DIGITAL PROGRAM

ACQUAPROFONDA

july 12 & 13, 2025 | aquarium of the pacific

About the show

Long Beach Opera’s Education team presents Acquaprofonda in collaboration with the Aquarium of the Pacific — a FREE, family-friendly, half-hour opera adventure about courage, kindness, and protecting our planet.

Italian for “deep water,” Acquaprofonda follows Serena, a fearless girl who lives by the sea, as she discovers a mysterious whale sick from plastic pollution. With the help of a wise sailor, she inspires her father to stand up against the factory harming the ocean — and learns that one small voice can make big waves. 

This work was created under the Italian platform Opera Education after being commissioned by the Teatro Sociale di Como in co-production with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. After its positive reception, the show won the Filippo Sienbaneck award, a prize given to significant initiatives in the field of music education and/or the professional training of young people. 

LBO’s newly translated production marks its American debut and will be performed in English, with supertitles.

Activity sessions will be held thirty minutes before and after each show, including art-making, photo opportunities, a Q&A with the singers & more! 

synopsis

On an island in the middle of the ocean, lies a humble house, a sandy beach, and an imposing factory. Serena, a curious and fearless girl who loves the sea, lives in the house with her father. Her mother disappeared at sea years ago and was never found. Serena’s father, known as The Guardian, works as a security guard at the factory, which is owned by Mister Buu—a selfish man who only cares about making money, no matter the cost.

One day, something strange appears on the beach: a giant, mysterious creature. Its arrival changes everything. With the help of a wise Old Sailor, Serena learns that the creature is a whale, sick from swallowing the plastic waste dumped by the factory.

Determined to help, Serena teams up with the Old Sailor to show her father the damage being done to the whale. Moved by her courage, The Guardian finally decides to stand up to Mister Buu and protect the sea. In the end, the whale gives Serena a gift—something truly special—as a thank-you for her bravery and kindness.

CAST & CREATIVE

  • MUSIC BY

    Giovanni Sollima

  • Libretto by

    Giancarlo De Cataldo

  • Conductor

    Oliver Chan

  • Director

    Yekaterina Lynch

  • Stage Manager

    Madeline Weissenberg

  • English Libretto / Serena (Saturday Cast)

    Ellen Moody

  • Mister Buu

    Abdiel Gonzalez

  • The Old Sailor

    Scott Ziemann

  • Piano

    Jason Griffin

  • Violin

    Yang Bartolotti

  • Cello

    Connor Bogenreif

  • Serena (Sunday Cast)

    Chelsea Chaves

  • The Guardian (Sunday Cast)

    Todd Strange

  • The Guardian (Saturday Cast)

    Rohan Ramanan

  • Whale / Mother (Saturday Cast)

    Amanda Leader

  • Whale / Mother (Sunday Cast)

    Emily Border

  • Percussion

    Jakob Boers

  • Sound Engineer

    Andrew Border

  • Supertitles Operator

    Max Mineer

About the venue

The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific is a community gathering place dedicated to connecting people to and conserving nature. The Aquarium’s vision is to foster an inclusive community that works together to create our sustainable future. Home to more than 12,000 animals, Aquarium exhibits include Our Living Coastline, the Southern California Gallery, Pacific Visions, and Shark Lagoon. Beyond its animal exhibits, the Aquarium offers educational programs for people of all ages, including First Wednesdays featuring a variety of guest speakers. The Aquarium offers memberships with unlimited FREE admission for twelve months and other special benefits.

To make a donation to help support the Aquarium, please visit the donation webpage. To visit, reservations are required for everyone and can be made at aquariumofpacific.org or by calling (562) 590-3100.

About LBO

Long Beach Opera (LBO) is Southern California’s oldest and boldest opera company, with over 45 years of challenging norms, taking risks and sparking meaningful conversation. Under the leadership of the company’s third Artistic Director & Chief Creative Officer, James Darrah, we create uniquely immersive work that blends film, dance, new music and more. LBO is committed to centering underrepresented voices—striving to redefine the art form to make it more accessible to our entire community. Notable highlights include our 2019 world premiere of Anthony Davis' The Central Park Five, which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize, and the 2023 premiere of Pulitzer-finalist Kate Soper's The Romance of the Rose.

