Houston Grand Opera
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The Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is a Houston, Texas-based opera company. It was founded in 1955. David Gockley was its longtime general director, serving 33 years from 1972 to 2005 before moving to the San Francisco Opera on January 1, 2006. Gockley was succeeded by Anthony Freud, the former head of Welsh National Opera.
HGO presents seven to ten productions per season in three repertory periods and it presents both the standard operatic repertoire as well as new works. Since 1973, Houston Grand Opera has presented 28 world and six American premieres. In 1976, HGO revived George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and helped secure its place in the American operatic repertoire. It was also the first opera company in America to present Scott Joplin's Treemonisha.
HGO's home base is the Wortham Theater Center, which opened in October 1987. The houses the 2363-seat Brown Theater and the 1065-seat Cullen Theater. It was built entirely with private funds. The Wortham's opening events included a new production of Verdi's Aida with Mirella Freni and Plácido Domingo; the world premiere of John Coolidge Adams's Nixon in China, directed by Peter Sellars; and an updated staging of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
The company tours regularly, having taken productions to Japan, Italy, Egypt, Scotland and France. HGO won a Tony (Porgy and Bess), two Grammys (Porgy and Bess, Nixon in China) and two Emmy awards (Nixon in China, Hitting the High Cs).
Patrick Summers is the present music director and conductor.
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