Madame Butterfly | LA Opera (2024)

Karah Son graduated in voice at the Yonsei University in Seoul, her native city. She then completed her musical education graduating from the Vivaldi Music Conservatory in Novara (Italy) and attending the Academy of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan under the guidance of Mirella Freni.

She distinguished herself in numerous international competitions: first prize at the national competition organized by Korea Joongang Daily, one of South Korea’s most important newspapers, in Seoul; first prize at the “Vissi D’Arte” international competition in Milan; Special Soroptimist Prize at the G.B. Viotti international competition in Vercelli (Italy); Premio Extraordinario at the Francisco Viñas international competition in Barcelona; second prize at the Opéra de Marseille international Competition. In 2007, she also won the prestigious Nicolai Ghiaurov scholarship.

She made her debut in 1997 as the Countess inThe Marriage of Figaro at the National Theater in Seoul. She has since performed Zerlina in Don Giovanni at the Teatro San Lorenzo in Milan; Mimì in La Bohème at the Teatro Cristallo in Bergamo, in Milan and at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari; Liù in Turandot in Verona (Teatro Filarmonico), in Bologna, in Nancy and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia (Lorin Mazel conducting).

She has appeared in Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini at the Opéra in Monte-Carlo; Aida in Korea and in Halle; La Bohème in Sydney, Turandot in Melbourne; and Verdi’s Requiem in Seoul. She has performed the title role inMadama ButterflyinKorea, Tampere, Warsaw, Leipzig, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gothenburg, Turin, Glyndebourne, Dresden, Cardiff, Sydney, Warsaw, Turin, Kansas City, Stuttgart, Montpellier, Bologna, Angers, Nantes, Rennes, San Francisco, Cincinnati and Detroit, with additional performances in the 2023/24 season in Copenhagen. She recently appeared inNikodijević's7 Deaths of Maria Callaswith English National Opera.

Lauded for his "vocally magnificent, radiant and distinctive tenor” voice (Opera Aktuell), Jonathan Tetelman has rapidly risen to become a major star of his generation. Chilean-born and New Jersey-raised, Tetelman continues to thrill on the world’s greatest stages with "balmy verve" (Der Tagesspiegel) and a "darkly colored tenor timbre" (SZ).

In the 2023/24 season, Tetelman makes his tremendously anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut as Ruggero in La Rondine under the baton of Speranza Scappucci, followed closely by appearances as Pinkerton in the Met’s iconic Madama Butterfly staging by Anthony Minghella. He sees additional performances of Pinkerton with Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Festival Aix-en-Provence, and Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he also debuts the opera Il Tabarro as Luigi in Pınar Karabulut’s new production of Il Trittico. Further operatic highlights of the season include a return to the title role of Werther for the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden in a new production by Robert Carsen, and an exclusive one-night-only performance of Rodolfo in La Bohème at Theater Dortmund.

On the concert stage, Jonathan appears as soloist in gala concerts with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin at the Berlin Konzerthaus, and with the Prague Philharmonia at Dvorak Hall in the Rudolfinum for an evening of Puccini. He performs New Year’s 2024 concerts with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, Elīna Garanča at Baden-Baden Festspielhaus and the Borusan Festival in Istanbul. Tetelman also sings a solo recital in Gstaad, Switzerland, and is heard as soloist on mainland China for the opening gala concert of the Shenzhen Belt Road Music Festival held at the Shenzhen Concert Hall.

Jonathan Tetelman made highly auspicious debuts last season with the San Francisco Opera in a new production as Alfredo in La Traviata, with Houston Grand Opera as Cavaradossi in Tosca, and finally with the Salzburger Festspiele as Macduff in a new production of Verdi’s Macbeth by Krzysztof Warlikowski. Additionally, he was Rodolfo for Semperoper Dresden, Cavaradossi and Paolo in Francesca da Rimini at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Loris Ipanov in Fedora with Ópera de Las Palmas. In concert, Tetelman appeared with the Houston Symphony Orchestra as tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, performed at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen, Peralada Festival in Spain, Festival Ljubljana in Slovenia alongside baritone, Ludovic Tézier and joined soprano Angela Gheorghiu for concerts in Brussels and Paris, among others.

