Opera Buffa 101

The Barber of Seville is a standout for many reasons, our favorite being that it's this season's only opera buffa (if your Italian's a little rusty, that simply means comic opera.) Some slapstick and high-energy characters are always a welcome contrast to the heartbreak of opera seria (serious opera) where we see our favorite characters suffer some horrible fates: dying in a duel, dying in a tomb, dying just because, and so on.

There was once a time before buffas when opera only told tragic or heroic stories. Take a look at how this beloved genre came to be and how it gave the art form a popularity boost through the boisterous laughter it gives audiences and the relatable stories it tells.

READ HERE

A Spooktacular Spin on The Barber of Seville

The events of The Barber of Seville from Dr. Bartolo's perspective can undoubtedly be a horror movie.

From a home invasion to Figaro's razor-sharp wit (and cuts), this hapless doc is just trying to survive the night.

Halloween might be over, but we couldn't help providing some final frights with Bartolo's twist on The Barber of Seville.

WATCH (IF YOU DARE)

Second Annual Arts and Health Summit Recap

Relive the excitement of the second annual Los Angeles County Arts and Health Week Summit. This year’s summit focused on the importance of creative aging for older adults and offered attendees the opportunity to experience music, dance and painting programs. Click the link below to explore the innovative programming and promising research at the intersection of arts and health.

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Triple Your Impact

As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, LA Opera relies on charitable donations from opera lovers like you. Thanks to a generous matching gift challenge from an anonymous donor, all donations received by December 31 will be matched $2 for every $1 donated up to $250,000.

That means for a limited time, your gift will have three times the impact!

Donate today to play a starring role in bringing opera to the stage.

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Join Us for a Dress Rehearsal

Applications are now open for the Senior Center Dress Rehearsal, where approved senior centers bring their residents to attend the final dress rehearsal for Verdi's La Traviata and experience all the romance, the tragedy, and the grandeur of this lavish production before it opens to the public—free of charge! The application deadline is Friday, January 5, 2024.

Apply now to join us for the Senior Center Dress Rehearsal on Thursday, April 4, 2023 at 2pm.

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Trials and Tribulations

You've been cordially subpoenaed to the LA premiere of Pacific Opera Project's Scalia/Ginsburg. This one-act comedy follows the unlikely friendship between U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Badger Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia—and a pivotal moment that would transform the court. Hailed as "a dream come true" by RBG herself, this opera is followed by Gilbert and Sullivan's one-act Trial by Jury. Opening night is November 17, and you won't want to miss this juristic double bill!

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