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42-523: The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that compose the Los Angeles Music Center . Shows at this theater are produced by Center Theatre Group . The theatre was built as a result of a donation from Howard F. Ahmanson Sr , the founder of H.F. Ahmanson & Co. , an insurance and savings and loans company. It was named for his second wife, businesswoman and philanthropist Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson . Welton Becket & Associates

84-633: A Madonna standing inside a tear-shaped canopy, supported by reclining lambs. Lawrence E. Deutsch and Lloyd Rigler donated $ 250,000 to commission a work for the fountain. The architects of The Music Center, Welton Becket and Associates, opposed placing sculpture in the plaza between the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Mark Taper Forum. However, after a two-year search, the Art Committee of The Music Center commissioned Lipchitz. In 2019,

126-740: A distinguished reputation – locally, nationally, and internationally. The endeavor began in 2000 with The Music Center's sold-out presentation of the Bolshoi Ballet in its historic production of Prokofiev 's Romeo and Juliet as well as new interpretation of Don Quixote . Since then, The Music Center has presented a broad array of ensembles, including New York City Ballet , San Francisco Ballet , American Ballet Theatre , Dance Theatre of Harlem , Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater , Ballet Nacional de Cuba , Beijing Modern Dance Company, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Kirov Ballet of

168-488: A major $ 17 million renovation moved the mezzanine and balcony closer to the stage, reduced the width of the auditorium, lowered the ceiling and significantly improved the acoustics, which had long been criticized since the theater's opening. It also allowed the theatre's seating capacity to be reconfigured from 1,600 seats for an intimate play to 2,084 for a major Broadway-sized musical. Designed by Ellerbe Becket Architects and constructed by Robert F. Mahoney & Associates,

210-457: A number of improvements. Los Angeles Opera accepted the findings and committed to implementing Gibson Dunn’s recommendations. American conductor James Conlon has been music director since 2006, succeeding Kent Nagano , who held the official title of "principal conductor" from 2001 until 2003 and then became music director. Christopher Koelsch has been the president and chief executive officer of Los Angeles Opera since 2012. He previously held

252-509: A program that included violinist Jascha Heifetz and performances of Strauss ' Fanfare and Beethoven 's Violin Concerto in D Major. The Mark Taper Forum, "scandalizing the power structure of Los Angeles," according to its artistic director Gordon Davidson, with its provocative opening production of John Whiting 's The Devils . The Ahmanson Theatre opened with a performance of the Man of La Mancha by

294-469: A wide variety of dramas , musicals , comedies and revivals of the classics, including six world premieres of Neil Simon plays and works by Wendy Wasserstein , August Wilson , A.R. Gurney , Terrence McNally , John Guare and Edward Albee . The Ahmanson also has served in the capacity of co-producer for a number of Broadway productions, including Amadeus , Smokey Joe's Cafe , The Most Happy Fella , and The Drowsy Chaperone . The theater

336-428: Is constructed of approximately seven welded case panels on each side, containing low relief abstracted figures of dancers. The complex has four resident companies: Since its inception in 1979, The Music Center and its family programs has served more than 16 million and currently serves nearly 1 million students and teachers each year. The Music Center believes the arts enhance the lives of all people and are crucial to

378-654: The Los Angeles Music Center Opera , is an American opera company in Los Angeles , California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion , part of the Los Angeles Music Center . Spanish tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo was general director of Los Angeles Opera from 2003 to 2019. Domingo sang 27 different roles with

420-643: The Civic Light Opera . The first dramatic season at the Ahmanson featured Ingrid Bergman in O'Neill 's More Stately Mansions , signaling its intent to marry big-name playwrights with big-name stars. Since its opening in 1964, The Music Center has seen the American debuts of Simon Rattle and Esa-Pekka Salonen , the world premieres of The Shadow Box , Zoot Suit , Children of a Lesser God , and Angels in America at

462-536: The standard operatic repertory as well as new and rarely staged operas. In 2015, Los Angeles Opera presented a new production of The Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano , the first major U.S. staging of that opera in 20 years. In 2014, Renée Fleming starred in a production of André Previn 's A Streetcar Named Desire . In 2003, it presented the world premiere of the opera Nicholas and Alexandra , with music composed by Deborah Drattell and text by Nicholas von Hoffman . The 2010–2011 season opened with

