Houston’s $1.8 Million Music Night Honors City-Lifting Opera Leader Patrick Summers — With a 67-Year-Old Superstar’s Magic Pipes

Houston Grand Opera’s 2026 ball could have ended on a note of poignancy as it was the final gala for the esteemed Patrick Summers as artistic and music director, a position he has held since 2011. In fact, when HGO general director and CEO Khori Dastoor talked about Summers’ remarkable tenure, her voice trembled.

But in the end, the evening turned into a glorious white-tie celebration of Summers and Houston’s opera company, raising an impressive $1,825,000.

As the theme of the gala, “Brilliance Ball: A Celebration of Light and Legacy,” foretold, the evening ended on a financial high note — and with the rocking sounds of The Big Beyond band.

The musical highlight of the evening, however, certainly came in the performance by internationally renowned soprano Renée Fleming, a longtime friend of Summers. With Houston Grand Opera chief artistic officer and chorus director Richard Bado on the grand piano, she thrilled this opera loving crowd with “I can smell the sea air” from André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Andrew Lippa’s “The Diva” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from Rodgers and Hammerstein II’s Carousel. At 67 years old, Fleming was in fine form.

Fleming followed Dastoor’s heartfelt tribute to Summers, the gala’s honoree.

“The scale of Patrick’s accomplishments during his tenure is astonishing: 419 performances, 87 productions, 13 commercial recordings, 11 world premieres, six published books, all this and a ring cycle, even as he taught; guest conducted, lectured, coached, trained and traveled. However, the true measure of artistic leadership is not what is achieved. It is what is made possible for those who follow. Thanks to Patrick, the HGO orchestra is now a world class ensemble as fluent in Wagner as in Verdi.”

The maestro was recognized with the company’s Silver Rose award for more than 25 years of visionary artistic leadership that has shaped and defined Houston Grand Opera on the world stage. Summers joined HGO as music director in 1998 at the invitation of then-general director David Gockley.

At the close of this current 2025-26 season, Summers will step down from his current role and assume the role of music director emeritus and become the holder of the Robert and Jane Cizik Music Director Emeritus Chair.

“I thank you all for this long privilege of your support, friendship and for our shared love of this company,” Summers told the clutch of some 400 opera supporters. “I ask that you please continue to ensure that this company is a beacon in the arts world. . .

“A strong Houston Grand Opera is going to be more important to the future of opera in this country than it has ever been before.”

Notable among the guests was the internationally renowned American conductor James Gaffigan, who will follow Summers at HGO.

As with almost all of Houston’s premier events, City Kitchen handled the dinner while The Events Company created a luminous decorative tableau inspired by the evening’s theme.

The gala was chaired by dedicated Houston Grand Opera supporters John G. Turner and Jerry G. Fischer, who have helped sustain HGO’s main stage productions, the Houston Grand Opera Studio and the company’s most celebrated special events.

PC Seen: HGO board chair Astley Blair with Viviana Jolie, Marta Wasilewicz-Gaffigan, Margaret Alkek Williams, Louisa Sarofim, Anne and Albert Chao, Drs. Rachel and Warren Ellsworth, Anna Dean, Zane and Brady Carruth, Brittany and Adam Clark,  Jesse Tudor, Ann and Jonathan Ayre, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Rebecca Rabinow and Matthew Ringel, Drs. Huda and William Zoghbi, Dian and Harlan Stai, and Sarah and Aaron Stai.