L.A. Opera's new music director is taking cues from Gustavo Dudamel as company unveils 2026-27 lineup

Los Angeles Opera volition denote its 2026–⁠2027 play Tuesday — the archetypal to beryllium led by incoming Music Director Domingo Hindoyan aft longtime Music Director James Conlon steps down.

Hindoyan, who is besides the main conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, volition support that presumption arsenic helium joins L.A. Opera successful July, astir 2 years aft making his institution debut with “Roméo et Juliette.” In his inaugural season, acceptable to motorboat Oct. 17, Hindoyan volition behaviour 2 of 5 mainstage productions: Bizet’s Sevillian calamity “Carmen” and Verdi’s biblical epic “Nabucco.”

Rounding retired the play are Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” helmed by nonmigratory conductor Lina González-Granados, and Puccini’s “Turandot,” led by impermanent conductor Diego Matheuz. Conlon, who volition beryllium named conductor laureate upon his departure, is acceptable to adjacent the play connected a precocious enactment with Mozart’s madcap drama “The Marriage of Figaro.”

Hindoyan begins his tenure successful L.A. arsenic his chap El Sistema euphony programme alum Gustavo Dudamel caps disconnected a 17-year tally with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The 2 were puerility friends, and successful a caller interrogation Hindoyan said helium has gleaned originative contented from Dudamel. He’s besides taken notes from the L.A. Phil person astir managing an L.A. station from an water distant — Hindoyan and his wife, renowned opera vocalist Sonya Yoncheva, presently support a superior residence successful Switzerland.

“His proposal was, L.A. volition travel your imaginativeness ... propulsion boundaries. L.A. volition follow. They emotion it, and they request it,” Hindoyan said, adding that arsenic the metropolis navigates ongoing governmental and societal turmoil, it needs the arts to ideate a way forward.

“Opera has ever been successful that presumption of trying to marque radical imagination for a amended future, and astatine the aforesaid clip enactment it successful our face, the wars of the quality being,” Hindoyan said.

The conductor added that opera not lone reveals societal ills but tin exemplary what an perfect nine tin look like.

Hindoyan said the caller play lineup was inspired by his dual goals of reanimating the operatic canon and honoring L.A.’s multicultural tone — the play features selections from the American, Italian and French repertoires.

“My extremity is to marque these classics consciousness new,” the conductor said, adding that “Carmen” is an perfect opener.

“It’s a rubric that is fun, [but] it’s information astatine the aforesaid time. It’s large music, but with fantastic possibilities,” helium said.

As for “Nabucco,” Hindoyan said, “I wanted to bash a big, important Verdi,” 1 that challenged some the chorus and the orchestra: “two of the main elements of the location that I privation to truly get to enactment with arsenic soon arsenic possible.”

Award-winning signifier manager Thaddeus Strassberger volition nonstop and plan some Hindoyan-led productions. A quality merchandise astir the upcoming play noted that Strassberger besides staged a 2017 mentation of the amusement and that successful his hands, the upcoming rendition volition clasp the opulence of its predecessor, which transported “the hanging gardens of Babylon to the gilded theaters of Milan.” “Carmen,” the merchandise said, volition beryllium reborn “drenched successful Spanish Gothic splendor.”

While galore planetary productions of “Carmen” person historically minimized Spain by centering its titular femme fatale, Hindoyan said this mentation puts the Mediterranean state backmost successful the picture.

The conductor added that the accumulation volition transport audiences done clip and abstraction to “feel Spanish flavors, Spanish essence.”

Despite his precocious ambitions, Hindoyan said helium isn’t going afloat steam close distant — hence his humble two-production slate, though that fig volition summation successful aboriginal years, helium said.

When the chemistry betwixt conductor and institution is there, helium added, “the innovation volition travel connected its own.”

Hindoyan besides said that helium doesn’t mean to propulsion immoderate collaborations with his Grammy-nominated wife, but “the purpose of immoderate euphony manager of an important opera location is to person the champion singers successful the location ... and Sonya is perfectly portion of that list.”

On apical of its mainstage offerings, L.A. Opera‘s upcoming play volition proceed the company’s Off Grand initiative, staging unconventional shows similar the campy film-opera hybrid “Hercules vs Vampires,” coming to the United Theater connected Broadway via the opera house’s yearly Halloween residency. Additional Off Grand performances are headed to the Wallis successful Beverly Hills and the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall.

L.A. Opera Connects, the house’s nationalist outreach arm, volition besides usher successful respective productions, including “The Three Women of Jerusalem,” a assemblage opera to beryllium presented astatine the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Season tickets are present disposable starting astatine $164 for each 5 mainstage shows, and idiosyncratic lawsuit income statesman successful June.