Houston Grand Opera 2017–18 Season Report

HGO 2017–18 SE ASO N R EP O R T

HG O. org

17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

TAB LE OF CO NTENTS Introduction: A Season of Resilience........................................................................................3 Mainstage Highlights...................................................................................................................4 Resilience by the Numbers.........................................................................................................6 HGOco Highlights..........................................................................................................................7 HGOco by the Numbers...............................................................................................................8 Song of Houston........................................................................................................................ 10 NEXUS Affordibility Initiative.....................................................................................................11 Seeking the Human Spirit..........................................................................................................12 HGO Studio Highlights...............................................................................................................14 Special Events and Fundraising Highlights...........................................................................15 Harvey Heroes.............................................................................................................................16

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T HANK YO U “The unspoken story [of HGO’s La traviata] is what happened behind the scenes at Houston Grand Opera after Harvey destroyed their theater in August leaving them stageless…their need to make art was even greater than ever. Opening night was emotional with voices powerful and grateful...A tragic opera that ends in triumph.”

NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt Opening night performance of La traviata

17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

I NT RODUCTI ON: A S E A S ON O F R ESI LI ENCE

What an incredible season you made possible! Houston has never needed beautiful music like we did after Hurricane Harvey, and you delivered like never before. You were here for us so that we could be here for our city.

You’ve given us so much to celebrate!

When the Wortham Theater Center was flooded, we built the HGO Resilience Theater at the George R. Brown Convention Center in under two weeks. Thanks to you, HGO’s historic 63rd season was filled with romance, hilarity, powerful stories, and some of the

most beautiful music in history performed by some of the greatest stars working in opera today.

Thanks to your generous support, we engaged the community with innovative programs like opera residencies in schools and launched Seeking the Human Spirit— an ambitious six-year initiative that seeks to explore the role of art in our daily lives.

Your resilience made this one of the most incredible seasons in HGO’s history, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.

Thank you!

“Tonight summarizes the great spirit of this city, the can-do city: that when we put our minds together and when we work as a unit, we can make almost anything happen.”

Mayor Sylvester Turner Opening Night performance of La traviata

In spite of the challenges of Harvey, HGO opened the 2017–18 as scheduled at the HGO Resilience Theater.

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17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

M A I N S TAG E HI G HLI G HTS Despite a change in venue brought on by Hurricane Harvey, 61,829 Houstonians attended HGO’s dazzling 2017–18 mainstage season. Our temporary home at the George R. Brown Convention Center—the aptly named HGO Resilience Theater—was filled with the sounds of beautiful music all season long.

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1. Verdi

2. Handel

“The performance of La traviata, led by the glorious voice of soprano Albina Shagimuratova in the lead role of Violetta, had the sellout audience giving standing ovations not only to the orchestra and cast, but also to the HGO leadership that accomplished this spectacular feat.”

“Redesigned and adapted for GRB’s spacious exhibition hall, HGO’s Julius Caesar is thoroughly wow-inducing...

Agile and athletic, Costanzo fills the Resilience Theater with a commanding Caesar, able to blaze through Handel’s fiendish coloratura with breath to spare, then quieting the house with subdued ardor when wooing his Cleopatra.”

LA TRAVIATA

—PaperCity Magazine

JULIUS CAESAR

—Houston Press

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3. Ricky Ian Gordon | Royce Vavrek

THE HOUSE WITHOUT A CHRISTMAS TREE “HGO offers a charming, familyfriendly piece, in an alternative performance space, that manages to be heartwarming without being sappy.”

—Wall Street Journal

17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

4. R. Strauss

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ELEKTRA “HGO constructs an Elektra of epic proportions…Christine Goerke has scaled the peak of Elektra and confidently planted her flag at the summit.”

—Houston Chronicle

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6. Bernstein

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WEST SIDE STORY “HGO’s production of West Side Story at times transcends the stage and achieves something pretty close to sublime...These are the moments opera-goers keep coming back for, when it all—music, drama, sets, costumes—unites to transport the audience and make the performance come alive.”

—Houston Chronicle

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5. Rossini

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE “It’s funny, timeless, and classic,” “An amazing production,” “The intimate scale makes it funnier than any Barber I’ve ever seen.”