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504-469: The 2001–2002 season, it mounted a production of Wagner 's Lohengrin , directed by Austrian actor Maximilian Schell and a double bill of Bartók 's Bluebeard's Castle and Puccini 's Gianni Schicchi , directed by filmmaker William Friedkin . Garry Marshall directed his own adaptation of Jacques Offenbach 's La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein in 2005. Friedkin returned to direct Richard Strauss 's Ariadne auf Naxos in 2004 and, in 2008,

546-505: The 2006-2007 season, is dedicated to presenting little known operas by the lost generation of composers whose lives and careers were cut short by the Third Reich . To date, the company has presented Alexander von Zemlinsky 's Eine florentinische Tragödie ( An Italian Tragedy ) and Der Zwerg ( The Dwarf ), the U.S. premiere of Viktor Ullmann 's Der zerbrochene Krug ( The Broken Jug ), Walter Braunfels ' Die Vögel ( The Birds ) and

588-635: The County provided the site and raised the remaining $ 14 million using mortgage revenue bonds. The rest of the complex was completed in April 1967. The additional venues, the Mark Taper Forum and Ahmanson Theatre, were dedicated on April 9 and 12, 1967, respectively. When the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion opened its doors on December 6, 1964, the twenty-eight-year-old Zubin Mehta led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in

630-619: The Los Angeles Master Chorale. Walt Disney Concert Hall includes the 266-seat Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater ( REDCAT ) and outdoor program areas including the W. M. Keck Foundation Children's Amphitheatre, seating 250-300 and the Nadine and Ed Carson amphitheatre seating 120. The main plaza underwent a $ 40 million renovation project in July 2018. The project doubles the plaza's capacity from 2,500 to 5,000 people. The main venues of

672-848: The Los Angeles Opera League in 1981. Shortly after its third production at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company abandoned its own production projects and recreated itself as the Music Center Opera Association by bringing opera from other cities to the Music Center, notably San Francisco Opera and the New York City Opera . San Francisco Opera began presenting productions in Los Angeles in 1937 and continued to do so every fall until 1969. The NYCO brought productions to Los Angeles every fall from 1966 to 1982. In 1984,

714-486: The Mariinsky Theatre , Nuevo Ballet Español, Miami City Ballet and Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg. The Music Center is governed by a Board of Directors chaired by Lisa Specht . The Music Center president and chief executive officer is Rachel S. Moore (2015). The County of Los Angeles owns The Music Center venues and provides funding for the maintenance, operations, grounds-keeping, security and ushers. Revenue from

756-479: The Music Center Opera Association hired Peter Hemmings and gave him the task of creating a local opera company which would once again present its own productions. This led to the forming of Los Angeles Opera, originally known as the Los Angeles Music Center Opera. Hemmings stepped down as General Director in 2000, with Plácido Domingo, who had been artistic advisor since 1984, assuming leadership of

798-692: The Screw starring Patricia Racette , Albert Herring starring Alek Shrader in the title role, with Janis Kelly and Christine Brewer sharing the role of Lady Billows, and Billy Budd starring Liam Bonner , Richard Croft and Greer Grimsley . Other frequent and notable guests with the company have included Samuel Ramey , Violeta Urmana , Hildegard Behrens , Denyce Graves , Frederica von Stade , Sumi Jo , Deborah Voigt , James Morris , Rod Gilfry , Jennifer Larmore , Vyacheslav Polozov , Maria Ewing , Susan Graham and Ferruccio Furlanetto . The company's multi-year project Recovered Voices, begun during

840-660: The Taper, and performances by Jessica Tandy , Hume Cronyn , Katharine Hepburn , and Maggie Smith at the Ahmanson. The Philharmonic and L.A. Master Chorale joined forces to provide the accompaniment to Eisenstein 's restored silent film classic Alexander Nevsky . While the Civic Light Opera's last season at The Music Center was in 1987, the Los Angeles Music Center Opera was formed in 1986. Its productions have included Wagner 's Tristan and Isolde directed by Jonathan Miller and designed by David Hockney . The Music Center hosts

882-566: The U.S. premiere of Franz Schreker 's Die Gezeichneten ( The Stigmatized ) as part of this mission, as well as children's performances of Hans Krása 's Brundibár . The company presented its first presentation of Richard Wagner 's complete Der Ring des Nibelungen in the summer of 2010. New productions of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre were performed in early 2009, followed by Siegfried (September–October 2009) and Götterdämmerung (April 2010). Three full cycles were produced from May 29 through June 26, 2010, accompanied by