In the 2021/2022 season, Tetelman starred as Rodolfo in an opera film of La Bohème, co-produced by RadiotelevisioneItalia (RAI) and Opera di Roma. He made his house debut at Theater an der Wien in a new production of Tosca and performed the role of Jacopo Foscari alongside Plácido Domingo in The Two Foscariwith Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He also was heard in Verdi’s rarity Stiffelio with Opéra National du Rhin and sang Loris Ipanov in Fedora with Oper Frankfurt. He presented numerous concerts in that season, touring Austria, Spain and Latvia alongside superstar mezzo Elīna Garanča and maestro Karel Mark Chichon. Tetelman was a soloist at the 169th Tivioli Festival Birthday Gala, sang a gala concert of Un Ballo in Maschera honoring Birgit Nilsson in Sweden, and was heard as Rodolfo at the Grand Teton Music Festival in concert performances of La Bohème.

After completing his performance studies program at the New School of Music, Mannes College and earning his undergraduate degree from Manhattan School of Music, Jonathan Tetelman made a series of acclaimed house and role debuts in rapid succession. These include his Covent Garden debut as both Alfredo in La Traviata and Rodolfo in La Bohème; Canio in Pagliacci and Cavaradossi in Tosca with Teatro Regio Torino; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opéra National de Montpellier; Tosca and Madama Butterfly at the Dresden Semperoper; Tosca at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and Opéra de Lille; Werther with both the Gran Teatro Nacional de Lima and Opera del Teatro Solis in Montevideo; La Bohème with Komische Oper Berlin, English National Opera and Fujian Grand Theatre in China; and the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto with the Berkshire Opera Festival.

Tetelman’s concert appearances in this period included the role of Don José in Carmen in further collaboration with Elīna Garanča on tour through Eastern Europe, broadcast on Bartók Radio. He saw performances with soprano Nadine Sierra at Festival Napa Valley, and joined soprano Kristine Opolais for gala performances in Moscow and with the Wurth Philharmoniker in Künzelsau, Germany. He sang a Verdi gala with the Copenhagen Philharmonic, was the soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood under Andris Nelsons, and was twice heard in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 first with the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas, and subsequently with the Stuttgart Philharmonic, led by Dan Ettinger.

Jonathan Tetelman recently signed an exclusive multi-album contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Together with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria and its principal conductor Karel Mark Chichon, he recorded his first album, entitled Arias, with music by Verdi and famous verismo composers, a selection from the lyrical French repertoire, and duets with the Lithuanian soprano Vida Miknevičiûtė. It was released in 2022. His highly anticipated second album The Great Puccini was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2023. The album features excerpts from nine of Puccini's operas, including famous arias such as "Nessun dorma,” "Che gelida manina” and "E lucevan le stelle.” Among myriad standout moments of Jonathan Tetelman's season, his album Arias, soared to multiple triumphant achievements including the esteemed Opus Klassik Award, honoring him as the break-out artist of the year in 2023, and the Oper Magazine Awards for best solo album of the year in 2023.

Learn more at JonathanTetelman.com.

Lauded by the New York Times as a “vibrant mezzo soprano” and a “dark toned, agile mezzo-soprano,” Hyona Kim joined the Dortmund Opera in Germany as a member of the ensemble in 2018 and made her much acclaimed house and role debut singing Amneris in Aïda. Other parts that she performed at the Dortmund Opera are Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Tzippie in Oliver Knussen’s Where The Wild Things Are and the title role in the German premiere of Frédégonde by Ernest Guiraud, Paul Dukas and Camille Saint-Saëns, Ortrud in Lohengrin and Nancy Tang in Nixon in China. Kim joined the Metropolitan Opera for the 2022/23 season covering the role of Eboli in Don Carlo. She made her San Francisco Opera debut singing a leading role, Lady Wang in Bright Sheng’s world premiere Dream of the Red Chamber under George Manahan in 2016 and was critically acclaimed as an “Unstoppable powerhouse” by the San Francisco Chronicle and performed the same role with Hong Kong Arts Festival under Muhai Tang. She returned to San Francisco Opera for the revival of Dream of the Red Chamber and for Madama Butterfly.

