The wedding starts at noon. The uprising starts now.
Something old, something new, something borrowed and something… threatening to throw Figaro’s wedding plans into disarray. Count Almaviva's wandering eye has landed on his wife's maid Susanna, who's about to marry his own manservant Figaro. Racing against the clock, Figaro quickly concocts a plan to outwit his master. Will the wily duo outwit the Count in time to save the day?
Mozart's greatest comedy sparkles with disguises, wit, trickery and humanity, all under the masterful baton of Music Director James Conlon. We're taking the magic even further with an enchanting new production directed by acclaimed filmmaker James Gray, with costumes designed by celebrated fashion designer Christian Lacroix. (Yes, that's a shameless name drop.)
A brilliant cast of company favorites brings the leading couples to life: Craig Colclough and Janai Brugger as the ever-resourceful Figaro and Susanna, with Lucas Meachem and Ana María Martínez as the Count and Countess. Rihab Chaieb makes her company debut as Cherubino, the lovable scamp who always shows up in the middle of all the schemes—at the absolutely worst time.
Tickets are almost sold out! Limited seats available for Feb. 26. Check back daily for returns or call the Box Office at 213.972.8001, Monday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
Thursday, February 23rd Happy Hour Pre-Show Event Has Been Cancelled.
Please note that due to rain, the pre-performance event with live music from KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole and Happy Hour on the plaza has regrettably been cancelled.
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One hour before each performance begins, join Music Director James Conlon for a pre-show talk about The Marriage of Figaro in Stern Grand Hall, on the second floor of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Admission is complimentary with your ticket.
"This all-new Marriage of Figaro is as distinguished as one could hope to see anywhere – admirably sung, delightful to look at, executed with dedication and in detail, natural and unaffected in its flow"
Listed to the famous overture from The Marriage of Figaro below:
Cast
- Figaro
- Craig Colclough
- Susanna
- Janai Brugger
- Countess
- Ana María Martínez
- Count
- Lucas Meachem
- Cherubino
- Rihab Chaieb
- Doctor Bartolo
- Kristinn Sigmundsson
- Marcellina
- Marie McLaughlin
- Don Basilio
- Rodell Aure Rosel
- Don Curzio
- Anthony León
- Barbarina
- Deepa Johnny
- Antonio
- Alan Williams
Craig Colclough
Figaro
From: Claremont, California. LA Opera: Guccio in Gianni Schicchi (2008, debut); 12 roles to date including Monterone in Rigoletto (2018); Father in Hansel and Gretel (2018); Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro (2022); Leporello in Don Giovanni (2023). He is a 2021 recipient of the Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award.
Bass-baritone Craig Colclough initially studied as a cellist and eventually attended the University of Redlands in California. Before training with Wolf Trap Opera and Florida Grand Opera, he began his career appearing in several roles with LA Opera. The company awarded him the Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award during the 2020/21 season, celebrating artists with deep connections to LA Opera.
Verdi’s Macbeth has become a signature role, serving as Colclough’s debut at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper and Luxembourg Opera. 2022 saw his return to the Royal Opera House Covent Gardens where he reprised his role as Telramund in Wagner’s Lohengrin. Colclough is currently building the character of Alberich under the direction of Brigitte Fassbaender for the Tiroler Festspiele in Austria. Having debuted Alberich in her 2021 Rheingold to great acclaim, Colclough will complete the cycle in 2024.
The 2022/23 season saw Colclough as Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro at LA Opera, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at the Atlanta Opera with continued appearances as Monterone in Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera. The 2018/19 season included appearances as Peter in Hansel and Gretel at LA Opera, Fra Melitone in La Forza del Destino for his company debut with Oper Fankfurt, as well as the Storyteller in A Flowering Tree for his company debut with Opera Queensland. During the summer, he returned to the title role of Don Pasquale with the Berkshire Opera Festival.
A house favorite with Belgium’s Opera Vlaanderen, he has appeared with the company as Telramund, Kurwenal, Macbeth and the title role of Falstaff, in a production directed by Oscar-winning actor Christoph Waltz.
Known for his versatility, Craig Colclough has appeared as Peter Vogel in Korngold's Der Ring des Polykrates with the Dallas Opera; Hare in the world premiere of Burke and Hare with Boston Lyric Opera; Pistola in Falstaff with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; and Doristo in L’arbore di Diana with Minnesota Opera.
He has collaborated with acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel for performances of Timur in Turandot with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Additional credits include the Israeli Symphony Orchestra, California Philharmonic, Capitol Records, Abbey Road Studios and the soundtrack of the film Rolled.
Learn more at CraigColclough.com.
Janai Brugger
Susanna
From: Darien, Illinois. LA Opera: Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro (2010, debut) with subsequent roles including Musetta in La Bohème (2012, 2016), Pamina in The Magic Flute (2013) and Servilia in The Clemency of Titus (2019). She is an alumna of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program (2010-2012) and a 2021 recipient of the Eva and Marc Stern Artist Award. Upcoming: Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro (2022).
Janai Brugger, the 2012 winner of Operalia and of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, made her television debut in 2020 when she sang a specially-written requiem composed by Laura Karpman for an episode of HBO’s renowned Lovecraft Country. She returned to Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and revived a favorite role, Pamina in The Magic Flute for performances at Palm Beach Opera’s first Outdoor Opera Festival. More recently she appeared as Michaela in Carmen at Cincinnati Opera and returned to Dutch National Opera for their acclaimed Missa in tempore Belli (Haydn) conducted by Lorenzo Viotti and directed by Barbora Horáková.
In both 2019 and 2021, she appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Clara in their celebrated new production of Porgy and Bess in which she’d previously appeared at Dutch National Opera. At Lyric Opera of Chicago she sang the role of Ilia in Idomeneo and at Cincinnati Opera she appeared as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro. In her artistic home at LA Opera, she sang the role of Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito, a role she previously sang at Dutch National Opera. She recently travelled to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden for revival performances of Pamina in The Magic Flute and sang the role of Liù in Turandot at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Engagements for the 2022/23 season include Glauce in Medea at the Metropolitan Opera, Liu in Turandot with Opera Colorado and the title role of Susannah with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Learn more at JanaiBrugger.com.
Ana María Martínez
Countess
From: San Juan, Puerto Rico. LA Opera: Mimì in La Bohème (1997, debut; 2004); Violetta in La Traviata (2001); Amelia in Simon Boccanegra (2012); Nedda in Pagliacci (2015); Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (2016); title role of Carmen (2017); Elisabetta in Don Carlo (2018); Soleá in El Gato Montés (2018); Countess in The Marriage of Figaro (2022); Catrina in El último sueño de Frida y Diego (2023).
Grammy Award winning soprano Ana María Martinez has been acclaimed by The New York Times as an artist who creates “theatrical magic.” She is a winner of the 15th annual Opera News Awards, and her international career sees a diverse lineup of opera’s leading ladies at the world’s most important opera houses and concert halls. The 2022/23 season saw her return to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera to sing the role of Donna Elvira in a new production of Don Giovanni by Ivo van Hove, conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann. Ms. Martinez also returned to LA Opera to sing the Countess in a new production of The Marriage of Figaro conducted by music director James Conlon. Ms. Martinez made appearances at the Toronto Summer Music Festival for a concert with pianist Craig Terry and as a guest teaching artist, as well as a recital with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Society, and as a Mosher Guest Artist with Music Academy of the West.
Performance highlights of the 2021/22 season include the title role in Florencia en el Amazonas with Lyric Opera of Chicago and a role debut as Despina in Cosi fan tutte with Washington National Opera. On stage during 2020/21 season, in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms. Martínez was thrilled to join San Diego Opera as Mimi in their production of La Bohème, in the world’s first-ever drive-in opera production! Virtual performances during the season included a “Living Room Recital” with LA Opera performed in Ana María’s home and available digitally. She curated two Spanish-themed virtual programs, the first, with pianist Craig Terry for Lyric Opera of Chicago, entitled Pasión Latina, featured a dynamic selection of music from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Argentina and Spain. The second program, created by Ana María for Houston Grand Opera, entitled Suite Española, featured music of Spain, including zarzuela, and starred Ana María alongside HGO Studio artists. Additional performances during the season included her role debut as Tosca with Opera Philadelphia, which she performed again later in the season with Cincinnati Opera, as well as Nedda in Pagliacci with Palm Beach Opera.
