Sunday, February 8, 2009

HGO Rocked the City!



Thank you for making CityCast such a resounding success! We invite you to post your favorite moments from the evening HERE in the comments section.

Stay tuned for more details on the next simulcast of ... The Elixir of Love!
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2009 at 10:23 PM

    This was such an exciting event, on a perfect night on Discovery Green. I was bummed that I couldn't log on to the wifi and so was thwarted from tweeting, blogging, or photo-ing. Ah, well. Next time I'll be ready!

    I saw the production indoors at the Wortham last Sunday, and heard about the CityCast via Facebook. I absolutely wanted to see it again, and wouldn't have missed it. The backstage commentary was of surprisingly high quality. The host from TV13 was clearly an opera novice (making her accessible, friendly, and like "most people"), and she was curious, smart, and clearly enjoying herself. I thoroughly enjoyed the insider info from Messrs. Freud, Summers, and Bado, which really added a lot to the understanding and enjoyment of the show. Possibly even more than the printed program notes.

    The civic importance of an event like this is HUGE. Maybe I'm just corny -- but it was a thrill to know that people were gathered all over the city, at Discovery Green and in schools, to hear fine music and to celebrate the amazing talent that is all around us in such abundance in Houston. I felt so proud to be part of such a great city!

    My partner, not generally an opera fan, was completely wrapped up in the show, and pronounced it "great." He had a fantastic experience, and said he wished there would be a DVD of the program. How about it?

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 8, 2009 at 11:35 PM

    An amazing, inspiring performance last night.

    The performance by HGO Chorus was breathtaking and the simulcast production did it justice. I had a great time at Discovery Green watching the performance outdoors.

    It is truly a tribute to the HGO and the City of Houston to be able to make this performance available to everyone. I hope that there will be a DVD made of the performance and/or that it will be shown on PBS. I am proud that HGO,Citycast and the City of Houston put this on.

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2009 at 10:11 AM

    I like so many opera choruses that when I heard that several would be performed by HGO of course I wanted to hear them. Little did I know what an imaginative and magical show I was to see. And not just that - the performance was powerful, entertaining, spectacular; the biggest surprise to me was that the individual "numbers" were linked together to tell a story, or to be more exact, to send a message. A simple and a surprising message given our prevailing "culture".

    At least as I understood it, the performance was telling me that meaningful life is not about fame, wealth, power but it is about simple things in life lived well. The performance overall was flawless, but the finale deserves particular mention. I must have heard "Va pensiero" a hundred times before, but never had I heard it sung with the sensitivity and meaning as in CHORUS! It is very rare for a work of art to have such an emotional impact on me, but this one brought tears to my eyes. This, followed by "You'll never walk alone" and then by "Make our garden grow," made the meaning of CHORUS! very clear.

    CHORUS! was clearly thought through to the last detail, including the encore. After the chorus and the audience sang America, America together I expect that everyone except the most committed and hardened skeptics and pessimists amongst us left the auditorium very happy!

    Karel Petrak

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