She has also sung with the New York City Opera, Romanian National Opera Cluj-Napoca, Opera Carolina, Opera Lancaster, Opera Company of Middlebury among others. Other roles which she has performed around the world include Azucena in Il Trovatore, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wowkle in The Girl of the Golden West,Olga and Larina in Eugene Onegin and many more.

Hyona Kim was a national finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and performed with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra conducted by Marco Armiliato at Lincoln Center. She also was the grand winner of the Joy in Singing Competition and performed the winner’s solo recital at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City. She was a first prize winner of the Gerda Lissner Competition, and a multiple grant winner at the Licia Albanese-Puccini and Giulio Gari Competitions. She is a grant recipient of the Olga Forrai Foundation and won the Jennie Tourel prize in the Poulenc Competition. She also won the Suri Competition and the Schubert Lied Competition in her native country, South Korea, where she earned her bachelor’s degree at Ewha Womans University. She received her master’s degree and professional studies diploma from Mannes College of Music in New York City and was chosen to be the recipient of the Marian Marcus Wahl Memorial Award, awarded to a graduating singer showing particular excellence. During her time as a member of the Mannes Opera, she performed many roles with the Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph Colaneri such as Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro and Annina inLa Traviata.

Apart from the Mannes College of Music, she has participated in many festivals and projects, including the Aspen Music Festival, the Music Academy of the West, International Vocal Arts Institute, the Natchez Music Festival and the Martina Arroyo Foundation. She made her Houston Grand Opera debut originating the role of Hal-Mo-Ni (grandmother) in Jeeyoung Kim’s From My Mother’s Mother at HGOco, and also has performed the lead role, Lily in Su Lian Tan’s opera Lotus Lives at Distler Hall at Tufts University in Boston. Kim has sung with the Nashville Symphony and the Sinfonia da Camera as the soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Verdi’s Requiem respectively.

She made her Carnegie Hall debut with New England Symphonic Ensemble singing the alto solo in Vivaldi’s Gloria and also performed with PyeongChang Music Festival in South Korea as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. She was invited by Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe for an opera gala concert and song recital. She was the featured alto soloist in numerous concerts including performances of Bach’s St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Passionate about chamber music and art song, Ms. Kim has appeared in many chamber music concerts and recitals with Mannes Baroque Chamber Players, the Guinnes Quartet as part of Viva Virginia International Festival of Music, and also in several concerts of Ensemble 212, in works such as: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and No. 3, world premieres for Chamber Orchestra both by Yoon Jae Lee, and Der Abschied from Das Lied von der Erde featured with Michael Mao Dance. She has participated in Stephanie Blythe and Alan Smith’s Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar which only performs art songs by living American composers. Kim also has sung with Brooklyn Art Song Society in their concert series of Les six: Francis Poulenc and Songs of Mahler. Upcoming engagements include a house debut at the Royal Danish National Opera in Copenhagen as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly as well as the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra in Serbia in the same role. Her Metropolitan Opera return includes participation in the production ofTannhäuser.

Learn more at KimHyona.com.

In the 2023/24 season, American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel, lauded as having “vocals that are smooth and ingratiating” (Daily Camera), will sing Reginald in a new production of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at the Metropolitan Opera, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Houston Grand Opera and the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen at Detroit Opera. A busy concert artist, Mr. Sumuel joins Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic for Mozart’s Requiem, Jonathan Cohen for Handel’s Messiah with the San Francisco Symphony, Les Violons du Roy in Québec for Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, also with Jonathan Cohen, Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque for Mozart’s Requiem and Bach’s Magnificat, Bernard Labadie and the Seattle Symphony for Bach’s Passion According to St. John, the National Symphony Orchestra for the Fauré Requiem and Washington National Cathedral as Jesus in St. Matthew Passion.

In the 2022/23 season, Mr. Sumuel returned to the Metropolitan Opera, singing Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore. Other debuts included Elviro in Xerxes with Detroit Opera, and Figaro in The Marriage of FIgarowith Pittsburgh Opera. In concert, Mr. Sumuel performed Mozart’s Requiem with the Cincinnati Symphony and James Conlon, Bach cantatas BWV 61 and 140 with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, opened Washington Concert Opera’s season performing in a gala with soprano Tamara Wilson, and returned to Mercury Houston for Handel’s Messiah. Finally, with Pacific Chorale, Mr. Sumuel took part in a European tour, performing in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight.

