by Annie Melnick | Jun 18, 2021 | Feature, General, Lifestyle, News, The Arts
Los Angeles, CA. The LA Opera announced its pandemic-related changes in the fall of 2020; this included postponing and canceling productions taking place during the 2020/21 season. But starting this month, the company hosted an audience for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. Oedipus Rex, based on the ancient Greek tragedy with the same name, premiered on June 6th at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Audience members had to prove they were vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19 to attend in person. And for those who could not make it, the LA Opera released an online version on June 17th. The show has a running time of 50 minutes, with no intermission.
The LA Opera took safety precautions by strictly following the LA County Department of Public Health’s guidelines. In March 2021, the Music Center (where the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located) was the first performing arts center to receive a UL “healthy building” verification for its venues’ air quality.
June 6th performance of “Oedipus Rex.” Photo by Lawrence K. Ho.
Mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges performs the role of Jocasta.
From the LA Opera:
Stravinsky based Oedipus Rex on the ancient Greek tragedy of the same name by Sophocles—yes, the one where Oedipus unknowingly kills his own father and marries his mother. The 1927 opera is a highly stylized, ritualistic work; in fact, the composer specifically requested that it be staged with minimal movement (which works well with COVID restrictions). A narrator describes the action throughout the course of the opera. Stravinsky set his work in Latin but specified that the narration is to be spoken in the language of the audience. The performance will feature incredibly imaginative projected animations created by Manual Cinema, an Emmy Award-winning performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company.
Music Director James Conlon conducts a stellar cast led by tenor Russell Thomas, LA Opera’s Artist in Residence, as Oedipus, the doomed king. Just announced: Legendary actor Stephen Fry will make his LA Opera debut (via audio recording) as the Narrator in this equally legendary tale.
The recording and filming process for the “Oedipus Rex” online stream. Photo by Lawrence K. Ho.
To learn more about the LA Opera, visit laopera.org/about-us. And for those interested in supporting this organization, visit laopera.org/support-us.
by Shelbrena Payne | Oct 16, 2020 | Feature, General, News
Los Angeles, CA. The LA Opera awaits its cue to return to live performances on stage. Mozart’s Don Giovanni (seen above) is scheduled for January 30th, 2021.
Here’s some information about the show: Superstar bass Ildebrando D’Arcangelo returns as opera’s most notorious playboy in a visually spectacular production that pulls you into the characters’ inner thoughts and shifting emotions. And with James Conlon conducting this Mozart masterpiece and a new production featuring scenery by Es Devlin (star designer of concerts for U2, Kanye West, and Beyoncé).
Mozart’s Don Giovanni is scheduled for January 30th, 2021.
Meanwhile, the LA Opera company has turned to create an array of online content through the LA Opera At Home initiative, which will soon expand to include a series of exciting new Digital Shorts commissions as well as a November 14 stream of The Anonymous Lover by Joseph Bologne, the first known Black classical composer. Since the launch of LA Opera At Home in March, these popular online offerings have accumulated more than 740,000 views to date.
LA Opera is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles community. LA Opera’s young artist program is generously underwritten by the Colburn Foundation, Eugene and Marilyn Stein, and Richard and Lenore Wayne. Tickets available now or as part of a Spring 2021 subscription package.
To access all of these programs and to learn more about current and future programming, please visit LAOpera.org/AtHome.
To access all of these programs and to learn more about current and future programming, please visit LAOpera.org
About LA Opera At Home:
LA Opera was the first major American opera company to create a weekly schedule of original new online programming to bring opera to audiences during the coronavirus crisis. LA Opera At Home launched on March 17 with the first in a series of live “Living Room Recitals” featuring artists performing in their homes. Other programming highlights include: “Opera Family Time” presentations created specially for families with children to enjoy together; “Learn at Home (Grown-Up Edition)” opportunities for opera lovers of any experience level to dive deeper into the art form; “From the Vault” streams of earlier performances; and “Backstage at LAO” features that take viewers behind the scenes for a look at what it takes to create world-class opera.
About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be with thrilling performances, thought-provoking productions and innovative programming. The communal and curative power of opera is needed now more than ever before, especially given the extraordinary challenges of the time. The company is grateful to its supporters for helping to ensure that it has the resources needed to get through this unprecedented period through the LA Opera Relief Fund. Those wanting to support LA Opera can go to LAOpera.org/donate.
More at LAOpera.org
