Songs for Murdered Sisters at Houston Grand Opera

On Friday, FEBRUARY 19, Houston Grand Opera will present the digital world premiere of Songs for Murdered Sisters. Five years ago, Joshua Hopkins's life changed forever when his sister Nathalie and two other women were murdered by her ex-boyfriend in a spree that is now considered one of the worst cases of domestic violence in Canadian history. In his grief, Hopkins conceived of this song cycle. Co-commissioned by Houston Grand Opera with Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra, with music by Jake Heggie set to poems by Margaret Atwood, this powerful new work is Hopkins's way of honoring his sister's memory and speaking out against domestic violence. The eight-song cycle follows the journey of a figure named the Wanderer as he grapples with the devastating aftermath of his sister's murder. The HGO Digital production will be directed by James Niebuhr.

Songs for Murdered Sisters will be available to stream for free on HGO Digital for one month following release.

Canadian baritone and HGO Studio alumnus Joshua Hopkins is known as one of the finest singer-actors of his generation. Having established himself as a prominent leading artist throughout the United States and Canada, Hopkins appears regularly at Houston Grand Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Washington National Opera, among many others, and has performed under the baton of renowned conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis, Matthew Halls, James Gaffigan, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Plácido Domingo, and Hans Graf.

Jake Heggie is an American composer of eight full-length operas and several one-act works. In addition, he has composed nearly 300 art songs and many concerto, chamber, choral, and orchestral pieces. Margaret Atwood, whose work has been published in over forty countries, is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays; she is perhaps best known as the author of bestselling novel The Handmaid's Tale. James Niebuhr is a Director and Director of Photography based in San Francisco, California.

DETAILS:
When: Friday, Feb. 19, 2021

7:30 p.m. CT

Where: Stream the recital for free on your computer, tablet, or smartphone by logging into HGO.org or marquee.tv.

Or stream the recital on your television by accessing the Marquee TV app using your Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or other device.

Tariff: Free