The inaugural recipient of the Lynn Wyatt Great Artist Award from Houston Grand Opera and Lynn and Oscar Wyatt, Ms. Martinez’s relationship with HGO goes back to 1994 when she won first prize in the Eleanor McCollum Auditions and Awards Competition, and in 2015 established the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award as part of that same competition. The scholarship is awarded annually to a young singer with great artistic promise, and is to be used towards the furthering of his or her artistic training. On the Houston Grand Opera stage Ms. Martínez continues to portray some of her most beloved characters, often under the baton of Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers. It was there that she debuted the title role of Carmen, as well as the role of Cio-Cio-San, which she since has performed around the world. She joined them as the title role in Rusalka, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Nedda in Pagliacci, Mimi in La Bohème, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Liù in Turandot, Lucero in the world premiere of Daniel Catán’s Salsipuedes, and as both Rosalba and later the title role in Florencia en el Amazonas, both of which were recorded for commercial release.
Ms. Martínez is delighted to perform season after season with Lyric Opera of Chicago. Recent performances include Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, Donna Elvira in a new Robert Falls production of Don Giovanni, her role debut as Desdemona in Otello, as well as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Mimi in La Bohème, Nedda in Pagliacci, Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte and Marguerite in Faust. She made her role debut as Elisabetta in Don Carlo with San Francisco Opera, conducted by Nicola Luisotti, and also joined them as Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, Micaëla in Carmen, as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and as Pamina in The Magic Flute. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera as Micaëla in Carmen and returned to the house as Musetta in La Bohème and Cio-Cio-San. She joined Washington National Opera as Liù in Turandot and Cio-Cio San, and she made her debut with Santa Fe Opera as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, returning there as Rosina in a new production of The Barber of Seville, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mimi in La Bohème, as Cio-Ci-San, and as the title role in Carmen. Additional leading roles in the United States have taken her for multiples seasons to the stages of Opera de Puerto Rico, Dallas Opera, and Florida Grand Opera, among many others.
Career highlights from stages across Europe include her critically acclaimed role and house debut as Rusalka with the Glyndebourne Festival, which was recorded live and released on the Glyndebourne label. She returned to Glyndebourne in the leading role of Paolina in the United Kingdom’s first professionally staged performances of Donizetti’s Poliuto, also recorded live and released on DVD. She made her debut at Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires as Rusalka, and her debut with the Opera National de Paris as Amelia in a new production of Simon Boccanegra, returning as the title role in a new production of Luisa Miller, as Mimi in La Bohème, and for her role debut as Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann. She made her debut with the Vienna State Opera as Adina in L'elisir d’amore, and returned there as Pamina in The Magic Flute, Micaëla in Carmen, Mimi in La Bohème, Liù in Turandot, and as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. She joined the Bavarian State Opera in Munich as Cio-Cio-San, Luisa Miller, the Countess, Mimi, Rusalka and as Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann. At the Royal Opera House Covent Garden she debuted her Alice Ford in Falstaff, and portrayed Violetta in La Traviata, Cio-Cio-San and Donna Elvira. She sang Liu and Nedda both with De Nederlandse Opera. In the Middle East, she portrayed Mimi with the Abu Dhabi Festival in the United Arab Emirates, for the city’s first ever fully staged opera production.
A celebrated concert artist, Ms. Martinez has appeared with some of the world’s most important orchestras and conductors. She made her debut at Teatro alla Scala with the Filharmonica della Scala, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, performed with the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Alan Gilbert, in selections from West Side Story, and has had solo concerts with the Puerto Rico Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Mercury Baroque in Houston, the Seoul Philharmonic, and with the English National Opera Orchestra in London. She has performed with the Tchaikovsky Symphony in Moscow, under the direction of Vladimir Fedoseyev, the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasiliera in Rio de Janeiro, the BBC Symphony at Barbican Hall, and the National Symphony of the Dominican Republic. She joined the Boston Symphony, conducted by Bernard Haitink, Lyric Opera of Chicago for several concerts at Millenium Park conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, and the Washington National Opera Orchestra for a concert with Bryn Terfel conducted by Plácido Domingo. She made her debut with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg for Verdi’s Requiem, joined the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel, and performed alongside baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in a gala concert with the Turkish Opera and Ballet Theatre. She sang with tenor Joseph Calleja in an open-air televised gala concert with the Esterhazy Festival in Austria, the Ravinia Festival in concert performances as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte conducted by James Conlon, joined the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy, Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, and has appeared on several occasions with the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico.
Ms. Martínez’s recording collection is highlighted by her solo disc, entitled Ana María Martínez - Soprano Songs and Arias, of which she also served as executive producer. Recorded with the Prague Philharmonia and conducted by Steven Mercurio on Naxos, the album was selected by Gramophone as an “Editor’s Choice.” She stars on the soundtrack of Amazon’s season 3 of Mozart in the Jungle (Sony Classical), on the DVD Cosi fan tutte (Decca) filmed at the Salzburg Festival, and appears on Steven Mercurio’s Many Voices (Sony Classical). She performs on the albums of Philip Glass’'s La Belle et la Bête and Symphony No. 5 (Nonesuch), Albeniz's Henry Clifford (Decca), Joaquin Rodrigo’s: Obra Vocal I, II, IV & V (EMI), and Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas (Albany). Recorded on Naxos for the Milken Archives and with the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, she can be heard on Castelnuovo Tedesco’s Naomi & Ruth Opus 27 (Naxos) as well as Yizkor's Requiem (Naxos) and with the Barcelona Symphony, Marvin Levy’s Canto de los Marranos (Naxos), Julius Chajes’ Old Jerusalem (Naxos) and Hugo Weisgall's Psalm of the Distant Dove (Naxos). Her rendition of Ave Maria is heard on the Aaron Zigman soundtrack in the Denzel Washington film John Q, and her “Je veux vivre” from Romeo et Juliette can be heard in the movie Factory Girl.
In addition to a full performing calendar, Ms. Martinez is also the first ever Artistic Advisor at Houston Grand Opera and as a performing Professor of Voice at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. She has also voiced the role of opera singer Alessandra in season three of Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, and proudly represented her birthplace Puerto Rico as an honoree and performer in the 62nd Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. Additionally, Ms. Martinez is a contributing editor to Classical Singer Magazine and her reflections were profiled in Latino Wisdom: Celebrity Stories of Hope, Inspiration, and Success to Recharge our Mind, Body, and Soul by Cathy Areu, published by Barricade Books.
Ms. Martínez was the inaugural recipient of the Pepita Embil Prize of Zarzuela at the 1995 Operalia, and in the years since has been honored to regularly share the stage in concert with Plácido Domingo. Highlights of their touring include performances at the White House, HSBC Arena in Rio De Janeiro for the World Cup Celebration, her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, as well as performances at the Abu Dhabi Festival in the United Arab Emirates, Arena di Verona, Chorégies d’Orange, Teatro Real in Madrid, with the LA Opera Orchestra in honor of Domingo’s 50th anniversary, in a special concert event with the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis, and for the inaugural performance at the Dubai Opera House, to name just a select few. Their recordings include a zarzuela DVD recorded live at the Salzburg Festival entitled Amor, Vida de Mi Vida (EuroArts), the Latin Grammy Award-winning recording of Albeniz's Merlin (Decca), as well as the Grammy nominated recording of Bacalov's Misa Tango (Deutsche Grammophon), and the DVD Spanish Night (EuroArts) with the Berlin Philharmonic. Ms. Martínez has also performed on international concert tours with star tenor Andrea Bocelli. Highlights of their collaboration include her appearance on the Emmy-nominated PBS TV special and DVD American Dream: Andrea Bocelli’s Statue of Liberty Concert (WNET/Thirteen) with the New Jersey Symphony, as well as her participation in his star-studded performance in New York’s Central Park which was recorded live, entitled Concerto: One Night in Central Park (Verve). She performs the role of Nedda opposite Andrea Bocelli in the recording of Pagliacci (Decca), and portrays the title role in Manon Lescaut (Decca) recorded opposite Andrea Bocelli with Plácido Domingo conducting the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana.
