Photo Courtesy of Houston Grand OperaEvents
Houston Grand Opera to Open Season with the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess on Oct. 24
On Oct. 24, 2025, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) will open Porgy and Bess, the Gershwins’ historic masterpiece, in a celebrated production from director Francesca Zambello starring leading bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as Porgy and sought-after soprano Angel Blue as Bess. To accommodate high demand for tickets, the opera will be presented in a special nine-show run, with internationally acclaimed conductor James Gaffigan conducting the first six performances, and HGO Chorus Director Richard Bado at the podium for the final three.
Porgy and Bess has enduring significance to HGO. In 1976, the company presented the opera in a landmark production that restored the work to its creators’ full original vision and went on to Broadway, earning HGO both a Grammy and a Tony. This season’s presentation of the opera celebrates the 50th anniversary of that defining production in HGO’s history.
Set in the Jim Crow South, in the fictional Charleston slum of Catfish Row, the opera shares the story of Porgy, a disabled beggar, and Bess, a woman struggling with addiction, who fall in love. With a moving score that seamlessly blends jazz, spirituals, blues, and classical music into timeless numbers like “Summertime” and “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” Porgy and Bess offers an unforgettable portrayal of resilience, community, love, and hope against all odds.
The Nov. 7 Porgy and Bess is an Under 40 Friday performance, part of an HGO initiative to welcome the next generation of opera lovers with $40 Orchestra-level seats, available to audience members younger than 40 after successful age verification. The Nov. 9 matinee show will feature a special reception for members of Overture, HGO’s LGBTQIA+ social group.
The opera runs three hours, including one intermission. It is sung in English with projected English text.
The production features a cast of industry-leading artists, including bass-baritone Michael Sumuel as Porgy; soprano Angel Blue as Bess; soprano, native Houstonian, and MacArthur High School alumna Latonia Moore in her HGO mainstage debut as Serena; baritone Blake Denson as Crown; and tenor Demetrious Sampson, Jr. as Sportin’ Life; with baritone Donnie Ray Albert, who performed the role of Porgy in HGO’s historic 1976 production, returning as Lawyer Frazier. Francesca Zambello directs, with James Gaffigan and Richard Bado each conducting performances of the opera.
Dates:
Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, at 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, at 2 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. – Under 40 Friday
Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025 at 2 p.m. – Overture
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. – Richard Bado conducting
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. – Richard Bado conducting
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. – Richard Bado conducting
Location:
Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Ave.
Tickets range from $25 to $210. For more information and to buy tickets, visit HGO.org or call the Box Office at 713-228-6737. Students with a valid student ID may purchase $25 tickets one month prior to the opening of every performance; see HGO.org/tickets.
Source: Houston Grand Opera
