Six operas. Six ballets and three subscriber add-ons. Culture is in the air — and it can fill your calendar, too, thanks to the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet, which have packed their 2010–2011 seasons with powerful and diverse productions. Season tickets are on sale now, so book yours soon to secure the best seats possible.

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA: The season begins with Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly, directed by Michael Grandage with a design inspired by traditional Japanese art (October 22, 24, 30; November 2, 5). Next up is Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, directed by Tony Award nominee Neil Armfield, which won raves at its Australian premiere (October 29, 31; November 6, 10, 12). Dead Man Walking, with music by Jake Heggie and a libretto by Terrence McNally, marks mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade’s farewell to the operatic stage (January 22, 29; February 2, 4, 6).  Scottish clans clash once more in Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, this time directed by Drama Desk and Tony Award winner John Doyle (January 28, 30; February 5, 9, 11). Mozart’s comedy of errors The Marriage of Figaro gives American conductor James Gaffigan his HGO debut (April 15, 17, 23, 27, 30). And Richard Strauss’ inspired Ariadne auf Naxos closes out the season with a high-society dinner party in Vienna, under the direction of John Cox (April 29, May 1, 4, 7, 10). Season tickets start at just $84. Information 713.228.6737; houstongrandopera.org.

HOUSTON BALLET: Equally eclectic is the ballet’s season, starting with Body, Soul & Gershwin, which pairs Tu Tu (music by Maurice Ravel) and The Core: Gershwin, the Heart of the Big Apple by HGO artistic director Stanton Welch with Forgotten Land by Jirí Kylián, with music by Benjamin Britten (September 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19). Jewels is a Houston premiere by George Balanchine — a triptych comprised of Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds, with music by, respectively, Gabriel Fauré, Igor Stravinsky and Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky (September 23, 25, 26; October 1, 2, 3). Then it’s a back to Paris with Marie, in which Stanton Welch choreographs the life of Marie Antoinette to music by Dmitri Shostakovich (February 24, 26, 27; March 4, 5, 6). The Sleeping Beauty revives the classic fairy tale with a balletic kiss: choreography by Ben Stevenson, after Marius Petipa, and music by Tchaikovsky (March 10, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20). Raising the Barre explores contemporary ballet through a world premiere by Jorma Elo; Grinning in Your Face, an American premiere by Christopher Bruce; and Rush, a Houston premiere by Christopher Wheeldon (May 26, 28, 29; June 3, 4, 5). Katherine and Petruchio are quarreling again in The Taming of the Shrew, choreographed by John Cranko with music by Kurt-Heinz Stolze, after Domenico Scarlatti (June 9, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19). Subscribers can expand their seasons further by adding on The Nutcracker, the Jubilee of Dance and the Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy's Spring Showcase. Orchestra seating for the main six shows starts at $126. Information 713.522.5538; houstonballet.org.

Images: Above and below left, Dead Man Walking, to be performed by the Houston Grand Opera as part of its 2010-2011 season. Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Opera/Ken Friedman. Below right, the Houston Ballet's Marie, choreographed by Stanton Welch. Dancers: Ian Casady, Melody Herrera. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.