Behind The La Opera Curtain

In this podcast, Dr. Kristi Brown-Montesano, Chair of Music History and Literature at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, explores the careers and influences of Rossini and Wagner up to 1850 in the context of European opera cultures of that time. This recording was created as part of LA Opera Connects' Scholar Series on Rossini's La Cenerentola and Wagner's Tannhäuser.

In November of 2021, LA Opera and CalPerformances are co-presenting The English Concert on tour with Handel's Alcina. In this podcast, Jeremy Geffen of CalPerformances leads conductor Harry Bicket in conversation about Handel's masterpiece.

In this pre-performance talk, Dr. Kristi Brown-Montesano, Chair of Music History at the Colburn Conservatory of Music and an LA Opera Connects affiliated scholar, introduces audiences to "Alcina," an opera seria written by George Frideric Handel. Dr. Brown-Montesano discusses the composer, the baroque period and the story of this great work.

Jeremy Frank, LA Opera's Associate Chorus Master, is actually a man of many talents: conductor, pianist, educator and mixologist? He is certainly the delightful host of LA Opera Connects' popular Opera Happy Hour web series. In this episode, Jeremy is mixing up a Cuba Libre (aka rum and coke) in preparation for the spookiest episode of Opera Happy Hour yet. This week, we're talking all about the craziest deaths in opera, from Dido and Aeneas to La Wally.

In this podcast, Michael Abels, composer of the score for Get Out, is interviewed by host Bruce Lemon Jr, actor, writer, producer, and director of LA Opera's 2020 production of The Anonymous Lover. Together, they discuss Michael Abels' work with Get Out at the Ace Theater. Come see composer Michael Abels conduct his disconcerting “gospel horror” original score, performed live by the LA Opera Orchestra and the amazing DC6 Singers (the performers heard on the soundtrack), on Oct 29, 30, and 31st, 2021. Tickets are available at laopera.org.

In this podcast, LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director James Conlon explores Wagner's Tannhäuser in this pre-recorded pre-performance talk.

In this podcast, Andréa Fuentes, Director of LA Opera Connects, speaks with composer Carlos Simon, librettist Sandra Seaton, and Director and Choreographer Jamar Roberts about the collaboration, artistry, and meanings in the digital short "The First Bluebird in the Morning." "The First Bluebird in the Morning" is available at LAOpera.org

In this podcast, Andréa Fuentes, Director of LA Opera Connects, takes us through a scene-by-scene description of Wagner's Tannhäuser. An original LA Opera production of Tannhäuser opens October 16.

In this podcast, delve into the universe (literally) during this wide-ranging conversation with musical selections, featuring astronomer Dr. Laura Danly, Curator of the Griffith Observatory and James Conlon, LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director. Together they examine the power and influence of Venus, the goddess and star of love, over the title character of Wagner's Tannhäuser. This podcast was recorded in October, 2020.

In this podcast, Il Trovatore performers Morris Robinson and Tiffany Townsend, along with Fight Choreographer Andrew Kenneth Moss, discuss their creative beginnings, the way they kept their creativity during COVID, and, of course, Verdi's Il Trovatore with this episode's host, Suzanna Guzmán.

In this podcast, LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director James Conlon explores Il Trovatore - the story, its social contexts, and, of course, the music - in this pre-recorded pre-performance talk.

In this podcast, Dr. Mitchell Morris discusses Verdi, Verdi's operas and melodramma, and Il Trovatore. This recording was created as part of LA Opera Connects' professional development series for teachers, Opera for Educators.

In this podcast, mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis, who plays Azucena in LA Opera's 2021 production of Il Trovatore, takes us through a scene-by-scene description of Verdi's masterpiece, which opens September 18th.

In this podcast, mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis and assistant stage director Angela Saroglou discuss Il Trovatore behind the scenes and the pathways forward to bringing Verdi's work to life.

In this podcast, Dr. Mitchell Morris, Chair of Musicology as well as of LGBTQ studies at UCLA, discusses Il Trovatore, the career of Verdi, and the reception of Italian Opera. This recording was created as part of LA Opera Connects’ professional development series for teachers, Opera for Educators, in September of 2020.

In this podcast, Christopher Koelsch, President and CEO of LA Opera, speaks with world-renowned tenor, Russell Thomas, LA Opera's recently-appointed Artist in Residence. They discuss Mr. Thomas’s new role with LA Opera which includes his two newly created training programs for young singers, his journey discovering and sharing opera, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped the art form.

In this podcast, renowned mezzo soprano Suzanna Guzman chats with Khori Dastoor, an artist-turned administrative leader in the field of opera and the first woman to have the role of General Director and CEO of Houston Grand Opera. Joined by Eli Villanueva, the Resident Stage Director for LA Opera Connects, they discuss their journeys to discovering opera, careers, and plans for the future. This conversation was recorded as part of LA Opera Connects’ Opera Camp, a summer performance intensive for children ages 9 through 17.

Jeremy Frank, LA Opera's Associate Chorus Master, is actually a man of many talents: conductor, pianist, educator and mixologist? He is certainly the delightful host of LA Opera Connects' popular Opera Happy Hour web series. In this episode, Ashley Faatoalia joins Jeremy to help answer the age-old question: What’s the difference between musical theater and opera?

In this podcast, Dr. Muriel McClendon, Associate Professor of History at UCLA, and Dr. Teofilo Ruiz, a scholar of social and popular cultures of late medieval and early modern Spain, chat with LA Opera Associate Chorus Master Jeremy Frank about Mozart’s "Don Giovanni" — the fantasy and reality of the story, the meanings of Mozart’s music, and the complexity of the histories that centered this story in social roles and agency are discussed in a deep exploration of one of Mozart’s most well-known operas. This discussion, which was recorded as part of LA Opera Connects professional development series, Opera for Educators, covers some adult topics, and may not be suitable for listeners of all ages. Learn more about Opera for Educators at LAOpera.org/Connects.

In this podcast, Dr. Mitchell Morris discusses the complexity of opera post-1950. In his talk, titled “Modernism and the Sonically Complex: Styles and Philosophies of Opera Since the 1950s”, Dr. Morris invites us into the history of opera house repertory and a study of the effects of modernism. This recording was created as part of LA Opera Connects professional development series for teachers, Opera for Educators. Learn more about Opera for Educators at LAOpera.org/Connects.