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924-479: The annual Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration on Christmas Eve since 1960 with performances from singers, dance groups and musicians. The event is free to everyone and it is televised on PBS SoCal . On October 23, 2003, The Music Center opened the Frank-Gehry -designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, expanding the campus to 11 acres (45,000 m ). The 2,265-seat Concert Hall is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and

966-504: The citywide Ring Festival LA . The innovative production was directed and designed by German theater artist Achim Freyer and conducted by James Conlon . The principal artists included Linda Watson , Vitalij Kowaljow , Michelle DeYoung , Plácido Domingo , John Treleaven , Graham Clark , Richard Paul Fink , Eric Halfvarson, Alan Held and Jennifer Wilson , among others. The festival drew criticism from Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich , who argued that Wagner's work

1008-690: The company the following season. In November 2001, Edgar Baitzel was appointed director of artistic operations. Baitzel was appointed the company's Artistic Director in May 2003 and then its chief operating officer in February 2006. Baitzel died in March 2007. In September 2012, Christopher Koelsch was appointed president and chief executive officer. He previously held the position of senior vice president and chief operating officer since 2010, after serving as vice president for artistic planning. The company offers productions in

1050-778: The company. He has also conducted 16 different operas and numerous concerts with the company. Domingo resigned in October 2019 following numerous accusations of sexual misconduct. Los Angeles Opera subsequently hired the law firm of Gibson Dunn , under the leadership of former United States Attorney and Superior Court Judge Debra Wong Yang , to conduct an independent investigation of the accusations. After interviewing 44 individuals, Gibson Dunn found that Domingo neither engaged in sexual quid pro quo nor any professional retaliation against women who rebuffed his advances. They also concluded that Los Angeles Opera policies and procedures against sexual harassment were "sufficient on their face," but suggested

1092-468: The complex (which also includes some outdoor amphitheaters) are: The 10-ton, 29-foot bronze sculpture Peace on Earth (1969 by Jacques Lipchitz , a Cubist sculptor who fled the Nazi occupation of Paris, was dedicated on May 4, 1969, and originally installed as the focal point of the Music Center plaza. His mammoth bronze sculpture shows a dove descending to Earth as a spirit of peace, further symbolized by

1134-503: The dance series Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. The center is home to on-going community events, arts festivals, outdoor concerts, participatory arts activities and workshops, and educational programs. In April 1955, Dorothy Chandler , wife of Los Angeles Times publisher Norman Chandler, began fundraising toward a permanent home for the Philharmonic. Ultimately Mrs. Chandler raised almost $ 20 million in private donations;

1176-414: The development of every child. The Music Center-designed curriculum materials are included in art textbooks published by McGraw Hill in use across the country and are also available on The Music Center's website. Education and family programs include "World City", the "Blue Ribbon Children's Festival", the "Very Special Arts Festival" and the "Spotlight Awards". Launched in July 2004 and designed to expand

1218-690: The first two parts of Puccini 's Il trittico , Il tabarro and Suor Angelica , a production that also featured Woody Allen making his operatic debut staging Gianni Schicchi . Highlights of the last decade have included Kurt Weill 's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny starring Anthony Dean Griffey , Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone , Rossini 's Il turco in Italia starring Nino Machaidze , Simone Alberghini , Paolo Gavanelli and Thomas Allen , and three major works by Benjamin Britten : The Turn of

1260-554: The loan 4–1, with Antonovich dissenting. In January 2012, LA Opera repaid half of the loan, with the balance repaid in December 2012. For over 20 years, the company has produced a wide variety of education and outreach programs designed to bring opera to people of all backgrounds, from young children experiencing opera for the first time to experienced opera lovers of all ages. These include "In-School Operas" performed for and by elementary school students; full-scale student matinées and

1302-588: The operation of The Music Center garages offsets these expenses. The Music Center and the four resident companies are responsible for the productions presented in the theatres. The Music Center maintains and operates the buildings and the grounds and oversees occupancy of the theatres, restaurant facilities and The Music Center Archives. The Music Center has a number of organized membership groups: 34°03′29″N 118°14′49″W  /  34.058°N 118.247°W  / 34.058; -118.247 Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera , originally called

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1344-607: The position of senior vice president and chief operating officer since 2010, after serving as vice president for artistic planning. He is the first year-round resident of Los Angeles to lead Los Angeles Opera since 2007. Grant Gershon became resident conductor as of the 2012–13 season, after previously serving as associate conductor/chorus master since 2007. Previous conductors-in-residence included William Vendice, head of music staff/chorus master, from 1995 to 2007; and Randall Behr, resident conductor, chorus master, and head of music staff from 1988 to 1995. Los Angeles Opera, which

