Los Angeles Opera will announce its 2026–2027 season Tuesday — the first to be led by incoming Music Director Domingo Hindoyan after longtime Music Director James Conlon steps down.
Hindoyan, who is also the chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, will maintain that position as he joins L.A. Opera in July, nearly two years after making his company debut with “Roméo et Juliette.” In his inaugural season, set to launch Oct. 17, Hindoyan will conduct two of five mainstage productions: Bizet’s Sevillian tragedy “Carmen” and Verdi’s biblical epic “Nabucco.”
Rounding out the season are Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” helmed by resident conductor Lina González-Granados, and Puccini’s “Turandot,” led by guest conductor Diego Matheuz. Conlon, who will be named conductor laureate upon his departure, is set to close the season on a high note with Mozart’s madcap comedy “The Marriage of Figaro.”
Hindoyan begins his tenure in L.A. as his fellow El Sistema music program alum Gustavo Dudamel caps off a 17-year run with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The two were childhood friends, and in a recent interview Hindoyan said he has gleaned creative wisdom from Dudamel. He’s also taken notes from the L.A. Phil leader about managing an L.A. post from an ocean away — Hindoyan and his wife, renowned opera singer Sonya Yoncheva, currently keep a primary residence in Switzerland.
“His advice was, L.A. will follow your imagination … push boundaries. L.A. will follow. They love it, and they need it,” Hindoyan said, adding that as the city navigates ongoing political and social turmoil, it needs the arts to imagine a path forward.
“Opera has always been in that position of trying to make people dream for a better future, and at the same time put it in our face, the wars of the human being,” Hindoyan said.
The conductor added that opera not only reveals societal ills but can model what an ideal society can look like.
Hindoyan said the new season lineup was inspired by his dual goals of reanimating the operatic canon and honoring L.A.’s multicultural spirit — the season features selections from the American, Italian and French repertoires.
“My goal is to make these classics feel new,” the conductor said, adding that “Carmen” is an ideal opener.
“It’s a title that is fun, [but] it’s danger at the same time. It’s great music, but with fantastic possibilities,” he said.
As for “Nabucco,” Hindoyan said, “I wanted to do a big, important Verdi,” one that challenged both the chorus and the orchestra: “two of the main elements of the house that I want to really get to work with as soon as possible.”
Award-winning stage director Thaddeus Strassberger will direct and design both Hindoyan-led productions. A news release about the upcoming season noted that Strassberger also staged a 2017 version of the show and that in his hands, the upcoming rendition will retain the opulence of its predecessor, which transported “the hanging gardens of Babylon to the gilded theaters of Milan.” “Carmen,” the release said, will be reborn “drenched in Spanish Gothic splendor.”
While many international productions of “Carmen” have historically minimized Spain by centering its titular femme fatale, Hindoyan said this version puts the Mediterranean country back in the picture.
The conductor added that the production will transport audiences through time and space to “feel Spanish flavors, Spanish essence.”
Despite his high ambitions, Hindoyan said he isn’t going full steam right away — hence his modest two-production slate, although that number will increase in future years, he said.
When the chemistry between conductor and company is there, he added, “the innovation will come on its own.”
Hindoyan also said that he doesn’t intend to push any collaborations with his Grammy-nominated wife, but “the aim of any music director of an important opera house is to have the best singers in the house … and Sonya is absolutely part of that list.”
On top of its mainstage offerings, L.A. Opera‘s upcoming season will continue the company’s Off Grand initiative, staging unconventional shows like the campy film-opera hybrid “Hercules vs Vampires,” coming to the United Theater on Broadway via the opera house’s annual Halloween residency. Additional Off Grand performances are headed to the Wallis in Beverly Hills and the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall.
L.A. Opera Connects, the house’s public outreach arm, will also usher in several productions, including “The Three Women of Jerusalem,” a community opera to be presented at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Season tickets are now available starting at $164 for all five mainstage shows, and individual event sales begin in June.