Houston Ebony Opera will present a concert version of George and Ira Gershwin’s PORGY AND BESS at Miller Outdoor Theatre next weekend. The two FREE  performances will be held on August 29 -30, 2008 at 8 p.m. Miller Outdoor Theatre is located at 100 Concert Drive in Hermann Park near the Texas Medical Center.

Under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor Willie Anthony Waters, visiting and local artists will perform both perennial Gershwin favorites and some of the equally great but rarely heard selections from the opera. Performers include four soloists and a dynamic chorus of 42 men and women. A. Jan Taylor, Houston Ebony Opera’s recently named Artistic Director for Choral Activities, is responsible for choral preparation.

PARTICIPATING SOLOISTS

Soprano Geraldine McMillian and tenor Robert Mack, two critically acclaimed and nationally active singers, are in Houston to participate in this production. The third principal soloist is bass-baritone Dorceal Duckens, a long-standing Houston favorite.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For additional information, please call 713-335-3800.  In keeping with the Miller Theatre tradition, Houston Ebony Opera’s performances there are free to the public. However, for priority seating in the covered amphitheatre, tickets are required. They will be available at the Miller Theatre Box Office from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the day of each performance (August 29 and August 30).

Houston Ebony Opera’s concert presentation of The Gershwins’ PORGY AND BESS is funded in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board

For more comprehensive information, visit www.houstonebonyopera.org or inquire by e-mail at ebonymusic92@earthlink.net

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