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Plácido Domingo Announces

LA Opera’s 2007/08 Season

Fidelio (Production New to LA Opera)

Jenůfa (Company Premiere)

Don Giovanni (Revival)

La Bohème (Revival)

Tristan und Isolde (Revival)

Otello (Production New to LA Opera)

Der Zwerg (Company Premiere ) / Der zerbrochene Krug (U.S. Premiere)

Tosca (Revival)

La Rondine (Revival)

Special Event: Bryn Terfel in Recital

Company Also Announces Radio Broadcasts

of 2006-07 Season Performances on KUSC FM 91.5LA Opera Presents

Company Premiere of Richard Wagner’s

Tannhäuser

Music Director James Conlon Conducts a

New Production Directed by Ian Judge

February 24 - March 18, 2007

(LOS ANGELES, CA) January 18, 2007 —LA Opera’s Eli and Edythe Broad General Director Plácido Domingo announced the details of the Company’s 2007/08 Season today at a press conference held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Mr. Domingo was joined by Music Director James Conlon and LA Opera Chairman and CEO Marc I. Stern and other members of the Board of Directors for the announcement. Mr. Domingo unveiled a season that will feature one U.S. premiere, three cCompany premieres, appearances by some of the most important artists of our time and the first fully-staged productions of the Company’s groundbreaking Recovered Voices project, highlighting the works of composers affected by the Holocaust.

In addition, Mr. Domingo also announced that KUSC FM 91.5 will broadcast 11 of the Company’s main-stage performances from the current 2006/07 Season. The radio broadcasts, which will be distributed nationally by the WFMT Radio Network, are scheduled to start airing beginning May 12, 2007, after the final Metropolitan Opera broadcast of the spring. This endeavor was made possible by a generous major grant from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, spearheaded by the efforts of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

The 2007-2008 Season, which will run from September 8, 2007, to June 289, 2008, features 69 performances of nine productions. These productions include Beethoven’s Fidelio, starring Anja Kampe

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LA Opera Announces 2007/08 Season Page 2 / 9

and Klaus Florian Vogt in their Company debuts; the Company premiere of Janáček’s Jenůfa starring Karita Mattila in her Company debut; a revival of Mozart’s Don Giovanni starring Erwin Schrott; Puccini’s La Bohème featuring 2006 Operalia winner Maija Kovalevska; a revival of the Company’s landmark David Hockney production of Tristan und Isolde with John Treleaven and Linda Watson; Verdi’s Otello starring Ian Storey, Cristina Gallardo-Domâs and Mark Delavan; a new production featuring a double bill of Company premieres, Alexander Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg [The Dwarf] and the U.S. premiere of Viktor Ullmann’s Der zerbrochene Krug [The Broken Jug], part of the Company’s multi-year Recovered Voices project; a revival of Puccini’s Tosca featuring Adrianne Pieczonka, Neil Shicoff and Juan Pons; and a revival of Puccini’s La Rondine starring Patricia Racette and Marcus Haddock. Additional highlights of the Season include a Plácido Domingo and Friends Gala on September 9 and a solo recital by the incomparable bass-baritone Bryn Terfel on April 20.

“If I were to give a title to our 2007/08 Season,” said Plácido Domingo, “it might well be ‘Los Angeles and the Giants.’ Our planned sSeason boasts the giants of composing with their giant compositions. We will have Mozart with what many regard as his greatest opera, Don Giovanni, and Beethoven with Fidelio, the only opera he ever wrote. We have Wagner with Tristan und Isolde which, to many, is the culmination of his works. We have Verdi with Otello, the opera which is often called the apex of Italian opera, and we have Czech opera’s crowning achievement in Janáček’s Jenůfa. We will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Puccini’s birth by presenting not one but three of his operas, the ever beguiling La Bohème, the ever fascinating Tosca and what to me has always been a particular treasure, his rarer La Rondine. To round out the sSeason we are proud to bring two complete rarities: the Company premiere of Alexander Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg [The Dwarf] and the U.S. premiere of Viktor Ullmann’s Der zerbrochene Krug, which translates to ‘The Broken Jug.’ To give full justice to these masterpieces we have assembled a truly remarkable array of today’s top singers — favorite ones returning to us and exciting new ones in their special repertoire. My sincere appreciation goes to our music director, James Conlon, who will not only conduct the majority of our productions —Fidelio, Jenůfa, Tristan und Isolde and Otello — but will introduce us to the two rarities The Dwarf and The Broken Jug through his exciting project which he named and we call Recovered Voices, and which deals with the important works that were suppressed by the Nazis.”

