
Trumpeter Jonah Levy and soprano Delaram Kamareh were cast members of Hopscotch, a mobile opera staged in 2015 by The Industry. | Photo: Dana Ross.
Artbound episode Hopscotch: An Opera for the 21st Century explores visionary director Yuval Sharons groundbreaking opera Hopscotch, which unfolded in cars zigzagging throughout Los Angeles, telling a single story of a disappearance across time. Watch the shows debut Tuesday, June 7 at 9 p.m., or check for rebroadcasts here.
Opera, the 17th century art form that has often been considered an elite entertainment, has, in the late 20th and early 21st century, been coming out of the closet, so to speak, and taking to the streets -- or at least surfacing in unconventional spaces in and around the City of Angels.
One of the leading proponents of off-site performances -- or offbeat venues -- has been Long Beach Opera, the little company that could. Founded in 1979 by Michael Milenski and under the artistic and musical direction of Andreas Mitisek since 2003, the troupe's mission has always been to not only present unconventional works, but to perform said works in a variety of local theaters and alternative spaces. Some of the operas include the 2007 production of Grigori Frids The Diary of Anne Frank, which was staged in two parking garages, and about which the Los Angeles Times' Mark Swed said in a recent phone conversation, The atmosphere was unpleasant enough to suit the material.
Long Beach Operas 2008 Orpheus & Euridice, directed by Ricky Ian Gordon, was staged at the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool in Long Beach. | Photo: Keith Ian Polakoff/Long Beach Opera.
LBO's 2008 performances of Ricky Ian Gordon's Orpheus & Euridice was performed around -- and in -- the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool, with Swed recalling that avant-garde composer John Cage had made use of a swimming pool at UCLA in the mid-1930s. Writing in the Times in 2012, Swed pointed out: For an aquatic ballet, Cage came up with the idea of dipping a gong into the pool so the swimmers could hear it underwater.
And that was a decade before Esther Williams began splashing around in a number of chlorine-soaked MGM extravaganzas. While Cage's work may not have been operatic, it was decidedly an early site-based work. Also marine in scope: LBO's 2009 staging of Viktor Ullmann's The Emperor of Atlantis and Carl Orff's The Clever One, which took place in the hull of the Queen Mary.
Last year David Schweizer directed the 1990 Allen Ginsburg/Philip Glass opera, Hydrogen Jukebox in a 6,600-square-foot warehouse at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro. Also an LBO offering, the work had the audience of some 360 semi-immersed in the production. Schweizer, speaking by phone from Philadelphia, where he is workshopping a new, Sweeny Todd -type opera, is no stranger to working in quirky sites.
Long Beach Operas 2009 production of The Emperor of Atlantis, by Viktor Ullmannopera, was staged aboard the Queen Mary. | Photo: Keith Ian Polakoff/Long Beach Opera.
Frankly, I'm offered this kind of thing a lot because of my background, my level of experience, combined with my willingness to do new things, otherwise you aren't able to cope very well with all the obstacles coming up, said Schweizer, who also directed LBO's 2012 production, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, which was performed in a warehouse/slash showroom for wholesale furniture.
Sometimes there are problems with power, with lights. That's part of the game and you have to be willing to go along with that, the director noted. You come up with solutions to the physical obstacles of not performing in an equipped theater that are often very magical in themselves.
With Hydrogen Jukebox, it gained a wonderful kind of spirit lift from being in that space. I was gratified by that and proud of that.
Long Beach Operas 2015 production of Hydrogen Jukebox was staged at Crafted in the Port of Los Angeles. | Photo: Keith Ian Polakoff/Long Beach Opera.
Because of the enormity of the venue, the singers had their own set of challenges. Soprano Jamie Chamberlin, who was seen in the 2014 U.S. premiere of Gavin Bryars Marilyn Forever with LBO, as well as singing Cunegonde in the company's 2016 production of Candide, performed in last year's Jukebox.
The sheer size of the warehouse adds a completely different dimension, explained Chamberlin. You [face] cardiovascular requirements as a singer. You're running from one side of the warehouse to the other, and singing is such a cardiovascular event anyway. The feeling was that the show was getting us in better shape.
