OPERAVolume 55 Number 04 | Winter 2015 CUES Internet at the speed of whoa. XFINITY® Internet delivers the fastest and most reliable in-home WiFi for all rooms, all devices, all the time. To learn more call 866-620-9714 or visit comcast.com Restrictions apply. Not available in all areas. Features and programming vary depending on area and level of service. WiFi claims based on April and October 2013 study by Allion Test Labs, Inc. Actual speeds vary and are not guaranteed. Reliably fast speed based on February 2013 FCC Broadband Report. Call for restrictions and complete details. ©2014 Comcast. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. MADAME BUTTERFLY JANUARY 23, 25, 28, 31 FEBRUARY 6, 8 THE MAGIC FLUTE JANUARY 30 FEBRUARY 1, 4, 7, 14 PATRICK SUMMERS PERRYN LEECH ARTISTIC & MUSIC DIRECTOR MANAGING DIRECTOR Margaret Alkek Williams Chair ADVERTISE IN OPERA CUES Opera Cues is published by Houston Grand Opera Association; all rights reserved. Opera Cues is produced by Houston Grand Opera’s Communications Department, Judith Kurnick, director. Director of Publications Laura Chandler Art Direction / Production Pattima Singhalaka Contributors Brittany Duncan M. Owen Lee Perryn Leech Patrick Summers For information on all Houston Grand Opera productions and events, or for a complimentary season brochure, please call the Customer Care Center at 713-228-OPERA (6737). Houston Grand Opera is a member of OPERA America, Inc., and the Theater District Association, Inc. Find HGO online: HGO.org facebook.com / houstongrandopera twitter.com / hougrandopera instagram.com/hougrandopera Readers of Houston Grand Opera’s Mobile: HGO.org Opera Cues magazine are the most desirable prospects for an advertiser’s message. LOYAL: 51 percent of readers have been reading Opera Cues for more than three years. DEDICATED: 42 percent of readers read the magazine from cover to cover. EDUCATED: More than 90 percent are college-educated, and 57 percent hold graduate degrees. SOCIAL: 44 percent patronize downtown restaurants when they go to a performance at Houston Grand Opera. For more information on advertising in Opera Cues, call Matt Ross at 713-956-0908. 2 | Opera Cues Winter 2015 www.HGO.org CONTENTS THE PROGRAM DEPARTMENTS 38 PUCCINI: 6 Welcome from MADAME BUTTERFLY Patrick Summers and Perryn Leech 43 WHo’s WHo: Production Partners MADAME BUTTERFLY 12 24 News and Notes 48 MOZART: THE MAGIC FLUTE 66 HGO Studio 68 HGOco 53 WHo’s WHo: THE MAGIC FLUTE 70 Impresarios Circle 78 Special Events FEATURES 87 HGO Donors 25 SERVING THOSE WHO 97 Calendar HAVE SERVED Your HGO HGOco gives voice to 99 Houston veterans. 100 Out of Character: 28 DESTINED FOR Nicole Heaston IMMORTALITY Madame Butterfl y is a Cover designed by Pattima Singhalaka. perennial favorite for This page: a scene from Madame good reason. Butterfl y, Houston Grand Opera, 2010. Photo by Felix Sanchez. 33 THE MEANING OF IT ALL Unlocking the mysteries of The Magic Flute. 60 UNSUNG HEROES Zoltan Fabry is the backstage sultan of props. 64 TOP FLIGHT Papageno catches real, live birds in this Magic Flute. B:8.625” T:8.375” S:7.875” KEEPING ELITE PERFORMERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRACTICING MEDICINE AND LEADING IT. At Houston Methodist, we’re proud partners in helping artists achieve peak performance, week in and week out. We have decades of experience supporting the total health needs of performers from around the world — which is why the best artists rely on us not just to get them healthy, but to keep them that way. That’s the difference between practicing medicine and leading it. houstonmethodist.org B:11.125” S:10.375” T:10.875” Photograph of Laura Claycomb by Felix Sanchez courtesy of Houston Grand Opera. Sanchez Photograph of Laura Claycomb by Felix Job # 13MET0040D Description The Methodist Hospital Brand Print - Generic Arts Ad Last Modified 9-4-2013 1:47 PM User/Prev. User Noel Espiritu / Noel Espiritu Fonts Location Client Houston Methodist Hospital ECD Court Crandall Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk (Light; Type 1), Apex New WDCW | Noel Espiritu Bleed 8.625” x 11.125” CD N/A (Book; OpenType) Xerox Color 550 Trim 8.375” x 10.875” Art Director B. Salas Placed Graphics Inks Live 7.875” x 10.375” L Copy Writer J. Choe L1_Methodist_Leading_Medicine.ai (172KB; 76.79%), L1_ Cyan, Magenta, Opera3.tif (CMYK; 243 ppi; 20.3MB; 123.14%), L1_Opera1. Yellow, Black Gutter None ONNE Account Mgr B. Flaherty tif(CMYK; 225 ppi, 226 ppi; 20.3MB; 132.89%, 132.44%), S SETUP L1_Opera2.tif (CMYK; 265 ppi; 20.3MB; 112.88%) ER N. Espiritu CONTENT Print Scale None P Studio Artist Publication Opera Cues - Fall Traffic V. Palm Production V. Palm Round 5 / FINAL A Message from the Artistic & Music Director and the Managing Director Welcome to the Wortham Theater Center, where two of the most popular operas of all time await you this winter. If you’ve been looking for good “first-time operas” to