“I am greatly looking forward to my second season with LA Opera, which marks the beginning of a number of new initiatives that will help define the future of our exemplary opera company,” said James Conlon. “I am particularly looking forward to bringing two significant and rarely performed operas to LA audiences by important composers — Alexander Zemlinsky and Viktor Ullmann — whose legacies were lost due to the atrocities of World War II. I am proud that LA Opera becomes the first major opera company in the U.S. to produce any of these great neglected works. I am also pleased to be leading the LA Opera’s new commitment to building a Wagner tradition in LAos Angeles, with the presentation of Tristan und Isolde this season and continuing with the new presentation of the Ring cycle, beginning next season. The 2007/-08 Season, which also includes works central to the operatic tradition, demonstrates the LA Opera’s important commitment to presenting a wide variety of standard and unfamiliar operas to Los Angeles audiences.”

 

“The Company’s recent emergence as a world-class opera company would not have been possible without the solid financial position to support Plácido Domingo’s artistic vision,” said Chairman and CEO Marc I. Stern. “For the last four consecutive seasons, we have ended our fiscal year in the black. Our success at the box office has been matched by extraordinary support from several generous leadership gifts and through the ongoing generosity of the members of our Board and our loyal family of patrons and subscribers. I am particularly grateful to our dynamic Board President, Carol Henry, for her dedication and commitment. I would also like to thank John Emerson, Chairman and CEO of the Los Angeles Music Center, and Stephen Rountree, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Music Center, as well as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: Michael Antonovich, Yvonne Burke, Don Knabe, Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky. I am confident that LA Opera will continue to break artistic boundaries into the future while maintaining our current fiscal responsibility.”

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LA Opera Announces 2007/08 Season Page 3 / 9

LA Opera’s 2007/08 Season will open with a Gala Opening Weekend Celebration beginning on Saturday, September 8, 2007, with a production of Beethoven’s Fidelio conducted by Music Director James Conlon. The production will be directed and designed by Pier’Alli, with performances continuing through October 6. The cast will include soprano Anja Kampe as Leonore, tenor Klaus Florian Vogt as Florestan, baritone Eike Wilm Schulte as Don Pizzaro, bass Matti Salminen as Rocco and bass-baritone Oleg Bryjak as Don Fernando. The Gala Opening Weekend will continue on Sunday, September 9, with the fifth installment of the now famous Plácido Domingo and Friends Gala.

Following Fidelio will be the Company premiere of Janáček’s Jenůfa (September 27-–October 13) starring one of opera’s most dazzling sopranos, Karita Mattila. Also appearing in the cast will be soprano Eva Urbanova as Kostelnička, tenor Kim Begley as Laca and tenor Joseph Kaiser, a 2005 Operalia winner, as Števa. This production from the Metropolitan Opera, will be conducted by James Conlon and directed by Olivier Tambosi.

  The sSeason continues with a revival of the thrilling Mariusz Treliński production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni (November 24-–December 15) with bass Erwin Schrott reprising his internationally acclaimed performance in the title role. Hartmut Haenchen conducts a cast that also features bass Kyle Ketelsen, soprano Alexandra DeShorties and tenor Charles Castronovo. Another of the Company’s most popular revivals, the Herbert Ross production of Puccini’s La Bohème, returns (November 25–December 16) with a cast of exciting young artists, including Operalia 2006 first prize winner Maija Kovalevska and 2003 Operalia winner Virginia Tola alternating as Mimi, with tenors Massimo Giordano and 2005 Operalia winner Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Rodolfo. The production will be conducted by Hartmut Haenchen and Plácido Domingo willconduct.

Two leading Wagnerian artists, Linda Watson and John Treleaven, star in a revival of one of the Company’s landmark productions, the David Hockney-designed staging of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (January 19 – February 10) conducted by James Conlon. Verdi’s tragic masterpiece Otello returns to the repertory in a production (February 16 – March 9) also conducted by James Conlon. The production by John Cox will star tenor Ian Storey as Otello, soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domâs as Desdemona, baritone Mark Delavan as Iago and bass Eric Halfvarson as Lodovico.

