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Blog
December 17, 2024
Holiday Cheer with Connects
The holiday season is a time to connect with friends, family and our community. No matter which holiday you celebrate or if you don’t celebrate any, we all deserve some joy and cheer. Here at LA Opera, we’re beyond proud of our Connects department, which engages with the Los Angeles community throughout the year. Before we start sipping hot cocoa by the fireplace (or on the patio) as the year ends, let’s highlight what our Connects department has been doing this holiday season.
Holiday Caroling and Recitals
This month, a quartet of Connects artists are touring hospitals and wellness centers in each of the five Los Angeles County Supervisorial Districts, singing holiday carols to spread cheer and brighten the days of staff and patients. One of our longstanding healthcare partners, City of Hope, even welcomed Connects for a special holiday recital in their auditorium on Tuesday, December 3. The hospital can be a very stressful place for patients, staff and visitors alike, and we’re happy to do every little bit we can to provide them with some holiday cheer. Music helps create a space where wellness and joy can thrive, and we hope to provide that space during these holiday times and in the future as well.
On top of this, Connects was invited to host a concert at the LA General Medical Center's Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 5. Featuring Zarzuela Project teaching artists and other Connects singers, the concert was a mix of zarzuela excerpts and traditional holiday favorites. We’re happy to say that the festival was a hit, and we were invited back by LA General to their Las Posadas celebration on Friday, December 13. We hope that this relationship continues to prosper in the coming year, and we can offer even more community performances to share the magic of music.
Zarzuela Project
Zarzuela is one of the oldest forms of opera, nearly as old as Baroque opera; both can be traced back to the 1600s. Originating in Spain, zarzuela is a musical theater experience that aims to bring a fun, fiery, melodic energy to the stage while telling a dramatic and exciting story. Here at LA Opera, we honor the legacy of zarzuela music by inviting the Los Angeles community to both perform and enjoy this piece of opera history. The Zarzuela Project gives aspiring performers around LA a chance to learn to sing and dance, while presenting performances around LA for free.
The Zarzuela Project had their holiday celebration on December 7 at the East LA Civic Center. The concert featured a mix of zarzuela, Spanish-language holiday songs, and performances by the Carolina Russek Dancers. Not only did this concert provide a chance for the community to come together for music, but it also gave a spot for local organizations to celebrate the holidays and spread their mission with the East LA community. The Zarzuela Project will have another performance at the 2025 Celebración de las Artes which will take place after the Sunday, May 4th, matinee showing of Ainadamar.
We want to once again thank our Connects department for all their community outreach, not just during the holiday season but throughout the whole year. Joy and cheer shouldn’t just be reserved for the holidays and one of the best ways to spread these emotions throughout the year is to get involved with the community. For more community-based events and programs coming up, be sure to click here to view our Connects page.