Thursday 30 November 2017

Today : world première of 'The House Without A Christmas Tree' by Ricky Ian Gordon in Houston (TX)


Today, the Houston Grand Opera presents the world première of The House Without A Christmas Tree, composed by Ricky Ian Gordon, with a libretto by Royce Vavrek based on the original story by Gail Rock.


It is the composer's fifth opera after The Grapes of Wrath (Minneapolis, February 10, 2007), Morning Star (Cincinnati, June 2013), A Coffin in Egypt (Houston, March 14, 2014) and 27 (St. Louis, June 14, 2014).
Addie Mills is smart and energetic, just like the mother she never knew. Addie has no idea why her father resents the holidays so intensely, refusing even to allow a Christmas tree in the house. But when she brings home a tree she won in a school contest, it paves the way for a miracle of sorts — her father’s broken soul is transformed. (reproduced from the Houston Grand Opera website)
The cast includes soprano Lauren Snouffer (Addie Mills), baritone Daniel Belcher (James Addison Mills III 'Dad'), soprano Patricia Schuman (Grandma Mills), soprano Heidi Stober (Miss Thompson / Helen Mills / Adelaide Mills), mezzo soprano Megan Mikailovna Samarin (Carla Mae), soprano Elisabeth Leone (Gloria Cott) and tenor Maximilian Macias (Billy Wild). Bradley Moore conducts the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Juvenile Chorus. James Robinson directs.

The performance should last about 80 minutes. The venue is the Resilience Theater, in the George R. Brown Convention Center.

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