Performer: Houston Grand Opera

Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton seemed to have a lot of fun taking up the role of Julia Child once again. 

The production is a disconcerting combination of cold metallic future and Neanderthal aesthetics – a startling pairing of humanity’s beginning and its end. 

Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka, moving between the worlds and rooted in myth, is a shivering opera to experience with its opulent music and its fantastical plot. 

This production proves that even Mozart’s best-laid plans can be undone.

As part of the season of Scrooges and Santas, it’s a refreshing reminder of sweet simplicity in a complicated world.  

With a contract at Berlin’s Komische Oper extended to 2030, conductor James Gaffigan is soon to take up the music directorship at Houston Grand Opera from 2027. We talk about how he does it all...

The American conductor will take on his first Music Director role at an American institution from the start of the 2027–28 season.