David Grann, a journalist who writes nonfiction that reads like fiction, has written compelling books about a British explorer who disappeared in the Amazon looking for a lost ancient city and the Osage Indian murders that led to the creation of the FBI. In December 2004, he published an article in The New Yorker called [...]

Sigrid Gilmer’s “Mama Metal” is a surreal take on the “mama drama,” the two most famous of which, Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” figure in this new play. Gilmer’s Humanitas-developed meta-theatrical comedy received its world premiere at the Atwater Village Theatre in May and continues through June 23.
O’Neill [...]

On May 17, the LA Phil, conducted by Dudamel and joined by five well-known pianists, embarked on a week-long series of concerts featuring the five piano concertos by Beethoven.
Sunday’s concert, surprisingly, was a very classical one, including Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, Op. 84, Haydn’s Symphony, No. 104 in D major, H. 104, “London,” and Beethoven’s Piano [...]

The libretto for Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” is in Italian, but the characters are American and Japanese. What if, Pacific Opera Project asked, we rewrote this opera in English and Japanese? Sounds amazing, right? … Well, it is!
On April 6, Pacific Opera Project and its inspired artistic director Josh Shaw premiered an English and Japanese “Madama [...]

Though commissioned to celebrate the coronation of Leopold II in Prague in 1791, and based on Titus Flavius Vespasianus who became emperor of Rome in 79 A.D., Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” speaks to our current state of affairs. The opera champions a merciful ruler who demonstrates love and forgiveness for a young patrician (and [...]

One of the most exciting cultural institutions in the LA area is, without a doubt, Long Beach Opera. With Artistic and General Director Andreas Mitisek at the helm, Long Beach Opera has become known for producing fresh, genre-defying, highly artistic and inventive operas like “Frida Kahlo” (read our review), “The Invention of Morel” (read our [...]

LA Opera serves up a special treat to start the holiday season with “Hansel and Gretel,” onstage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion through Dec. 15. Take your children to see this magical opera. It’s a perfect introduction to the genre, and if you go on Domingo Family Day (Dec. 9), the kids will have even [...]

On opening night for “The Woman in Black” at the Pasadena Playhouse, a full house was laughing out loud, especially early on. Later, they were jumping in their seats, gasping and screaming. The play, which entertained more than 8 million people over 28 years (making it London’s second longest-running West End play), has come to [...]

LA Opera opened its 2018-19 season in grand style with Don Carlo, Verdi’s most ambitious opera. A complex drama about conflict among family, nations and religions with forbidden love at its center, Don Carlo, as Music Director James Conlon has said, “claims its place as perhaps the greatest and most enduring grand opéra of them [...]

Three-time Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn will make her only LA appearance this year in Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s season-opening concert. And equally big news: College students can see the concert for the equivalent of a dollar when they buy an All Access Pass.
Hilary Hahn
Hahn will perform Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins and Violin Concerto in [...]