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In the mid-1960s, Dominique de Menil, the renowned art collector and a key player in Houston’s contemporary art scene, commissioned the noted American artist Mark Rothko to create a series of paintings, as well as the ideal gallery to house them. De Menil also envisioned that the resultant Rothko Chapel (which opened in 1971) would serve as a spiritual space for "those of all faiths, or no faith." Some Light Emerges is a new chamber opera that is set mostly within the Rothko Chapel and chronicles the direct and tangential intersections of five people who visit the chapel across four decades, as well as the struggles and triumphs of Dominique de Menil in realizing her dream. Through the personal stories of its characters — both moving and humorous — Some Light Emerges reveals how political and spiritual conflicts can be better understood and ultimately resolved through art, while honoring the people who create and support such art. Some Light Emerges is part of Houston Grand Opera’s ongoing Song of Houston series, an initiative that aims to tell the diverse stories of Houston through words and music.
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