The Company’s important Recovered Voices series, dedicated to performing the works of composers suppressed by the Nazis, continues with new productions of a double bill, conducted by James Conlon and directed by Darko Tresnjak (February 17-–March 8). Zemlinsky’s rarely performed Der Zwerg will be heard along with the U.S. premiere of Viktor Ullmann’s Der zebrochene Krug, a comic opera completed by the composer shortly before he was interned at Theresienstadt (Terezín), where he died in 1944. Ignored for decades, Der zebrochene Krug finally had its world premiere in 1996. The cast for the double bill includes sopranos Mary Dunleavy and Susan B. Anthony, tenor Rodrick Dixon and baritone James Johnson.

  The Season comes to a close with two Puccini operas. Tosca (May 17-–June 216) features sopranos Adrianne Pieczonka and Georgina Lukács sharing the title role, joined by tenors Neil Shicoff and Gwyn Hughes Jones as Cavaradossi and baritone Juan Pons as Scarpia. Sir Richard Armstrong will share the podium with Plácido Domingo and the production will be directed by Ian Judge. Puccini’s entrancing nod to Viennese operetta, La Rondine (June 7-–28) returns in the sumptuous production directed by Marta Domingo and conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson, starring Patricia Racette and Marcus Haddock.

             Additionally, the Company will present a solo recital performance by one of today’s most exciting artists, bass-baritone Bryn Terfel on Sunday, April 20, 2008, at 7:30 PM.

LA Opera will also continue to expand its acclaimed education and community outreach programs.  The 2007/-08 Season will include the premiere of new In-School Operas to be performed by professionals and students together, The Marriage of Figueroa by Eli and LeRoy Villanueva and a work based on Romeo and Juliet by Lee Holdridge and Richard Sparks. The Company will once again offer free student matinee

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LA Opera Announces 2007/08 Season Page 4 / 9

performances on the main-stage (La Bohème), in the Grand Hall and on tour in venues throughout Southern California (Figaro’s American Adventure).  The Company will premiere a new “Opera Tales” production celebrating Giacomo Puccini’s birthday that will tour to numerous public libraries throughout the county, as well as continue to expand its regular Library Project offerings, accredited In-Service Teacher Trainings, Opera Camp, Voices for Tolerance choral training and other community education programs and partnerships.  A complete listing of education and community programs will be available in April 2007.

The complete 2007/08 Season schedule is attached.  Subscriptions for the 2007/08 Season are available online, by phone and by mail and range in price from $60 to $2,142. In addition to full-season subscriptions, there are 16 different mini-series subscriptions available. Subscribers can receive up to 35% off of the price of single ticket prices. Handling fees are waived for patrons purchasing subscriptions online through February 28. For further information, please visit LA Opera’s website at or call Audience Services at (213) 972-8001.  All performances will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Music Center, 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012.  For disability access, call (213) 972-0777 or e-mail wehelpyou@.  

All programs, artists and dates are subject to change.

Artist headshots and production photographs will beare available on the Los Angeles Opera Press Gallery:

# # #

LA Opera Announces 2007/08 Season Page 5 / 9

2007/08 SEASON: CASTING AND CALENDAR

* denotes LA Opera debuting artist

Fidelio Production from Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (Valencia, Spain)

Music: Ludwig van Beethoven

Libretto: Joseph Sonnleithner and Georg Friedrich Treitschke, based on a libretto by Jean Nicolas Bouilly

World Premiere: Theater an der Wien (Vienna); November 20, 1805

Conductor: James Conlon Leonore: Anja Kampe*

Director / Designer: Pier’Alli* Florestan: Klaus Florian Vogt*

Don Pizarro: Eike Wilm Schulte*

Rocco: Matti Salminen

Don Fernando: Oleg Bryjak*

SEVEN PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 6:00 PM

Evening Performances: September 15, 26, October 3 at 7:30 PM

Matinee Performances: September 23, 29, October 6 at 2:00 PM

Sung in German with English Supertitles

Music Director James Conlon conducts the Season-opening production of Fidelio, a celebration of humanity’s desire for freedom and justice. Beethoven’s only opera is a triumph of incandescent heroism and matchless music, complete with stunning arias, inspiring choruses and exuberant orchestral writing. Soprano Anja Kampe makes her Company debut as Leonore, the selfless wife determined to win her persecuted husband’s freedom. Tenor Klaus Florian Vogt debuts as Florestan, the political prisoner clinging to life for the sake of the woman he loves.

