Long Beach Opera (LBO) has announced the award of a three year grant in the amount of $300,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The Foundation provides multi-year arts grants on an invitation-only basis to a small number of leading US orchestras, theater, opera, and modern dance companies. The grant will support LBO's new Outer Limits series, a project designed to expand the boundaries of the opera form.
While LBO's main season productions will continue to broaden the possibilities of opera through new and rare works, Outer Limits will feature musical outliers that defy classification. LBO's Artistic and General Director Andreas Mitisek comments, "We are proud to be a recipient of the Mellon Foundation grant for this adventurous initiative. We also see it as an endorsement of the work we do and an encouragement to create thisnew artistic path for LBO."
With support from the Mellon grant, the company will create a haven where Southern California's most adventurous audiences can experience highly progressive productions which challenge stage conventions and explore new approaches to contemporary music. The Outer Limits' series will be staged in intimate, alternative venuesaccommodating 300 people.
For the inaugural production of Outer Limits in September 2012, LBO will stage Gavin Bryar's PAPER NAUTILUS at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
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