For the first time in 20 years, Butler Studio artists at Houston Grand Opera will perform a full showcase opera. It’s a new production of the classic Of Mice and Men by famous American composer and librettist Carlisle Floyd based on the John Steinbeck novella of the same name.
The story set in the middle of the Great Depression is searingly told. Two migrant farm workers, Lennie and George, bounce from place to place, constantly having to move on because Lennie can’t stay out of trouble.
Although Steinbeck never specifies exactly what was wrong with Lennie, he describes him as a man with the mind of a child. Tellingly, Lennie is a man of immense strength that he doesn’t control very well.
The special two-performance production is part of international celebrations marking the centennial of the birth of the composer, librettist, and educator known as the Father of American Opera. Directed by Kristine McIntyre,the production will feature a cast comprised entirely of artists from the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio.
McIntyre, a freelance director based in Portland, Oregon, who often does modern works, is directing the HGO production, Later she will travel to co-producers Des Moines Metro Opera, Florida State University, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City to direct in each location.
Before McIntyre became a freelance director, she was a staff stage director at the Metropolitan Opera where she directed revivals. Prior to that she worked for the San Francisco Opera. “I knew Khori Dastoor [General Director and CEO of Houston Grand Opera since 2021] when she was at Opera San José.”
She does a lot of early to mid 20th century opera. “I’ve done 10 world premieres. I love doing anything new.
“In the mid 20th Century a lot of people were trying to find an American opera idiom and there was some experimentation of different kinds of things. Some of them wound up sounding a little more Broadway-ish if you will. Some of them were more modernis,” McIntyre said. “Carlisle found something very rooted in American folk traditions to some extent but that had a very American flavor to it.”
The result is something that is lyrical, not atonal and often cinematic in scope, she said.
The cast of artists currently training with HGO’s Butler Studio program includes: bass-baritone Sam Dhobhany as George; tenor Demetrious Sampson, Jr. as Lennie; soprano Alissa Goretsky as Curley’s Wife; tenor Shawn Roth as Curley; bass Ziniu Zhao as Candy; baritone Geonho Lee as Slim; tenor Michael McDermott as Carlson; and tenor Luka Tsevelidze as Ballad Singer. McIntyre directs, with Benjamin Manis conducting.
Floyd (1926-2021), who co-founded the Butler Studio—HGO’s training program for emerging artists—with then-General Director David Gockley in 1977, was long connected with Houston. He is best known for his operas Of Mice and Men and Susannah.
McIntyre explained why it is so important for the students to do a full scale opera.
“Doing scenes is a very different proposition than building characters over the course of an entire evening,” she said. “It helps them understand the nitty gritty of the process. They go on to do full roles at other places.” And yes, studio artists do go on stage in major HGO productions, but it’s in smaller parts. “In this show it’s all about them. In a very intimate piece. There’s no way to hide.”
“Students learn how to really be in a scene with another person,” she said. “They’re young professionals [like] doctors in a residency program. They’re just about to be fully launched. We’re sharpening skills. “
Twice a week, acting teachers from Alley Theatre come over to the opera production facility to work with them, she said. “It’s very theatrical. It’s calling on them for a level of acting that they may not be used to. It is very different than doing a Verdi opera. This requires a different kind of sensitivity to language and to dramatic beats, to physical characterization.”
And why should audiences buy tickets to see Of Mice and Men?
“These are a very interesting group of young professionals and you will see them do something like you haven’t seen them do before. This is them actually showing you the height of their artistry. Some of these kids will go on to have quite significant careers and you’ll have seen them in the first meaty role they’ve gotten to put together.
“The other thing is it’s just such a beautiful and well-crafted opera. And it’s great to be doing it in the Cullen which is the right size for the piece. It really is a chamber piece. You don’t want to put it on a big main stage.
“It celebrates the best of what American opera can be.”
The performances are scheduled for Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 15, at 2:30 p.m. at Wortham Theater Center, Cullen Theater, 501 Texas. Sung in English with projected English text. For more information, call 713-228-6737 or visit houstongrandopera.org. $25 to $152.50.