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Ring Festival LA Media Contact:
Catherine Babcock
Public Relations Consultant
cbabcock@RingFestivalLA.com
P: (213) 972-7691
MEDIA ALERT AND LISTINGS
RING FESTIVAL LA - WEEK FIVE
May 10- May 16, 2010
| What: |
As LA Opera prepares for the first-ever performances in Los Angeles of Richard Wagner's full cycles of Der
Ring des Nibelungen opening May 29, and continuing through June 26, 2010, Ring Festival LA continues to
bring exciting cultural and educational programming to the region. Week five of the ten-week countywide festival
inspired by the Achim Freyer directed/designed production, conducted by James Conlon, LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music
Director has something for everyone from family-friendly operatic and theatrical productions, to art exhibitions,
films, talks and lectures. |
| Who/Where: |
LA Opera
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Performance dates:
Cycle 1: Das Rheingold (5/29); Die Walküre (5/30); Siegfried (6/3);
Götterdämmerung (6/6)
Cycle 2: Das Rheingold (6/8); Die Walküre (6/10); Siegfried (6/13);
Götterdämmerung (6/16)
Cycle 3: Das Rheingold (6/18); Die Walküre (6/20); Siegfried
(6/23);Götterdämmerung (6/26)
(For Performance times and ticket information visit www.laopera.com)
Contact: Gary Murphy, Director of Communications, LA Opera,
gmurphy@laopera.com or (213) 972-7554
California Art Club
Paintings from the Ring Paint-Outs (Venues & Dates Below)
For the past year, members of the California Art Club have been painting scenes and mythic themes of the Ring
cycle in plein air at various locations around the county. The finished works by the nationally renowned
artists who participated are on exhibition in two locations. A third exhibit will open at the Pasadena Museum of
California Art on June 13, 2010.
Info: www.californiaartclub.org or (626) 583-9009
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, May 10-July 16, 2010
555 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, www.olacathedral.org or (213) 680-5200
The Fine Arts Building, May 10-June 4, 2010; 811 W. 7th St., Los Angeles, CA 90017
Contact: Beverly Chang, beverly@brcart.com or
(310)709-4922
LA Opera Library Project: Free Speakers Bureau Talks
The Speakers Bureau, a joint program of the Opera League of Los Angeles and LA Opera, is introducing groups throughout
the area to the world of opera. The Speakers Bureau is bringing the magic of the Ring cycle to Los Angeles
with talks at public libraries across the region.
Burbank Central Library
Free Talk: "Wagner vs. Tolkien: Who is the Real Lord of the Rings?" May 10, 2010, 7 pm
110 Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, CA 91201, (818) 238-5600,
www.burbanklibrary.com
Crowell Public Library
Free Talk: "The Men of the Ring of the Nibelung," May 16, 2010, 2 pm
1890 Huntington Dr., San Marino, CA 91108, (626) 300-0777,
www.sanmarinopl.org
Platt Branch Library, Los Angeles Public Library
Free Talk: "The Men of the Ring of the Nibelung," May 12, 2010, 6:45 pm
23600 Victory Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91367, (818) 340-9386, www.lapl.org
Redondo Beach Public Library
Free Talk: "Wagner vs. Tolkien: Who is the Real Lord of the Rings?" May 11, 2010, 7 pm
303 N. Pacific Coast Hwy., Redondo Beach, CA 90277, (310) 318-0675,
www.redondo.org/library
Contact: Gary Murphy, Director of Communications, LA Opera,
gmurphy@laopera.com or (213) 972-7554
Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, California State University, San Bernardino
"Timeless Enchantment: Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung in Performance, from Bayreuth in 1876 to LA in
2010," May 12, 2010, 5 pm
Part of a larger series investigating the various ways the story and music of Wagner's Ring has continued to
be used in music, visual arts, theatre, literature, movies, comic books, etc., this lecture will focus on the most
historically and artistically important Ring productions.
Info: museum.csusb.edu or (909) 537-5000
5500 University Pkwy., San Bernardino, CA 92407
Contact: Andrea Callahan, Development and PR Associate, Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum,
acallahan@csusb.edu or (909) 537-3373 Fax: 909-537-7068
The Latino Museum of History, Art and Culture
Epic Tales of Latino Art, Continuing-June 30, 2010, Tue.-Sun. 10 am-4 pm
Epic Tales of Latino Art presents Latino artists' heroic quest to find identity and self definition. This
exhibit showcases works in The Latino Museum's permanent collection that, like Richard Wagner's Ring, are
dramatic, mythical, fantastical, conflicting yet real and thought provoking.
Reception and Panel Welcoming the Ring, May 13, 2010, 6:30 pm
A panel presentation in conjunction with the current exhibition discusses the pathways available to upcoming Latino
artists, and the impact of their artistic contributions in the 21st century. Panel will include experts in the
educational, cultural, and governmental arenas.
