Long Beach Opera will end its 2021 season with two monodrama masterpieces produced in partnership with LA Phil, Pierrot Lunaire / Voices From the Killing Jar by Arnold schönberg and Kate soper , presented August 14 and 15 at 8:00 p.m. at The Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd., East, Los Angeles CA 90068. Information and tickets available at longbeachopera.org and theford.com

This double bill, designed by former LBO Acting Art Advisor Yuval Sharon, showcases the work and perspective of creative women and creative teams. The century-old masterpiece Pierrot Lunaire is associated with the work of one of today’s most fascinating composers, Kate soper , in her review of famous women in history and literature. Choreographer Danielle Agami will direct and choreograph Pierrot Lunaire in collaboration with her dance company Ate9, and soprano Kiera Duffy, one of the main performers of the role, will play Pierrot. Zoe Aja Moore will conduct Voices from the Killing Jar, with soprano Laurel Irene. Jenny Wong will lead the Wild Up ensemble for the entire doubles program.

Arnold schönberg Pierrot Lunaire (1912) changed music forever when he created 21 surreal dreamscapes for a lonely and enigmatic woman to walk through. Exploring a threshold space between song and speech, Schoenberg created a vocal character somewhere between cabaret and expressionism, demanding that each performer appropriates the role in a unique way. Exactly 100 years later, Kate soper ‘s Voices from the Killing Jar (2012) takes an intrepid soloist through an ever-changing sound environment and a kaleidoscopic vocal journey. Soper’s protagonist brings 8 famous women of world literature to life – from Don Giovanni to Great Gatsby, from Shakespeare to Haruki Murakami – to disentangle the masculine representations of women through the centuries.

Each work is a tour de force for singers who think well beyond lyrical conventions. Voices from the Killing Jar will be performed by Laurel Irene, a performer whom Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times hailed as “truly superhuman, giving one of the most astonishing performances, vocally and interpretatively, that I have ever encountered.” Pierrot will be performed by Kiera Duffy, one of the main performers of this work, who sang the cycle with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall . Regarding Ms. Duffy’s portrayal of Pierrot, the Chicago Tribune stated that she “had unmatched purity, power and drama in the experience of this listener.”

The works are directed by a trio of exceptional local artists who bring new perspectives to the opera: Pierrot Lunaire is directed and choreographed by Danielle Agami, the founder of the famous Ate9 Dance Company. Killing Jar is directed by Zoe Aja Moore, a stage director whose work has been seen at the Prototype Festival, the Williamstown Theater Festival , REDCAT and National Sawdust. Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director of Los Angeles Master Chorale and Co-Conductor of The Industry’s Sweet Land, conducts both pieces.

Information on Long Beach Opera 22/23 season tickets can be found at longbeachopera .org