Jenůfa Company pPremiere – Production from the Metropolitan Opera

Music and Libretto: Leoš Janáček, based on a play by Gabriela Preissová

World Premiere: National Theater (Brno); January 21, 1904

Conductor: James Conlon Jenůfa: Karita Mattila*

Director: Olivier Tambosi* Kostelnička: Eva Urbanova*

Sets and Costumes: Frank Philipp Schlössmann* Števa: Kim Begley*

Lighting Designer: Max Keller* Laca: Joseph Kaiser*

Grandmother Buryja: Elizabeth Bishop*

Mill Foreman: Jason Stearns

Karolka: Lauren McNeese

Mayor: James Creswell

SIX PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 7:30 PM

Evening Performances: October 4, 10, 13 at 7:30 PM

Matinee Performances: September 30, October 7 at 2:00 PM

Sung in Czech with English Supertitles

The dynamic Karita Mattila, one of today’s most exciting sopranos, makes her LA Opera debut in one of her signature roles. Nowhere in opera is reality more raw, uncensored, and organic than in Jenůfa, an intensely dramatic and deeply moving work that has exploded in popularity on the world’s operatic stages. Mattila’s passionate portrayal of the innocent peasant girl Jenůfa caught in a fateful tangle of misguided relationships has been hailed as a true force of nature. “A phenomenon!” raved The New Yorker. Soprano Eva Urbanova co-stars in the powerful role of Jenůfa’s stepmother, the chilling Kostelnička.

LA Opera Announces 2007/08 Season Page 6 / 9

Don Giovanni Revival

Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Libretto: Lorenzo da Ponte

World Premiere: Estates Theater (Prague); October 29, 1787

Conductor: Hartmut Haenchen Don Giovanni: Erwin Schrott

Director: Mariusz Treliński Leporello: Kyle Ketelsen

Set Designer: Emil Wesolowski Don Ottavio: Charles Castronovo

Costume Designer: Arkadius Donna Anna: Alexandra DeShorties*

Donna Elvira: Maria Kanyova

Zerlina: Lauren McNeese

Masetto: James Creswell

Commendatore: Kangliang Peng*

NINE PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Saturday, November 24, 2007 at 7:30 PM

Evening Performances: November 27, 30, December 4, 7 at 7:30 PM; December 9 at 8:00 PM

Matinee Performances: December 2, 15 at 2:00 PM; December 12 at 1:00 PM

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles

Don Juan’s back and LA Opera’s got him! The sexy and sensual Erwin Schrott returns as opera’s greatest Latin lover. When his manservant catalogs this Don’s conquests (2,065 women to be exact), it might be shocking, but it’s completely believable. Hartmut Haenchen conducts and Mariusz Treliński directs Mozart’s great comic drama in the thrillingly theatrical production that won LA Opera raves in 2003. Also starring Kyle Ketelsen, Alexandra Deshorties, Maria Kanyova, Lauren McNeese, Charles Castronovo, James Creswell and Kangliang Peng.

La Bohème Revival

Music: Giacomo Puccini

Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, based on Henry Mürger’s Scènes de la vie de bohème

World Premiere: Teatro Regio (Torino); February 1, 1896

Conductor: Hartmut Haenchen / Plácido Domingo Mimi: Maija Kovalevska* / Virginia Tola

Production: Herbert Ross Rodolfo: Massimo Giordano* / Arturo Chacón-Cruz*

Director: Stanley M. Garner Musetta: Laquita Mitchell / Nicole Heaston*

Set Designer: Gerard Howland Marcello: Luca Salsi* / Hyung Yun

Costume Designer: Peter J. Hall Schaunard: Brian Leerhuber* / Brian Mulligan*

Colline: Oren Gradus* / Christian Van Horn*

Benoit/Alcindoro: Philip Cokorinos

TEN PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Sunday, November 25, 2007 at 2:00 PM

Evening Performances: December 1, 5, 8, 11, 14 at 7:30 PM; December 16 at 8:00 PM

Matinee Performances: November 29, December 9, 16 at 1:00 PM; December 2 at 2:00 PM

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles

A candle flickers out on Christmas Eve, a rapturous duet soars under the moonlight and it’s time to fall in love once again with La Bohème. Follow the tale of six young Parisians who live an exuberant bohemian existence, surviving on love and laughter. A sumptuous Herbert Ross production, resplendent in cinematic romance, returns just in time for the holidays with a dynamic young cast, including the first prize winner of Operalia 2006, soprano Maija Kovalevska, in her Company debut. Plácido Domingo and Hartmut Haenchen share the podium for one of opera’s all-time crowd-pleasers, a masterpiece of riveting theater and achingly beautiful music.

