HOUSTON GRAND OPERA PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF ANDRE PREVIN'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER

HOUSTON—Houston Grand Opera closes the 2008–09 season with its 39^th world premiere, André Previn’s Brief Encounter, at the Wortham Theater Center’s Brown Theater, May 1 – May 8, 2009.

Brief Encounter is German-born American pianist, conductor and composer André Previn’s second opera. His first opera, A Streetcar Named Desire, which won the Grand Prix du Disques recording award, had its premiere in San Francisco in 1998 to much acclaim and continues to be performed internationally. The winner of four Academy Awards (Best original musical score: Gigi, Porgy and Bess, Irma la douce and My Fair Lady) and ten Grammy Awards, Mr. Previn has also received Lifetime Achievement Awards from Gramophone Magazine, the London Symphony Orchestra and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “André Previn is one of the great iconic musical figures of our time” says HGO General Director and CEO Anthony Freud. “He has transcended any genre of music that he has chosen to compose in; thus the opportunity to commission an opera from him is irresistibly exciting.”

Brief Encounter is an opera in two acts, based on the play Still Life and the screen play to the 1945 David Lean film Brief Encounter, both by Noël Coward. “It’s the film itself—a tale of doomed love—which I thought was so perfect and so beautifully written, directed and acted that it had to be an opera,” states Previn. John Caird, who holds two Tony Awards for his direction of Les Miserables and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, is both the librettist and director for Brief Encounter. “Noël Coward, as a writer, had a deeply empathetic understanding of relationships,” explains Caird. “In Brief Encounter, he has written a story of what it is like to fall in love in a completely unexpected way, out of the blue, not expecting it to happen and that makes the source very suitable for operatic adaptation.”

An honest and compassionate look at emotional infidelity, Brief Encounter stars soprano Elizabeth Futral and baritone Nathan Gunn as Laura and Alec, the couple torn between love and loyalty. Veteran baritone Kim Josephson sings the role of Laura’s bewildered husband. HGO Music Director Patrick Summers conducts. Bunny Christie is the set and costume designer and Paul Pyant is the lighting designer.

Brief Encounter will be performed in English with English supertitles.

Laura Jesson................................. Elizabeth Futral, soprano

Alec Harvey.................................. Nathan Gunn, baritone

Fred Jesson................................... Kim Josephson, bass baritone

Dolly Messiter............................... Rebekah Camm, soprano

Myrtle Bagot................................. Meredith Arwady, contralto*

Dr. Graves.................................... James J. Kee, baritone

Mary Norton................................. Jamie Barton, mezzo

Beryl............................................. Alicia Gianni, soprano

Mrs. Rolandson............................. Faith Sherman, mezzo

Stanley.......................................... Adam Cioffari, bass

Conductor..................................... Patrick Summers

Director..........................................John Caird

Set and Costume Designer............. Bunny Christie*

Lighting Designer........................... Paul Pyant

Houston Grand Opera Orchestra

* Houston Grand Opera debut

Related Events:

The Films of André Previn

March 29, 2009 Museum of Fine Arts Houston - Films

The Fortune Cookie - The first pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau occurs in this Billy Wilder comedy about a man who convinces his brother-in-law to fake an injury in order to win a lawsuit. André Previn composed the score to the Oscar-winning film (Matthau for Best Supporting Actor), and, like director Wilder, escaped persecution from Germany with his family as a young boy.

Please call 713-639-7300 for more information.

Sunday Jazz Series at Discovery Green Park

March 29, 2009 Discovery Green Park at 3:00 p.m.

HGO Studio Artists sing music of André Previn at the Sunday Jazz Series at Discovery Green 713-228-6737 for more information

Houston Grand Opera Movie in the Park (Discovery Green)

March 28, 2009 Discovery Green Park
As part of its salute to André Previn, HGO screens Gigi (1958), a film that takes place in a park – shown in a park. André Previn served as Music Director for this Oscar and Grammy award-winning film.

Taste This!

March 31, 2009 The Tasting Room in Uptown Park at 6:00 p.m.
HGO Studio Artists sing music from Academy Award winning movies associated with André Previn’s arranging and conducting. Movies featured include My Fair Lady, Porgy and Bess, and Gigi. $20 cover includes hors d’oeuvres. Doors open at 6 p.m. and seating is limited and on a first come first served basis. Reservations are available by calling the Tasting Room Events Line at 713-622-4477.

About the opera:

Brief Encounter is based on the play Still Life and the screenplay to the 1945 film Brief Encounter, both by Noël Coward. The André Previn opera was commissioned by Houston Grand Opera. The commission is supported by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. The production of Brief Encounter received funding from OPERA America's Opera Fund.

The Story:

In 1930s England, Laura Jesson takes the train to a nearby town once a week for shopping and a movie. By chance she meets Alec Harvey—who, like Laura, is married with two children—and over the course of their weekly town visits, the two fall in love. They continue to meet surreptitiously until they must finally decide between their growing passion for one another and fidelity to their marriages.

Ticket Information:

· Individual tickets for André Previn’s Brief Encounter are now on sale and start at $20 (inclusive of all city surcharges)

· General information and tickets are available at www.houstongrandopera.org or call 713-228-OPERA (6737) or 1-800-62-OPERA (800-626-7372) 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday, and from 12:00 p.m. until curtain time on days of Saturday and Sunday performances. Hours are subject to change.

· The Wortham Theater Center features wheelchair access to the theater, with a choice of seating locations and ticket prices. An infrared listening system, underwritten by Shell Lubricants, is available and free of charge at all performances. Disabled access and TDD: 713-228-OPERA (6737) or 1-800-62-OPERA (800-626-7372); Descriptive Services: 713-546-0675.

· The Wells Fargo Pre-Curtain Lecture Series takes place forty-five minutes before each performance. Guest speakers present a twenty-minute informal lecture in the orchestra level of the Brown Theater. These lectures, free and open to all ticket holders, are intended to enhance the audience’s enjoyment by preparing them for the opera they are about to attend.

Since its inception in 1955, Houston Grand Opera has swiftly grown from a small regional organization into an internationally renowned opera company. The company has a reputation for commissioning and producing new works, including 38 world premieres and six American premieres since 1973. In addition to producing and performing world-class opera, HGO contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a diverse, innovative and balanced program of performances, events, community and education projects that reaches the widest possible public. HGO has toured extensively, including trips to Europe and Asia, and it is the only opera company to have won a Tony, two Grammy awards, and two Emmy awards. HGO’s performances are broadcast nationally on the WFMT Radio Network, as well as internationally via the European Broadcasting Union, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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