SPECIAL EVENTS

Opera Vista (OV) and The Nova Arts Project (Nova), nonprofit performance organizations founded and based in Houston, are partnering to host The 2009 Opera Vista Festival from May 21-30, in the Wortham Theater Complex at the University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Rd, Bldg. 507.

Known for its contemporary (and often controversial) fully staged operas, the festival’s main attraction is the opera competition. Earlier this year, the OV Artistic Committee selected six composers as semifinalists for the competition. OV and Nova will perform staged excerpts from the competitors' operas, while the audience and a panel of judges vote for their favorite. The semifinalists are competing for cash prizes, as well as the chance to have their opera become the featured, full-length performance in next year’s festival.

The second annual festival will be marked by the 2009 Vista Competition, which incorporates operas that cover themes as diverse as love, myth, anorexia, and alien abduction. The festival will also feature performances of the two winning operas from the 2007 Vista Competition: Edalat Square by R. Timothy Brady and Soldier Songs by David T. Little. The Festival will also be marked by the introduction of Zephyr, Houston's newest chamber music ensemble. Zephyr will perform two concerts of chamber music, one hosted by the President/Artistic Director of Shanghai Opera and the other hosted by the French/Lebanese composer Bechara El-Khoury.

The 2009 Festival will be May 21-30 at the Wortham Theater Complex at the University of Houston.

Schedule of Events:

Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 8:00PM, Tickets: $25, general admission
Opening Night Edalat Square by R. Timothy Brady

Friday, May 22, 2009 at 8:00PM, Tickets: $25, general admission
2009 Vista Competition Semi-finals

Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 8:00PM, Tickets: $25, general admission
Soldier Songs by David T. Little

Sunday, May 24, 2009 at 2:00PM, Tickets: $15, general admission
Zephyr Concert hosted by Maestro Zhang Guoyong

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 8:00PM, Tickets: $15, general admission
Zephyr Concert hosted by Mr. Bechara El-Khoury

Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 8:00PM, Tickets: $25, general admission
Edalat Square by R. Timothy Brady

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 8:00PM, Tickets: $25, general admission
2009 Vista Competition Finals

Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 8:00PM, Tickets: $25, general admission
Soldier Songs by David T. Little and Awards Reception

and the results are in...  Opera Vista (OV) is proud to announce the semi-finalists for the second annual Opera Vista Competition. The following six semi-finalists and two alternates were selected for the Competition:

2009 semi-finalists:
El Fin de Narciso (The End of Narcissus), Music by Camilo Santostefano, Buenos Aries, Argentina

Gilgamesh, Music by Stephen Dickman, East Hampton, NY, USA and Libretto by Stephen Dickman and Maureen Gallery-Kovacks

Looking Back, Music and Libretto by Edward Ficklin, New York, NY, USA

Crossing the Horizon, Music by Chris Lastovicka, Philmont, NY, USA and Libretto by E.M. Lauricella

Anorexia Sacra, Music and Libretto by Linej Tjørnhøj, Hamburg, Germany 

The Sepulchre of Love, Music by Nicholas Vines, Cambridge, MA, USA and Libretto by Christopher Reisig and Patrick Blanchfield