Info: (213) 626-7600. RSVP: events@thelatinomuseum.com
514 S. Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90013
Contact: Yesica Allala, allalayes@yahoo.com or (213) 626-7600/ (310)
954-6187
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Animation and Classical Music, May 14, 2010, 7:30 pm
Michael Giaccchino, composer of Ratatouille, Up, Star Trek and Lost, will be hosting an evening of
animated short subjects with soundtracks influenced by Wagner. The Academy will be screening shorts such as The
Band Concert, The Rabbit of Seville, and Musicland, What's Up Opera Doc? and more.
Info: (310) 247-2688
Ticket information: www.oscars.org
8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Contact: publicity@oscars.org or (310) 247-3090
Music Center/Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County
Active Arts
L.A. Storytellers: Stories of Forgiveness and Tolerance, May 15, 2010, 10 am-12:00 pm
People share their remarkable life stories of forgiveness and tolerance. L.A. Storytellers is a unique gathering and
sharing opportunity highlighting everyday people sharing oral histories, vivid memories, engaging experiences, and
extraordinary life stories that illustrate the Los Angeles way of life.
Info: (213) 972-3660
RSVP: activearts@musiccenter.org, before May 7, 2010<br>
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Fifth Floor, Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90012
Contact: Leticia Buckley, Director of Communications, Music Center,
lbuckley@musiccenter.org or 213-972-3335
Santa Monica Museum of Art (SMMoA)
Ring: Works from SMMoA's Park Studio project, May 15-August 21, 2010, Tues.-Sat. 11 am-6
pm
Santa Monica Museum of Art presents Ring an exhibition featuring work completed during the museum's signature
outreach program for teens entitled Park Studio. Students worked with artist Gordon Bowen and his Arts
ReFoundry Atelier to create sculptures in bronze inspired by themes from Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Info: www.smmoa.org or (310) 586-6488
Bergamont Station, G1, 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404
Contact: Miranda Carroll, Director of Communications,
miranda.carroll@smmoa.org or (310) 586-6488 ext. 123
Friends of the Observatory
Cosmic Conjunction 2010: Diamond Nights * Northern Lights, May 15, 2010
Celebrate Griffith Observatory's 75th diamond birthday at the world premiere of Light of the Valkyries, a
dazzling planetarium show developed for Ring Festival LA and featuring live celebrity performers. See
Griffith Observatory wrapped in shimmering veils of colored northern lights as you walk down a red carpet.
Please call (213) 473-0807 or visit
www.friendsoftheobservatory.org
Griffith Observatory, 2800 E. Observatory Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90027
Contact: Bonnie Winings, SWPR Group,
bwinings@swprgroup.com or (818) 760-7131
Hispanics for LA Opera (HLAO) & Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA)
A Concert of Opera and Zarzuela Performed by LA Opera's Domingo-Thornton Young Artists, May 15,
2010, 8:00 pm; Museum & café (prix fixe menu) open at 6 pm
Hispanics for LA Opera brings 10 singers from LA Opera's Domingo-Thornton Young Artists Program to the museum for an
evening of opera and zarzuela.
Tickets: priority seating for HLAO & MOLAA Members $40, General $30, Seniors/Students $20,
www.molaa.com or (562) 473-1689
MOLAA, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, CA 90802 Los Angeles Public Library
Contact: Gary Murphy, Director of Communications, LA Opera,
gmurphy@laopera.com or (213) 972-7554
Los Angeles Public Library
We Tell Stories Presents a Play: Rhine's Gold, Continuing-June 24, 2010 (Times vary)
Meet gods, dwarves, giants and mermaids in the Wagnerian romp The Rhine's Gold. Based on Wagner's opera,
Das Rheingold, this production by We Tell Stories features a puppet dwarf, charming costumes transformed from
ordinary objects, musical experts from opera, and audience participation. For children ages 5-12, and their families.
Info: www.ringfestivalla.com or
www.lapl.org
Contact: Peter V. Persic, Public Relations & Marketing Director, Los Angeles Public Library,
ppersic@lapl.org or 213-228-7556
REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theatre) Considering Wagner, May 16, 2010, 7:00 pm
More than 135 years after Richard Wagner completed the fourth and final opera of his epic Der Ring des
Nibelungen, this night of contemporary music and film unfolds in four acts that touch on different aspects of the
composer's life, work and place in history: his musical and theatrical innovations, his über-expressionist concept of
art, his preoccupation with Norse-Germanic mythology, his outsized personality, specific passages in his operas,
and-not least-some of the ways in which creative practice has developed since his time. Extending well over three
hours with intermissions, the multilayered program features work by former Villa Aurora resident composers Peter
Ablinger, Marko Ciciliani and Ulrich Krieger, additional compositions by Mark Menzies, Marc Sabat and Wolfgang von
Schweinitz, and films by Peter Rappmund and Meason Wiley.