Born in Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father, Ana María spent her formative years in Puerto Rico and New York City. She graduated from The Juilliard School with both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. An alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Martínez won the Pepita Embil Award at the 1995 Operalia II, first prize in the 1994 Eleanor McCollum Auditions and Awards from Houston Grand Opera, and in the 1993 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions she was a first place district and first place regional winner and national finalist. She is the recipient of the National Association of Latina Leaders’ Groundbreaking Latina in Music Award.
Learn more at AnaMariaMartinez.com.
Lucas Meachem
Count
From: Raleigh, North Carolina. LA Opera: Figaro in The Barber of Seville (2009, debut); Figaro in The Ghosts of Versailles (2015); Wolfram in Tannhäuser (2021); Count in The Marriage of Figaro (2023); title role in Don Giovanni (2023).
Grammy Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem, one of the most accomplished, in-demand singers of the moment, continues to captivate audiences worldwide with his “earnest, appealing baritone” (The New York Times). The “rock star of opera” (Opera Pulse) began his 2022/23 season with performances as the title role in Don Giovanni at Ravinia Festival, followed by Escamillo in Carmen with Canadian Opera Company and Opéra National de Paris, Marcello in La Bohème with Bayerische Staatsoper, and Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro with LA Opera. Rounding out the season with a return to Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at San Francisco Opera, other highlights include Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at Dallas Opera, and guest soloist appearances with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Classical Tahoe and San Francisco Opera.
Celebrated by Opera News as a “masterful musician” with an “instrument of striking finish, smooth and solid throughout its range,” Meachem’s recent performances include Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at Royal Opera House, Marcello in La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera, and the title role in Nabucco at Oper im Steinbruch. Additionally, Meachem’s Teatro alla Scala debut in Massenet’s Thaïs was acclaimed as the “most impressive performance of the evening” (Opera Online), with his portrayal of Athanaël, alongside Marina Rebeka’s Thaïs, described as “possibly one of the great duos experienced at La Scala in recent decades” (Beckmesser).
When Covid struck and performances were canceled abruptly, Meachem was one of the first classical musicians to live stream a recital from the opera stage, just days after lockdown on March 23, 2020. In a recent profile with Opera News, Meachem revealed that, in March 2020, he felt at loose ends. With debut performances of Rodrigo in Don Carlos at Dallas Opera indefinitely postponed, he and his wife, pianist Irina Meachem, arranged a live-streamed program from the Winspear Opera House. The concert, recorded on smartphones with just two other people in the room, amassed more than 25,000 views on Instagram and Facebook, setting the standard for digital performances over the pandemic. While theaters were dark, Meachem continued to perform on the physical and digital stage, singing his “signature role for good reason” (Opera News) as Figaro in San Francisco Opera’s The Barber of Seville for an innovative “drive-in” experience. Meachem then filmed a movie version of Pagliacci as the romantic lead Silvio with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, set within their own opera house.
Named the winner of San Francisco Opera’s inaugural “Emerging Star of the Year” Award in 2016, other notable performances in Meachem’s American career include marking his 50th role debut as Athanaël in Thaïs (Minnesota Opera), Chorèbe in Les Troyens, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Valentin in Faust at Chicago Lyric Opera; General Rayevsky in Prokofiev’s War and Peace, Silvio in Pagliacci, and Mercutio in Roméo and Juliette at the Metropolitan Opera; Don Giovanni with Chicago Lyric Opera, Santa Fe Opera, New Orleans Opera, and Cincinnati Opera; Germont in La Traviata at Washington National Opera; The Barber of Seville at San Diego Opera, Opera Colorado, Houston Grand Opera and LA Opera, where he also gave his Grammy Award-winning performance of Figaro in The Ghosts of Versailles.
A regular performer across Europe, Meachem has performed the title role in The Barber of Seville with the Vienna Staatsoper, Royal Opera House, and Den Norske Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni at Glyndebourne Festival and Semperoper Dresden; the title role in Britten’s Billy Budd at Opéra national de Paris; as Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich and Royal Opera House; Wolfram von Eschenbach in Tannhäuser at the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan under the baton of Seiji Ozawa; the title role in Eugene Onegin with Komische Oper Berlin and Opéra national de Montpellier; Zurga in The Pearl Fishers at Bilbao Opera; Escamillo in Carmen with Teatro Regio di Torino; and with the Teatro Real de Madrid in the world premiere of José Maria Sánchez-Verdú's El Viaje a Simorgh, Frank/Fritz in Die Tote Stadt, as well as Oreste in Iphigénie en Tauride.
Meachem’s first solo album, Shall We Gather, released in September 2021 under Rubicon Records and featuring his wife, Irina Meachem, at the piano, was praised by BBC Music Magazine as having “vibrant and committed performances,” with Meachem delivering “a heartbreakingly beautiful performance.” According to The New Yorker, the album of American songs is “a plea for togetherness in a divided country. Meachem’s voice—a substantial and propulsive lyric baritone with pillowy edges—records beautifully.”
In July 2020, the Meachems founded Perfect Day Music Foundation (PDMF). The foundation aims to represent inclusivity and diversity of people today by using classical music as a relevant medium to address current issues through a traditional art form. The Foundation’s annual competition, which utilizes social media in its application process to raise awareness for new compositions, centers around a yearly theme that highlights an important demographic of classical music.
Born in North Carolina, Lucas Meachem studied music at Appalachian State University, the Eastman School of Music, and Yale University before becoming an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera.
Learn more at LucasMeachem.com
Rihab Chaieb
Cherubino
From: Montreal, Canada. LA Opera: Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (2022, debut).
Tunisian-born Rihab Chaieb is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program where she appeared in numerous productions, including L’Italiana in Algeri (Zulma), Luisa Miller (Laura), Cavalleria Rusticana (Lola) and Hänsel und Gretel (Sandman). Returning since as a guest in Don Giovanni (Zerlina) under Cornelius Meister, she appears there this season as Nefertiti in Phelim McDermott’s unforgettable production of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, conducted by Karen Kamensek.
In the 2021/22 season, Rihab Chaieb debuts at Washington National Opera in Così fan tutte (Dorabella), sings Penelope on a European concert tour and recording of Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Ensemble I Gemelli and Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, returns to Opéra et Orchestre National de Montpellier as Maddalena in Marie-Eve Signeyrole’s new staging of Rigoletto, and joins Palm Beach Opera in the title role of Carmen. In concert, Chaieb joins the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah, and Les Violons du Roy for Mozart’s Requiem.
Demonstrating strong repertoire versatility in recent seasons, Rihab Chaieb debuted as Charlotte in Werther at Opera Vlaanderen under Giedrė Šlekytė, at Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s The Phoenix, as Rosina (The Barber of Seville) at Cincinnati Opera and as Offenbach’s Fantasio at Opéra de Montpellier. For Dutch National Opera, Chaieb sang Lola in Robert Carsen’s new staging under Lorenzo Viotti, Dorabella at Teatro Santiago de Chile, Kasturbai in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha at Opera Vlaanderen, and received unanimous acclaim for her first Carmen in Lydia Steier’s intense new production for Oper Köln.
On the concert stage, Rihab Chaieb has performed with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Johannes Debus in Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and in a programme of Rossini under Kent Nagano; with both Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Otto Tausk and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Carlos Miguel Prieto in de Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat; and at the Toronto Summer Music Festival in her first Das Lied von der Erde. Last season, Rihab Chaieb joined Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s line-up of soloists for an audiovisual recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Orchestre Métropolitain for broadcast on DG Stage, Deutsche Grammophon’s new online platform.
