{"id":18174,"date":"2026-04-13T14:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T18:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/?p=18174"},"modified":"2026-04-17T14:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T18:27:07","slug":"conlon-laopera-performances-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/conlon-laopera-performances-magazine\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Taking A Bow&#8221; James Conlon on his Tenure with LA Opera"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/performancesmagazine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Performances<\/em> Magazine<\/a> published an extensive interview with James Conlon as he reflects on his 20-year tenure as music director of LA Opera, which has spanned for half of the company\u2019s 40-year history. Over that time, he conducted 519 performances across 70 operas by 32 composers, never canceling a performance.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-18176 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Conlon_PerformancesMag_768-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"228\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Conlon_PerformancesMag_768-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Conlon_PerformancesMag_768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px\" \/>Conlon is stepping down at the end of the 2025\u201326 season to pursue other opportunities, though he will remain involved as conductor laureate. His final season includes conducting <em>Falstaff <\/em>and<em> The Magic Flute<\/em>, along with the gala with a program centered on Mozart, Wagner, and Verdi\u2014composers he sees as foundational to opera.<\/p>\n<p>He came to L.A. somewhat unexpectedly after a career largely based in Europe and major U.S. institutions, accepting the role at the invitation of Pl\u00e1cido Domingo. At L.A. Opera, he focused on building a strong musical identity through a broad repertory and ambitious projects, including the company\u2019s first full <em>Ring Cycle<\/em> in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>Among his most meaningful initiatives is \u201cRecovered Voices,\u201d a series devoted to composers silenced by the Holocaust, which later expanded into a broader institutional effort to restore marginalized musical works. He views this as both an artistic and moral mission.<\/p>\n<p>Conlon also prioritized community engagement, particularly through annual performances of <em>Noah&#8217;s Flood<\/em> involving young people and local participants, reflecting his belief in early exposure to the arts.<\/p>\n<p>While proud of achievements including four GRAMMY Awards during his tenure, Conlon emphasizes that the true reward lies in the act of performance and its impact on audiences. He describes his departure as bittersweet, expressing deep appreciation for the musicians, staff, and collaborative spirit that defined his time in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Performances Magazine published an extensive interview with James Conlon as he reflects on his 20-year tenure as music director of LA Opera, which has spanned for half of the company\u2019s 40-year history. Over that time, he conducted 519 performances across 70 operas by 32 composers, never canceling a performance. Conlon is stepping down at the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/conlon-laopera-performances-magazine\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3613,7251,4401,7503,4195,7504],"class_list":["post-18174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-conductor","tag-farewell","tag-james-conlon","tag-la-opera","tag-profile","tag-tenure"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18177,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18174\/revisions\/18177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/18175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.opus3artists.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}