Welcome home: HGO returns to Wortham
Police officers on Prairie in downtown Houston looked unsure as they directed traffic, checking vehicles for valet passes or pointing party buses toward the south lanes. It’s been more than a year since the driveway in front of the Alice and George Brown Theater was open for business. Since Aug. 27, when Hurricane Harvey dumped 12 feet of water into the Wortham Theater Center’s basement and 270 million gallons into underground garages and tunnels, those spaces have been occupied by repair trucks and hard hats.
So the flood of tuxedos and glittering jewels bound for the Houston Grand Opera’s “Coming Home!” benefit concert and gala dinner on Wednesday was a welcome change. It’s rare to see 2,400 Houstonians dressed in black tie — on a midweek school night, no less — and rarer still for a name like Plácido Domingo, who opened the Wortham 31 years ago, to return in such grand fashion.
“I told my husband that I just have to see him sing live before I die,” Kristina Somerville said, blushing in her pink Zac Posen gown.
She wasn’t alone. Other patrons tapped on photographers’ shoulders to have their pictures taken before the big show. They posed proudly inside the crimson-wrapped lobby, which looked exactly as it did before.
Lynn Wyatt breezed past in a cloud of black lace and Art Deco diamonds on the arm of her son,
Steve Wyatt. They beelined for the elevators, which typically deliver priority subscribers upstairs to the Masterson Green Room. Instead, an attendant sheepishly told the Wyatts that the elevator and VIPs-only amenity were at capacity. That never happens.
Lynn was undeterred, and the Wyatts took the stairs. “It’s good to be back at the Wortham,” she said. Joanne King Herring, another grand dame, arrived with her son, too. Beau King dutifully listened as his mother recalled seeing Domingo perform the first time to a young Frances Moody.
Several concertgoers followed suit. Conversations about the famed Spanish tenor lingered long past the curtain chimes, and inside the theater, ushers were challenged with the near-impossible task of coaxing ticket-holders into their seats.
“My husband and I grabbed these seats at the very last minute, can you believe it?” one guest whispered from orchestra Section A, Row T. “At first, when it sold out, we were separated. But then these opened up this week.“
In the end, only managing director Perryn Leech and incoming HGO board chairwoman Janet Carrig succeeded in quieting the crowd.
“Honey, we’re home,” Leech said to thunderous applause.
“It’s been 521 days since we last performed here,” he continued before introducing council member Robert Gallegos, who declared Sept. 26 “Wortham Theater Center Day,” and Mayor
Sylvester Turner, who surprised the audience with a 30second cameo to complete the quickie ceremony.
Then the long-awaited performances began at last.
Domingo was joined onstage by HGO Studio alumna Ana
María Martinez. Artistic director Patrick Summers led the two part, two-and-a-half-hour production, complete with 18 songs, five encores and three gown changes by Martinez. Lifelong devotees squealed at opera classics such as the duet “Pura siccome un angelo” from “La Traviata,” and familiar renditions from “Carousel,” “My Fair Lady” and “West Side Story” resonated with next-gen fans.
A standing ovation rippled through the red-rose-filled auditorium when Domingo acknowledged Margaret Alkek Willams, chairwoman and presenting underwriter, whose efforts helped raise $1.5 million. He later dedicated Agustín Lara’s “Granada” to her.
Ushers struggled to block concertgoers from recording the final number, Consuelo Velazquez’s “Besame mucho,” on their cellphones. The entire assembly sang along; some even jumped to their feet.
Afterward, chaos resumed at the valet stand, where a reported 750 patrons awaited their vehicles, eager to depart for the Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston’s celebration supper. That’s where Mariachi Calmecac welcomed remarkably energized dinnergoers into the ballroom.
More applause and camera flashes announced Domingo and Martinez’s arrival just shy of 11 p.m.
“I made my debut in 1967,” Domingo said from a center podium. “In the audience was Ana María’s mother, when Ana María herself was only 7 years old.”
And so the evening proved a homecoming of sorts for the headliners, too. Festivities lasted until 1:30 a.m and concluded with final toast from Martinez.
“Tonight is a tribute to HGO,” she said. “To resilience, perseverance, and ultimately, faith.”