—Audience Reactions

7. Bellini

8. José ‘Pepe’ Martínez | Leonard Foglia

“When Norma’s emotions erupted, her outbursts rang out with a wallop that eclipsed the formidable power Monastyrska brought to HGO’s 2013 staging of Verdi’s Aida...

In the scenes rooted in Adalgisa and Norma’s tenderness, Barton and Monastyrska brought Bellini’s music a warmth and coziness that radiated throughout the theater.”

“At once uplifting and heartbreaking…With Mariachi Los Camperos joyfully holding the foundation, a forceful cast of singers propel the story forward…Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte has a robust voice suited to her passionate character…baritone Octavio Moreno warmed the Resilience Theater with an amber timbre and seamless technical agility.”

—Texas Classical Review

—Houstonia

NORMA

CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA

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17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

R E S I LI E NC E BY THE NUM BER S Building a 1,700 seat theater inside a 124,000 square foot hall inside the George R. Brown Convention Center in less than two weeks was a monumental task, and these numbers never would have added up without you.

Mainstage Performances

47

Total Attendees

61,829

Sold Out Performances

9

Stagehands building the HGO Resilience Theater

Hours spent building the HGO Resilience Theater

Square feet of black drape in the HGO Resilience Theater

60

3,000

50,000

Incandescent Fixtures Installed

Dimmers Installed

Moving Lights

500

Miles of Cable

5

444

Seat Cushions

1,700

50

Number of Performances Cancelled or Postponed

0

17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

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HG O c o HI G HLI G HTS Since it was launched in 2007, HGOco, the company’s arts education and community collaboration initiative, has reached over 1.4 million people through artistic programs and performances. With school districts’ resources stretched by Hurricane Harvey, HGOco’s educational programs became more important than ever this season.

“When I first heard we were going to do opera, I was thinking, we’re going to be singing something we don’t know? But when they came, it was awesome. We got to make our own words, use our own beat, and our own melody. I got to make songs my own way, and they really helped me. And now I think opera is what I want to do when I grow up.”

Students at Missouri City Middle School participatng in an Opera Immersion Residency program

Jayla, 6th grader Opera Immersion Residency at Missouri City Middle School

Kamala Sankaram and David Johnston’s Monkey & Francine in the City of Tigers.

Artists from Kamala Sankaram and David Johnston’s Monkey & Francine in the City of Tigers interacting with the audience after a performance.

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17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

H G O co BY THE NUMBER S In the days following Hurricane Harvey, the staff of HGOco reached out to community groups and evacuee shelters, offering comfort and entertainment in the form of Storybook Opera. When we learned of the financial and logistical issues that local schools were facing, we decided to offer our student programs to schools and community centers on a “pay what you can” basis this season. Within days of announcing the “pay what you can” initiative, our Opera to Go! season was completely booked for the year.

Opera To Go!.............................................

Number of People Reached

52,200

Storybook Opera.............................................

by HGOco Student Programs

61,962

6,150

Opera Immersion Residencies.........................

Student Performances.................................

300

3,206

Opera Camp...........................................................

Number of HGOco

106

Opera To Go!...........................................................

174

Performances

344

Storybook Opera.....................................................

123

Free / “Pay what you can” Performances............

47

“Thanks for making this so enjoyable, fun, creative, educational, and life-giving to our students! Their horizons were broadened and appetites whetted to seek new experiences in opera and mariachi!”

Jane McKinney, choir teacher at Marshall Middle School

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Percentage of Bauer Family High School Voice Studio accepted to institutions of higher learning

Number of campers at HGO Opera Camps

Number of classically trained artists performing in monkey costumes for the new Opera to Go! production of Monkey & Francine in the City of Tigers

100

95

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DE MO GRAPH I C According to school-reported data, the students reached by HGOco’s student programs reflect the diversity of Harris County:

45.4%

30.9%

Hispanic / Latino

Caucasian / Non-Hispanic White

18.5%

4.4%

African American

Asian / Pacific Islander

0.5%

0.4%

Two or More Races / Other

Native American

Bauer Family High School Voice Studio ember Alina Dong and classmates present a check to HGO from the benefit concert they organized and hosted, raising over $4,000.

