Eastman Showcase 2008
The Refuge
Last November, Houston Grand Opera (HGO) presented The Refuge, an opera with music by Christopher Theofanidis (MM ‘92) and libretto by Leah Lax that brings together the stories of the many different immigrant populations in Houston. The Refuge also brought together many members of those different communities and performing groups in the city to create a remarkable multi-media presentation. In a long article about the opera, and about HGO’s commitment to community involvement in the September issue of Symphony magazine, Henry Fogel called The Refuge “a remarkable musical-dramatic work … astonishingly communicative and powerful. The Refuge goes beyond explicating the emotions and thoughts of these people. It amplifies them, gives them a resonance that only music can.”
You can hear video and music excerpts from The Refuge on the Houston Grand Opera website, and the entire opera was recently released on CD by Albany Records (TROY 1024-1025).