From the scruffy surroundings of Catfish Row on stage at Wortham Theater Center to the Charleston-inspired lush environs of a party tent, guests attending Houston Grand Opera’s Opening Night and Celebration Dinner were wowed by both the performance of  Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and the dinner soirée that followed.

Photo ops and glasses of champagne greeted the glorious black-tie throng as everyone moved from the Brown Stage to the tent on Fish Plaza where The Events Company had spun its decorative magic. In keeping with the theme, City Kitchen’s menu featured pan-seared red snapper with Carolina golden rice pilaf and sugar snap peas and decadent hummingbird cake.

Celebration chairs Dina Alsowayel and Tony Chase led the evening to its second most financially successful opening night on record with proceeds reaching $690,000. The funds will support the company’s ongoing commitment to enriching Greater Houston’s diverse community “through the transformative power of opera,”as Houston Grand Opera general director and CEO  Khori Dastoor holds.

She shared with the gathering of 450 the enduring significance that Porgy and Bess has to HGO, dating from the company’s groundbreaking 1976 production that traveled to Broadway and earned both a Tony and a Grammy. Fifty years later, under direction of Francesca Zambello, the 2025 production proved no less stimulating and enjoyable.

At dinner Dastoor introduced the newly elected Houston Grand Opera board chair — the dashing Astley Blair — while giving a generous nod to outgoing chair Claire Liu.

As is tradition, HGO artistic and music director Patrick Summers introduced the cast on this his final opening night celebration in this role. After the current season, Summers will assume the position of music director emeritus and holder of the Robert and Jane Cizik music director emeritus chair.

PC Seen: Conductor James Gaffigan, Margaret Alkek Williams, Joe Greenberg, Vivianna Jolie, Janet Gurwitch and Ron Franklin, Rebekka and Damon Chargois, Jane Cizik, Molly Crownover, Alicia Harris, Teresa and José Ivo, Myrtle Jones, Monica Karuturi and Kumaran Sathyamoorthy, Jana and Scotty Arnoldy, Sylvia Barnes and Jim Trimble, Anita Smith, Franci Neely, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Cora and Judson Robinson, Elaine Finger, and Marcia and Alfredo Vilas.