LA Opera Announces 2007/08 Season Page 7 / 9

Tristan und Isolde Revival

Music and Libretto: Richard Wagner

World Premiere: Royal Court and National Theater (Munich); June 10, 1865

Conductor: James Conlon Tristan: John Treleaven*

Director: Thor Steingraber Isolde: Linda Watson

Designer: David Hockney Brangäne: Lioba Braun

Lighting Designer: Duane Schuler Kurwenal: Juha Uusitalo*

King Marke: Kristinn Sigmundsson* / Eric Halfvarson Sailor / Shepherd: Gregory Warren*

SEVEN PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 7:00 PM

Evening Performances: January 23, 31, February 6 at 7:00 PM

Matinee Performances: January 27, February 3, 10 at 1:00 PM

Sung in German with English Supertitles

The return of an iconic coup de théâtre. David Hockney’s stunningly gorgeous designs make his breathtaking, internationally acclaimed staging of Tristan und Isolde one of the Company’s most exciting landmark productions. Music Director James Conlon, a world famous conductor of Wagner, will be joined by soprano Linda Watson and tenor James Treleaven (making his LA Opera debut) in the demanding leading roles. Also starring Lioba Braun, Juha Uusitalo, Kristinn Sigmundsson and Eric Halfvarson.

Otello Production from Opéra de Monte-Carlo

Music: Giuseppe Verdi

Libretto: Arrigo Boito, after the play by William Shakespeare

World Premiere: Teatro alla Scala (Milan); February 5, 1887

Conductor: James Conlon Otello: Ian Storey*

Director: John Cox Desdemona: Cristina Gallardo-Domâs*

Designer: Johan Engels  Iago: Mark Delavan*

Lodovico: Eric Halfvarson

SEVEN PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 7:30 PM

Evening Performances: February 21, 24, March 5 at 7:00 PM

Matinee Performances: February 27, March 9 at 1:00 PM; March 2 at 2:00 PM

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles

Verdi’s transformation of the original Shakespeare play is a powerful drama of uncontrolled human emotion at its most extreme. The evil sadist Iago taunts and manipulates the Moor of Venice, cleverly exploiting his one fatal flaw: jealousy. Eventually Otello’s blind rage destroys all he holds dear. Sensational British tenor Ian Storey makes his Company debut in the title role, and Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domâs makes her Company debut as Desdemona. Baritone Mark Delavan takes the role of Iago. James Conlon conducts one of Verdi’s shatteringly powerful masterpieces.

LA Opera Announces 2007/08 Season Page 8 / 9

Double Bill:

Der Zwerg [The Dwarf] Company Premiere – New Production – Recovered Voices

Music: Alexander Zemlinsky

Libretto: Georg C. Klaren, after the story The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde

World Premiere: Theater am Habsburger Ring (Cologne); May 28, 1922

Der zerbrochene Krug [The Broken Jug] U.S. Premiere – New Production – Recovered Voices

Music: Viktor Ullmann

Libretto: text by the composer after the play by Heinrich von Kleist

World Premiere: Dresdner Musikfestspiele (Dresden); May 17, 1996 (Note: the opera was completed in 1942.)

Conductor: James Conlon Der Zwerg:

Director: Darko Tresnjak* The Dwarf: Rodrick Dixon

Set Designer: Ralph Funicello* The Infanta: Mary Dunleavy*

Costume Designer: Linda Cho* Don Estoban: James Johnson*

Ghita: Susan B. Anthony*

Der zerbrochene Krug:

Judge Adam: James Johnson

FOUR PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Sunday, February 17, 2008 at 2:00 PM

Evening Performances: February 23, March 1, 8 at 7:30 PM

Sung in German with English Supertitles

James Conlon conducts the second installment in the multi-year Recovered Voices project, dedicated to reviving the music of composers affected by the Holocaust. A double bill of one-act operas begins with Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf, a powerful tragedy based on Oscar Wilde’s The Birthday of the Infanta, in which a naive dwarf falls in love with a spoiled Infanta who cruelly breaks his heart. Dominated by burlesque and humorous scenes, Viktor Ullmann’s farcical The Broken Jug is taken from the classic comedy by the Romantic German poet Heinrich von Kleist, in which a provincial judge inadvertently shows himself to have committed the crime under investigation. Starring Mary Dunleavy, Susan B. Anthony, Rodrick Dixon and James Johnson.

