Carmen
Georges Bizet
November 18 - December 14, 2008
"Viktoria Vizin used her statuesque beauty to advantage, offering a sympathetic Carmen who clearly enjoys the power she wields over the opposite sex." - Chicago Tribune
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Bizet's sizzling opera springs to vivid life in this production that originated at Madrid's Teatro Real. Emilio Sagi, who received critical kudos with last season's Luisa Fernanda, directs this great masterpiece of the lyric theatre. Mezzo-soprano Viktoria Vizin, who was hailed as a "ravishing Carmen" by the Chicago Tribune in her appearance at Lyric Opera, makes her Company debut as the sensuous Gypsy diva. Tenor Marcus Haddock takes the part of the obsessive and self-destructive Don José, a role in which he is a "knock-out" (The Independent). Genia Kühmeier makes her Company debut as Micaëla. Acclaimed bass Raymond Aceto takes the role of Escamillo. Emmanuel Villaume, Spoleto Festival USA's Music Director for Opera & Orchestra, conducts.
PRODUCTION DATES
Saturday November 18, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday November 19, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Saturday November 22, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Sunday November 30, 2008 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday December 3, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Saturday December 6, 2008 7:30 p.m.
Sunday December 7, 2008 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday December 9, 2008 1:00 p.m.
Sunday December 14, 2008 1:00 p.m.
Click here for Pricing Chart Click here for Seating Chart
RUNNING TIME
3 hours and 30 minutes, including two intermissions
PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURE:
One hour prior to each performance.
Pre-performance lectures are generously sponsored
by the Flora L. Thornton Foundation and the Opera League of Los Angeles.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Sung in French with English Supertitles.
Artists and dates subject to change.
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The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
January 10 - 25, 2009
"The LA Opera production is a lavish cartoon world…and the animals designer Gerald Scarfe creates are the most bewitching this side of Broadway's The Lion King."
-Los Angeles Times
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LA Opera’s celebrated original production returns, this time under the direction of James Conlon. Legendary English visual artist, satirist, and cartoonist Gerald Scarfe designed the fantastic sets and eyecatching costumes for this Peter Hall production. The Magic Flute is both a fanciful fairy tale and an allegory hinting at deeper mysteries at the same time. This ever-popular work has enchanted young and old alike for over two centuries. The two casts feature many exciting debuts, including Marie Arnet, Erin Wall (Pamina), L’Ubica Vargicova, Albina Shagimuratova (Queen of the Night), Matthew Polenzani, Joseph Kaiser (Tamino), Nathan Gunn, Markus Werba (Papageno), Günther Groissböck, Morris Robinson (Sarastro) and Matthias Goerne (The Speaker).
PRODUCTION DATES
Saturday January 10, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Sunday January 11, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Friday January 16, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Saturday January 17, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Sunday January 18, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday January 21, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Thursday January 22, 2009 7:30 p.m.
SaturdayJanuary 24, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Sunday January 25, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Click here for Pricing Chart Click here for Seating Chart
RUNNING TIME
3 hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission
PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURE:
One hour prior to each performance.
Pre-performance lectures are generously sponsored
by the Flora L. Thornton Foundation and the Opera League of Los Angeles.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Sung in German with English Supertitles.
Artists and dates subject to change.
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Das Rheingold
Richard Wagner
Feburary 21 - March 15, 2009
Gods, goddesses, giants, and dwarves struggle to be lords of the ring, but as Wagner's mammoth music drama unfolds, the ring's curse unleashes its vengeance.
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From the opening sounds of the River Rhine's rippling waters through the majestic "Entry of the Gods into Valhalla," you'll be swept away by Wagner's magnificent music. Wagner's Ring creates a vivid world and a musical experience never to be forgotten.
James Conlon conducts an extraordinary cast of internationally acclaimed Wagnerians. As the chief god Wotan, Vitalij Kowaljow, a powerful Ukrainian bass, promises to "dominate every scene he is in" (The New York Times). Making her Company debut as Wotan's insistent wife Fricka will be Michelle DeYoung a "remarkably powerful mezzo" (Opera Today), who has already performed the role at The Metropolitan Opera. Other notable debuts include Arnold Bezuyen as Loge and Gordon Hawkins as Alberich. Making a welcome return from previous seasons will be Jill Grove as the earth goddess Erda, Eric Halfvarson as the giant Fafner, and Graham Clark as Mime, one of his signature roles.
PRODUCTION DATES
Saturday February 21, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday February 25, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Sunday March 1, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Thursday March 5, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Sunday March 8, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday March 11, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Sunday March 15, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Click here for Pricing Chart Click here for Seating Chart
RUNNING TIME
2 hours and 35 minutes; there is NO intermission
PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURE:
One hour prior to each performance.
Pre-performance lectures are generously sponsored
by the Flora L. Thornton Foundation and the Opera League of Los Angeles.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Company Premiere
New Production
Sung in German with English Supertitles.
