Our series of performances from the LA Opera begin on this week’s Sunday Opera (8/16 3:00 p.m.) with Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” which stars Ana Maria Martinez in the title role. Joining her is Brandon Jovanovich as the vengeful Don Jose, Amanda Woodbury as the loving Micaela, and Alexander Vinogradov as the egotistical Escamillo. Joining them are Liv Redpath, Kelly O’Connor, Brian Michael Moore, Theo Hoffman, Phillip Cokorinos, and Juan Carlos Heredia with James Conlon conducting the Los Angeles Opera Chorus and Orchestra.
After the opera, join Michael Kownacky for highlights from one of, if not the last Zarzuelas, “Black el Payaso” (“Black the Clown”) by Pablo Sorozabal whose death in 1988 brought the art form to an end. Like many of Sorozabal’s works, this 1942 Spanish operetta is commentary on the political climate of Spain and features Leda Barclay, Enriqueta Serrano, Luisa Espinosa, Alfredo Kraus, and Renato Cesari with the Coros Liricos de Hispavox and the Orquesta de Conciertos de Madrid. The composer conducts.
