HOUSTON—December 18, 2025—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce a new partnership with Grange Park Opera (GPO) in Surrey, England, to co-produce Sir John Tavener’s Krishna. The work will receive its world premiere at GPO in June 2026, followed by its American premiere, in an expanded production, at HGO during the 2027-28 season.
Recounting the life of its titular Hindu deity—and representing HGO’s first-ever Sanskrit opera—Krishna is the creation of leading British composer Sir John Tavener (1944-2013), who called it a “mystical pantomime.” Tavener completed the libretto and score for the opera in 2005, but until now, it has remained in manuscript form. This new co-production will be directed by opera luminary Sir David Pountney, with choreography by the celebrated Shobana Jeyasingh CBE and sets and costumes by award-winning designer Rachana Jadhav.
“When I learned of an extraordinary, unperformed opera inspired by the singular deity Krishna, I knew this work from the supremely gifted Sir John Tavener was one we needed to champion,” says HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “Krishna exemplifies our commitment to bringing Houston bold, genre-defying artworks that expand what opera can be and who it can reach. Grange Park Opera—under the visionary leadership of Wasfi Kani—stages ambitious pieces that challenge conventions and speak across cultures, making this partnership a natural fit. Through transcendent music, poetry, and dance, Tavener’s creation connects ancient storytelling with contemporary audiences. We are proud to share this globally significant work with our city.”
“His Majesty King Charles III is a long-time admirer of Tavener’s work. When Prince of Wales, he asked Sir David Pountney to consider the performance potential of Krishna. In 2019, Sir David brought me the project, and within two days, I was at Chester Music examining the 358 giant sheets of Tavener’s manuscript,” says Grange Park Opera Founder Wasfi Kani CBE. “It quickly became clear this was a masterpiece that needed to be brought to life. After a colleague suggested I approach Khori at HGO about a partnership, at least on my side, it was love at first sight. She is a woman after my own heart leading a can-do team. This giant production has many complications—aerially suspended flutes is but one—but Khori has embraced the challenge. The result is going to be hypnotic, visually and aurally.”
Krishna is written for a large chorus and a full orchestra that includes eight flutes. The dance-driven pantomime—told through a Sanskrit libretto with some English narration—draws on the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavata Purana, and other Hindu mystical poems to trace the life of Krishna in 15 vignettes, following him from birth, through boyhood, adolescence, manhood, his union with the goddess Radha, and his ascension to paradise.
The design for this new production centers on a monumental pyramid evoking the façade of a Hindu temple, which will be expanded for HGO’s staging. The Houston production will feature ten principal singers and a chorus of 80 performers, joined by an ensemble of dancers who will create a living tableau inspired by traditional Hindu imagery. Dance plays a central force in the storytelling, with a highly stylized choreographic language heightening the drama.
Sir John Taverner was a prolific composer and a leading voice in postwar British music, known for large-scale, mystical works like The Whale, recorded on the Beatles’ Apple label, and The Protecting Veil. A student of many faiths, he was drawn to the spiritual and the metaphysical, earning a devoted following for music that blended ritual with mesmerizing sound worlds. Taverner gained worldwide fame in 1997 when his Song of Athene was performed at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
After Tavener’s death in 2013, his widow, Lady Maryanna Tavener, mentioned Krishna to King Charles III (then Prince Charles). The King passed it to Sir David Pountney, who in turn brought it to Wasfi Kani of Grange Park Opera. Recognizing a lost masterpiece, Kani took on the project, joining forces with Khori Dastoor and HGO to mount the opera’s first production.
“I was amazed to learn from His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, that when John Tavener died, he left behind a complete, fully orchestrated full score of a new opera, and this priceless treasure had been gathering dust on the publisher’s shelves for a decade,” says Pountney. “With his interest in mysticism and Eastern religious ideas, Charles had always been keenly interested in Tavener’s work.
“After locating the score, my first task was to find a theater courageous enough to take the project on, and I immediately thought of Wasfi Kani—partly because of her Indian heritage, but mainly because of her legendary willingness to accept a challenge. And indeed, she very quickly came on board. We set about translating the handwritten score into performable musical material and engaging the right creative team. The final piece of the jigsaw fell into place when Khori Dastoor decided to bring HGO on as co-producer, and it is tremendous to have such a prestigious and supportive partner.”
HGO will launch a major fundraising campaign to support the American premiere of Krishna in Houston; those interested in supporting the production are invited to contact the HGO’s Office of the General Director. Community members who wish to stay informed about this ambitious initiative and receive notification when tickets become available can sign up for updates through the company’s email list here.
About Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is one of the largest, most innovative, and most highly acclaimed opera companies in the United States. General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor assumed leadership of the organization and responsibility for its strategic vision in 2021. HGO is the only American finalist for Opera Company of the Year in the 2025 International Opera Awards, and the only American company to be nominated three times. In fulfilling its mission to advance the operatic art, to serve the Houston community, and to be a global leader in the future of opera, HGO has led the field in commissioning and producing new works (76 world premieres to date) and in training and nurturing promising young artists and administrators. In 2025, the company launched the Houston Grand Opera record label, enabling it to share American operatic works with a broad international audience. HGO contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a diverse and innovative program of performances, community events, and education projects that reach the widest possible public. The company’s pioneering Community and Learning initiative has served as a model for other arts organizations. HGO invites all Houstonians to experience superlative opera without the barrier of price through discounted single tickets and subscriptions, subsidized student performances, and free productions.
HGO has toured extensively and has won a Tony Award, two GRAMMY Awards, and three Emmy Awards. It is the only opera company to win all three honors.
