Houston Grand Opera

Houston Grand Opera


Houston Grand Opera (HGO) Houston Grand Opera (HGO) was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell. From its modest beginnings – HGO's inaugural season featured a mere two performances of two operas, Salome and Madame Butterfly HGO has grown into a company of international stature that presents six to eight productions per season.

HGO's mission is to contribute to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation by producing and performing world-class opera, and by creating a diverse, innovative, and balanced program of performances, events, and community and education projects that reach the widest possible public. Its core values are excellence, relevance and affordability. With an operating budget of $20 million in fiscal year 2011 (the 2010/11 season), HGO is a true cultural service provider to the greater Houston area and the Gulf Coast region, serving over 5 million people annually. One of the country's principal commissioners and producers of new works, HGO has introduced 43 world premieres and six American premieres since 1973. HGO has received a Tony Award, two Grammy Awards, and two Emmy Awards—the only opera company in the world to have won all three honors.

Read more about Houston Grand Opera:  Company Foundation, Artists Who Have Appeared At HGO, HGO Studio, HGOco, Guild, Touring, Broadcast and Surtitles, The Genevieve P. Demme Archives and Resource Center, Wortham Theater Center, Nexus Initiative

Famous quotes containing the words houston, grand and/or opera:

    “When your dreams tire, they go underground
    and out of kindness that’s where they stay.”
    —Libby Houston (b. 1941)

    “What do you do in the Grand Hotel? Eat, sleep, loaf around, flirt a little, dance a little. A hundred doors leading to one hall. No one knows anything about the person next to them. And when you leave, someone occupies your room, lies in your bed. That’s the end.”
    —William A. Drake (1900–1965)

    “I wish the opera was every night. It is, of all entertainments, the sweetest and most delightful. Some of the songs seemed to melt my very soul.”
    —Frances Burney (1752–1840)