The Innovative Long Beach Opera

Yes, one of the nation’s most innovative opera companies which, in 2019, presented the world premiere of “The Central Park Five” that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize–is assured of continuing such work thanks to the largest single gift in its history: $1.25 million from the estate of long-time board member Carol Richards.

Richards, who worked with Dorothy Chandler in the 1950s to raise money for what would become The Music Center, served on Long Beach Opera’s board from the company's inception in 1979 until her passing in 2021, helping to guide LBO on its singular journey.

“Carol had worked with Dorothy Chandler in more traditional philanthropy,” Rivera said. “But when she moved to Long Beach she became acquainted with [founding director] Michael Milenski and really came to believe in the company and its people.”

Under Milenski, LBO presented a different vision for opera, one that not only relied on maintaining the highest musical standards, but also paid as much attention to visual and dramatic content. His engagement of then, little-known director Christopher Alden to mount a reimagined, surreal production of “Death in Venice” announced the artistic arrival of both company and director.

In reviewing the production, the Los Angeles Times’ Martin Bernheimer wrote about what would become a hallmark of LBO productions, that it told stories by using “people as scenery and ideas as costumes” as well as “daring images unimagined by the composer and librettist.”

Long Beach Opera, which would continue an ongoing and fruitful partnership with Alden, also became a haven for like minded, groundbreaking artists, particularly composers such as Philip Glass and John Adams, whose controversial “The Death of Klinghoffer” received its Southern California debut with LBO.

The opera company, which one critic declared had shown a “notion of one possible direction for American opera,” went on to produce multiple world premieres. In addition to Davis’ Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Central Park Five,” there have been the likes of Kate Soper’s “The Romance of the Rose,” Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland’s “The Invention of Morel,” and Tobin Stokes’ “Fallujah,” a joint project with New York City Opera that was based on post-traumatic testimonials by Iraq War veterans.

LBO’s upcoming 2024 season will feature works by all female composer and librettist teams, beginning with the world premiere of meditative opera “Isola” by composer Alyssa Weinberg with text by poet J. Mae Barizo, on Feb. 3, 10 and 11.

“Isola” will be at Compound, the dynamic Long Beach gallery and cultural space which will be staged to envelope the audience in a dreamy, surreal atmosphere. Staging shows in unique settings has become another LBO cornerstone, particularly under the company’s second director Andreas Mitisek who presented “The Diary of Anne Frank” in a parking garage, floated “Orpheus and Euridice” on the water of the Belmont Plaza Olympic Pool and presented “The Emperor of Atlantis” inside the hull of the Queen Mary.

“We’re always figuring, what’s next,” Rivera said. “It’s what you do when you’re the first one through the wall. Each director has defined what the next thing is. Andreas was doing site specific productions when no one was doing that. Now that’s much more common. [Present director] James Darrah really believes in digital media where opera and film can collide.”

True to that, LBO will present the world premiere of “Open Air” an operatic film by Darrah, Christopher Rountree and Measha Brueggergosman-Lee in the spring.

All of this will be helped by Richards' gift which, Rivera said, will be used to make strategic investments that will build organizational capacity over time and expand its artistic offerings over the next five years, when LBO will be celebrating its 50th anniversary season.

In addition to Richards’ gift, LBO also recently received a $100,000 capacity building grant from the Perenchio Foundation of Los Angeles. The company has utilized this grant to upgrade its ticketing and database platform, which will be launched in conjunction with the sale of single tickets to the 2024 season.

“We plan to utilize these gifts to make important investments in the future of LBO, allowing the company to thrive and grow, while continuing to focus on changing the artistic landscape with non-traditional programming like our 2024 season,” Rivera said. “We’re always going to ask, what’s the next frontier?”