"A rare chance to hear Braunfels's lighthearted, tenderly spiritual and little-known fable…James Conlon lavished attention on the music, drawing rapturously colorful and confident playing from the orchestra."
-The New York Times

"A marvelous performance…the orchestra sounded radiant."
-Los Angeles Times

"Conlon conducted with lustrous élan…We should hear more of Braunfels' work.
-Financial Times, London

James Conlon continues his exploration of longforgotten masterpieces by the lost generation of composers affected by the Holocaust. Featured in this year's Recovered Voices series will be a lush, late Romantic work reminiscent of Strauss and Wagner. Walter Braunfels freely adapted the ancient Greek comic-dramatist Aristophanes's play The Birds to compose what he described as an "airy play of imagination...everything here is a game, a metaphor." Soprano Désirée Rancatore, makes her Company debut in the high-flying role of the Nightingale. Winner of the 2007 Richard Tucker Award, Brandon Jovanovich makes a first LA Opera appearance in the role of Good Hope. Also starring Stacey Tappan, James Johnson, Martin Gantner and Brian Mulligan.

Saturday April 11, 2009 7:30 p.m. Buy Tickets Saturday April 18, 2009 2:00 p.m. Buy Tickets Thursday April 23, 2009 7:30 p.m. Buy Tickets Sunday April 26, 2009 2:00 p.m. Buy Tickets

NIGHTINGALE Désirée Rancatore* View Profile GOOD HOPE Brandon Jovanovich* View Profile LOYAL FRIEND James Johnson View Profile HOOPOE Martin Gantner View Profile WREN Stacey Tappan View Profile PROMETHEUS Brian Mulligan View Profile EAGLE/ZEUS Matthew Moore View Profile

CONDUCTOR James Conlon View Profile DIRECTOR Darko Tresnjak View Profile SET DESIGNER David P. Gordon* View Profile COSTUME DESIGNER Linda Cho View Profile CHOREOGRAPHER Peggy Hickey View Profile ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR/CHORUS MASTER Grant Gershon View Profile