DOMINGO HOOKS UP WITH ILM.

Byline: Fred Shuster

Placido Domingo, new artistic director of the Los Angeles Opera, has come to town with a little ``Star Wars'' in his eyes.

A long-talked-about collaboration between the local opera company and George Lucas' special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, will come to fruition in May 2003 for an all-new, two-season staging of Richard Wagner's epic Ring Cycle, which includes such works as ``Das Rheingold,'' ``Die Walkure'' and ``Siegfried,'' Domingo said.

Early design plans are ``so spectacular ... I can tell you it will really be quite different,'' the opera great said in a press conference at the Music Center on Monday to announce the L.A. Opera's future plans.

During the 2001-02 season, the company will present eight staged productions and one opera in concert. Of the nine works, seven have never been performed by the L.A. company.

The season opens Sept. 4, 2001, with a new production of Tchaikovsky's ``Queen of Spades,'' along with a new production of Wagner's ``Lohengrin,'' directed by Academy Award-winning actor Maximilian Schell.

Following ``Lohengrin'' in October 2001 will be a revival of the company's 1999 production of Verdi's ``La Traviata,'' to be conducted by Domingo.

In December 2001, the company will offer Franz Lehar's ``The Merry Widow.''

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the death of composer Arnold Schoenberg, who died in Los Angeles, the company will present a single concert performance of his monumental ``Moses und Aron,'' conducted by the L.A. Opera's principal conductor, Kent Nagano.

The season will also feature performances of Bach's ``Mass in B Minor,'' Mozart's ``Die Zauberflote,'' Puccini's ``Turandot'' (with a new ending composed by Luciano Berio), along with Bartok's ``Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' and Puccini's ``Gianni Schicchi'' (both directed by Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin).

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(color) DOMINGO