Houston’s Gift to the World

For nearly 50 years, the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio has been Houston’s gift to the world of opera. Alumni sing in the great houses of Europe and America, they return to Houston as stars, and they shape the art form behind the scenes. What unites them is a foundation built here: a devotion to the human voice, a disciplined technique, individual artistic perspective, and confidence to turn that craft into a career. Modern opera’s story cannot be told without the artists who began in Houston. 

The clearest proof of that reach lies in the names that have become synonymous with the art form. Denyce Graves (1988-90) was the defining Carmen of her generation and remains one of the most famous American opera singers in history. Her career alone would have secured the Butler Studio’s place in history. Joyce DiDonato (1996-98) stands alongside her as today’s reigning mezzo-soprano superstar. Beloved as much as admired, she has filled every major world opera house, won Grammys and Olivier Awards, and consistently reached audiences beyond opera insiders. In Houston she undertook a full technical rebuild of her voice, laying the disciplined foundation that launched her international career. Tamara Wilson (2005-07) has become a phenomenon in Verdi and Wagner. Houston first heard her power when, as a Butler Studio artist, she stepped in at the last minute to sing Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. That readiness and security now carry her through some of the most demanding roles in the repertoire on the world’s greatest stages. Rachel Willis-Sørensen (2009-11), still young by industry standards, has already become indispensable. Companies across Europe and the United States program seasons around her blend of elegance and power. Her career shows how quickly disciplined technique and imagination can combine to create an artist who defines her generation.

The legacy of those household names is already visible in the Butler Studio’s rising generation. Mané Galoyan (2015-18), Elena Villalón (2019-22), Sun-Ly Pierce (2020-22), Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (2017-18), and Luke Sutliff (2021-23) are stepping into the world’s most important houses, from the Met to Covent Garden to Glyndebourne, and all have earned top prizes at Operalia, the profession’s most prestigious competition. This shows that when the opera world looks for its future stars, it keeps pointing to Houston. What makes them remarkable is not simply the accolades, but how unmistakably individual they are. At the Butler Studio we insist that every artist emerges with both a solid technical base and the freedom to shape their own voice and vision. That combination is what turns promise into a career, and it is what audiences now see in these singers: artistry that is disciplined yet personal, polished yet alive.

What makes the story even more powerful is how often these artists return to Houston for leading roles and major debuts. This season, Michael Sumuel (2009-11), an acclaimed interpreter of Mozart and Handel, joins Porgy and Bess in the title role. Jamie Barton (2007-09), Arturo Chacón-Cruz (2003-05), and Ryan McKinny (2005-08) all household names in opera, join us for Il trittico. Blake Denson (2020-22) has already established himself internationally and will sing Crown in Porgy and Bess. Raven McMillon (2020-22) joins the same production as Clara. Jennifer Ringo (1978-80), who has now built a distinguished career as a diction coach, is again in our rehearsal rooms guiding singers with her expertise. 

The Butler Studio’s influence also reaches into the leadership of the field. Richard Bado (1983-85), once a Butler Studio member and later Butler Studio Music Director, is now HGO’s Chief Artistic Officer, simultaneously serving as Chorus Director. He has conducted at the Paris Opera and La Scala, taught at the Aspen Music Festival, and helped establish Rice University’s opera program as one of the country’s strongest. Myra Huang (2001-03) is Head of Music for the Met’s Lindemann Program and Director of Musical Administration and Head Coach for Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS. Joshua Winograde (2000-03), former Senior Director of Artistic Planning at LA Opera and Associate Artistic Administrator at the Met, now heads Opera Studies at Rice University. Craig Terry (2000-02) is Music Director of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago and is a Grammy Award-winning pianist and arranger. Eric Melear (2002-04) leads the National Opera Studio in the U.K. Michael Baitzer (1998-99) is Head of Music Staff at Washington National Opera. Mark Trawka (1989-91) is Director of Musical Studies and Chorus Master at Pittsburgh Opera. Carol Anderson (1995-97) spent 18 years as principal coach for Utah Symphony and Utah Opera. Joseph Li (2007-09) is Vice President for Artistic at Minnesota Opera. Blair Salter (2017-19) is Head Coach at the Domingo-Colburn-Stein program at LA Opera.

Ultimately, the Butler Studio exists to nurture and train artists who will make a real impact on the field, singers who take the skills they learn here and build careers that last. That requires determination, imagination, and above all technique, the kind of foundation that lets a voice carry in the largest theaters with strength and freedom. No one demonstrates this better than Greer Grimsley (1980-83). Among the Butler Studio’s earliest members, he has spent four decades commanding some of opera’s most demanding roles, from Wotan in Wagner’s Ring to Claggart in Billy Budd. This past summer at Glimmerglass, nearing 70, he sang Scarpia in Tosca with undiminished force and authority. His artistry shows what the Butler Studio has always stood for: voices trained to endure, to communicate with individuality, and to remain vital for a lifetime. 

For almost 50 years, the Butler Studio has sent singers into the world with the skills and the courage to build lasting careers. They stand on the great stages as masterful technicians and as artists with something urgent to share, able to move hearts, lift spirits, and remind us of the unparalleled power and truth of the human voice. That, more than anything, is what connects every generation of Butler Studio alumni, and it is what will carry the program forward for the next 50 years.