CHARLES WARD Staff

FRI 10/26/2001 Houston Chronicle, Section Houston, Page 1, 2 STAR Edition

When soprano Laura Claycomb visits a new opera house, she brings two calling cards.

One is a voice that dazzles audiences with its agility, crystalline tone and dramatic sensitivity. On opening night of the current Houston Grand Opera production of Verdi’s Rigoletto, her aria Caro nome prompted the normally placid crowd to cheer with a gusto it hasn’t shown in years.

The other is Tullio, a tricolor cavalier King Charles spaniel that seduces administrators and staff. During Claycomb’s interview at the HGO offices, Tullio lured music director Patrick Summers — an old friend, it turned out — in from the hall to pet and dote.

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