Topline:
The Long Beach Opera has unveiled its ambitious 2025 program and the new season is focused entirely on the works of pioneering queer composer Pauline Oliveros.
LAist's Morning Edition host Austin Cross speaks with James Darrah, artistic director of the Long Beach Opera, about the upcoming season that features site specific installations, company debuts, and a new democratized ticket pricing model — all to make opera more accessible.
Read on... for more on what to expect starting Dec. 15.
The Long Beach Opera has unveiled its ambitious 2025 program focused entirely on the works of pioneering queer composer Pauline Oliveros.
Come one, come all! Long Beach Opera announces 2025 program
James Darrah, artistic director of the Long Beach Opera, said audiences will have a chance to experience Oliveros' unique take on the opera. "We really started to think that that was an interesting idea to show one woman's kind of bold, varied work, and no two of these pieces are the same," Darrah said.
Who is Pauline Oliveros?
Darrah described Oliveros as a musically curious Mexican American queer artist from Houston, Texas, who eventually moved to San Francisco and helped found the San Francisco Tape Music Center in 1962.
"That period of time, when you look at it, is marked by exciting theatrical pieces that involved dance and sound and visual art. Later in life, some of her pieces are simple, spare, human voice or instrument, layers of sound," Darrah said.
Oliveros is also known for creating a practice called Deep Listening that distinguishes listening from hearing. It's taught in schools, workshops and other places of music. Her work spans over 50 years. She died in 2016.
Her lifetime and creative partner, playwright IONE, will direct Oliveros' final composition, The Nubian Word For Flowers: A Phantom Opera.
About the LBO's 2025 season
The season begins on Dec.15 with Earth Ears: A Sonic Ritual at Angels Gate Cultural Center. Performances will be held at different spaces, including the Heritage Square Museum and the RMS Queen Mary. You can find the full calendar of events here.
And there's a new ticket pricing system where customers pay what they can. Two weeks before the performance, flexible ticket prices will be released starting at $15. You can learn join the waitlist for the LBO Access and other ticket discounts here.
