Starting on July 27, the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles partners with the Rossini Opera Festival (Pesaro, Italy) to launch a summer series of opera screenings in Westwood. Five events start with a very ’60s, very mod production of L’Italiana in Algeri directed by Davide Livermore. (Go-go for the costumes alone!) A live performance … Read more
Long Beach Opera strives to make their seasons accessible and engaging, and the recent production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide is a shining example of that commitment. Staged in the cozy Center Theater in Long Beach, the show brought out the best of Bernstein’s music and comedic farce. Updating productions can be a tricky proposal. Many shows … Read more
[Press release] “Glitter and Be Gay” CANDIDE A Journey through “The Best of All Possible Worlds” Long Beach, CA, December 18, 2015―On January 23 and 30, 2016, Long Beach Opera (LBO) presents composer Leonard Bernstein’s satiric romp Candide at the Center Theater in Long Beach, CA. The eclectic score mixes everything from Viennese waltzes to … Read more
Going back in time can be a real trip. The retrospective offered by Long Beach Opera in Hydrogen Jukebox promised to be not just a “level 1 or 2 trip…you can get that at any legal dispensary,” but “level 4 or 5 psychedelics, where the world is curved and warped, objects talk to you, time … Read more
Vocal focus from CCMN* Southern CA Vocal Events Lauri D. Goldenhersh’s Weekly Highlights The next two weeks marks the start and the finish of beautiful things! Anoush Opera brings a 19th-century Armenian village to life with a tragic love story presented by LARK MUSICAL SOCIETY and starring HASMIK PAPIAN and SHOUSHIK BARSOUMIAN. Four performances run … Read more
John Adams‘ The Death of Klinghoffer is an opera designed to leave its audience with much to contemplate, and it succeeds mightily. The subject has sparked repeated controversy since the 1991 premiere, so much so that most of the headlines in the last year that refer to the external conflict. (Do a quick Google search and … Read more
Many can relate their best summer experiences to happy times outside under the stars, telling tall tales with friends. So it’s fitting that Long Beach Opera brings us the glorious Tibetan tale of King Gesar this month on September 7, 13 and 14. This story, similar to the Western stories of Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey, … Read more
On the scene in LA for about two years, Pacific Opera Project (POP) has already established their identity as a company that produces FUN! Whether they put on a fully staged opera with orchestra and elaborate sets, or a “POP-Up” opera – still fully staged, but with simpler sets and using a piano instead of … Read more
