METRO Partners with Houston Grand Opera
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 5:03 PM
Will it ever feel like home in Houston? 
If I'm here, how can I help my people?
But America lets you be part of everything.
This is the libretto of a new opera scheduled to make its debut on Nov. 10. The Refuge is a musical work of individual stories of refugees who have made Houston their home.
Walk into the lobby of the Wortham Center where two performances of the opera will be staged, and you'll see a huge METRO banner hanging from the ceiling. This is our first partnership with the Houston Grand Opera.
"We thought it was such a good fit for us," said Nicole Adler, advertising account executive at METRO. "It's about the different communities in Houston. We have a lot of refugees in Houston - more than people realize. Since METRO goes to all the different communities and services them, this was a way to acknowledge them, their hardship and be there to serve them."
All the best things in my life,
I found here.
I tasted my first fried chicken in Houston!
Now I am from here. To me,
The American flag is a symbol
Of all of my story.
Voices of six immigrant groups are represented in composer Christopher Theofanidis' opera: Mexican, Central American, African, Vietnamese, Indian/Pakistan and Russian Jewish. These communities were chosen in conjunction with the mayor's office as having an impact on our city. Writer Leah Lax wrote the libretto after she and Theofanidis collected stories from first-generation immigrants.
METRO is participating in community events before the Nov. 10 debut in which excerpts of the opera will be performed. Locations and times are:
Oct. 28: 3:00 p.m. The Vietnamese community at the Kim Son on Jefferson
Oct. 29 8:00 p.m. Teatro Bilingue at 333 Jenson Dr.
Nov. 3: 12:30 p.m. Lawndale Art Center
The Refuge is part of a larger project called Song of Houston, which the Wortham is launching to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Song 
of Houston is a series of collaborative community projects that include music, poetry, photography, creative writing, drawing, painting and lectures.
If you're planning on attending The Refuge, take METRORail and exit at Preston Station. The Wortham Theater is four blocks away.
We chose Houston because of the weather - just like Karachi.
My brother sent a postcard of a red convertible. That was it. I followed him.
Of course, I followed him.
I could have been killed. So I left for America.
I loved it here. At first I would go outside just to smell the air.
Just like home.
The photos on this post were taken for the Wortham by photographer Janice Rubin.