Two recently announced season schedules in SoCal are causing some stir:
LA Opera‘s 2015-16 season will start with a double bill featuring Placido Domingo singing the title role in the Woody Allen-directed Gianni Schicchi and conducting Pagliacci, with productions drawn raves in previous seasons. While the star power a doppio seems a good start, reception of the season as a whole has been a bit mixed. (Lisa Hirsch certainly doesn’t hold back.) But with the SoCal advent of Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick, the return of the animated Magic Flute by Barrie Kosky and the powerhouse duo of Angela Meade and Jamie Barton in Bellini’s Norma, plus Puccini favorites Madama Butterfly and La Bohème (the latter with Gustavo Dudamel at the helm), the season has all the trappings of a box office hit parade. The 30th anniversary season runs Sept 12 to June 19.
- Read LAO’s announcement on their website as well as their blog
- More from LA Times and NY Times
LA Phil also announced their summer season at the Hollywood Bowl this week, which includes a few choice vocal events. For those looking to subscribe, check out Classical Tuesdays 1 for the most bang for your vocal-focused buck. The highlights:
July 21 & 23 — Dudamel conducts Carmina Burana and two works by Eric Whitacre, featuring soloists Joélle Harvey (soprano), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), and Brian Mulligan (baritone), with the LA Master Chorale and LA Children’s Chorus.
August 18 — 2001: A Space Odyssey gets a live performance conducted by Brad Lubman and featuring the LA Master Chorale.
September 1 & 3 — Multi-hyphenate soprano Audra McDonald joins the Phil, Bramwell Tovey and American Ballet Theatre in celebrating Bernstein and songs yet to be announced.
The widely varied overall season also includes the Monty Python musical Spamalot, the LA swan song of the Buena Vista Social Club, a tour stop from Death Cab for Cutie, several programs with film tie-ins and the films themselves (with live performance of the scores) and the return of fan favorites Harry Connick, Jr., the Sound of Music sing-along, and more than we can possibly include here. See the article linked below for more in-depth details.
- Get tickets for the Hollywood Bowl
- See the full season
- Read the full skinny from the LA Times
