Company teaching artists to bring music, storytelling, and creative activities to community spaces citywide
HOUSTON—May 1, 2025—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce plans to present a series of free, family-friendly summer programs designed to engage and inspire young audiences. The company’s teaching artists will travel to community centers and public spaces throughout Houston, offering music, interactive storytelling, and enriching activities that introduce children to the magic of opera and the performing arts.
“Every child in Houston deserves the chance to experience the wonder of opera,” says HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “By bringing these programs into libraries, community centers, and public spaces, we’re removing barriers and creating joyful, welcoming experiences for families throughout the city. As a parent myself, I’ve seen firsthand how moments like these can light a spark in a child’s imagination. We cannot wait to share our art form with Houston families this summer.”
“We are excited to partner with Houston Grand Opera and bring this programming to The Woodlands Children's Museum and Woodlands Center,” says Ashley Gravois, Assistant Director of Arts Outreach for The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. “We are making strategic investments into programming for youth and families. Working with an organization like HGO increases access to high-quality and fun arts opportunities within the community.”
The company will be offering three types of programs as part of this initiative. Intended for grades Pre-K-5, Opera to Go! offers fully-staged, high-energy, 45-minute operas at the region’s schools, libraries, and community venues.
- This season’s production is Mo Willems’s Bite-Sized Operas!, a double feature of operatic works, both based on children’s books by bestselling, Emmy Award-winning author Mo Willems and featuring music by Grammy Award-nominated composer Carlos Simon. Slopera! shares the story of Piggie and Elephant, two best friends who learn to appreciate one another’s differences. Don’t Let the Pigeon Sing up Late!, starring The Pigeon and companions A Pigeon and Ima Pigeon, recounts The Pigeon’s losing battle against bedtime. The show will be presented in a bilingual English and Spanish edition.
Sing! Move! Play! (SMP), intended for grades Pre-K-2, celebrates opera’s greatest hits through action-packed workshops filled with singing, rhythmic movement, and creative play, while sharing music from classic operas. This summer’s featured music includes:
- Carmen, Bizet’s ever-popular opera
- Italian Favorites, opera’s greatest hits
- The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart’s timeless comedy masterpiece
Storybook Opera (SBO), intended for grades Pre-K-2, brings children’s books to life through song as HGO teaching artists present an engaging and enjoyable introduction to opera for students. This summer’s featured books include:
- The Armadillo’s Dream by HGO chorister Dennis Arrowsmith, about an armadillo with opera-star dreams (bilingual)
- Agua/Agüita and Fuego/Fueguito by Jorge Argueta, about water and the natural world (bilingual)
- Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon by Kat Zhang, about a student’s quest to make the perfect dragon
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a perennial favorite
- Maria's Magical Musical Adventure, about a young girl who travels through time to meet Vivaldi (bilingual)
- Opera Cat by Tess Weaver, about a cat and her opera-diva owner
- The Three Little Pigs, a classic fable
- Westward Ho, Carlotta! by Candace Fleming, about an opera singer who follows her dreams out West
HGO’s Summer Schedule: Free Programs for Children
Levy Park @ 11 a.m.
May 3: SBO/Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon
May 10: SBO/The Magic Flute
May 17: SBO/The Armadillo’s Dream (bilingual)
May 24: SMP/Italian Favorites
June 7: SBO/Opera Cat
June 14: SMP/Carmen
June 21: SBO/Westward Ho, Carlotta!
June 28: SMP/The Magic Flute
July 5: SBO/Agua, Agüita and Fuego, Fueguito (bilingual)
July 12: SMP/Italian Favorites
July 19: SBO/Goldilocks and the Three Bears
July 26: SMP/Carmen
Harris County Public Library System
June 10 @ 10:15 a.m.: Maud Marks Branch, SBO/The Three Little Pigs
June 11 @ 3 p.m.: La Porte Branch, SBO/Goldilocks and the Three Bears
June 12 @ 2 p.m.: Katherine Tyra Branch, SBO/Agua, Agüita and Fuego, Fueguito (bilingual)
June 17 @ 11 a.m.: North Channel Branch, SBO/Maria's Magical Musical Adventure (bilingual)
June 18 @ 11 a.m.: Aldine Branch, SBO/Maria's Magical Musical Adventure (bilingual)
July 7-11 @ 11 a.m. daily: Sing! Move! Play! Camp at North Channel Branch—a week of singing, dance, crafting, and more
July 10 @ 11 a.m.: Baldwin Boettcher Branch, SBO/Goldilocks and the Three Bears
July 11 @ 2 p.m.: Barbara Bush Branch, SBO/Agua, Agüita and Fuego, Fueguito (bilingual)
July 15 @ 11 a.m.: Aldine Branch, SBO/Three Little Pigs
July 21-25 @ 11 a.m. daily: Sing! Move! Play! Camp at Jacinto City Branch—a week of singing, dance, crafting, and more
July 21-25 @ 11:30 a.m. daily: Sing! Move! Play! Camp at Atascocita Branch—a week of singing, dance, crafting, and more
July 31 @ 2 p.m.: Stratford Branch, SBO/Opera Cat
The Woodlands Children’s Museum @ 11 a.m.
June 11: SBO/Goldilocks and the Three Bears
July 30: SBO/Westward Ho, Carlotta!
Woodlands Center
June 18 @ 10 a.m.: Opera to Go!/Mo Willems’s Bite-Sized Operas! (bilingual)
Emancipation Park Conservancy Cultural Center Building
June 25 @ 11a.m.: Opera to Go!/Mo Willems’s Bite-Sized Operas! (bilingual)
HGO gratefully acknowledges the supporters who have helped bring this programming to Houston: The Brown Foundation, Inc., ConocoPhillips, H-E-B, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, National Endowment for the Humanities, Powell Foundation, Shell USA, and The Wortham Foundation, Inc.
Storybook Opera has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
For more information, visit HGO.org/Community.
PHOTOS: Photos that can be used with coverage of HGO’s free summer programs for children can be found here. Credits included in photo names.