bring family and friends to, you are in luck! We are thrilled to bring back the striking Michael Grandage production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly that made such a hit when it premiered at HGO in 2010—and equally thrilled to have soprano Ana María Martínez reprise her heartbreaking performance of the title role. We also welcome back tenor Alexey Dolgov as the American Navy lieutenant who abandons her and baritone Scott Hendricks—who, like Ana María, is an alum of the HGO Studio—as the American consul who tries in vain to protect her. Rising conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, who is renowned in this repertoire, Patrick Summers makes his HGO debut. We’ve mounted charming productions of Mozart’s The Magic Flute in the past, but we can’t wait for you to see this one, created by Sir Nicholas Hytner for English National Opera in 1988. The production became one of the most beloved in the ENO repertoire, delighting opera-goers of all ages. Houston residents David Portillo (in his HGO debut) and HGO Studio alumna Nicole Heaston sing the young lovers, Tamino and Pamina, and Kathryn Lewek makes her HGO debut in her signature role, the Queen of the Night. The distinguished Robert Spano—music director of both the Atlanta Symphony and the Aspen Music Festival and School—returns to conduct. At the end of December 2014, our comprehensive campaign, Inspiring Performance— The Campaign for Houston Grand Opera, came to a triumphant end, significantly Perryn Leech exceeding our original $165 million goal. You can find the final tally in a special thank- you on page 23. We are humbled by your tremendous support, which ensures that HGO audiences can continue to enjoy opera at the very highest standards. We are delighted you joined us and hope you enjoy the performance. Patrick Summers Perryn Leech Artistic and Music Director Managing Director Margaret Alkek Williams Chair ON OUR 6OTH ANNIVERSARY MARCH Star mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, an alumna of the HGO Studio, returns on March 19 for a gala celebrating our 60th anniversary. We’d love to have you join us! Find details at 19 HGO.org. 6 | Opera Cues Winter 2015 www.HGO.org April 1819. François Constantin takes responsibility for the worldwide business expansion of Vacheron Constantin. During a business trip to Italy, this visionary man coined the phrase which would become the company motto in a letter addressed to the manufacture: « …do better if possible, and that is always possible …». True to this motto and to the spirit that forged its history, Vacheron Constantin remains committed to pushing the boundaries of watchmaking in order to provide its clients with the highest standards of technology, aesthetics and fi nish. Patrimony Retrograde Day and Date Hallmark of Geneva, Pink gold case, Self-winding mechanical movement Ref. 86020 / 000R-9239 www.vacheron - constantin.com www.thehourlounge.com - www.vacheron OperaCues_VC13765_PatrimonyRetroDd1819.indd 1 12/4/14 9:49 AM Board of Directors 2014–15 John Mendelsohn Mrs. Robert J. Bruni Janet Langford Kelly Gloria M. Portela Chairman of the Board Chair, Special Events Committee Chairman, Houston Grand Opera David Powell Endowment, Inc. Lynn Wyatt Martha Carnes Vice Chair, Finance Committee Doug Lawler Vice Chairman of the Board Albert Chao Jack A. Roth Alfred W. Lasher III Beth Madison Neil Chapman Mark R. Spradling Senior Chairman of the Board Chair, Finance Committee Perryn Leech General Counsel and Secretary; Vice Chair, Audit Committee Glen A. Rosenbaum Donna Josey Chapman Richard A. Lydecker Jr. Chairman Emeritus Harlan C. Stai Mrs. Bobbie-Vee Cooney Frances Marzio Richard Agee Vice Chair, Studio and Training Patrick Summers Albert O. Cornelison Jr. Robin Angly Committee Ignacio Torras Vice Chair, Development James W. Crownover Brucie Moore John G. Turner Committee Dan Domeracki Sara Morgan Chair, Studio and Training John S. Arnoldy David Duthu Committee Chair, Governance Committee Terrylin G. Neale Larry Faulkner Senior Chairman, Houston Grand Margaret Alkek Williams Marcia Backus Chair, Development Committee Opera Endowment, Inc. Philip Bahr Steve Fulgham Franci Neely HONORARY DIRECTORS Shahzad Bashir Ellen R. Gritz Ward Pennebaker Samuel Ramey Astley Blair Chair, Marketing & Robert C. Hunter Frederica von Stade Chair, Audit Committee Communications Committee Pat Breen Cynthia Petrello Chair, HGOco Committee Houston Grand Opera Association Chairs 1955 – 58 1977 – 79 1997 – 99 Elva Lobit Searcy Bracewell Dennis R. Carlyle, M.D. Susan H. Carlyle, M.D. 1958 – 60 1979 – 81 Stanley W. Shipnes Robert Cizik 1999 – 2001 Archie W. Dunham 1960 – 62 1981 – 83 William W. Bland Terrylin G. Neale 2001 – 03 Harry C. Pinson 1962 – 64 1983 – 84 Thomas D. Anderson Barry Munitz 2003 – 04 James T. Hackett 1964 – 66 1984 – 85 Marshall F. Wells Jenard M. Gross 2004 – 07 John S. Arnoldy 1966 – 68 1985 – 87 John H.