William Weibel has turned Opera in the Heights into one of the most promising young opera companies in the country. His convictions are as strong as the voices around him, and his belief in the organization equally unshakeable.
The former Metropolitan Opera conductor became intrigued with the 3-year-old Opera in the Heights company when he learned about it from an electrician who was humming what sounded like opera music. Having recently relocated to Houston, Weibel wanted to learn more. He began attending performances and was impressed with the company’s potential. He was offered the directorship and took it. Six years later, Opera in the Heights is one of Houston’s most thriving arts organizations. This year marks its 10th anniversary.
“I saw this as a chance to build something,” says Weibel. “We’ve been successful because we’re doing things no one else is doing.”
Under Weibel’s leadership, Opera in the Heights presents a repertoire including lesser-known operas and hires talented singers on the brink of international careers.
During his six-year tenure, the company’s budget has multiplied, along with its number of performances and cast of singers. Weibel is charting the course for the next 10 years.
“My main consideration is the box office,” he says. “I always ask myself when programming, ‘Will the people come?’”
Audiences have streamed into the 300-seat Lambert Hall so steadily that the majority of patrons now hold season tickets. Opera in the Heights presents four annual, six-night performances—two casts of artists sing three performances each.
When Weibel took over as artistic director, he committed to attracting the best talent he could find. He implemented a more streamlined rehearsal process—guaranteeing each singer more work—and lined up players from the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony and Houston Ballet Orchestra. His mix of artistic talent and business acumen has attracted the attention of high-profile philanthropists such as Carolyn Farb. Twelve hundred to 1,500 opera lovers regularly attend Opera in the Heights productions.
“I figured if we did something no one else was doing, audiences would get curious,” Weibel says.
His bold artistic choices and the company’s low ticket prices worked. By programming operas such as Manon and Luisa Miller, which many Houston audiences had not seen, he attracted those interested in the art form. He also earned praise from singers finding fewer outlets for their talent.
“It’s like flowers—if you put water and sun on them, they bloom,” Weibel says. “Singers blossom here.”
Last year hundreds flocked to the company’s first New York auditions, lured by the chance to learn challenging roles in a supportive environment. Another policy that keeps the company growing is Weibel’s insistence that singers eventually leave. He expects singers to be stronger after they have performed than when they arrive.
“Part of our mission is to present a venue for talented young singers with the potential for a major career,” he says. “If they’ve been with us for two or three seasons, they should be moving on.”
Weibel understands the concept of moving on, having worked with companies in Salzburg, San Francisco, Cincinnati and New York, in addition to receiving a Fulbright scholarship to study in Italy. He never expected to be directing an opera company in Houston after a career with the Met in New York, but he is committed to bringing the highest quality operas to audiences interested in seeing them.
“Like Verdi said: ‘The people will be the judge,’” Weibel explains. “They’ll tell you at the box office if you’re good or not. But at least people can come here and say: ‘We spent a night at the opera.’ And they can say we were not a bunch of amateurs.”