Artists and dates subject to change.
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Die Walkure
Richard Wagner
April 4 - 25, 2009
Starring Plácido Domingo, "the world's greatest Siegmund"
- The Associated Press
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"You really must beg, borrow, steal, or preferably buy a ticket to see Plácido Domingo as Siegmund," exhorts The London Times. And who better to match his artistry than soprano Anja Kampe - when paired with Plácido Domingo at Washington National Opera, the Washington Post declared them "the definitive Sieglinde and Siegmund of this century's first decade." This compelling love story between the doomed hero and his soulmate features some of Wagner's most memorable music. Highlights include Siegmund's heroic "Spring Song" ("Winterstürme"), the love duet ("Du bist der Lenz"), the rousing Ride of the Valkyries, Wotan's heart-breaking "Farewell" to his beloved daughter ("Leb wohl"), and the "Magic Fire Music" finale. James Conlon conducts a world-celebrated cast, including Linda Watson (Brünnhilde), Michelle DeYoung (Fricka), Vitalij Kowaljow (Wotan), and Eric Halfvarson (Hunding).
PRODUCTION DATES
Saturday April 4, 2009 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday April 8, 2009 1:00 p.m.
Sunday April 12, 2009 1:00 p.m.
Thursday April 16, 2009 6:30 p.m.
Sunday April 19, 2009 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday April 22, 2009 6:30 p.m.
Saturday April 25, 2009 6:30 p.m.
Click here for Pricing Chart Click here for Seating Chart
4 hours and 50 minutes, including two intermissions
PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURE:
One hour prior to each performance.
Pre-performance lectures are generously sponsored
by the Flora L. Thornton Foundation and the Opera League of Los Angeles.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Company Premiere
New Production
Sung in German with English Supertitles.
Artists and dates subject to change.
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The Birds (Die Vogel)
Walter Braunfels
April 11 - 26, 2009
“James Conlon is a maestro on a mission…because of this musical archaeologist’s limitless energy, music once deemed ‘degenerate’ and banned from performance is now filling the world’s concert halls.” —Washington Post
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James Conlon continues his exploration of longforgotten masterpieces by the lost generation of composers affected by the Holocaust. Featured on this year’s Recovered Voices series will be a lush, late Romantic work reminiscent of Strauss and Wagner. Walter Braunfels freely adapted the ancient Greek comic-dramtist Aristophanes’s play The Birds to compose what he described as an “airy play of imagination...everything here is a game, a metaphor.” Soprano Désirée Rancatore, makes her Company debut in the high-flying role of the Nightingale. Winner of the 2007 Richard Tucker Award, Brandon Jovanovich makes a first LA Opera appearance in the role of Good Hope. Also starring Stacey Tappan, James Johnson, Martin Gantner and Brian Mulligan.
PRODUCTION DATES
Saturday April 11, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Saturday April 18, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Thursday April 23, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Sunday April 26, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Click here for Pricing Chart Click here for Seating Chart
RUNNING TIME
2 hours and 50 minutes, including one intermission
PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURE:
One hour prior to each performance.
Pre-performance lectures are generously sponsored
by the Flora L. Thornton Foundation and the Opera League of Los Angeles.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Company Premiere
New Production
Sung in German with English Supertitles.
Artists and dates subject to change.
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La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi
May 21 - June 21, 2009
"La Traviata will go down in opera history as one of the most successful productions LA Opera has staged to date…every element was stupendous." -OperaOnline.us
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Verdi’s heart-rending story of a Parisian courtesan with a sordid past and no future features some of the composer’s most ravishing and popular music. Two gifted artists share the role of Violetta Valery. Making her Company debut will be the rising young Russian soprano Marina Poplavskaya, acclaimed by London’s Evening Standard for “her mesmerizing dramatic intensity and vocal power.”
Returning will be Elizabeth Futral, who The New York Times lauded for her “florid coloratura roulades and embellishments that seem natural elaborations of long melodic lines.” Massimo Giordano and Aleksei Dolgov play Violetta’s love interest, Alfredo Germont. Andrzej Dobber and Stephen Powell share the role of Giorgio Germont. Grant Gershon makes his podium debut, and Marta Domingo directs the lavish period staging of Verdi’s best-loved opera.
PRODUCTION DATES
Thursday May 21, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday May 27, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Saturday May 30, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday June 3, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Saturday June 6, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday June 10, 2009 7:30 p.m.
Sunday June 14, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Sunday June 21, 2009 2:00 p.m.
Click here for Pricing Chart Click here for Seating Chart
RUNNING TIME
2 hours and 50 minutes, including two intermissions
PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURE:
One hour prior to each performance.
Pre-performance lectures are generously sponsored by the Flora L. Thornton Foundation and the Opera League of Los Angeles.
PRODUCTION NOTES:
Sung in Italian with English Supertitles.
Artists and dates subject to change.
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