A former member of both Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, where she earned major acclaim as Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito), and San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, where she debuted as Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro), Chaieb also enjoyed several summers at the Glyndebourne Festival as Mércedès (Carmen) under Jakub Hrůša, and Flora (La Traviata) under Andrés Orozco-Estrada.
The recipient of many major grants, Rihab Chaieb has also enjoyed competition success, taking Third Prize at the 2018 Operalia Competition, winning the 2016 Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, and taking prizes at both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the 2018 George London Foundation Competition.
Kristinn Sigmundsson
Doctor Bartolo
From: Reykjavík, Iceland. LA Opera: King Marke in Tristan und Isolde (2007, debut); King Heinrich in Lohengrin (2010), King Louis XVI in The Ghosts of Versailles (2015); Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville (2015); Doctor Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro (2015). Upcoming: soloist in St. Matthew Passion (2022), Doctor Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro (2023); Don Estoban in The Dwarf (2024).
In the 2021/22 season, Kristinn Sigmundsson joins the Enescu Festival as the Chamberlain in The Dwarf, the Royal Opera House Muscat as Monterone in Rigoletto, New National Theatre Tokyo for Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, and returns to the Bavarian State Opera for La Roche in Capriccio. He returned to Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie as Ghost in Dusapin’s Macbeth Underworld, and joined Indiana University Opera for Gurnemanz in Parsifal. Mr. Sigmundsson also recently returned to Houston Grand Opera for the Commendatore in Don Giovanni and Daland in The Flying Dutchman, to San Francisco Opera for Vodnik in Rusalka, Den Norske Opera for Dansker in Billy Budd, the Edinburgh International Festival for the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, and Atlanta Opera for Daland in The Flying Dutchman.
Other recent performances include returns to Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie for La Roche in Capriccio, Staatsoper Hamburg to reprise Melchthal in Guillaume Tell, Teatro Regio Torino for Sarastro in The Magic Flute and the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Rocco in Fidelio. He also sang Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro with Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Sigmundsson recently joined the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Hunding in excerpts of Die Walküre, Staatsoper Hamburg for Melchthal in Guillaume Tell and the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, the Caramoor International Music Festival for Rocco in Fidelio, the Icelandic Opera for Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville, the Grant Park Music Festival for Méphistophélès in La Damnation de Faust, and returned to the Cincinnati May Festival for Music Director James Conlon’s final season for Dvořák’s Stabat Mater. He also joined LA Opera for its trilogy of Beaumarchais operas as he sang Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Louis XVI in Corigliano’s 2017 Grammy-winning The Ghosts of Versailles, and Doctor Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro. He also recently sang King Philip in Don Carlo with the Icelandic Opera and returned to both the Ravinia Festival as Daland in The Flying Dutchman and the Cincinnati May Festival for Haydn’s Creation.
As one of the world’s most sought after basses, Mr. Sigmundsson has sung nearly his entire repertoire with the Opéra National de Paris. His performances at the Metropolitan Opera include Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, Osmin in The Abduction from the Seraglio, Hunding in Die Walküre, Rocco in Fidelio, Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, and Vodnik in Rusalka. He has sung leading roles regularly with the Staatsoper Wien, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Semperoper Dresden, where his most recent performances include Méphistophélès in La Damnation de Faust. Other appearances include the Commendatore in Don Giovanni in Munich, Berlin and New York; Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, König Heinrich in Lohengrin and Pogner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Berlin; Rocco in Fidelio in New York and Houston; Daland in The Flying Dutchman in San Francisco and Strasbourg; Fasolt in Das Rheingold in Houston; Creonte in Medea in Salzburg; Gurnemanz in Parsifal in Cologne and Florence; Zaccaria in Nabucco in Copenhagen and Beijing, King Heinrich in Lohengin in Madrid, San Fancisco, Los Angeles, and with the Bayerische Staatsoper both in Munich and on tour to Japan; King Marke in Tristan und Isolde in Santiago, Dallas, and Berlin; Hunding in Die Walküre in Naples, Venice and Cologne; Hermann in Tannhäuser in Geneva, Amsterdam, and Tokyo; Méphistophélès in La Damnation de Faust; La Cuisinière in The Love of Three Oranges in Florence; King Marke in Tristan und Isolde, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, and Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier in San Francisco; King Heinrich in Lohengrin and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor in Munich; Osmin in The Abduction from the Seraglio in Naples; the Commendatore in Don Giovanni and Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro and Walter in Luisa Miller at the Cincinnati May Festival; and Sarastro in The Magic Flute in Houston, San Francisco, Toulouse, and Santiago.
His concert performances include collaborations with many of the world's leading conductors including James Levine, Riccardo Muti, James Conlon, Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink, Charles Mackerras, Christoph von Dohnányi, Jeffrey Tate, Christoph Eschenbach, Ivor Bolton, and Marc Minkowski. He recently joined the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Cincinnati May Festival, and the Budapest Festival Orchestra on tour at Avery Fisher Hall for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and sang Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with the Hamburger Symphoniker, and Dvořák’s Requiem with the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale. Also with the Cincinnati May Festival, he sang Tchaikovsky’s Ode to Joy and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. Among his discography are commercial recordings of Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute with Arnold Östman (Decca) and Schreker's Die Gezeichneten (Deutsche Grammophon). With Frans Brueggen he has recorded both Bach’s St. John Passion and the St. Matthew Passion (Phillips). He has recorded Schumann's Faustszenen with Philippe Herreweghe (Harmonia Mundi) and Fidelio with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis.
In the early part of his career he performed principally in his native Iceland before joining the Hessische Staatstheater in Wiesbaden. His initial training was as a biologist and he taught for a few years before becoming a singer, studying first at the Reykjavik Academy of Singing and then at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria.
Marie McLaughlin
Marcellina
LA Opera: Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte (1996, debut); Signora Nacarelli in The Light in the Piazza (2019). Upcoming: Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro (2022).
Distinguished soprano Marie McLaughlin has enjoyed more than three decades of performance at the highest international level. Over that time, she has collaborated with some of the world’s greatest conductors including such legends as the late Leonard Bernstein and Giuseppe Sinopoli, as well as Daniel Barenboim, Bernard Haitink and Sir Antonio Pappano. A wide repertoire of core roles took her around the world at an early age including to the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, and the Salzburg and Glyndebourne Festivals. Her substantial discography includes many of those roles including Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Sir Neville Marriner for Philips, Despina in Così fan tutte with James Levine for Deutsche Grammophon as well as Micaëla in Carmen and Violetta in La Traviata under Bernard Haitink.
Key roles in today’s repertory include Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro, which has been heard at Gran Teatre del Liceu, Opéra National de Paris, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, at the Salzburg and Ravinia Festivals and at the Metropolitan Opera; La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi at Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Glyndebourne Festival; Madam Larina in Eugene Onegin at Teatro Regio di Torino, Glyndebourne Festival and Opéra de Lille; Despina in Così fan tutte at Scottish Opera and the Spoleto Festival; Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Bavarian State Opera; Mrs Grose in The Turn of the Screw at Madrid’s Teatro Real; and Miss Jessel in the same opera at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie and Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden in the highly-acclaimed production by the late Luc Bondy, conducted by Daniel Harding and released on DVD by BelAir Classique.
Equally at ease in contemporary repertoire, Marie McLaughlin has recently created the characters of Lilian Disney in Philip Glass’ The Perfect American at Madrid’s Teatro Real, subsequently in performance at the Brisbane Festival, Mother Needham in Iain Bell’s The Harlot’s Progress at Theater an der Wien, and Abigail Simpson in the world premiere of Julian Grant’s The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare for Boston Lyric Opera. For the 2018/19 season, Marie McLaughlin joins Garsington Opera as Ludmila in Paul Curran’s production of The Bartered Bride, makes her first appearance as Mother Goose in The Rake’s Progress with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski, and creates the role of Annie Chapman in Iain Bell’s new commission Jack the Ripper: The Women of Whitechapel for English National Opera. The previous season’s highlights included Meg Page in Robert Carsen’s production of Falstaff for the Royal Opera House under Nicola Luisotti, Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw for Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden, and the Older Woman in Jonathan Dove’s Flight for Scottish Opera.