STAFF

Board of Directors

Officers

Mark Taylor • President

Karen Molleson • Vice President

Susan Bienkowski • Treasurer

Keith Simmons • Secretary

Members

Marjorie Beale (ex Officio)

Barbara Boies

Peolia Kansas (PK) Fonsworth III, M.D./M.B.A

Laurel Howat

Gregg J. Loubier

Greta Johnson Mandell, M.D.

Bruce Robertson

Bill Shafton

LBO & Education

Opera Encounter sparks students' interest in the world of opera while encouraging exploration of important topics such as tolerance, ethics, social responsibility, and personal strength. Through this experience, students become well-rounded community members with a deeper appreciation for the arts. Since its launch in 2007, more than 50,000 students from Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Orange County have participated. The cornerstone of Opera Encounter is its Opera@School program.

Opera@School programs are recognized by the LA County Commission for the Arts for aligning with California's educational standards in visual and performing arts, language arts, history, and social science. One of our most popular and well-received productions, The Playground King, tours elementary schools, using familiar opera and operetta excerpts to teach children about problem-solving, teamwork, and confronting bullying.

As part of our commitment to cultivating the next generation of opera enthusiasts, LBO also proudly offers student discounts at all levels.

Looking ahead, LBO Education will launch an exciting new program under the Opera Encounter umbrella in the summer of 2025 at the Aquarium of the Pacific, designed to be accessible to the public. The program will showcase Acquaprofonda, a 30-minute educational opera aimed at young audiences. This production will address the crucial issue of water pollution, while empowering students to take action and build a sense of responsibility for the world around them.

To get in touch about our education programs—including booking, logistics, and availability—please contact education@longbeachopera.org

LBO Studio

LBO Studio is an innovative new company wing focused on advancing operatic commissions, building partnerships in film & television and cultivating world premieres—all while seeking future projects and fresh talent. 

Composer-in-Residence

Shelley Washington

Shelley Washington, whose work with LBO includes composing an episode of the 2021 operatic miniseries desert in and creating new orchestrations for Handel’s Giustino in 2022, becomes the company’s new Composer-in-Residence for two years. During this time, she will write her first full-length operatic work, The Passion of Nell, based on the shocking true story of Nell Theobald and her obsession with opera singer Birgit Nilsson.

Artistic Partner

Martha Graham Dance Company

Utilizing Martha Graham’s own body of choreography, fragments of unfinished pieces from their archives, and the Martha Graham Dance Company’s ongoing foray into diverse, new choreography, this partnership will explore new work and create new productions for LBO, both in the LA area and for venues on tour. James Darrah and Christopher Rountree will work with Janet Eilber, the Graham Company’s legendary artistic director, and their superb roster of dancers and guest choreographers to craft a partnership between the two companies that explores a deeper connection between dance and opera.

SUPPORTERS

Long Beach Opera gratefully acknowledges our generous supporters who ensure the future of bold, visionary art-making. If you would like to donate, you can do so here.

Levels listed represent all gifts made between 10/1/2023-12/6/2024. 

$100,000+

Anonymous
Arts Council for Long Beach
The Perenchio Foundation

$50,000+

The City of Long Beach
Greta & Peter Mandell
Richard C. Seaver Charitable Trust
Sonja Berggren & Patrick Seaver

$20,000+ 

Anonymous (3)
Barbara & Bob Boies
The Colburn Foundation
Dr. P.K. Fonsworth, III
Elizabeth Segerstrom
Henry T. & Elizabeth Segerstrom Foundation
Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture
National Endowment for the Arts
Port of Long Beach
Richard & Linda Claytor