Students from Marshall Middle School perform with Mariachi Los Camperos as guests enter opening night of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna.

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17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

HG O co : SO NG OF HOUSTON Song of Houston is HGOco’s flagship program for telling the unique stories of those who call this great city home. Each chamber opera and song project commissioned resonates with contemporary life in Houston and develops community projects that foster collaborations with many Houston-area organizations.

S TA R-CRO S S ’ D Star-cross’d is the newest innovation for Song of Houston; creating new operatic works based on contemporary true stories that relate to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

HGOco, composer Avner Dorman, and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann collect stories from diverse Houstonians and turn them into original short operas that are filmed for an online audience. The first episode, “Boundless,” was released on April 20, 2018.

G LO RY D EN I E D

A behind-the-scenes shot from the filming of HGOco’s premiere web series Star-Cross’d, based on the true story

by Aryana Rose.

November 6–November 9, 2017—Over 400 people experienced Tom Cipullo’s powerful chamber opera Glory Denied in the Hangar Building at Houston’s 1940 Air Terminal Museum.

V E T ERA N S S O N G B OOK November 11, 2017 (Veterans Day)—HGO hosted a free Veterans Songbook Concert at Christ Church Cathedral for an audience of 150 people. This concert featured songs, poetry, and stories created by participants in the Veterans Songbook program.

HGOco’s Glory Denied—the story of Jim Thompson, America’s longest-held prisoner of war portrayed by Ben Edquist.

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N EX U S A FFO RDABI LIT Y I NITI ATI V E Nothing unifies and comforts a community like world-class art, and after Hurricane Harvey, it was essential that we work even harder to make opera available to everyone.The NEXUS Initiative for Affordability was launched in 2007 to remove the barrier of cost to Houstonians seeking access to world-class performing arts experiences. Thanks to your generous support, the NEXUS Initiative has provided 275,000 people with deeply discounted tickets and free community performances since its launch in 2007.

“Our students absolutely loved Over 8,800 families, young people, and community members enjoyed free public performances of The Elixir of Love at Miller Outdoor Theatre and Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion in May 2017.

The Student Performance Series brought 3,206 students to the HGO Resilience Theater Center for special performances of La traviata and The House without a Christmas Tree. The “Pay Your Age” program was instituted in the 2017–18 season to make opera more accessible to young people.

HGO sold 1,682 NEXUS-priced tickets in the 2017–18 season.

this experience! For most of them it was their very first opera and they weren’t sure what to expect, but they were able to understand the story, relate to the characters, and tie it back to the classroom.”

Jessica Bautista Herrera Elementary, teacher

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17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

S E E K I NG THE HUM AN SP I R IT

A Y EA R OF SACRIFICE In the 2017–18 Season, HGO launched Seeking

to the entire HGO family of supporters, artists

the Human Spirit, an ambitious, six-year,

and staff for sacrificing so much to help us touch

company-wide initiative. Through mainstage

the lives of so many.

performances and collaborations with

Whether participating in the music therapy

community partners, we set out to explore the role of art in our daily lives. Each season of Seeking the Human Spirit is centered on a theme, and this year’s theme of sacrifice took on a greater meaning than we expected—far beyond what we see in the mainstage STHS operas: La traviata, The House without a Christmas Tree, and Norma.

program with our partners at Houston Methodist, experiencing the connections between visual and performing arts with special tours at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, or experiencing live opera for the first time while rebuilding their lives through our partnership with The Women’s Home—those who participated in the first year of Seeking the Human Spirit discovered

Hurricane Harvey may have damaged our home

new possibilities for seeking meaning through

and created obstacles to communicating about

our art form. We look forward to the second

the initiative with our audiences, but it also

year of the initiative, with mainstage works and

brought us closer together and provided new

deeper collaborations focused on the theme of

contexts for the theme of sacrifice. We’re grateful

transformation.

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“In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, as Houstonians from all backgrounds have banded together to help rebuild and recover, civic pride is high. We’re excited to partner with HGO in a meaningful service to our community while encouraging a hands-on collaboration that fosters citizenship and cultural awareness.”

Robin Owens Project Manager at Sacred Sites Quest

“The music touched our clients in a way that nothing else has touched them, many of them responding with tears and expressions of deep sorrow. One client remarked, ‘This is a dream come true’ and another said, ‘I couldn’t understand the words, but I knew exactly what she was saying.’