In the 2021/22 season, Mr. Sumuel made his debut as Jesus and the bass soloist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with LA Opera, a semi-staged production conducted by James Conlon with choreography by the Hamburg Ballet, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro with Seattle Opera, Escamillo in Carmen for his debut with the Santa Fe Opera, a concert of arias to open the Dallas Opera season, the King in Massenet’s Cendrillonwith the Metropolitan Opera, Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera San Antonio and Escamillo with Chicago Opera Theater. In concert, Mr. Sumuel returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall to sing Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Zubin Mehta, Bach’s Easter Oratorio with Music of the Baroque and Mozart’s Requiem with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Highlights of past opera seasons have included the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Masetto in a new production of Don Giovanni, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, the San Francisco Opera to perform the title role in a new production of The Marriage of Figaro,Tom in the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier, Escamillo in Calixto Bieito’s production, Masetto, conducted by Marc Minkowski, and Elviro in Handel’s Xerxes. At Houston Grand Opera, he has performed Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Frank in Die Fledermaus, Masetto, Sharpless, Marcello and Schaunard in La Bohème. With Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he performed Sharpless, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, Schaunard and Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, he performed Alidoro (La Cenerentola) and Escamillo, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro with Dayton Opera, later reprising the role for his company debut with Central City Opera and Leporello in Don Giovanni for his debut with Seattle Opera.

An in demand concert artist, previous work has included Messiah with San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, the United States Naval Academy, New Jersey Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and University Musical Society in Ann Arbor. He has performed Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Cleveland Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Lukes, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, American Classical Orchestra in David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Other repertoire includes Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Grant Park Music Festival), Mozart’s Requiem (North Carolina Symphony), Haydn’s Theresienmesse (Grant Park Music Festival), and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria (San Diego Symphony).

Mr. Sumuel’s competition accolades include being awarded a Richard Tucker Career Grant, Metropolitan Opera National Council audition Grand Finalist and a winner of the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. A Texas native, he is an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera and the Filene Young Artist program at Wolf Trap Opera.

Originally from the Philippines, Grammy-nominated tenorRodell Aure Roselappears regularly in major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Royal Opera House. He is primarily known for his superb portrayals of character roles: Monostatos, Goro, Mime and Loge, Basilio, Tanzmeister, Spoletta, and the Four Servants inThe Tales of Hoffmann.In the 2023-24 season, Mr. Rosel will appear with the Metropolitan Opera, as well as the Cleveland Orchestra as Monastatos inThe Magic Flute,Boston Lyric Opera and Houston Grand Opera as Goro inMadama Butterfly,Austin Opera as Beppe inPagliacci,and Calgary Opera as Loge inDas Rheingold,among other performances.

He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Valzacchi inDer Rosenkavalier, opposite Renee Fleming, Susan Graham and Sir Thomas Allen. He originated the roles of Ong Chi Seng in Paul Moravec’sThe Letterat Santa Fe Opera, as well as Anthony Candolino in Terrence McNally and Jake Heggie’sGreat Scottat Dallas Opera, which starred Joyce DiDonato and Frederica von Stade, conducted by Patrick Summers.

As Monostatos inThe Magic Flute, he debuted in the David McVicar production at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, U.S.-premiered in the Barry Kosky production at LA Opera, and the Julie Taymor production at the Metropolitan Opera. In addition, he has sung the title roles in Zemlinsky’sThe Dwarf,andBritten’sAlbert Herring, as well as Tamino inThe Magic Fluteand Don José inCarmen. He recently made his house and role debut as Calaf in Turandotwith Opera Southwest, and will make his house and role debut as Beppe in Pagliacciwith Austin Opera. He has collaborated with esteemed directors of both film and theater, including Michael Grandage, John Caird, Bartlett Sher, James Gray, and David McVicar, as well as world-renowned conductors James Conlon, Carlo Rizzi, Emmanuel Villaume, Sir Andrew Davis, Franz Welser-Möst, and the late Bruno Bartoletti.

