Company launches its own label and will collaborate with LSO Live on new recordings of HGO performances
HOUSTON—May 14, 2025—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce a new partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), uniting the newly launched Houston Grand Opera label with pioneering label LSO Live. The partnership, which marks LSO Live’s first-ever collaboration with a U.S. opera company, represents an important opportunity for HGO to share American operatic works with a broad international audience.
“For decades, HGO has led the way in building the American repertoire through new commissions from the country’s finest composers,” says HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “We founded the new Houston Grand Opera label because we want more people to experience these incredible artworks, performed by the brilliant artists and musicians who grace our stage each season. With its award-winning label and rich legacy of inspiring global audiences, the London Symphony Orchestra is the ideal partner to help bring Houston’s operatic innovation to the world.”
“We are incredibly excited to partner with Houston Grand Opera on their new record label,” says LSO Live Director Becky Lees. “This collaboration represents a unique opportunity to bring the exceptional artistry and innovative productions of HGO to a global audience. LSO Live is committed to supporting arts organizations around the world in delivering high-quality content to music enthusiasts internationally, and this partnership aligns perfectly with our mission. We look forward to working closely with HGO to preserve and celebrate the rich tradition of opera for future generations.”
The first album in the new collaboration between Houston Grand Opera and LSO Live will be Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s critically acclaimed, HGO-commissioned work Intelligence. Inspired by the true story of two unlikely Union spies during the American Civil War—a Southern landowner and a woman enslaved by her family—the opera made its world premiere in 2023. Featuring the HGO Orchestra conducted by Kwamé Ryan and a star cast including Janai Brugger, J’Nai Bridges, Jamie Barton, and Michael Mayes, the album is set for release in August 2025.
Several additional albums are already planned. These include Florencia en el Amazonas, the beloved HGO-commissioned opera from 1996 by Daniel Catán and Marcela Fuentes-Berain, inspired by the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez. The recording was captured during the company’s 2019 revival starring soprano Ana María Martínez.
Also forthcoming is the first-ever recording of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s searing 2016 opera Breaking the Waves, captured during HGO’s spring 2025 regional premiere, as well as a Houston holiday favorite: El Milagro del Recuerdo, the HGO-commissioned mariachi opera by Javier Martínez and Leonard Foglia, recorded during its 2019 world premiere.
Florencia en el Amazonas and El Milagro del Recuerdo will be released via streaming and download platforms, while Intelligence and Breaking the Waves will be available in both physical and digital formats. Streaming will be offered via HGO and LSO’s partner platform, Apple Music Classical—Apple Music’s dedicated app for classical music fans—as well as major platforms including Amazon and Spotify.
HGO sought out a partnership with the LSO to fulfill the company’s ambitious vision of sharing its work with audiences around the world. LSO Live is a global leader in classical music recording and a natural partner in this effort, recognized with prestigious honors including Grammy Awards, Gramophone Awards, BBC Music Magazine Awards, Classical Brit Awards, and more.
Top image: Janai Brugger in Intelligence (Photo by Michael Bishop)