1386-430: The public's experience associated with the performing arts, Active Arts at The Music Center extends beyond the more formal experience associated with performing arts centers. Active Arts programs engage people from diverse backgrounds and experiences and establishes an ongoing series of admission-free or low-cost recreational art-making events that encourage people to sing, dance, play music and tell stories together just for

1428-952: The renovation took eighteen months to complete. During this time, the Ahmanson's season-ticket subscriptions were presented at the UCLA James A. Doolittle Theatre (now known as Ricardo Montalbán Theatre) in Hollywood. The Ahmanson reopened on January 25, 1995, with an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -month-long run of Miss Saigon . The Ahmanson served as the world premiere venue for the following plays and musicals: 34°3′29″N 118°14′50″W  /  34.05806°N 118.24722°W  / 34.05806; -118.24722 Los Angeles Music Center Each year, The Music Center welcomes more than 1.3 million people to performances by its four internationally renowned resident companies: Los Angeles Philharmonic , Los Angeles Opera , Los Angeles Master Chorale , and Center Theatre Group (CTG) as well as performances by

1470-561: The scope would be inappropriate. On a 3–1 vote, the other supervisors rejected Antonovich's motion to have the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors send a letter to the company to shift the focus away from Wagner. Subsequently, partly as a result of the cost of producing the Ring , the company requested an emergency $ 14 million loan from the board of supervisors due to reduced sponsorships and escalating costs. The board approved

1512-451: The sculpture was re-installed 100 feet west to accommodate a major Plaza renovation to improve accessibility. Three years after the Peace on Earth installation in 1982, Frederick and Marcia Weisman donated the bronze sculpture Dance Door (1978) by Robert Graham to the Music Center. It consists of an ornamented hollow-centered bronze door hinged on a bronze frame in an open position. The door

1554-442: The sheer enjoyment and love of it. Active Arts programs cut across cross-cultural boundaries and encourage people to participate for the sole purpose of art-making and include "Dance Downtown", "Drum Downtown", "A Taste of Dance", "Public Practice", "Friday Night Sing-Along" and "The Music Center Holiday Sing-Along". Over the past ten years, The Music Center has developed an ambitious dance presentation program, which has established

1596-454: The world première of Daniel Catán 's opera Il Postino , based on the 1994 drama film Il Postino: The Postman , with Domingo as the poet Pablo Neruda , Charles Castronovo in the title role and Grant Gershon conducting. In 2020 it presented the world premiere of Eurydice , composed by Matthew Aucoin with a libretto by Sarah Ruhl . The company has also frequently turned to the cinema world for directors of its productions. During

1638-626: Was also home to the Los Angeles production of The Phantom of the Opera which ran at the theater from 1989 to 1993. It opened with the original London and Broadway Phantom Michael Crawford as the Phantom. He was later replaced with actor Robert Guillaume , and then Davis Gaines . The Ahmanson has the largest theatrical season-ticket subscription base on the West Coast . Its year-round season begins in early fall and lasts through late summer. Throughout 1994,

1680-610: Was inaugurated in 1986 with a production of Verdi 's Otello starring Plácido Domingo , traces its roots back to the Los Angeles Civic Grand Opera which was formed in 1948. It presented staged productions in a church located in Beverly Hills through the 1950s, funded by furniture maker Francesco Pace . Carol F. Henry , who later served as the Los Angeles Opera president of the board, started volunteering for

1722-472: Was the "soundtrack to the Holocaust ", a reference to Wagner's anti-Semitic views. Wagner's music was played by guards at concentration camps and through loudspeakers. Antonovich requested that the company broaden the scope of the festival to include other classical and operatic performers, while the company argued that proper attention was made to educate festival-goers on Wagner's racist views, and that broadening

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1764-638: Was the architect. Construction began on March 9, 1962 and was undertaken by Peter Kiewit & Sons (now Kiewit Corporation ). The theatre's inaugural event was held on April 12, 1967, with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Association sponsoring the national cast production of Man of La Mancha , starring Richard Kiley and Joan Diener . The theatre also was the U.S. premiere of More Stately Mansions starring Ingrid Bergman , Arthur Hill , and Colleen Dewhurst , which opened September 12 of that same year. Since then, it has presented

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