Rodell was a grand prize winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (formerly the National Council Auditions), and a prize winner in the Lotte Lenya Vocal Competition, Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, and the Jose Iturbi International Competition. He was part of the Grammy-nominated cast of John Musto’s opera, Volpone. He is an alumnus of Santa Monica College and UCLA, attended the Music Academy of the West, and trained at Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center (formerly Lyric Opera Center for American Artists.) He continues to study with internationally-acclaimed heldentenor Timothy Mussard.

Learn more at RoRoTheTenor.com.

Grammy Award-winning bass Wei Wu trained atWashington National Opera’sCafritz Young Artist Program, thePeople’s University of China, Beijing, and theUniversity of Colorado at Boulder, who recently presented him with theKalpana Chawla Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.

The bass’s 2023/24 season holds two exciting house debuts: first, he brings his celebrated interpretation of Kōbun inThe (R)evolution of Steve Jobsby Mason BatestoSan Francisco Opera. He then makes his house and role debut as Zuniga in a new production ofCarmenwiththe Metropolitan Opera.

Recent engagements for Wei Wu include his debut withLA Operaas Angelotti inTosca; Frère Laurent inRoméo et JulietteatCentral City Opera; Sparafucile inRigolettowithOpera Philadelphia; Hunding in Act 1 ofDie WalkürewithNew Orleans Opera; Marv Carson in Kristin Kuster'sA Thousand Acres(world premiere) and Snug the JoinerA Midsummer Night’s Dream, both forDes Moines Metro Opera; and performances of Kōbun withCalgary Opera,Utah Opera,Austin Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Mr. Wu bowed as Kōbun in the world premiere performances ofThe (R)evolution of Steve JobsatSanta Fe Opera, and appears on the cast live recording, which was released byPentatoneand won Best Opera Recording at the 2019Grammy Awards. His notable operatic engagements include Sarastro (The Magic Flute), Don Basilio (The Barber of Seville), Colline (La Bohème) and Lodovico (Otello) withWashington National Opera; Arnold “Chick” Gandil in the world premiere of Joel Puckett’sThe FixwithMinnesota Opera; the Four Villains (The Tales of Hoffmann), Don Basilio and the Old Hebrew (Samson et Dalila) at theNCPA Beijing, Timur (Turandot) and Father Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) withPittsburgh Opera, the Nephew in Garrett Fisher'sBlood Moonwith thePrototype Festival, and Phanuel (Hérodiade) as well as the Ghost of Nino (Semiramide) withWashington Concert Opera.

On the symphonic stage, he has performed with thePittsburgh Symphonyas Rocco inFidelioand with theKansas City Symphonyfor Mozart’sRequiem. He has sung Verdi’sRequiemwiththe Orchestra Nowand theWest Virginia Symphony.

Learn more at WeiWuBass.com.

Since his debut that year withLa Traviata,he has conducted 67 different operas and more than 455 performances to date with the company.

(Click here to visit James Conlon's Corner, where you can find essays, videos and conversations he has created especially for LA Opera.)

Internationally recognized as one of today’s most versatile and respected conductors, James Conlon has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire. Since his 1974 debut with the New York Philharmonic, he has conducted virtually every major American and European symphony orchestra, and at many of the world’s leading opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera. Through worldwide touring, an extensive discography and filmography, numerous writings, television appearances, and guest speaking engagements, Conlon is one of classical music’s most recognized and prolific figures.

Conlon has been Principal Conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Torino, Italy (2016–20); Principal Conductor of the Paris Opera (1995–2004); General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989–2003), simultaneously leading the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Cologne Opera; and Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (1983–91). Conlon was Music Director of the Ravinia Festival (2005–15), summer home of the Chicago Symphony, and is now Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival―the oldest choral festival in the United States―where he was Music Director for 37 years (1979–2016), marking one of the longest tenures of any director of an American classical music institution. He also served as Artistic Advisor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (2021–2023). He has conducted over 270 performances at the Metropolitan Opera since his 1976 debut. He has also conducted at leading opera houses and festivals such as the Vienna State Opera, Salzburg Festival, La Scala, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Mariinsky Theatre, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

As Music Director of LA Opera, Conlon has led more operas than any other conductor in company history. Highlights of his LA Opera tenure include the company’s first Ring cycle; initiating the groundbreaking Recovered Voices series, an ongoing commitment to staging masterpieces of 20th-century European opera suppressed by the Third Reich; spearheading Britten 100/LA, a city-wide celebration honoring the composer’s centennial; and conducting the West Coast premiere of The Anonymous Lover by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a prominent Black composer in 18th-century France.

