Houston Grand Opera and Holocaust Museum Houston present “How Identity Ages,” Photo by Bill Cooper
In 2017 Houston Grand Opera (HGO) began a six-year initiative titled Seeking the Human Spirit, which is designed to highlight universal spiritual themes raised in opera. For the 2019-2020 season, HGO is focusing on themes around identity, and its productions include: Javier Martínez & Leonard Foglia’s El Milagro del Recuerdo / The Miracle of Remembering; Donizetti’s La favorite; Mozart’s The Magic Flute; and Handel’s biblical oratorio Saul. Saul will run from October 25-November 8, and through stories of Saul’s waning power explores issues relating to identity and aging and their effects on mental health.
In conjunction with the Holocaust Museum Houston (HMH), HGO will present a panel discussion, How Identity Ages, on the impact of aging on identity, personal agency, and mental health. The panel will take place on October 10 at 7pm at the Ethel and Albert Herstein Theater (5401 Caroline St., Houston, 77004). Panelists include Dr. Matthias Henze, Professor and Founding Director of the Program in Jewish Studies, Rice University; Dr. Robert Curt Peterson, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine; and Juanita Rasmus, co-pastor at St. John’s United Methodist Church in downtown Houston.
The panel will be co-moderated by Dr. Carleen Graham, Director of HGO, and the event is free, but registration is required and can be completed here.
