Letter from the Directors

Unlike most other arts, music offers us only fleeting glimpses of other worlds. Those sounding images, made incarnate by composers and realized by a host of collaborators, transport us briefly to places where the imagination reigns supreme. That spirit of endless possibility inspires Ars Lyrica’s 2026/27 Visions & Visionaries season of six diverse subscription programs.

We begin and end the season with opera: a semi-staging of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Actéon in September, and a fully staged production of George Frideric Handel’s Oreste in April, the latter in collaboration with the Moores Opera Center at the University of Houston. In between, there’s spooky music for Halloween, celebratory music for the holidays, a Viennese sampler in January, and an all-Hispanic program in March featuring a newly commissioned work.

Additional details may be found in the following pages along with information on how to subscribe or purchase individual tickets. Early subscribers enjoy the best benefits, including discounts on individual tickets, choice of seating in Zilkha Hall, and priority seating for programs at St Philip Presbyterian Church. There’s even a special bonus concert for full-season subscribers! All ALH subscribers are invited to attend post-concert receptions with the artists.

This coming season owes much to a network of generous patrons, who have made possible increasingly ambitious programming, a portfolio of diverse outreach activities, newly commissioned period instruments, and annual operatic productions. Please consider a one-time, tax-deductible gift—or, better yet, a three-year pledge to the ALH Opera Circle—as you subscribe or renew for 2026/27. Become part of the Ars Lyrica family as you ensure a bright future for period-instrument performance and world-class Baroque opera in Houston.

With gratitude for your support,

Matthew Dirst, Artistic Director
Kinga Ferguson, Executive Director

Hunter’s Prey
Friday, September 25 2026 at 7:30 PM
Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center

Haunted Spirits
Saturday, October 31, 2026 at 5 PM
Zilkha Hall, The Hobby Center

Magnificat
Friday, December 4, 2026 at 7:30 PM
St. Philip Presbyterian Church

Viennese Dreamers
Friday, January 15, 2027 at 7 PM
Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center

Soy la Diosa
Saturday, March 6, 2027 at 5 PM
St. Philip Presbyterian Church

Handel’s Oreste
Friday April 16, 2027 at 7:30 PM &
Sunday, April 18, 2027 at 2 PM
Moores Opera House, University of Houston