Conlon opens his 18th season at LA Opera conducting Mozart’s Don Giovanni directed by Kasper Holten. His groundbreaking Recovered Voices initiative, dedicated to rescuing works from historical neglect or censorship, returns to the company with a double-bill featuring the company premiere of William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA in a new production directed by Kaneza Schaal, and a revival of Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf (Der Zwerg)—an opera that launched theRecovered Voices initiative in 2008—directed by Darko Tresnjak. He also conducts Verdi’s La Traviata—the first opera he led as Music Director of LA Opera—continuing his multi-season focus on the works of the great Italian composer. To date, Conlon has conducted more than 500 international performances of Verdi’s repertoire. Conlon closes his LA Opera season honoring the 100th anniversary of Puccini’s death, conducting Turandot, Puccini’s final opera composed in 1924.

Additional highlights of his season include returning to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to lead Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and conducting Wagner’s Lohengrin at Deutsche Oper Berlin. He also returns to Switzerland’s Bern Symphony, where he is Principal Guest Conductor, to lead three programs including Schubert and Beethoven symphonies, a celebratory New Years Day concert, and a season finale with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.

Conlon is dedicated to bringing composers silenced by the Nazi regime to more widespread attention, often programming this lesser-known repertoire throughout Europe and North America. In 1999 he received the Vienna-based Zemlinsky Prize for his work bringing the composer’s music to a broader audience; in 2013 he was awarded the Roger E. Joseph Prize at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for his efforts to eradicate racial and religious prejudice and discrimination; and in 2007 he received the Crystal Globe Award from the Anti-Defamation League. His work on behalf of silenced composers led to the creation of The OREL Foundation, an invaluable resource on the topic for music lovers, students, musicians, and scholars; the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School; and a recent virtual TEDx Talk titled “Resurrecting Forbidden Music.”

Conlon is deeply invested in the role of music in civic life and the human experience. At LA Opera, his popular pre-performance talks blend musicology, literary studies, history, and social sciences to discuss the enduring power and relevance of opera and classical music. He also frequently collaborates with universities, museums, and other cultural institutions and works with scholars, practitioners, and community members across disciplines. He frequently appears throughout the country as a speaker on a variety of cultural and educational topics.

Conlon’s extensive discography and filmography spans the Bridge, Capriccio, Decca, EMI, Erato, and Sony Classical labels. His recordings of LA Opera productions have received four Grammy Awards, two respectively for John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles and for Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Additional highlights include an ECHO Klassik Award-winning recording cycle of operas and orchestral works by Alexander Zemlinsky; a CD/DVD release of works by Viktor Ullmann, which won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik; and the world-premiere recording of Liszt’s oratorio St. Stanislaus.

Conlon holds four honorary doctorates, was one of the first five recipients of the Opera News Awards, and was distinguished by the New York Public Library as a Library Lion. He received a 2023 Cross of Honor for Science and Art (Österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst) from the Republic of Austria, and was named Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by Sergio Mattarella, President of the Italian Republic. He was also named Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture and, in 2002, personally accepted France’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur, from then-President of the French Republic Jacques Chirac.

Learn more at JamesConlon.com.

Born in Montevideo, the son of Catalan artists, Mario Gas is a prolific and versatile creator, dedicated mainly to acting and stage direction. In 1996 he was awarded the National Theater Prize of Catalonia for Sweeney Todd, and in 2004 he was appointed director of the Spanish Theater of Madrid. His career as a voice actor is very broad and significant, giving voice to actors of the stature of John Malkovich and Ben Kingsley, in films such as Johnny English or Shutter Island. He has performed on camera in films includingCambio de sexoby Vicente Aranda and Amic/Amat by Ventura Pons.

He has been the director of almost 100 productions includingThe Beauty Queen of Leenane, for which he received the Butaca Prize for the best theater direction and the Max prize for the best theatrical production; as well as Les TroyensandRise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. His work in opera also includes productions of Madama Butterfly and La Traviata.

