Britten 100/LA: A Celebration's Events For January and February Include THE TURN OF THE SCREW and More

The centenary of British composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) has been observed around the world by musicians and institutions of every kind. Music Director James Conlon, whose lifelong fascination with Britten is reflected in his personal three-year performance cycle of the composer's works in America and Europe, is the inspiration for LA Opera's Britten 100/LA: A Celebration, an extensive collaboration featuring performances, conferences and exhibitions presented by a host of organizations throughout the Southland. Britten's centenary year may be drawing to an end, but Britten 100/LA events will continue into early 2014, culminating in LA Opera's February and March performances of Billy Budd.

JANUARY EVENTS LISTING

January 11 through 19
The Turn of the Screw (Op. 54, 1954)
Presented by Pacific Opera Project, conducted by Stephen Karr, directed and designed by Josh Shaw. Pre-show lecture one hour before curtain.

Venue: Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts, 720 Kohler Street, Los Angeles CA 90021
Information: www.PacificOperaProject.com or 323.739.6122

January 25, 8:00pm
Long Beach Symphony Orchestra concert featuring The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Op. 34, 1945) conducted by Enrique Arturo Diemecke, along with works by Strauss and Revueltas.

Venue: Terrace Theater, Long Beach Performing Arts Center (300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach CA 90802)
Information: www.LBSO.org or 562.436.3203

FEBRUARY EVENTS LISTING

February 6, 7:00pm; February 13, 7:00pm
UCLA presents two lectures by James Conlon: Peter Grimes andGloriana (Feb. 6); The Turn of the Screw and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Feb. 13). These lectures are open to the public and free of charge.

Venue: UCLA Royce Hall, room 314 (Humanities Conference Room), 340 Royce Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90095.

February 7, 2pm and 7:30pm
James Conlon conducts The Little Sweep (Op. 45, 1949) at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts directed by Stephanie Vlahos, with musicians from the LACHSA Symphony Orchestra and singers from the LACHSA Full Circle Opera Project. (The matinee is for students and is not open to the general public.)

Venue: Caroline's LOFT at LACHSA, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032
Information: Tickets are $25 ($20 for students) and will be available at www.LACHSA.net

February 20
Benjamin Britten and Literature: A Conference at UCLA (Day 1)
1:00pm
Christopher Chowrimootoo (Notre Dame University)
The Turn of the Screw, or: the Gothic Melodrama of Modernism

2:00pm
Arman Schwartz (University of Birmingham)
Britten without James

3:00pm
Ryan Minor (SUNY Stonybrook)
Songs and Space in Billy Budd

5:00pm
James Conlon
Owen Wingrave and Death in Venice

Venue: All of this day's conference events take place at Charles E. Young Research Library, Room 11360 (conference room), UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095. The conference is open to the public and free of charge.

February 21
Benjamin Britten and Literature: A Conference at UCLA (Day 2)
1:00pm
Jonathan Neufeld (The College of Charleston)
'So much is confusion!'--Britten and the public role of expressive ambiguity

2:00pm
Heather Wiebe (King's College London)
Britten's Anthologies: English Poetry and the Song Cycles

3:30pm
Seth Brodsky (University of Chicago)
Repeating, Remembering, Passacaglia: "Weak" Britten

4:30pm
Mitchell Morris (UCLA)

Venue: All of this day's conference events take place at Popper Auditorium, Schoenberg Music Building, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095. The conference is open to the public and free of charge.

February 21, 7:30pm
American Cinematheque presents a screening of the 1962 film Billy Budd directed by Peter Ustinov and starring Terence Stamp. Guest speakers to be announced.

Venue: Aero Theatre (1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica CA 90403)
Information: www.AmericanCinemathequeCalendar.com

February 22 through March 16
Billy Budd (Op. 50, 1951)
Presented by LA Opera, conducted by James Conlon and featuring baritone Liam Bonner (Billy Budd), tenor Richard Croft (Captain Vere), bass-baritone Greer Grimsley (Claggart), baritone Anthony Michaels-Moore (Mr. Redburn), bass Daniel Sumegi (Mr. Flint) and bass Samuel Ramey (Dansker).

Venue: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Information: www.LAOpera.org or 213.972.8001

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