Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera will be showcasing its best this weekend. Like opera companies worldwide, after a year away from the stage, LA Met is getting back in the performing groove. Look for a virtual event on Saturday, June 26 — “ShowCase I” — which also happens to be a great introduction to this local company.
Founded in 2008 by sopranos Ella Lee and Linda Jackson, LA Met has been bringing grand opera to neighborhoods around Los Angeles that might not see it otherwise. With a roster of classics, and tickets that are $20 instead of $200, the company has hit on its own style of production, which audiences anywhere can tune in to this Saturday.
Familiar music is the starting point for “ShowCase I.” The streaming event will feature new performances of scenes from operas LA Met has staged in seasons past: Carmen, The Magic Flute, Norma, and Julius Caesar in Egypt. That last one took runner-up in SF Classical Voice’s 2019–2020 Audience Choice Awards.
The LA Met artists will also be tackling a new work, two numbers from Lakmé, a full production of which might be in the company’s future, says Jackson, LA Met’s artistic director.
In addition to directing the virtual showcase, Jackson is one of a dozen singers starring. The other performers are sopranos Mariana Ramirez, Leona Levenson, Begona Bilbao, and Anne LaBella; mezzo-sopranos Dominique Allado and Marcela Pan; tenors Shi Lei, Phil Pritchard, and Steve Moritsugu; baritone Art Dumindin; and bass Tom Ahern. Steven Gonzalez filmed and edited the production.
Asked whether more virtual performances are in LA Met’s future, Jackson says, “Heck yes! This is fun.”
Find tickets for Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera’s “ShowCase I,” premiering June 26 at 7 p.m. PT and available on demand through July 4, here.
