Ring Festival LA Media Contact:
Catherine Babcock
Public Relations Consultant
cbabcock@RingFestivalLA.com
P: (213) 972-7691

Los Angeles Opera Media Contact:
Gary W. Murphy
Director of Communications and Public Relations
gmurphy@laopera.com; (213) 972-7554

RING FESTIVAL LA
HOLDS CLOSING CEREMONY
AT THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM

Ten-week Countywide Festival closes with a Celebration for
Civic Leaders and Partners

Los Angeles, June 30, 2010 - LA Opera brought the final cycle of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen to a close on Saturday night, June 26, with a thundering standing ovation from the full house at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. As the cast, Maestro James Conlon, LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director, and Director/Designer Achim Freyer took the stage, the crowd roared its delight in marking the completion of LA Opera's first-ever presentations of the Ring cycle.

On Wednesday night, June 30, Ring Festival LA, the countywide arts and cultural festival that began on April 15 in conjunction with the Ring, officially closed at a festive celebration for civic leaders, LA Opera and Getty board members and festival partners in the atrium of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Stephen D. Rountree, Chief Operating Officer of LA Opera, officially closed Ring Festival LA when he handed a conductor's baton, signed by Maestro Conlon, to Deborah Marrow, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the J. Paul Getty Trust, in honor Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980, the unprecedented series of concurrent exhibitions and programs at arts institutions throughout Southern California that will begin in 2011.

Mr. Rountree began his remarks by thanking the Getty for so generously hosting the event and asked that the crowd take a moment to remember James Wood, the late president and CEO of the Getty Trust. Mr. Wood was one of the most respected museum leaders in the country and brought a new level of respect to the Getty. Mr. Rountree noted that Mr. Wood was in attendance at the inception of the Ring festival.

Mr. Rountree continued, "Ring Festival LA was an unprecedented bringing together of arts, educational and cultural organizations, and this baton signifies our wish that all of the organizations involved in Pacific Standard Time will enjoy the extraordinary success that Ring Festival LA experienced." He continued, "The legacy of Ring Festival LA is the partnerships that were created and that will continue to provide collaborative arts and educational programming across Los Angeles. We hope Pacific Standard Time will create another such legacy."

Dr. Marrow accepted the baton saying, "We congratulate LA Opera and all of the partners in Ring Festival LA. The Getty is pleased to have been a participant. You have beautifully demonstrated the artistic and intellectual vibrancy of the educational and cultural organization in the Los Angeles region. We accept this baton with pleasure and look forward with excitement to the opening of the Pacific Standard Time exhibitions and programs in Fall 2011, continuing through Spring 2012."

The party opened with guests circulating in the atrium to the sounds of Daedalus' unique blend of electronica. Alfred Darlington, aka Dadealus, performed a sold-out concert at the Broad Stage at the start of the festival, and returned to the closing event with his remix of the Ring and other music.

Deborah Marrow welcomed the crowd of 200 to the Getty Center, spoke of the staff and board's sorrow at the loss of Jim Wood, and introduced Barry A. Sanders, LA Opera Board Member and Leader of Ring Festival LA. Sanders noted, "Our 115 partners produced nearly 1,000 events, which were attended by more than 460,000 people. The festival engaged the entire city and met our expectations by tearing down the walls that have separated the abundance of cultural and educational institutions in Los Angeles. It invited everyone in the city to participate in experiencing the fascination of the Ring." He lauded the quality and intensity of the participation by all the partners, "The partnering institutions, from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to The Verdi Chorus, put their hearts into creating new and impressive work that would not have happened without the festival." He also thanked the team at LA Opera who labored to create and implement the festival.

Mr. Sanders welcomed Los Angeles County Third District Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to the microphone where County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said, "Ring Festival LA was an unprecedented event in Los Angeles. Thanks to the programming and discussions that took place for 10 weeks throughout the county, the eyes of the world were focused on the very best of our arts, educational and cultural institutions." He added, "If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, our festival partners should be flattered indeed that San Francisco will be mounting its own festival around the Ring in 2011. So congratulations to everyone on a job well done!"

Mr. Sanders returned to podium and invited Mr. Rountree to officially close Ring Festival LA by passing the baton to Ms. Marrow. After their remarks, Ms. Marrow invited guests to view the North Pavilion exhibition.

About Ring Festival LA: More than two years in the making, Ring Festival LA was the largest arts and cultural festival in Los Angeles in the past 25 years. There were 50 cultural partners when the festival was announced; when the 10-week festival closed, its 115 partners produced more than 960 Ring-related events including: exhibitions, symposia, concerts, walking tours and theatrical performances. More than 460,000 people attended these events which took place from Los Angeles to San Pedro to Santa Monica and San Bernardino.

In addition to providing serious, in-depth examinations of the Ring at colleges, universities and libraries, there were lighthearted and silly take-offs on the operas by the Musical Theatre Guild and the Machine Project. Wagner's rarely- preformed first two operas were presented by the USC - Thornton School of Music and Lyric Opera of Los Angeles. Musical examinations of composers who were influenced by Wagner or who derided his work were undertaken at the University of California, Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Jacaranda: music at the edge; Congregation Kol Ami; and daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra. Children and families were introduced to opera through presentations by LA Opera and We Tell Stories at libraries across the Southland.

According to Stephen D. Rountree, LA Opera's Chief Operating Officer, "The legacy of Ring Festival LA is the partnerships that were developed and the collaborations that will continue in the future. New audiences across Los Angeles County have now had an experience with opera thanks to Ring Festival LA."

About Pacific Standard Time: Pacific Stand Time is an initiative launched by the Getty in collaboration with more than 50 art institutions across Southern California. Pacific Standard Time will demonstrate the pivotal role by Los Angeles artists in the decades following the Second World War," said Deborah Marrow, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the J. Paul Getty Trust. "Arts institutions all across Southern California--from Santa Barbara to San Diego and from Los Angeles to Palm Springs-are joining together to create exhibitions and program that will highlight the regions enormous contribution to the history of art."