Rodell Aure Rosel
Don Basilio
From: Manila, Philippines. LA Opera: Goro in Madama Butterfly (2012, debut); Spoletta in Tosca (2013); Bardolph in Falstaff (2013); Monostatos in The Magic Flute (2013); First Jew in Salome (2017); Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffmann (2017). Upcoming: Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro (2022).
Rodell Aure Rosel is a guest of the major opera companies. Following his debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Remendado in Carmen, he has appeared on that stage as Mime in Das Rheingold, Goro in Madama Butterfly, Pang in Turandot, Monastatos in The Magic Flute, the Prince and Man Servant in Lulu, Spoletta in Tosca, Faninal’s Major-domo in Der Rosenkavalier, Bardolph in Falstaff, Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus, the Four Servants in The Tales of Hoffmann, and Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier, among other roles. He has appeared on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera as Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier and as Nathaniel and Franz in the new production of The Tales of Hoffmann. He has also appeared with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Monastatos.
Elsewhere, he has appeared with Seattle Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and Tulsa Opera as Goro in Madama Butterfly, Houston Grand Opera as Mime in Das Rheingold and Siegfried, Squeak in Billy Budd, Dancing Master in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Goro, Seattle Opera as Monastatos, Wolf Trap Opera as the Governor in Candide and the Dancing Master in Ariadne auf Naxos, the Florentine Opera as Monastatos in The Magic Flute, Little Bat in Susannah, Njegus in The Merry Widow, and in the title role of Albert Herring, Santa Fe Opera in the world premiere of The Letter, the Ravinia Festival as Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro, Spoletta and Arbace in Idomeneo, the Dallas Opera as Anthony Candolino in the world premiere of Heggie’s Great Scott, the Cleveland Orchestra as the First Jew in Salome, and Kentucky Opera as the Dancing Master in Ariadne auf Naxos, Arizona Opera as Loge in Das Rheingold, Numi Opera in the title role of Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf, and the National Theater in Taiwan as Mime.
Engagements for the 2021/22 season include Monostatos in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera and at Pittsburgh Opera, and Spoletta in Tosca with Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Formerly a member of the Ryan Opera Center (formerly Lyric Opera Center for American Artists), the Manila native studied at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he sang the title role in Britten’s Albert Herring and leading roles in Mozart, Rossini and Ravel, also appearing as tenor soloist in The Creation, Messiah and the Mozart Requiem. He has sung Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro at Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, as well as Monostatos in The Magic Flute, Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Tinca in Il Tabarro, all with Opera Nova-Santa Monica.
In addition to his award from the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Rosel has received a third-place award from the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, a second-place award at the Lotte Lenya Vocal Competition, and was a finalist at the Loren Zachary National Vocal Competition. He is the recipient of scholarships from, among others, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Anthony León
Don Curzio
From: Riverside, California. LA Opera: Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor (2022, debut); Spoletta in Tosca (2022); Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia (2023); Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro (2023); Ramses in Moses (2023); Roderigo in Otello (2023); Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (2023); Young Man / Second Villager in Frida y Diego (2023). He joined the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program in 2022.
The American-born Cuban and Colombian tenor Anthony León is a young up-and-comer who is quickly developing an international performing career. On April 23, 2023, he was a 2023 grand finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. On October 30, 2022, he was the first place winner of Operalia, where he also won the zarzuela prize.
His appearances in the 2023/24 season include Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at LA Opera and Nadir in The Pearl Fishers with the Cologne Opera. Engagements for the summer of 2023 include Ravel's L’Enfant et les sortilèges with the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project and performances at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.
For the 2022/23 season, his appearances included several roles with LA Opera, Pelléas in Impressions de Pelléas with James Conlon at the Ebell of Los Angeles, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.
His most recent engagements elsewhere include singing Remendado in Carmen at Santa Fe Opera, Ernesto in Don Pasquale at New England Conservatory and being on tour performing the roles of Giove and Amphinome in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with the ensemble I Gemelli. On tour, Anthony performed at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, France; Arsenal Theater in Metz, France; and Victoria Hall in Geneva, Switzerland. A recorded album is in the works and is set to be released in 2023. In the fall of 2021, Anthony also presented the role of Count Almaviva in the Opera Theatre of St. Louis production of The Barber of Seville. During the summer of 2021, Anthony was an Apprentice Artist at Santa Fe Opera covering the role of Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In addition to these contracts, Anthony has performed in other leading roles recently such as Le Chevalier in Dialogue des Carmélites, Agenore in Mozart's Il re pastore, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Tamino in The Magic Flute, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance.
Recent honors include receiving a Career Development Grant from the Sullivan Foundation. Other accolades include being named “Best up-and-comer” in the Inland Empire Magazine’s “Best of the Best 2019” list and being awarded the Wendy Shattuck ‘75 Presidential Scholarship for Vocal Studies among other prestigious awards.
Anthony holds a bachelor of music from La Sierra University and a master of music degree concentrating in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, studying under the tutelage of Bradley Williams.
Learn more at AnthonyLeonTenor.com.
Deepa Johnny
Barbarina
From: Alberta, Canada. LA Opera: Owen's Daughter in Omar (2022, debut); Shepherd in Tosca (2022); Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro (2023); Maid in The Dwarf (2024); Annina in La Traviata (2024). She joined the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program in 2022.
Omani-born Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny gained recognition in major competitions whilst still studying at Indiana University; she was awarded the Andre Bourbeau Best Canadian Artist award and the ICI Musique People’s Choice award at the 2022 Concours Musical International de Montreal competition and was the winner of the Western Canada District of the 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
She joined LA Opera’s prestigious Domingo-Colburn Stein’s Young Artist Program in the 2022/23 season, making her debut there to considerable acclaim in the role of Owen’s daughter in Omar, a world premiere by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels. Johnny has already made several notable debuts in North America, including as Meg Page in Falstaff at the Aspen Music Festival alongside Bryn Terfel in the title role and conducted by Patrick Summers, as Cherubino in a new staging of The Marriage of Figaro at Opera San Jose and, at LA Opera, Mélisande in Impressions de Pelléas at The Ebell of Los Angeles, under James Conlon. She has appeared as Carmen in Arden Opera’s production of The Tragedy of Carmen, as Suzuki in concert performances of Madama Butterfly with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under conductor Jun Märkl and, with IU Opera Theatre during her studies there, as Rosina in The Barber of Seville and as the title roles in both Handel’s Xerxes and Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea.
As part of the inaugural cast of The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions, an inspirational ensemble piece created by Ted Huffman and Philip Venables from the seminal LGBTQ+ rights text by Larry Mitchell, Johnny performed at the 2023 editions of the Manchester International Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Bregenzer Festspiele and will be seen in the London premiere at the Southbank Centre in the 2023/24 season.
The current season’s commitments open with Deepa Johnny joining Opéra de Rouen Normandie in the title role of Carmen, presented in a staging by Romain Gilbert and conducted by Music Director Ben Glassberg, alongside roles in The Dwarf and La Traviata under James Conlon at LA Opera, and a debut with Portland Opera as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. Concert appearances include Mozart’s Mass in C minor with l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, conducted by Alarcón, and Handel’s Messiah with Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Mathieu Lussier. Johnny made her Carnegie Hall debut last season at Renée Fleming’s SongStudio Masterclass, was a fellow of the renowned Ravinia Steans Vocal Institute presenting art song repertoire and recently performed with West Virginia Symphony Orchestra as part of their Sounds of the Seasons concerts, guest conducted by Luke Frazier from American Pops Orchestra.