Tickets: General $ 20, Students $ 16, CalArts Students/Faculty/Staff $10.
www.redcat.org or (213) 237-2800
631 West Second Street, Los Angeles, California 90012
Contact: Diana Wyenn, REDCAT Media Relations & Promotions Manager,
dwyenn@calarts.edu or (213) 237-2873
Norton Simon Museum
Michael Hackett, Professor and Chair, Department of Theater, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television on "Wagner:
Seen and Heard," Saturday, May 15, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Richard Wagner was one of the great geniuses of the 19th century. His idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk integrated
the various elements of music, poetry, dance and visual arts into a work of art. Wagner achieved this concept with
absolute control: he wrote his own librettos, composed the music, oversaw set design and built a new opera house at
Bayreuth to accommodate his sweeping vision. In conjunction with the LA Opera's historic staging of Wagner's 17-hour
Ring cycle, Dr. Hackett focuses on the complex relationship between what is "seen" and what is "heard" in the staging
of a Wagnerian opera. Reference to artworks in the Norton Simon Museum's collection enhances a discussion of mood,
atmosphere, emotional landscape and mise-en-scène as it is created for the stage.
Admission $15, includes admission to the galleries on the day of the class. Walk-in registration begins at 10:15 a.m.
For further information and registration, call the Education Department at (626) 844-6980
Form and Emotion in Rodin and Wagner, Continuing-June 30, 2010, Wed.-Mon., 12-6 pm
The museum presents a self-guided tour of the eight sculptures by Auguste Rodin in the Museum's gardens. The tour
draws interesting parallels between the two great 19th-century artists: Richard Wagner, the preeminent composer of
Romantic music, and Rodin, the first sculptor of the modern age.
411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91105
Contact: Leslie Denk, Director of Marketing and Communications,
ldenk@nortonsimon.org or (626) 844-6941
Los Angeles Conservancy
German Influence on Los Angeles' mid 20th Century Landscape Tours (ongoing)
In the 1930s and '40s, the city became home to some of the greatest German artists, architects, and writers, who
sought refuge here during the rise of National Socialism in Europe. The Los Angeles Conservancy will highlight the
physical landscape of the city's 20th-century German influence with a self-guided tour of historic sites related to
notable figures including Thomas Mann, Alfred Döblin, and Bertolt Brecht. Visit these sites online with an easy-to-use
Google map or print the map and explore the sites firsthand. Annotated map available at:
www.laconservancy.org
Contact: Cindy Olnik, colnick@laconservancy.org or (213)
430-4214
Autry National Center
Opera in the Libraries (online exhibition) Continuing-July 2010
The online exhibition will draw on the collections of the Braun Research Library and Autry Library. Featured will be a
rare 1912 recording of French tenor Augustarello Affre recorded in Los Angeles by Charles F. Lummis and the libretto
from La Fanciulla del West with music composed by Giacomo Puccini. To view the exhibition, visit
www.theautry.org
Contact: Joan Cumming,
jcumming@autrynationalcenter.org
LACMA
"Myths, Legends and Cultural Renewal: Wagner's Sources: Continuing-August 16, Mon., Tue. & Thu.,
Noon-8 pm; Fri., Noon -9 pm; Sat. & Sun. 11 am-8 pm
This exhibition drawn from LACMA's collection explores Germanic myths and legends in various embodiments in the modern
era. Myths, legends, and fables form an essential component of cultural renewal. Reinvented and passed on by each
generation, they have continued to fascinate artists into the modern era. Integrated into the awakening of German
nationalism in the 19th century, these traditions continued to fascinate various authors and artists into the high
modernism of the early 20th century.
Contact: Barbara Pflaumer, Associate Vice President and Director of Press Relations,
bpflaumer@lacma.org or (323) 932-5881
Geffen Playhouse
Nightmare Alley, Continuing-May 23, Tue.-Thu. 8pm, Sat. 3 & 8pm, & Sun. 2 & 7 pm
Step into Nightmare Alley and enter the titillating world of carnies, cons and clairvoyants. With a score as
wild as a funhouse and as evocative as a beautiful tightrope walker, this world premiere musical tells the tale of a
young carnie couple who tempt the fickle hand of fate. Based on the darkly evocative 1946 William Lindsay Gresham
novel of the same time, Nightmare Alley is a night at the theater full of special effects, wondrous feats and
enough spirit to make believers of us all. But remember, here, things are never as they seem. Directed by Gilbert
Cates; music, book and lyrics by Jonathan Brielle. Tickets: $35-$74
Contact: Allison Rawlings, Director of Communications,
allison@geffenplayhouse.com
or (310) 966-2412
KUSC Classical 91.5fm
Ring Programming
KUSC has some exciting Ring Festival events planned for May and June, including its own presentation of the
complete Ring cycle, in historic recordings, and, on "LA Opera on Air," performances of the complete cycle
from the current season.
The Opera Show with Duff Murphy, May 15, 22 & 29, 9 am
Murphy devotes his May morning program to off-the-beaten track Ring-related performances: from the first
stereo recording to the women of the Ring and Wagner's music in cartoons.
KUSC Ring Tones
Duff Murphy presents special 90-second features in May and June, illuminating unusual aspects of the cycle.
Info: www.KUSC.orgor (213) 225-7412.
Contact: Gail Eichenthal, Program Director,
geichenthal@kusc.org or (213) 225-7422
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For a more information and a full listing of festival events visit
www.ringfestivalla.com
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