Los Angeles was founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porziuncola) by 44 Spanish settlers on August 14, 1781.
The first recording of John Adams’ 2017 opera, Girls of the Golden West, which tells the story of the California Gold Rush in the words and deeds of real people, is out now. You can get it and hear it here.
The composer leads the LA Phil in this recording made in Disney Hall, with the Los Angeles Master Chorale led by Grant Gershon and a cast featuring Davóne Tines, Julia Bullock, Paul Appleby, Hye Jung Lee, Elliot Madore, Daniela Mack, and Ryan McKinny. Longtime Adams collaborator Peter Sellars drew from original sources from the era to create the libretto.
Week 29.2/52: July 17th- July 23rd 2023 | Angel's Flight & WDCH
Some more views from Downtown... encountered a racist white woman here and it made me hate my life and have a huge concern for my safety. Kind of ruined the rest of the day/trip ngl. Was scared to go outside everyday :-( The US is not for me... ;_; Not sure if the encounter made me hate these places but if you ever consider visiting I don't think these spots are worth it. 3/10.
Christoph Waltz attends the Walt Disney Concert Hall opening night gala at Walt Disney Concert Hall on on September 27, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Frank Gehry believed the WDCH suggested music - he wanted people who were attending to feel their eyes wandering through the shapes of the building and finding that they harmonize with the music they're listening to. Though it's a design that requires a lot of boldness, Gehry was nervous throughout the construction process and considered it a miracle that it came together.
Composer John Adams, in this new video from his publisher, Boosey & Hawkes, discusses how great operas throughout history confront deep issues of our human existence, and how contemporary operas—including his own Doctor Atomic, The Death of Klinghoffer, and Nixon in China—explore themes of humanity, intolerance, and power through the lens of recent history.
All of the above and more are included in the forty-disc box set John Adams Collected Works released last year on Nonesuch. Adams will conduct his opera Girls of the Golden West performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, featuring Julia Bullock among others, at Walt Disney Concert Hall, January 27–29.