Alan Williams
Antonio
From: San Bernardino, California. LA Opera: Abe in Omar (2022, debut); soloist in Frankenstein with Live Orchestra (2022); Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia (2023); Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro (2023); Jethro / Voice of God 2 in Moses (2023); Montano in Otello (2023); Masetto in Don Giovanni (2023); Third Villager in Frida y Diego (2023); Sheriff in Highway 1, USA (2024); Doctor Grenvil in La Traviata (2024); Mandarin in Turandot (2024). He joined the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program in 2022.
Alan Williams recently received his specialist and master's degrees in voice performance from the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Daniel Washington. He received his undergraduate degree in 2018 from Northern Arizona University, where he studied with Dr. Judith Cloud.
In the summer of 2023, he appears with Aspen Music Festival as the Voice of the Oracle (Neptune) in Idomeneo, also covering the role of General Benjamin in Jimmy Lopez's Bel Canto.
He has performed a number of major roles with various festivals and universities including John P. Parker in Adolphus Hailstork’s Rise for Freedom: The John P. Parker Story, Rev. Olin Blitch in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah and the title role in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. He has also performed in various concerts with Detroit Opera, recently in Detroit Players Club Opera Event. In the fall of 2021, Alan was invited to sing for Jean Snyder's presentation on the works of Harry T. Burleigh at the Oxford Lieder Festival in Oxford, England. He has also had the honor of singing with Dr. Eugene Rogers' professional chamber choir Exigence since 2020.
He has received notable awards, recently earning an encouragement award at the Arizona District Laffont Competition. In 2021, he was named the winner of the Graduate Concerto Competition at the University of Michigan. Also during his M.M. studies at Michigan, he was selected as a national finalist in the 2019 National Association of Negro Musicians convention. In his undergraduate studies at Northern Arizona University, he was selected as a finalist for two consecutive years in the Rocky Mountain District for MONC auditions.
In the summer of 2022, he joined the Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Program at Des Moines Metro Opera, where he sung the role of Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and covered the role of the Lawyer in Porgy and Bess.
Creative Team
- Conductor
- James Conlon
- Director
- James Gray
- Scenery
- Santo Loquasto
- Costumes
- Christian Lacroix
- Lighting
- York Kennedy
- Chorus Director
- Jeremy Frank
- Choreographer
- Kitty McNamee
James Conlon
Conductor
James Conlon has been LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director since 2006.
Since his debut that year with La Traviata, he has conducted 67 different operas and more than 450 performances to date with the company.
(Click here to visit James Conlon's Corner, where you can find essays, videos and conversations he has created especially for LA Opera.)
Internationally recognized as one of today’s most versatile and respected conductors, James Conlon has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire. Since his 1974 debut with the New York Philharmonic, he has conducted virtually every major American and European symphony orchestra, and at many of the world’s leading opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera. Through worldwide touring, an extensive discography and filmography, numerous writings, television appearances, and guest speaking engagements, Conlon is one of classical music’s most recognized and prolific figures.
Conlon has been Principal Conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Torino, Italy (2016–20); Principal Conductor of the Paris Opera (1995–2004); General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989–2003), simultaneously leading the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Cologne Opera; and Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (1983–91). Conlon was Music Director of the Ravinia Festival (2005–15), summer home of the Chicago Symphony, and is now Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival―the oldest choral festival in the United States―where he was Music Director for 37 years (1979–2016), marking one of the longest tenures of any director of an American classical music institution. He also served as Artistic Advisor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (2021–2023). He has conducted over 270 performances at the Metropolitan Opera since his 1976 debut. He has also conducted at leading opera houses and festivals such as the Vienna State Opera, Salzburg Festival, La Scala, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Mariinsky Theatre, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
As Music Director of LA Opera, Conlon has led more operas than any other conductor in company history. Highlights of his LA Opera tenure include the company’s first Ring cycle; initiating the groundbreaking Recovered Voices series, an ongoing commitment to staging masterpieces of 20th-century European opera suppressed by the Third Reich; spearheading Britten 100/LA, a city-wide celebration honoring the composer’s centennial; and conducting the West Coast premiere of The Anonymous Lover by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a prominent Black composer in 18th-century France.
Conlon opens his 18th season at LA Opera conducting Mozart’s Don Giovanni directed by Kasper Holten. His groundbreaking Recovered Voices initiative, dedicated to rescuing works from historical neglect or censorship, returns to the company with a double-bill featuring the company premiere of William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA in a new production directed by Kaneza Schaal, and a revival of Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf (Der Zwerg)—an opera that launched the Recovered Voices initiative in 2008—directed by Darko Tresnjak. He also conducts Verdi’s La Traviata—the first opera he led as Music Director of LA Opera—continuing his multi-season focus on the works of the great Italian composer. To date, Conlon has conducted more than 500 international performances of Verdi’s repertoire. Conlon closes his LA Opera season honoring the 100th anniversary of Puccini’s death, conducting Turandot, Puccini’s final opera composed in 1924.
Additional highlights of his season include returning to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to lead Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and conducting Wagner’s Lohengrin at Deutsche Oper Berlin. He also returns to Switzerland’s Bern Symphony, where he is Principal Guest Conductor, to lead three programs including Schubert and Beethoven symphonies, a celebratory New Years Day concert, and a season finale with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
Conlon is dedicated to bringing composers silenced by the Nazi regime to more widespread attention, often programming this lesser-known repertoire throughout Europe and North America. In 1999 he received the Vienna-based Zemlinsky Prize for his work bringing the composer’s music to a broader audience; in 2013 he was awarded the Roger E. Joseph Prize at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for his efforts to eradicate racial and religious prejudice and discrimination; and in 2007 he received the Crystal Globe Award from the Anti-Defamation League. His work on behalf of silenced composers led to the creation of The OREL Foundation, an invaluable resource on the topic for music lovers, students, musicians, and scholars; the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School; and a recent virtual TEDx Talk titled “Resurrecting Forbidden Music.”
Conlon is deeply invested in the role of music in civic life and the human experience. At LA Opera, his popular pre-performance talks blend musicology, literary studies, history, and social sciences to discuss the enduring power and relevance of opera and classical music. He also frequently collaborates with universities, museums, and other cultural institutions and works with scholars, practitioners, and community members across disciplines. He frequently appears throughout the country as a speaker on a variety of cultural and educational topics.
Conlon’s extensive discography and filmography spans the Bridge, Capriccio, Decca, EMI, Erato, and Sony Classical labels. His recordings of LA Opera productions have received four Grammy Awards, two respectively for John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles and for Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Additional highlights include an ECHO Klassik Award-winning recording cycle of operas and orchestral works by Alexander Zemlinsky; a CD/DVD release of works by Viktor Ullmann, which won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik; and the world-premiere recording of Liszt’s oratorio St. Stanislaus.
Conlon holds four honorary doctorates, was one of the first five recipients of the Opera News Awards, and was distinguished by the New York Public Library as a Library Lion. He received a 2023 Cross of Honor for Science and Art (Österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst) from the Republic of Austria, and was named Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic. He was also named Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture and, in 2002, personally accepted France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur, from then-President of the French Republic Jacques Chirac.
Learn more at JamesConlon.com.
Mr. Conlon’s first season as Artistic Advisor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra includes three weeks of concerts, starting with an October 2021 program of music by historically marginalized composers. The featured works are Alexander Zemlinsky’s Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid), which is the piece that sparked Mr. Conlon’s interest in suppressed music from the early 20th century, and William Levi Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, which reflects a theme that will recur throughout Mr. Conlon’s advisorship—the bringing of attention to works by American composers neglected due to their race. He returns in February 2022 for performances including Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony and the final scene of Wagner’s Die Walküre, with guest artists Christine Goerke and Greer Grimsley. The BSO season concludes in June 2022 with Mr. Conlon conducting an orchestra co-commission from Wynton Marsalis, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Beatrice Rana, and Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony (“Leningrad”). As Artistic Advisor, in addition to leading these performances, Mr. Conlon will help ensure the continued artistic quality of the orchestra and fill many duties off the podium, including those related to artistic personnel—such as filling important vacancies and attracting exceptional musicians.
