February 3, 2012
Joseph Palmore, left, and Broderick Jones, right: Photo by Melissa PhillipThe Ballad of Emmett Till brings its title character to vivid life as a real person — a bright, spirited youth going about his...
Soprano Andrea Carroll has won the 1st Place prize of $10,000 in Houston Grand Opera’s annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers. Carroll also was voted the Audience Choice Award with its $1,000 prize.
Carroll, 22, is a native of Bethesda, Md., now in her final year of undergraduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music.
Soprano Natalya Romaniw, 24, won 2nd Place ($5,000.) Born in Swansea, South Wales, she recently completed her opera studies at the Guildhall...
February 1, 2012
La Traviata is why opera was invented — and with famed Russian soprano Albina Shagimuratova making a notable role debut as its glamorous yet ill-fated protagonist, Houston Grand Opera’s current production is thoroughly satisfying.
The gilt-edged reputation of such a beloved masterpiece also is a double-edged sword. With such a great score and potent libretto, how could any production miss? Yet any rendition better do full justice to its music, its drama and the portrayal of its all-...
January 31, 2012
From top: Shatner, worldHe's enjoyed one of the most peculiar career resurrections in pop culture, and William Shatner has made a one-man show about it.
The small screen star brings his Shatner's...
January 29, 2012
Zoe/JuniperWhat’s real and what isn’t?
You can’t tell sometimes in Zoe | Juniper’s A Crack in Everything, which, in spite of its title, satisfies on many levels.
DiverseWorks is often at its best with...
January 25, 2012
The cast of Bring It On includes actual cheerleaders who do real-life routines on stage....
January 23, 2012
I ♥ HYPA was the theme at Saturday night's Houston Young People for the Arts fundraiser. Revelers donned mums and dressed as their favorite high school cliches in support of the city's art scene.
January 21, 2012
The knack for being funny can excuse a multitude of sins — on stage, that is. (Don’t try this defense in a court of law.)
That’s the main factor in favor of The Toxic Avenger, the crass yet usually amusing and sometimes hilarious rock musical based on the low-budget 1984 cult flick of the same title.
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January 20, 2012
The Houston Symphony’s “RachFest” has saved the best for last — as demonstrated by Thursday’s opening of the final program in the three-weekend celebration of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
With Kirill Gerstein bringing passion and expertise to the Piano Concerto No. 2, one of the most beloved works in all music history, with Hans Graf also conducting a vibrant reading of the Symphony No. 3, plus an ideal “curtain raiser,” this final program must be rated, all round, the most satisfying in the...
The Houston Symphony’s “RachFest” has saved the best for last — as demonstrated by Thursday’s opening of the final program in the three-weekend celebration of Sergei Rachmaninoff.
With Kirill Gerstein bringing passion and expertise to the Piano Concerto No. 2, one of the most beloved works in all music history, with Hans Graf also conducting a vibrant reading of the Symphony No. 3, plus an ideal “curtain raiser,” this final program must be rated, all round, the most satisfying in the...