Thank you, Houston Grand Opera, for sharing the gift of music and the power it has to heal with the clients and staff of The Women’s Home.”

Anna Dragsbaek Chief Executive Officer of The Women’s Home

“This is a story all about sacrifice. It’s about love, too. [Violetta] made a sacrifice...she made a decision that only a strong woman can make.”

Albina Shagimuratova Violetta, La traviata

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17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

HG O S T UDI O HI G HLI G HTS Since it was founded in 1977, the HGO Studio has become one of the world’s most prestigious young artists training programs. Each year, hundreds of singers from across the globe audition for the HGO Studio and the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, which brings the best of young opera singers to Houston.

The Concert of Arias, the live finals of this competition, presents a night of budding talent, passion, drama, and anticipation. This year, viewers at home could participate online via Facebook livestream.

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551

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Number of roles performed by

Number of roles by HGO Studio

Awards and honors won by

HGO Studio artists and alumni

artists and alumni worldwide in

HGO Studio artists and alumni

on HGO’s mainstage season

2017–18

in 2017–18

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S P E C I AL EVENT AND F U N D R A I SI NG HI G HLI G HTS Thanks to our wonderful supporters we had so much to celebrate this year. HGO’s signature special events are highlights of Houston’s social calendar, where great artists and donors come together to make memories that last a lifetime. These events raised $2,259,000 to secure the future of opera in our community.

390

488

510

Opening Night Dinner

Concert of Arias

Opera Ball

Attendees

Attendees

Attendees

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17–18 ANNUAL REPORT

H A RV EY HER OES The adage “the show must go on” has been more meaningful this year than ever before. But HGO and our wonderful supporters did more than just persevere: we stood together and made a spectacular season that we will always remember. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being our Harvey Heroes and committing your generous support to help secure our future.

“No one could have imagined the scale of the damage at the Wortham. It was beyond belief. We were moved by the way the company kept business going, keeping the same wonderful performances and converting the space in the George R. Brown. It shows you what a great community this is...people reached out to care for each other...and we’re going to sustain HGO at the level we want it to be—as one of the best opera companies in the country.”

Allyn Risley, HGO Board Member

“I saw firsthand the spirit of Perryn and all the HGO staff as they rallied to make sure we had a season. I thank the Lord that Perryn was our man on the scene. His background makes him uniquely qualified to say, ‘Here’s how we’re going to handle this disaster.’ And he did it.”

Terrylin Neale, HGO Board Member

M A JOR G IF TS HGO received several major contributions to our Campaign for Hurricane Harvey Recovery from our generous corporate, government, and individual donors. Thanks to The Brown Foundation, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, The Powell Foundation, and many others for your dedication to preserving one of Houston’s most beloved cultural resources in a time of extraordinary need!

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Total amount raised * to offset losses caused

by Hurricane Harvey:

$ 11,209,534

and rising!

NE W FACES

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New Patrons and Trustees

“During this difficult post-Harvey season, we are so indebted to our partners in the community who rallied around us to provide venues and other assistance. Of course we are incredibly grateful to the corporate and foundation supporters and individual donors whose generosity enabled HGO to provide a season of artistic excellence that helped to keep our great city Houston Strong.”

Perryn Leech, HGO Managing Director Sarah and Ernest Butler Chair

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New Laureate Society members

15

New Corporate and Foundation Donors

3

New Board Members

2

New members of Senior Management

Lise Suino, Chief Financial Officer Dale Edwards, Director of Marketing and Communications

We’re proud to say that, thanks to the sacrifices of so many in the HGO family of supporters, stakeholders, and staff, we didn’t cancel or postpone a single performance.

Our 64th season will include 33 performances of six productions, including two free community performances. We will be celebrating our triumphant return to the Wortham Theater Center in the fall, and we can’t wait to welcome you home with beautiful music, timeless storytelling, and a renewed sense of purpose.

The entire HGO family went above and beyond for this incredible season, and we couldn’t have done it without you! *As of August 1, 2018

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T h an k Yo u .

The 2017–18 Season was an incredible success, and we couldn’t have done it without you.