parties

With Stirring Slave-Experience Opera Premiere and Southern-Style Dinner After, HGO Opens Season

With Stirring Slave-Experience Opera Premiere and Southern-Style Dinner After, HGO Opens Season

Myrtle Jones, Khori Dastoor and Sara Morgan

WHILE IT'S ALWAYS a special night, this year’s Opening Night for Houston Grand Opera was unique. It for the first time featured a brand-new world-premiere production.

Usually a spectacle of lavish music and opulent celebration, Opening Night this year provided the backdrop for the first performance of Intelligence, a stirring opera based on the true story of an American slave woman who became a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War. Composer Jake Heggie, librettist Gene Scheer, and director-choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar were all on hand, and they took the stage to take their bows with the splendid cast after the show; mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton starred in the leading role.

Cast and creators — also including the Urban Bush Women, whose modern dance entranced the crowd during the performance — mingled with guests at the post-performance black-tie dinner staged in a great magnolias-laden tent on the Wortham Fish Plaza outside, the flowers nodding to the Southern theme.

The Southern food on offer won almost as many raves as the show! “An inspired menu … selected by event co-chairs Myrtle Jones and Sara Morgan, included fried quail with cream gravy, wilted chard, buttermilk biscuits, pickled okra and Morgan’s own family spoonbread recipe,” gushed a rep for the opera company. “Traditional peach crisp and pecan praline parting gifts for guests proved a sweet ending to the night.”

Some $720,000 was raised, with some 500 guests reveling in the successful, historic evening. Boldface names spotted around the Wortham included HGO honchos Khori Dastoor and Patrick Summers, Len Cannon, Isabel and Danny David, Margaret Alkek Williams, Allyson Pritchett, Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg, Janet Gurwitch and Ron Franklin, Daniel Irion and Kirk Kveton, Brigitt Kalai, Carey Kirkpatrick, Beth Madison, Andrew Pappas and C.J. Martin, Betty and Jess Tutor, Bobbie Nau, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Molly and Jim Crownover and Andrea White.


Irene Mavrianos, Dr. Nishi Mehdiratta

C.C. and Duke Ensell

Allyson Pritchett, Theodore Pritchett

Cece Fowler, Masoud Ledjevardian

Heather Hughes, Marshall Campbell

Carl Palazzolo and Franci Neely

Pedro Salazar, Tania Kane, Josh Merwin, Tamar Mendelssohn, Denise Reyes, Matt Healey

Chris Hollins, Emily and David Sheeran

Vanessa Gilmore, Kendra Mhoon

Jess and Betty Tutor

Norma and Beto Cardenas

Parties
promoted

Elevate Dining in and out this Summer with Steam Cooking

Elevate Dining in and out this Summer with Steam Cooking

MAKE THE MOST of every delicious bite this summer with the benefits of steam cooking. Whether you’re reviving leftovers from Houston’s hottest foodie hangout or hosting memorable gatherings at home, integrating steam into your cooking repertoire can take your food to the next level.

Keep Reading Show less
promoted

Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

John Kuykendall, Showroom Manager, Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove

How did you get to where you are today? Growing up I had envisioned myself as a news anchor, living in NY and enthusiastically saying into the camera “Good Morning America!”. To this day, I am still a news/political junkie. My mother owned fur salons so specialty retail, luxury retail was in my blood through the family business. Eventually, mom shuttered the stores and I was recruited to a large specialty retailer. Over the next 30 years, I was in commissioned sales on the sales floor, became a department manager, worked my way up to buyer and store manager. Although I never became a newscaster, I did live in NYC for a few years. But Texas is home and with aging grandparents, I felt the pull to come back to my roots. A headhunter approached me. I never envisioned myself in the high-end appliance market, but there are so many similarities. Clients want a memorable experience; whether shopping for diamonds and fur or remodeling their kitchen.

Keep Reading Show less
promoted

Leadership in Action: CEO Theresa Roemer Credits Mother, Mentors and Mindset for Accomplishments

How did you get to where you are today? My journey to where I am today is built on a foundation of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Every step along the way, I faced obstacles, but I approached each one with determination and a “never give up” mindset. Instead of being discouraged by challenges, I used them as opportunities to grow and improve. Consistency was key—I committed to showing up and giving my best effort every day. I also learned not to take “no” as a final answer. Instead, I saw it as a chance to push harder, adapt, and find another way forward. It’s this combination of persistence, resilience, and unwavering focus that has brought me to where I am today.

Keep Reading Show less