Productions will start with Hansel and Gretel and The Barber of Seville.
By News Desk
Pacific Opera Project (POP) announced its 2023-2024 season of performances, marking a season of growth and expansion with pop-up performances and events around Los Angeles as well as in POP’s new headquarters, POP HQ AKA “The POPera Shop” in Highland Park.
POP’s season begins with an hour-long version of their 2021 hit production of Hansel and Gretel (August 4 – 6, 2023); and a return to The Ford Amphitheatre with a modern-day, accessible spin on Rossini’s beloved comedic classic The Barber of Seville (August 25, 2023).
The 2023-2024 season opens with an hour-long version of POP’s hit 2021 production Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck, taking place at Descanso Gardens on August 4, 2023 at 5:30 pm; August 5, 2023 at 5:30 pm; and August 6, 2023 at 3:00 and 5:30 pm. Sung in English, this operatic take on the Brothers Grimm tale is ideal for audiences of all ages and is free with admission to the Gardens. POP’s production of Hansel and Gretel has been praised by Opera News as “fresh, imaginative, witty, and imbued with a keen sense of both rhyme and rhythm.”
POP returns to The Ford Amphitheatre for a one-night-only performance of The Barber of Seville on August 25, 2023 at 8:00 pm. In a modern-day, accessible spin on Rossini’s beloved comedic classic, the production is set in Hollywood where pop princess Rosina (mezzo-soprano Meagan Martin) is fresh out of rehab after a messy breakup and public meltdown. Baritone Jonathan McCullough makes his POP debut as Figaro, a stylist to the stars. Additional cast members include bass Andrew Potter as Don Basilio, an aging rock legend, turned celebrity voice coach; tenor Sergio Gonzalez as Hollywood heartthrob Count Almaviva, and bass-baritone E. Scott Levin as Rosina’s overbearing producer and manager, Dr. Bartolo. Kyle Naig conducts this production, which is sung in Italian with English supertitles.
Also note the new POPeretta summer camp, in addition to POPs wide range of digital and in-school educational programming including My First Opera for kids in grades K-12, and Opera Explorers for kids in grades K-5.
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