Additional highlights of Mr. Conlon’s season include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion at Rome Opera, Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman at New National Theatre, Tokyo, the Paris Opera’s Gala lyrique with Renée Fleming, and concerts with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony and works by Beethoven and Bernstein), Gürzenich Orchester Köln (Sinfoniettas by Zemlinsky and Korngold), Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra (works by Shostakovich and Zemlinsky), and at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Mr. Conlon’s 2021/22 season follows a spring and summer in which he was highly active amidst the re-opening of many venues to live performance. These engagements included concerts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and RAI National Symphony Orchestra. He also led a series of performances in Spain scheduled around World Music Day (June 21). In Madrid, over a period of two days, he conducted the complete symphonies of Schumann and Brahms in collaboration with four different Spanish orchestras: the Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, and Joven Orquesta Nacional de España (JONDE). He subsequently conducted JONDE at the Festival de Granada and Seville’s Teatro de la Maestranza. Additional summer 2021 engagements included the Aspen, Napa, Ravello, and Ravinia Festivals.
In an effort to call attention to lesser-known works of composers silenced by the Nazi regime, Mr. Conlon has devoted himself to extensive programming of this music throughout Europe and North America. In 1999 he received the Vienna-based Zemlinsky Prize for his efforts in bringing that composer’s music to international attention; in 2013 he was awarded the Roger E. Joseph Prize at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for his extraordinary efforts to eradicate racial and religious prejudice and discrimination; and in 2007 he received the Crystal Globe Award from the Anti-Defamation League. His work on behalf of suppressed composers led to the creation of The OREL Foundation, an invaluable resource on the topic for music lovers, students, musicians, and scholars; the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School; and a recent virtual TEDx Talk titled “Resurrecting Forbidden Music.”
Mr. Conlon is an enthusiastic advocate of public scholarship and cultural institutions as forums for the exchange of ideas and inquiry into the role music plays in our shared humanity and civic life. At LA Opera, he leads pre-performance talks, drawing upon musicology, literary studies, history, and social sciences to contemplate—together with his audience—the enduring power and relevance of opera and classical music in general. Additionally, he frequently collaborates with universities, museums, and other cultural institutions, and works with scholars, practitioners, and community members across disciplines. His appearances throughout the country as a speaker on a variety of cultural and educational topics are widely praised.
Mr. Conlon’s extensive discography and videography can be found on the Bridge, Capriccio, Decca, EMI, Erato, and Sony Classical labels. His recordings of LA Opera productions have received four Grammy Awards, two respectively for John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles and Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Additional highlights include an ECHO Klassik Award-winning recording cycle of operas and orchestral works by Alexander Zemlinsky; a CD/DVD release of works by Viktor Ullmann, which won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik; and the world-premiere recording of Liszt’s oratorio St. Stanislaus.
Mr. Conlon holds four honorary doctorates and has received numerous other awards. He was one of the first five recipients of the Opera News Awards, and was honored by the New York Public Library as a Library Lion. He was named Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic. He was also named Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture and, in 2002, personally accepted France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur, from then-President of the French Republic Jacques Chirac.
Learn more at JamesConlon.com.
James Gray
Director
Celebrated filmmaker James Gray makes his LA Opera debut with The Marriage of Figaro (2022).
Writer/director James Gray attended film school at the University of Southern California. He made his first film Little Odessa (1994) at the age of 25. The film, which starred Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell, received critical acclaim and was the winner of the Venice Film Festival's prestigious Silver Lion Award in 1994.
Miramax Films released James Gray's second feature, The Yards (2000) starring Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Faye Dunaway, Ellen Burstyn, Charlize Theron and James Caan in fall of 2000. The film was selected for official competition at the 2000 Cannes International Film Festival.
His film The Immigrant (2013), starring Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. His film The Lost City of Z (2016), starring Charlie Hunnam, premiered at the New York Film Festival. He followed with Ad Astra, starring Brad Pitt, Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones, which premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. His next film, Armageddon Time, starring Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins, and Jeremy Strong, wrapped production in December 2021.
He made his operatic debut in 2019, directing The Marriage of Figaro at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees.
Santo Loquasto
Scenery
Santo Loquasto is widely known as a designer for theater, film and dance.
Christian Lacroix
Costumes
Iconic fashion designer Christian Lacroix makes his LA Opera debut with The Marriage of Figaro (2022).
French fashion designer Christian Lacroix studied at the University of Montpellier and at the at the École du Louvre. He has been a major force in the international fashion world since opening his own haute couture house in 1975.
He has also frequently designed costumes for major opera companies throughout Europe. He has designed costumes for productions of Otello (Salzburg Festival, Dresden Semperoper), Aida (Cologne Opera), La Fanciulla del West and Madama Butterfly (Hamburg Opera), Pelléas et Mélisande (Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Opéra de Dijon), Le Postillon de Lonjumeau and Fortunio (Opéra Comique, Paris), Adriana Lecouvreur (Frankfurt Opera), and Un Ballo in Maschera (Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona)
York Kennedy
Lighting
From: Berkeley, California. LA Opera: The Ghosts of Versailles (2015, debut); Gianni Schicchi / Pagliacci (2015). Upcoming: The Marriage of Figaro (2022).
York Kennedy's designs for the stage have been seen in theaters across America and in Europe, including Arena Stage, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Seattle Repertory, American Conservatory Theatre, Alley Theatre, Dallas Theatre Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Denver Center.
Awards for theatrical lighting include the Dramalogue, San Diego Drama Critics Circle, Back Stage West Garland, and the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award.
As an architectural lighting designer, he has designed numerous themed environments, theme park, residential, retail, restaurant and museum projects including the Sony Metreon Sendak Playspace in San Francisco, Warner Bros. Movie World in Madrid, Le Centre de Loisirs in Morocco and the LEGO Racers 4D attractions in Germany, Denmark, England and the USA.
Learn more at YKLD.net.
Jeremy Frank
Chorus Director
Jeremy Frank became Chorus Director in 2022.
Since joining LA Opera in 2007, he has served as associate chorus director (since 2011) and assistant conductor, and he has worked closely with the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. Before becoming Chorus Director, he previously directed the LA Opera Chorus for the Plácido Domingo 50th Anniversary Concert (2017) and for The Clemency of Titus (2019). One of his generation’s most respected pianists and vocal coaches, he has collaborated with major opera houses throughout the United States. He has assisted in the preparation of operas and vocal chamber music at the LA Philharmonic. As a pianist, he has partnered with Sondra Radvanovsky, J'Nai Bridges, Eric Owens, Brandon Jovanovich, Rodell Rosel, Dolora Zajick, Kate Lindsey and Susan Graham. He accompanied Joyce DiDonato at the 54th Grammy Awards, the first time the ceremony featured a performance by a classical singer.
In partnership with the Getty Villa and LACMA in Los Angeles and the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., he has curated multimedia recitals which draw connections between the classical vocal repertoire and special exhibits in the museums. He is a frequent collaborator at Wolf Trap Opera as an assistant conductor, chorus master and recitalist. He has been a guest coach at the Opernfestspiele St. Margarethen, in Esterhazy, Austria, and he helped prepare Seattle Opera’s Ring cycle in 2013. He has been a guest faculty member for young artist programs at Utah Opera and Seattle Opera, and he is a part-time lecturer in vocal arts and opera at the University of Southern California. (JeremyMFrank.com)
Kitty McNamee
Choreographer
Kitty McNamee is an artist, a creator and, most importantly a collaborator.
Her early years in LA were spent honing her craft as Artistic Director of Hysterica Dance Co., a consistently prolific and creative collective that redefined dance in Los Angeles. Her unique approach to direction and choreography was declared by Dance Magazine to possess “an outsize talent for that most elusive gift, originality.”
