continuing the tradition...

A ‘Festival of Opera’ for Orange County was founded in 1961. The idea began at a dinner party and amazingly, managed to have a full season within the year. The first performances began August 1962, in the Festival Bowl (Irvine Bowl) starting with a production of Bizet’s Carmen. Laguna had 10 years of grand opera before evolving into Opera Pacific and moving to the Orange County Performing Arts Center where it eventually closed in 2008.

Unfortunately for our town, grand opera never really returned to Laguna after that, with the exception of a few stand alone community concerts.

Opera Laguna hopes to change that and bring opera back to our community

After moving to Laguna Beach in 2020, Arnold and Oriana often discussed the possibility of starting an opera company close to home. Eager for a place to rehearse, Oriana was connected with Bree Burgess Rosen. She graciously allowed them to rehearse in the No Square Theatre on Legion. They couldn’t believe that Laguna, with such a vibrant arts scene, was missing opera. Now more than ever, they felt it was incumbent upon them to bring the power of the human voice to a wider audience, given the many months of no live performances brought on by the pandemic.

In early 2022, Arnold and Oriana met Christopher Reed, an opera enthusiast and impresario who shares their dream. He introduced them to the founder of Laguna Beach Live, Cindy Prewitt and board member Danny Melita. A partnership with LagunaBeachLive! was formed for their first concert with the goal of introducing opera to new audiences with quality performances. In 2022, Opera Laguna performed an inaugural concert with Laguna Live in the Neighborhood Congregational Church, a partnership with Pacific Opera Project in Heisler Park for Sunset Serenades, an exclusive member event in the Hortense Miller Gardens, and a featured lecture ‘The Voice as an Instrument” at the Woman’s Club of Laguna Beach. Inspired by the success of these events, especially with the inaugural concert from October 2022, Opera Laguna became its own non-profit 501(c)(3). Opera Laguna’s first concert as a non-profit was “A night at the Opera” at the Laguna Festival of the Arts July 2024. It was the first time in twenty years that opera had been performed in this venue.

Opera Laguna is dedicated to reawakening our community’s passion for opera by fostering local partnerships, championing artist-centered initiatives, and staging transformative performances that celebrate the power of the human voice. Through education, collaboration, and fair compensation for musicians and artists, we seek to enrich Laguna Beach’s cultural landscape and inspire audiences of all ages.

A DAY AT THE BEACH… A NIGHT AT THE OPERA!