Set Designer

There can be no more fitting way for HGO to celebrate the centennial of the birth of composer Carlisle Floyd—who founded the company’s Butler Studio program with then-General Director David Gockley in 1977—than a special staging of his evocative opera Of Mice and Men, performed by a cast of artists from the 2025-26 class of the Butler Studio. Based on John Steinbeck’s 1937 novella of the same name, the acclaimed 1970 opera will be presented by the Butler Studio in the Wortham’s intimate Cullen Theater.

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Of Mice and Men

Wortham Theater Center

The tale of a quick-witted fox and her escape from confinement for a life in the forest is by turns joyful, witty, romantic and tragic. The Cunning Little Vixen follows the cycle of death and rebirth through the instinctive and immediate world of nature—animal and human, which Janáček loved so dearly. In this celebrated score, singers and orchestra embody the sounds of the forest, the feel of sunshine on your face and the thrill of a starlit sky.

The Cunning Little Vixen

Simpson College

When Mona finds a mysterious suitcase filled with stolen masterpieces, she must grapple with a choice to save these priceless paintings or save her son—the thief. Burning the paintings would destroy the evidence of her son’s crime, but one of the paintings—Lucien Freud’s “Woman With Eyes Closed”—looks just like her own mother, a painter who died when Mona was still young. The uncanny resemblance unlocks long-buried memories that fuel the fires of three different possible endings.

Woman With Eyes Closed

Pittsburgh Opera

The mysterious Bluebeard welcomes his new bride Judith into his ominous castle, where rumors have been swirling concerning one question: what happened to his previous three wives? Shrouded in the secrecy of seven forbidden rooms, Judith desperately tries to uncover the terrifying secrets that Bluebeard had hoped to keep locked away forever. 

Bluebeard's Castle

Steinbeck’s timeless novella Of Mice and Men becomes a superbly crafted opera of great beauty and power. George and Lennie are two migrant ranch workers who dream of owning an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. But George cannot guard Lennie, a childlike giant of a man with a love for soft things, from the bullying of the ranch boss and his flirtatious yet unhappy young wife. Steinbeck’s timeless story—in the hands of the Dean of American Opera, Carlisle Floyd—becomes a superbly crafted opera of great beauty and power.

Set Designer

Luke Cantarella

Events

Upcoming events

Jun 27 - Jul 18, 2026

Of Mice and Men · Des Moines Metro Opera

Past events

13 - 15 Mar, 2026

Of Mice and Men · Houston Grand Opera

Jun 28 - Jul 19, 2025

The Cunning Little Vixen · Des Moines Metro Opera

About

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