Los Angeles Opera Company, also known as LA Opera, founded 1986; it performs at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center. It grew out of the Los Angeles Civic Grand Opera Association, founded 1948, which staged its first production, Rigoletto, in a Beverly Hills church hall; in the mid-1960s, it became the Music Center Opera Association and stopped performing, instead presenting visiting opera companies. Peter Hemmings, an English opera administrator and impressario, was hired in 1984 to reestablish a company, and served as general director of LA Opera until 2000. Plácido Domingo starred in the opening production of Verdi's Otello and was the company's artistic consultant (1984–98). He became artistic director in 2000 and general director in 2003, and also appears regularly with the company in singing roles and as a conductor. James Conlon has been music director since 2006, succeeding Kent Nagano who was principal conductor from 2001 and the company's first music director from 2003.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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