In keeping with its idiosyncratic tradition, Long Beach Opera presented the world premiere of Tobin Stokes' Fallujah, that was performed in a National Guard armory in March, and in just last month the company staged Francis Poulenc's La Voix Humaine in what was once a bank vault and is now the Federal Bars Underground Club.
Long Beach Operas 2015 production of Hydrogen Jukebox, was staged at Crafted in the Port of Los Angeles. | Photo: Doris C. Koplik/Long Beach Opera.
Another troupe presenting opera in unusual spaces is Pacific Opera Project (POP). A recent arrival on the scene, the company was co-founded in 2011 by Josh Shaw, its artistic director. To date they have done 18 productions, several in far-flung places, including a 2014 staging of Tosca, set in three different locations of St. James United Methodist Church in Pasadena, and a 2015 mounting of Falstaff atop Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, with Act III performed under an enormous tree.
The latter was POP's first fully staged outdoor performance, complete with an orchestra and a chorus of fairy adults and children. Explained Shaw: The challenges are unlimited. You never know what your problems are going to be an
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...
12/03/2025
SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally...
12/03/2025
Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations A total of $17,000 will be distributed among the Boston-based nonprofits.
By
Madd...
12/03/2025
TVBEuropes Jenny Priestley sits down with new SMPTE president Richard Welsh to discuss his aims for the organisation going forward, its efforts to attract a you...
12/03/2025
The new process has significantly enhanced operational efficiencies, with automation freeing up creators to concentrate on higher value tasks
By Matthew Corrig...
12/03/2025
Jellyfish Pictures, which has offices in London and Sheffield, said it has been battling hard in the face of strong headwinds over the last 12 months
By Jenny ...
12/03/2025
Visit Booth #W2213 to Experience the Latest in AI-Driven Content Discovery and Workflow Automation
Bitcentral, a leader in media workflow solutions, is set to ...
12/03/2025
CHICAGO Jeff Lilly has been named WGN-TV director of technology effective March 17, 2025, according to Ric Harris, WGN-TV vice president and general manager....
12/03/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. A new study from LG Ad Solutions indicates that consumers want more features that would allow them to shop for products on the connected T...
12/03/2025
BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the Video Services Forum (VSF) will once again present...
12/03/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcast announced that it has upgraded Xfinity Internet speeds for more than 20 million customers for no additional cost....
12/03/2025
Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14
Brie Clayton March 11, 2025
0 Comments
Makin' Waffles with Elly Wade
During Marc...
12/03/2025
Ottawa, Canada - March 12, 2025 - Ross Video is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Tunnell as Business Development Director, Cloud Solutions, reinforc...
12/03/2025
12 Mar 2025
VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025 Dubai, 12 March 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms ...
12/03/2025
Getting set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's ongoing software-based pro...
12/03/2025
THE PLAYERS Championship 2025: AI Commentary, Shared-Reality Viewing at COSM, La...
12/03/2025
Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful Leaders from Netflix, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, LinkedI, and Megapixel address ...
12/03/2025
Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptua...
12/03/2025
With the 2025 Formula 1 season set to begin in Melbourne on March 16, Sky Sports is gearing up to deliver its most comprehensive F1 coverage yet. Following a th...
12/03/2025
Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz ...
12/03/2025
Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby D...
12/03/2025
New HVS-Q12 Represents a Quantum Leap in Switcher Design...
12/03/2025
Telespazio and ABS Expand Partnership to Deliver Tailored C-Band Connectivity So...
12/03/2025
ABC conducts independent audits across the TAG programs. In the March 2025 TAG s...
12/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Moonlight: ESA program to create a satellite con...
12/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
In 2025, Thales ranks among the top 0.01% of the...
12/03/2025
Consumer show back following hugely successful first series
10 March 2025 Following a hugely successful first series, The Complaints Bureau returns to RT ...
11/03/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
11/03/2025
Salsa is making a comeback, captivating new listeners with its infectious energy...
11/03/2025
For many people, music can serve as a reflection of their roots and upbringing. ...
11/03/2025
The solution delivers reliable, scalable and secure connectivity for critical pu...
11/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced that Weigel Broadcasting has deployed Harmonics VOS Media Software, which offers playout-to-delivery capabilities, inclu...