Featuring Operas & Performances from LA Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, Long Beach Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Synchromy, Mission Opera & Overtone Industries

“Anyone with a stage, a costume, a voice, and an idea is welcome. That is the L.A. opera ideal.” — Los Angeles Times

From June 1–8, 2024, a consortium of some of Los Angeles County’s most prominent opera companies, along with OPERA America, presents OperaFest LA, a week-long performance festival running concurrently with the 2024 Opera Conference and World Opera Forum in downtown Los Angeles. Participating companies include LA Opera, Long Beach Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Synchromy, Overtone Industries, and Mission Opera, as well as a special production from Beth Morrison Projects at REDCAT. The operas and performances range from innovative interpretations of mainstays in the opera canon, world and West Coast premieres from award-winning composers, workshops of new works, and screenings of opera films; showcasing the breadth and artistic diversity found in LA’s burgeoning opera scene.

"Los Angeles is one of only a few cities in North America that benefits from the creative variety of so many opera companies, large and small. This is why we chose LA for the site of the second-ever World Opera Forum and 2024 Opera Conference," says Marc A. Scorca, president and CEO of OPERA America. “Visitors from around the world will experience the full scope of opera in America, from new experimental works to innovative productions of operas from the inherited repertoire.”

The last time the OPERA America conference was held in Los Angeles was in 2010, when Long Beach Opera’s staging of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice in a swimming pool was the featured event. Since then, the Los Angeles opera scene has blossomed, with four of the presenting organizations forming between 2010 and 2024. “By sheer numbers, Los Angeles has more opera companies than other major metropolitan areas,” says writer and opera critic Heidi Waleson, in a recent article she wrote for Opera America Magazine. “The most significant reason for that appears to be the city’s size — LA’s sprawling geography and perpetually snarled traffic makes its many neighborhoods seem like separate entities, supporting their own infrastructure and arts groups.”

The festival also places a spotlight on new operatic works by a diverse cadre of composers including Joel Thompson and Kate Soper, as well as LA-based composers Dante De Silva, Jason Barabba, and Vera Ivanova. Beth Morrison Projects’ Magdalene alone features 14 women composers from around the world — including Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen Reid, Kamala Sankaram, and Leila Adu, among others. “Los Angeles' creative community is so special. In other cities, people may shy away from what's new or different, but here, new and different is exciting and inspiring,” says Beth Morrison, president and creative producer of Beth Morrison Projects. “I'm beyond excited for this first-of-its-kind partnership celebrating the amazing art and artists that call LA home.”

More information about each presenting organization's programming can be found OperaFest LA. Single tickets can be purchased at each of the presenting companies' websites. OPERA America members can purchase tickets to all programming when registering for the World Opera Forum and Opera Conference.