Kitty has collaborated extensively with the LA Philharmonic, developing new productions of Rite of Spring, Firebird, Bolero, Esa Pekka Salonen’s Wing on Wing, A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra and more. Ballets include RIFT, commissioned by Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and the Kennedy Center, the creation of the new ballets Traces and Transit for National Choreographer’s Initiative and colony for LA Ballet’s NEXT Wave Series.
Kitty moves effortlessly between her work in opera, including Roméo et Juliette, La Traviata, Don Carlo, La Rondine, Lucia di Lammermoor and The Tales of Hoffmann for the country’s largest opera houses, to commercials for Target, Adobe MAX, Novartis, Mercedes Benz, Grey Ant and Uniqlo. She finds shifting from high art settings to the demands of pop culture to be incredibly invigorating. Kitty loves working with actors and is known for her ability to draw out organically nuanced performances. She has coached and choreographed for Paz Vega, Julianne Hough, Margaret Cho, Vanessa Williams, Vittorio Grigolo, Lily Tomlin, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón.
Theater credits include Secret Cinema’s groundbreaking live performances with Laura Marling in London, the world premiere of Colony Collapse (commissioned by Oregon Shakespeare Festival), Sense and Sensibility (South Coast Rep), The Fantasticks (Pasadena Playhouse), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (LA Phil/Disney Hall), Man of LaMancha (Reprise!) and Sondheim’s 75th (Hollywood Bowl).
Learn more at KittyMcNamee.com.
Read the synopsis
Synopsis
Act I
Figaro and Susanna, servants to the Count and Countess Almaviva, are making preparations on the morning of their wedding. When Susanna learns that the Count has given them the bedroom adjacent to his, she protests. She fears that the Count will use this proximity to exercise his right as a feudal lord to initiate the new bride to the ways of lovemaking, an intention he has already communicated to Susanna via her music teacher, Don Basilio. The Count’s designs anger Figaro, and when Susanna leaves, he promises a revenge that will preserve Susanna’s virtue.
Marcellina and her former employer Doctor Bartolo arrive with a plan to prevent Figaro’s marriage. Marcellina wants to marry Figaro herself and plans to do so by enforcing the terms of an unresolved contract for a loan she made to Figaro years earlier. Susanna returns and shares a contentious exchange with her rival.
Marcellina leaves and Cherubino arrives. The young page has been banished from the castle after the Count found him in a compromising position with Barbarina, the gardener’s daughter. The page is pleading with Susanna to intervene on his behalf when the Count pays a surprise visit. While Cherubino hides, Susanna refuses the Count’s propositions. When they hear Don Basilio approaching, the Count also hides until he overhears Basilio telling Susanna that Cherubino is suspected of flirting with the Countess. In the midst of his tirade about Cherubino’s indiscretions, the Count inadvertently uncovers the page from his hiding place. The confusion is interrupted by the arrival of Figaro. He and some villagers stage a tribute to the “fair and just” Count. The Count responds to the morning’s events by delaying the wedding until that evening and by sending the pageboy away to fill a position in his regiment.
Act II
Susanna is relaying the morning’s events to the Countess when Figaro enters to explain his plan, a diversion that Figaro asserts will ensure that his wedding proceeds as planned. He has sent an anonymous letter to the Count warning that the Countess is planning a tryst with a lover. Additionally, Susanna is to agree to the Count’s proposition for an illicit encounter, but Figaro has arranged for Cherubino to be disguised as a girl and sent in Susanna’s stead. Figaro retrieves Cherubino, and Susanna and the Countess dress him for the charade.
They are surprised by a knock on the door from the Count. Cherubino hides, locking himself in the closet. The jealous Count, angered by the anonymous letter, threatens to break into the closet, but when he and a reluctant Countess leave momentarily to obtain the necessary tools, Susanna takes Cherubino’s place in the closet. The page escapes, jumping out of the window. The Count and Countess return, and Susanna emerges from the closet. The Count begs forgiveness but defends his suspicions with the anonymous letter. The women admit the letter was fabricated by Figaro.
Figaro enters and denies knowing anything about the letter. Then Antonio, the gardener arrives, outraged that someone has jumped from the window into his flowers. As Susanna and the Countess discredit Antonio for being a drunkard, Figaro claims that it was he himself who jumped. With the Count’s suspicions renewed and confusion mounting, Marcellina arrives along with her cohorts and makes her claim for Figaro to either repay his debt to her or marry her.
Intermission
Act III
Susanna and the Countess have created a new plan in which Susanna is to promise to meet the Count, but instead the Countess will go in disguise and reveal the Count’s infidelities. Susanna arranges the supposed rendezvous, but her efforts are nearly ruined when the Count overhears an exchange between her and Figaro.
Don Curzio, the judge, oversees the trial between Marcellina and Figaro. Figaro claims that he cannot marry her because he requires his parents’ permission, and being an orphan, that is not possible. Figaro’s story of being kidnapped as an infant sounds familiar to Marcellina, and a birthmark on Figaro’s arm confirms that he is Marcellina’s long-lost son, the result of her affair with Doctor Bartolo. The proud parents embrace their son and their future daughter-in-law, and a double wedding is planned.
Meanwhile, Susanna and the Countess write a letter to the Count confirming the tryst that evening. They seal the letter with a pin. Barbarina and the village girls enter to bring flowers to the Countess. The Count and Antonio interrupt to reveal Cherubino dressed as a girl hiding amongst the crowd. Barbarina intercedes and convinces the Count to forgive Cherubino. Having found the page at last, the Count uses the opportunity to try to force Figaro into admitting what really happened in the Countess’s bedroom earlier in the day. The villagers begin the wedding procession. Before completing the ceremony, Susanna slips the Count the note sealed with the pin.
Act IV
Figaro and Marcellina happen upon Barbarina in the garden searching for the pin she was meant to return to Susanna as confirmation of the tryst. Barbarina naively reveals her mission, and an enraged Figaro swears revenge for what he believes is his bride’s unfaithfulness. Figaro engages Bartolo and Basilio as witnesses and hides himself in order to catch Susanna with the Count. Marcellina returns with the Countess and Susanna, warning them that Figaro is hiding nearby. Marcellina hides, and Susanna and the Countess exchange clothes. Susanna hides, and the Countess, dressed as Susanna, awaits the Count’s arrival.
Instead, Cherubino comes. Finding the supposed Susanna, he propositions her until the Count interrupts. Cherubino hides. The Count makes advances towards “Susanna” until Figaro intercedes. The Count flees and the Countess hides. Susanna, still pretending to be the Countess, steps forward, and Figaro recognizes his wife’s voice. The plot becomes apparent to him, but he plays along for a moment, until Susanna reveals her true identity, and both are reconciled.
Figaro and Susanna (still dressed as the Countess) stage a love scene for the Count’s benefit. The jealous Count calls for help, and one by one, everyone is extracted from hiding. The Count points to the woman he believes has betrayed him, but the real Countess steps forward, removing her disguise and unveiling the entire charade. The Count, overcome with guilt, is forgiven by the Countess. All couples are happily restored, and go off to enjoy the wedding festivities.
Sung in Italian with English subtitles.
Running time: approximately three hours and 45 minutes, including one intermission
Audio Description will be available for the Sunday, February 19, performance.
Click here to read Music Director James Conlon's essay on The Marriage of Figaro.
New co-production of LA Opera with Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Opéra National de Lorraine, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Opéra de Lausanne
Production made possible by generous support from
GRoW @ Annenberg
The Carol and Warner Henry Production Fund for Mozart Operas
Nanette and Keith Leonard
Lauren B. Leichtman & Arthur E. Levine Family Foundation
Ariane and Lionel Sauvage
and the
Emanuel Treitel Senior Citizen Fund
With special appreciation to
Gregory and Régina Annenberg Weingarten
Ana María Martínez’s appearance made possible by generous support from
The Eva and Marc Stern Principal Artists Fund
Rihab Chaieb’s appearance is generously underwritten by a gift from
The Piera Barbaglia Shaheen Next Generation Artist Award
A Classical KUSC Partner Show |
Limited seats available for Feb. 26. Check back daily for returns.
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