L.A. OPERA TO STAGE `RING' CYCLE BROAD GIVES $6 MILLION TO OFFER WAGNER OPUS.Byline: FRED SHUSTER Music Writer Propelled by a $6 million gift from billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad Eli Broad (born June 6, 1933) a native of Detroit, Michigan is a Jewish American billionaire who lives in Los Angeles, California. His last name is pronounced as rhyming with road. Broad is well known for his philanthropy and extensive art collection. , the Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. announced Wednesday it will mount Wagner's ``Ring'' cycle, the complex four-opera opus considered the ultimate test of an opera company's resources. The epic production, a sort of World Cup for opera lovers, is expected to begin in the 2008-09 season with all four parts programmed in tandem in 2011 to mark the L.A. Opera's 25th anniversary. Placido Domingo, the company's general director, said he hopes to sing the role of Siegmund, adding that a timetable and casting details will be announced Sept. 28. Broad's $6 million gift will cover about a quarter of the cost of the production, and ticket prices are expected to soar. Running at more than 16 hours and featuring 100 musicians, the ``Ring'' requires specially trained singers, astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, sets, special effects, costumes and hundreds of support staff. ``This gift supports arts and culture in L.A.,'' Broad said, naming Los Angeles among the world's four great cultural capitals, along with New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , London and Paris. ``But we have to do better at attracting cultural visitors.'' Broad said he hoped the ``Ring'' would bring music lovers from all over the world to downtown for a minimum of six days to see the four operas. ``Ring'' cycles in Chicago and other cities have contributed more than $35 million to local economies, Broad said. The Seattle Opera's 2001 production, for example, sold out all its 36,000 seats a year in advance of opening and drew audience members from 49 states and 19 countries. Hardcore aficionados who flock to performances around the world are known in opera circles as ``Ring pilgrims.'' Both the Metropolitan Opera and the San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is the second largest opera company in North America. It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881-1953). The Opening Night Gala of the San Francisco Opera is widely considered to be one of the most memorable events of the year for opera patrons. have announced the creation of ``Ring'' cycles by the end of the decade. In Orange County, the area's new concert hall is being inaugurated next month with the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. premiere of the Kirov's ``Ring'' (with Domingo as Siegmund). Fred Shuster, (818) 713-3676 fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Eli Broad, Edythe Broad and Placido Domingo, from left, appear at a news conference at which Broad's $6 million gift to the L.A. Opera was announced. The money will help finance the upcoming production of Richard Wagner's ``Der Ring des Nibelungen Der Ring des Nibelungen, (The Ring of the Nibelung), is a cycle of four epic music dramas by the German composer Richard Wagner. The operas are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied. .'' Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion