Our Story

Choose Your Own Adventure!

You can either read the fun version of our origin story right here, or if you just want the boring truth, keep a scrollin'...

Once, on a whimsical weekend our founder, Megan Berti, found herself sipping a curious concoction of sparkling carrot juice and artisanal sarsaparilla in a hidden cafe. As she savored the bizarre blend, a mischievous magician named Muddleplix, who had an uncanny knack for turning ordinary beverages into enchanted elixirs, appeared out of thin air. In a fit of caffeinated inspiration, Megan and Muddleplix hatched a plan to create "HOPERA," an otherworldly opera company where the singers' high notes would make craft beers foam and dance. And so, fueled by fizzy fantasies and a touch of magical madness, the bubbly spectacle of HOPERA was born, delighting audiences with a spectacle that was truly one for the ages.

​That's clearly a lie, but the real story is kinda boring...however, the point about delighting audiences is still true!

The Real Story

The idea of HOPERA started long, long ago in a time before COVID, in a land called Drink of Ages Pub. This beer mecca offered local brews of the highest quality (and quantity) to the thirsty masses in the heart of Houston. Our founder Megan happened to walk in one day, and the first thing she saw was a mighty beard topped with a cap.  Little did she know she had just met local hop legend and bar owner Jon Denman (now the host of Vinyl Voices Radio Show and Podcast on ESPN 95.7). Under his heavy-poured tutelage, Megan discovered the magical underbelly of the craft beer community…and she’s never really left it.  Megan powered up from Jon’s patron to his friend to his employee (what musician doesn’t need a side gig here and there?), and soon they started to hatch a plan…a plan to put on an opera on the tiny DoA stage that had hosted so many local bands…and Jon dubbed it: Hopera. Alas, ‘twas not to be! for a greedy landlord pulled the rug out from underneath the whole operation, robbing Houston of a priceless watering hole in the rough. But the end of the era of Drink of Ages did not spell Hopera’s doom. 

Fast forward to 2023, and Megan was looking to stretch her performing muscles after all that pandemic…not-performing. She decided to pour her efforts into a recital of love duets, but where on earth (or rather, Houston) were they going to perform? Enter 8th Wonder co-owner, opera enthusiast, and all-around chill dude Sean Rosenbaum with the solution: 8th Wonder Distillery! So she set up her keyboard on Valentine’s Day and they performed to a full house of happy drinkers…not bad for a Tuesday night! After it was all over everyone was flying high, and the audience kept asking the same question: when’s the next one? And just like that we had a concert series on our hands. So Megan got her super busy friend Brennan Blankenship to kick off the series proper, and Brennan planned a magical night of Spanish songs - and this time Megan was ready for the inevitable questions: the next recital would be organized by Ashley Duplechien, an exploration of the "messy middle" occupied by high mezzos with a penchant for musical theater! And after that? Well, after that would be an OPERA!! 

But an opera is never a solo venture - Megan knew she needed help. Thankfully her awesome friends were inspired by the possibility of making something original and amazing here in Houston because both Brennan and Ashley jumped on board her crazy train. Ashley volunteered her marketing and website expertise, offered up her limited time like the girlboss she is, and worked her connections to get us the resources we need to thrive. Meanwhile Brennan did research, planned meetings, brainstormed ideas, made connections, volunteered her husband to make all our graphics, made Megan make everything real and official - and boom! We are now on track to get our nonprofit status in 2024. Corey put up with Megan’s very vague ideas and made the incredible logo, and now he continues to turn hair-brained, nonspecific concepts into genius art as the reigning graphics tsar. Rene came on board to take over the production side of the concerts and help fill in all the rest because…Megan made him. He had already been chief stagehand for the recitals, transporting and offloading the keyboard and other bulky items to and fro, but now he gets credit for it! Plus he gets to do all sorts of figurative (and limited literal) heavy lifting.

So…there you have it! From a beer-inspired pipe dream to a pandemic-recovery recital to your friendly neighborhood opera company. Hello, Houston! We’re so happy to be here, and we can’t wait to share a drink with you at our next show!

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