Spend Halloween with Elsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff in a spinetingling mashup of movies and music

(Los Angeles) October 2, 2023 — With Halloween just on the horizon, movie and music lovers of all ages are in for a rare treat. This Halloween, LA Opera's hugely popular annual celebration of horror and live music at the breathtaking Theatre at Ace Hotel features film director James Whale's 1935 gothic horror classic The Bride of Frankenstein. As the beloved thriller plays out on the silver screen, larger than life, audiences will hear composer Franz Waxman’s groundbreaking original soundtrack score played live by the magnificent musicians of the LA Opera Orchestra. Making her LA Opera debut, the conductor is Jenny Wong, the newly-appointed San Francisco Symphony Chorus Director and the Associate Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale. There will be two screenings, taking place on October 27 and 28.

The audience is invited to come in costume.

About The Bride of Frankenstein
Camp, humor and horror collide in one of the greatest film sequels ever made. After the success of Frankenstein in 1931, director James Whale reunited with stars Boris Karloff (as the Monster) and Colin Clive (as Dr. Frankenstein) for a 1935 followup that incorporated new elements taken from Mary Shelley's original novel. Elsa Lanchester plays the double role of Mary Shelley and "the Monster's Mate," the central figure in one of the most iconic "wedding" scenes ever filmed.

Composer Franz Waxman's soundtrack score was the first extended musical score created for a horror or science fiction film. A notable highlight of his score is the climactic "Creation of the Female Monster." A heartbeat, represented by the timpani, accompanies ghostly string and wind sonorities as Dr. Frankenstein's newest creation comes to life, further enhanced by the tolling of mock wedding bells.

Performance Dates, Times and Address
There will be two presentations of The Bride of Frankenstein with Live Orchestra at the Theatre at Ace Hotel, located at 929 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015:
Friday, October 27, 2023, at 8pm
Saturday, October 28, 2023, at 8pm

Tickets
Tickets begin at $34 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at LAOpera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at the LA Opera box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012). For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.

About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. In addition to The Bride of Frankenstein, this season's Off Grand presentations include Huang Ruo's Book of Mountains and Seas, a fascinating work of vocal theater for 12 singers, two percussionists and six puppet masters, directed by Basil Twist and presented at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica in April 2024.

The LA Opera Connects initiative offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. The company also offers a multitude of online content via its LA Opera On Now digital offerings, which launched in 2020. Learn more at LAOpera.org.

LA Opera Media Contact
Marlene Meraz
Director of Communications
mmeraz@laopera.org
213.972.7554

LA Opera's Off Grand productions are supported by a consortium of generous donors to LA Opera’s Contemporary Opera Initiative, chaired by Barry and Nancy Sanders.

Piano graciously provided by Yamaha

LA Opera Orchestra generously underwritten by Terri and Jerry Kohl

LA Opera is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles community.