Tannhäuser & more at Houston Grand Opera in 2025!

Our friends at Houston Grand Opera are planning back-to-back performances of Wagner's Tannhäuser and Missy Mazzoli's Breaking the Waves on  Saturday evening, May 3 and Sunday afternoon, May 4, 2025.  HGO is  offering Wagner Society members the opportunity to buy tickets and  reserve hotel rooms at reduced prices until Monday, September 30.  You will have the opportunity to meet members of other Wagner  Societies  at special events such as a backstage look at both operas on  Saturday, May 3, and others yet to be announced.

Houston audiences will be the first to see the highly anticipated new staging of Tannhäuser by  WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello.  The powerhouse cast includes  tenor Russell Thomas in his role debut as Tannhäuser, soprano Tamara  Wilson as Elisabeth, mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as Venus, Baritone Luke  Sutliff as Wolfram von Eschenbach, and bass Alexandros Stavarkis in his  company debut as Landgraf Hermann.  Erik Nielsen,  music director of the  Bilbao Symphony Orchestra makes his company debut at the podium. Read more about the production here.

New Zealander Sara Brodie will conduct the Houston premiere of Breaking the Waves, the  critically acclaimed contemporary opera by composer Missy Mazzoli and  librettist Royce Vavrek.  Based on the film by Lars von Trier, it  explores the boundaries of love and social convention through the story  of young Bess, whose husband Jan survives a serious accident shortly  after their wedding.  Left paralyzed, he encourages Bess to seek  pleasure from other men.  The cast features soprano Lauren Snouffer as  Bess, and bass-baritone (and wonderful Wagnerian!) Ryan McKinny as Jan.  Both are Houston favorites  who launched high-flying careers after training with HGO's Butler  Studio. Read more about more about the production here.

To secure tickets at a 20% discount, please call Armando Urdiales, HGO Group Sales Coordinator, at (713) 980-8676 by Monday, September 30, 2024, and identify yourself as a member of the Wagner Society of Washington DC.  If there is no answer, please leave a voicemail with the best times to  call back.  You can also schedule a call using Armando's calendar  link:  https://calendly.com/aurdiales.

You can use this link to book rooms at the Lancaster Hotel, discounted for Wagner Society members from $500/night to $249, or this link to  book at the Houston Icon, discounted from $299/night to $269.  The  Lancaster is two blocks from the the performance venue at the Wortham  Theater Center; the Icon is six blocks away.

Details about the theater, including location, amenities, etc., may be found here.