Long Beach Opera Announces Daily Live Performances May 4- June 30

On Monday May 4, Long Beach Opera launches a series of daily live shows that include performances, conversations, and interviews featuring a diverse array of LBO artists. The series begins on May 4 at 4pm with Catalina Cuervo, who was slated to sing the role of Frida Kahlo with LBO this spring, continues with baritone Andy Wilkowske (May 5 at 4pm) who was in the 2018 production of The Invention of Morel, Suzan Hanson (May 6 at 4 pm) who has appeared in over 30 LBO productions, and Cedric Berry and Ashley Faatoalia (May 7 at 4pm) from The Central Park Five.

Additional live broadcasts on alternate Fridays at 6:00 PM featuring LBO artists and Engagement staff members Derrell Acon and Joanna Ceja will complete the slate of live programming.

The series is currently scheduled to run through Friday June 26 and is available at LBO's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/longbeachopera/.

Following the livestream, the audience can enjoy the performances later at longbeachopera.org/lbo-online.

Jennifer Rivera, C.E.O. and Executive Director of Long Beach Opera, said, "We pride ourselves at Long Beach Opera on creating the intimate connections between artists and audiences at our live performances. It is my belief that even though we are apart, we must continue to find ways to forge these connections, as they are essential to our humanity during times of crisis."

With this new programming, LBO accomplishes two important parts of its mission: connecting audiences with live performances, and providing a creative outlet and paid performance opportunities for artists. The artists featured in these daily programs represent both very familiar faces and some newer faces from the LBO family. The audience is able to comment on the Facebook live stream in real time and the artists will be able to respond either live or in subsequent episodes.

The series includes:

Monday at 4:00 PM: LATIN HEAT featuring Catalina Cuervo. Catalina, who was slated to sing Frida this June for LBO is new to LBO audiences, but we are delighted to introduce her in this weekly bilingual show, where she will perform and discuss Latin music from classical to musical theater to pop, live from her home in Medellin, Colombia on Mondays.

Tuesday at 4:00 PM: WILKOWSKE or Won'tKOWSKE featuring Andy Wilkowske, who is familiar to LBO audiences from The Invention of Morel in 2018. He will be serenading audiences with his mellifluous baritone and his skills on the electric guitar with opera, rock and everything in between, along with discussions with his composer friends on creating new works. He will be broadcasting live from his home in St. Paul, MN.

Wednesday at 4:00 PM: COVI CABIN PRODUCTIONS featuring Suzan Hanson. Suzan is one of the most beloved of all LBO artists, having appeared in over 30 LBO productions. This soprano will bring stories from her favorite characters she's played with LBO, incredible singing, and even some of her best recipes all from her living room!

Thursday at 4:00 PM: IN THE HOUSE featuring Cedric Berry and Ashley Faatoalia. This Tenor and Bass-Baritone duo, last seen together in LBO's The Central Park Five will take turns sharing their voices, their stories from home, and their at-home skills - including cooking and home improvement tutorials! They may even come together for a "zoom duet" or two.

Every other Friday at 6:00 PM: LB...Oop featuring Derrell Acon and Joanna Ceja. Both local opera personalities and singers will come together every other Friday evening to bring fun and lively discussions about what's happening both inside and outside the opera world. They will discuss the latest inside scoop about what it's like to be an artist during these strange times.