Ezio Frigerio (1930-2022) was aprominent set designer, recognized for his work intheater, opera, and film. Inthe 1950s hemet Giorgio Strehler who persuaded him tocreate the stage design forGarcia Lorka’sThe House ofBernarda Albafor the Piccolo Teatro inMilan (1955). Ayear after the debut, hedeveloped his first design for opera, creating costumes forCimarosa’sIl matrimonio Segretofor the openingof LaPiccola Scala. For the Piccolo Teatro hedesigned also the set and costumes for productions ofplays byShakespeare, Goldoni, Brecht, Ruzant, Zardi, Pirandell and Ferrari.

In 1959 he began designing for film. Heworked with Italy’s top directors: Vittorio deSica (The Condemned ofAltona), Liliana Cavani (Francis ofAssisiand other films), Bernardo Bertolucci (1900), Jean Paul Rappeneau (Cyrano deBergerac, for which hewon aSilver Ribbon, European Film Award, César, and anOscar nomination), and Volker Schlöndorff (The Ogre).

Mr Frigerio took uptheater design again in1960 when hebecame Giorgio Strehler’s permanent collaborator atthe Piccolo Teatro. Hedesigned costumes and sets for productions ofplays byShakespeare, Strindberg, Brecht, Beckett, Rizzotto and Sciascia, Cappelli, Pirandello, Wesker, Roversi, Maggi, Bulhakov, Lessing, and DeFilippo. Healso collaborated with Liliana Cavani ona production ofMedeabyCherubini atthe Paris Opera, with Strehler ona staging ofL’Illusion comiquebyCorneille and Chekhov’sThe Seagullatthe Théâtre del’Europe inParis, aswell aswith Planchon onMolière’sThe Miserin Lyon. Hewas invited asguest designer byEurope’s leading theatres.

The list ofhis operatic designs isas long. Heworked for the world’s most prominent opera houses. Hedebuted atLa Scala withSimon Boccanegra, followed byFalstaff, Lohengrin, Ernani, Don Giovanni, The Queen ofSpadesandRigoletto. His also worked for the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Opéra Bastille, Royal Opera House, Théâtre dela Monnaie, Opera deLyon, Scottish Opera, Teatro dela Zarzuela inMadrid, Teatro Liceo inBarcelona, San Francisco Opera, and the Salzburg Festival. Hecreated designs for the first stagings ofPederecki’sParadise Lost: the world premiere atthe Lyric Opera inChicago (1978) and the European premiere atthe Teatro alla Scala (1979).

He worked for ballet aswell inParis, Berlin, Marseille, and elsewhere. Together with Roland Petit, hedesignedCoppélia, The Nutcracker, The Phantom ofthe Opera, Can-Can, The Miraculous Mandarin, andThe Blue Angel.With Rudolf Nureyev, heproducedSwan Lake, LaBayadère, andThe Sleeping Beauty.

Since joining LA Opera in 2007, he has served as associate chorus director (since 2011) and assistant conductor, and he has worked closely with the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program. Before becoming Chorus Director, he previously directed the LA Opera Chorus for the Plácido Domingo 50th Anniversary Concert (2017) and forThe Clemency of Titus(2019). One of his generation’s most respected pianists and vocal coaches, he has collaborated with major opera houses throughout the United States. He has assisted in the preparation of operas and vocal chamber music at the LA Philharmonic.As a pianist, he has partnered with Sondra Radvanovsky, J'Nai Bridges, Eric Owens, Brandon Jovanovich, Rodell Rosel, Dolora Zajick, Kate Lindsey and Susan Graham.He accompanied Joyce DiDonato at the 54th Grammy Awards, the first time the ceremony featured a performance by a classical singer.

In partnership with the Getty Villa and LACMA in Los Angeles and the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., he has curated multimedia recitals which draw connections between the classical vocal repertoire and special exhibits in the museums.He is a frequent collaborator at Wolf Trap Opera as an assistant conductor, chorus master and recitalist. He has been a guest coach at the Opernfestspiele St. Margarethen, in Esterhazy, Austria, and he helped prepare Seattle Opera’sRingcycle in 2013.He has been a guest faculty member for young artist programs at Utah Opera and Seattle Opera, and he is a part-time lecturer in vocal arts and opera at the University of Southern California.(JeremyMFrank.com)