Tosca Revival

Music: Giacomo Puccini

Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, based on Victorien Sardou’s play La Tosca

World Premiere: Teatro Costanzi (Rome); January 1, 1900

Conductor: Sir Richard Armstrong / Plácido Domingo Tosca: Adrianne Pieczonka / Georgina Lukács*

Director: Ian Judge Cavaradossi: Neil Shicoff / Gwyn Hughes Jones*

Set Designer: John Gunter Scarpia: Juan Pons

TWELVETEN PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 7:30 PM

Evening Performances May 29, 31, June 4, 11, 14, 21 at 7:30 PM

Matinee Performances: May 21 at 1:00 PM; May 25, June 8 at 2:00 PM

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles

LA Opera Announces 2007/08 Season Page 9 / 9

One of Puccini’s most popular creations, Tosca is a thrilling concoction of romance, spectacle and intrigue. A famous prima donna finds herself trapped between allegiance to her revolutionary lover and the sinister machinations of the treacherous police chief who desires her. The explosive love triangle races to a riveting conclusion in a complex and unpredictable production conducted by Sir Richard Armstrong and directed by Ian Judge. LA Opera favorite Adrianne Pieczonka returns for her role debut as Tosca, a diva forced to play a deadly game for her lover's life, a role she shares with Georgina Lukács in her Company debut. Tenors Neil Shicoff and Gwyn Hughes Jones share the role of the freedom fighter, Cavaradossi. Baritone Juan Pons performs the role of the unscrupulous police chief Scarpia, the epitome of elegance and evil.

La Rondine [The Swallow] Revival

Music: Giacomo Puccini

Libretto: Giuseppe Adami, based on a German libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert

World Premiere: Salle Garnier (Monte Carlo); March 27, 1917

Conductor: Keri-Lynn Wilson* Magda: Patricia Racette

Director: Marta Domingo Ruggero: Marcus Haddock

Choreographer: Kitty McNamee Lisette: Amanda Squitieri*

Designer: Michael Scott Prunier: Greg Fedderly

Rambaldo: David Pittsinger

SEVEN PERFORMANCES

Opening Performance: Saturday, June 7, 2008 at 7:30 PM

Evening Performances: June 12, 19, 25, 28 at 7:30 PM

Matinee Performances: June 15, 22 at 2:00 PM

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles

With the delicacy of a dream, Puccini unfolds the poignant romance of a Parisian courtesan’s first real taste of true love. The brilliant Patricia Racette returns as Magda who becomes lost in the rapture of intoxicating love in a villa on the Riviera with her soul mate Ruggero, played by Marcus Haddock, who appeared opposite Ms. Racette to great acclaim in last season’s Madama Butterfly. But just as a swallow must return to its destiny, Magda’s sordid past dictates the outcome of the illusion. Marta Domingo directs this rare Puccini gem, which may be the composer’s most rapturous opera.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Plácido Domingo and Friends Gala

Join Plácido Domingo for a special concert that concludes the Gala Opening Weekend Celebration. Mr. Domingo will sing as well as share the podium with James Conlon in leading the LA Opera Orchestra, joined by some of today’s greatest stars.

ONE PERFORMANCE

Sunday, September 9, 2007 at 2:00 PM

Bryn Terfel in Recital

Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel returns to LA Opera after his recent triumphs here in recital and in the title role of Falstaff. An exhilarating combination of a matchless voice, immaculate diction, commanding stage presence and flair for acting has made Bryn Terfel one of the greatest artists of our day, appearing regularly in all the major opera houses and concert halls of the world. “He is a great story-teller, and wonderful words, wonderful sounds are his means to make his stories live.” (The New York Times)

ONE PERFORMANCE

Sunday, April 20, 2008 at 7:30 PM

(LOS ANGELES, CA) January 48, 2007 – Los Angeles Opera will present the Company premiere of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser, conducted by Music Director James Conlon. The new production will be directed by Ian Judge with scenery and costumes designed by Gottfried Pilz and lighting designed by Mark Doubleday. Tannhäuser will open on Saturday, February 24, 2007, running for seven performances through Sunday, March 18, 2007, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 North. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles.

