Mario Bava’s 1961 cult film Hercules in the Haunted World plays on the big screen while nine singers and a 26-piece orchestra perform a new operatic score live. That’s Hercules vs Vampires, and it arrives at the United Theater on Broadway (929 S. Broadway) on Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 8pm.
It’s a seductively spooky way to celebrate Halloween if you’re a bit too old for trick or treating, and there are plenty of other ways to celebrate too. Halloween Candlelight concerts in Los Angeles feature live, classical tributes to movie soundtracks by the flickering light of thousands of candles.
Candlelight: Halloween Classics
30 October 2026 20:45
The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey
Candlelight Koreatown: Halloween Classics
23 October 2026 18:15
Immanuel Presbyterian Church
Candlelight Burbank: Halloween Classics
30 October 2026 18:15
Los Angeles Equestrian Center
Candlelight Hollywood: Halloween Classics
31 October 2026 18:00
TCL Chinese Theatre
A score written for the screen
The film stars former Mr. Universe Reg Park as Hercules and Christopher Lee as Lycos, a ruler obsessed with immortality. Hercules travels to the underworld to rescue the woman he loves and faces an army of the dead along the way. Expect gloriously over-the-top monsters, sets and costumes in full Technicolor.
Composer Patrick Morganelli wrote the music and adapted the film’s dialogue for live singers. Opera Theater Oregon commissioned the piece, which premiered there in 2010. Morganelli revised and reorchestrated it for LA Opera’s 2015 presentation, and North Carolina Opera, Arizona Opera and Nashville Opera have staged it since.
Blair Salter, LA Opera’s Head of Music, makes her company conducting debut and leads members of the LA Opera Orchestra. Baritone Joel Balzun sings Hercules, soprano Alexis Seminario is Dianara and baritone Gabriel Manro is Lycos. The cast also includes Roy Hage, Gabrielle Turgeon, Gretchen Krupp, James Hayden, Orson Van Gay II and Robert Norman.
The show is part of LA Opera’s Off Grand initiative, which takes adventurous works to venues across the city. The United Theater’s Gothic architecture and cathedral-like interior suit a trip to the underworld.
Photo: Craig T. Mathew
Halloween night: afterparty and costume contest
The October 31 performance is followed by an afterparty and costume contest, both included with admission. An anonymous donor funds the prizes:
🥇First place: $10,000, two VIP tickets to an LA Opera performance of the winner’s choice and a private tour for two of the LA Opera Costume Shop.
🥈Second place: $2,500 and two VIP tickets.
🥉Third place: $500 and two VIP tickets.
VIP tickets depend on availability. Togas and fangs are welcome, as is anything else your imagination has come up with. Check the contest rules before you pick your outfit.
Tickets are on sale now on the LA Opera website, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at the box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue).