fang (Soprano), Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (Countertenor), Ben Bliss (Tenor), Nicholas Newton (Bass-Baritone); Creative: Robert Wilson (Set/Lighting Designer), Nicola Panzer (Co-Director), Stephanie Engeln (Co-Set Designer), Carlos Soto (Costume Designer), Marcello Lumaca (Co-Lighting Designer), Tomek Jeziorski (Video Designer), Richard Bado (Chorus Director) - April 24–May 10, 2026
Rossini: The Barber of Seville
Director: Joan Font; Conductor: Gemma New; Cast: Will Liverman (Figaro), Daniela Mack (Rosina), Jack Swanson (Count Almaviva), Alessandro Corbelli (Dr. Bartolo), Luca Pisaroni (Don Basilio), Alissa Goretsky (Berta); Creative: Joan Guillén (Set/Costume Designer), Albert Faura (Original Lighting Designer), Michael James Clark (Revival Lighting Designer), Xevi Dorca (Choreographer), Richard Bado (Chorus Director)
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Houston Grand Opera: hgo.org
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