Richard Wagner’s sensuous 1845 masterpiece of sin and redemption opens with the lyric poet Tannhäuser lost in lust with Venus, the pagan goddess of passion. But Tannhäuser chooses earthly freedom over the slavery of erotic entrapment. His musical gifts conquer the heart of Elisabeth, a nobleman’s innocent daughter, but he shocks the town with a bold song affirming love’s sensual delights. Condemned and banished, Tannhäuser ultimately finds redemption through the faithful love of Elisabeth. Tannhäuser features some of opera’s most thrilling music: the famous Overture, the voluptuous orchestral Bacchanale that crescendos to a savage climax, Elisabeth’s greeting to the hall of music (“Dich, teure Halle”), Wolfram’s serenade to the evening star (“O, du mein holder Abendstern”), and the heaven-storming Pilgrim’s Chorus. LA Opera’s presentation of Tannhäuser is part of the Company’s mission to become a hub of Wagnerian activity in North America, with several more Wagnerian operas to be presented in the coming years, culminating in the epic four-part Der Ring des Nibelungen in 2010.

Tenor Peter Seiffert will star as Tannhäuser, with soprano Petra-Maria Schnitzer as Elisabeth, mezzo-soprano Lioba Braun as Venus, baritone Martin Gantner as Wolfram von Eschenbach and bass Franz-Josef Selig as Hermann. The cast also includes baritone Jason Stearns as Biterolf, tenor Rodrick Dixon as Walther von der Vogelweide, tenor Robert MacNeil as Heinrich der Schreiber, baritone Christopher Feigum as Reinmar von Zweter, and treble Isaac Calvins as the Young Shepherd.

Richard Wagner’s sensuous 1845 masterpiece of sin and redemption opens with the lyric poet Tannhäuser lost in lust with Venus, the pagan goddess of passion. But Tannhäuser chooses earthly freedom over the slavery of erotic entrapment. His musical gifts conquer the heart of Elisabeth, a nobleman’s innocent daughter, but he shocks the town with a bold song affirming love’s sensual delights. Condemned and banished, Tannhäuser ultimately finds redemption through the faithful love of Elisabeth. Tannhäuser features some of opera’s most thrilling music: the famous Overture, the voluptuous orchestral Bacchanale that crescendos to a savage climax, Elisabeth’s greeting to the hall of music (“Dich, teure Halle”), Wolfram’s serenade to the evening star (“O, du mein holder Abendstern”), and the heaven-storming Pilgrim’s Chorus. LA Opera’s presentation of Tannhäuser is part of the Company’s mission to become a hub of Wagnerian activity in North America, with several more Wagnerian operas to be presented in the coming years, culminating in the epic four-part Der Ring des Nibelungen in 2010.

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LA Opera Presents Tannhäuser Page 2 / 2

Tannhäuser will open on Saturday, February 24, 2007, at 7:00pm. Subsequent Evening Performances are February 28, March 3, 8 and 15 at 7:00pm. Sunday Matinee Performances are March 11 and 18 at 2:00pm.

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LA Opera Presents Tannhäuser Page 2 / 3

One of Richard Wagner's most popular and accessible works, Tannhäuser was the next opera he wrote after establishing his musical genius with Der fliegende Holländer (1843). Tannhäuser had its world premiere in 1845 in Dresden and quickly gained popularity in the opera houses of Germany. For the work’s 1861 French premiere in Paris, the composer made significant revisions, particularly to the opera’s opening scene, by adding a ballet and expanding the role of Venus.

Tickets to Tannhäuser range from $350 to $220. Single tickets are now on sale at the Los Angeles Opera Box Office, or online at , or by phone at (213) 972-8001. All performances take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Music Center, 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

New production made possible by generous gifts

from a consortium of LA Opera Board Members.

Artist headshots can be found on the Los Angeles Opera Press Gallery:

Production photos can also be found on this website following the opening performance.

Tannhäuser will be performed in German with English supertitles.

All programs, artists and dates are subject to change.

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