$10,000+

Anonymous
California Arts Council
Dr. Kathy Chambery
Long Beach Community Foundation Frances Grover Fund
Marjorie Beale & Bill Meyerhoff
Matt Groening
Opera America / The Opera Fund
Steve Dunham / Orange County Opera
Susan Bienkowski & Wang Lee
Vina Spiehler

$5,000+

Anonymous (2)
Diana Hobson
Amphion Foundation
Frank Gruber & Janet Levin
Keith Simmons
Lanyce & Bryant Mills
Nancy Katayama
Raulee Marcus
Marjie Mautner
Ruth & Rodney Punt
Suzanne Mathews

$2,500+

Stephen Block
Barbara Cohn
Bill Shafton
The Boeing Company
Bobette Frye
Ruth Gilliland & Arthur Rieman
The Center for Cultural Innovation
Gregg & Leslie Loubier
James & Laurel Howat
Jean Bixby Smith Fund, Long Beach Community Foundation
Joan Nickerson
Mark Taylor & Melissa Infusino

$1,000+

Alice Fuller
Byrwec & Anne Ellison
Dr. Cheryl Lew
Claire Beekman
Herbert Schraibman
The J. Paul Getty Trust
Jan Hower
John Davies
Kathryn Ragsdale & Michael Fuller
Peter Kazaras
Dr. William M. Duxler

$500+

Don Pattison
Jim & Gwen Beazell
Mary Miller
Meri Dekelaita
Scott Brinkerhoff
Stephanie Osorio

$250+

Anonymous (3)
Alan Lawson
Baxter Smith
Beverly O’Neill
Evelyn & Stephen Block
Farmers & Merchants Bank Foundation
Frederick Dear
George Meyer & Gregory Vogel
Geraldine Schlutz
Gerald Faris
Kay Kamiya
Marianne Grant
Patrick Rass
Sally Etcheto
Trevor & Mónica Roper

$100+

Anonymous (2)
Alice Bennett
Amy Morse
Amy Bonham Howenstein
Barbara Bixby Blackwell
Charles & Terri Stern
Ellen Breitman
David Sateren
Henry Josefsberg
Jess Morton
Julie Carmen
Julie D. White
Kathleen Charla
Lindsay Shields
Louise Earhart
Louise Rehling
Margaret Gascoigne
Mark Dwyer
Mary Kathryn Dunn
Meredith Harewood
Michelle Magaldi
Molly Siefert
Robert Welborn
Stephen Lee
Vickie Mortensen
William Smith

<$100

Anonymous (2)
Amanda L. Bottoms
Anne Shreffler
Barbara Geortner
Connie Polite 
Eileen Hunter
Ian Schipper
Jeffrey Cunard
Joseph Brown
Karen Walter
Katherine Talley-Jones
Kenneth Reinhard
Marianne Afifi
Marilyn Smithson
Paul Garman
Rachel Steinke
Ruth Charloff
Savannah Dunn
Stephen Collins
Victoria Martin

HONORARY GIFTS

In Honor of Susan Bienkowski
— Jess Morton

In Honor of Jenny Rivera
— Don Pattison

MEMORIAL GIFTS

In Memory of Joan Nickerson
— Andrew Westbrook

In Memory of Joan Nickerson
— Lee Hogewood

In Memory of Jane Dibbell
In Memory of John Crowley
In Memory of Arlene Sontag
In Memory of Lico Jimenez
— Julie Carmen

LEGACY SOCIETY

Barbara & Bob Boies
Margaret & David Barry
Drs. Kathy Chambery & Marilyn Haring
Gwynne Gloege
Frances Grover Fund
Dr. Ronald & Sylvia Hartman
Dr. Ronald G. Hopkins
Raulee Marcus
Carol Richards 
Don Pattison

CORPORATE SPONSORS

The Boeing Company
The Port of Long Beach

Ask if your employer has a charitable giving program!

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT

Aaron Copland Fund for Music
The RuMBA Foundation
The Center for Cultural Innovation
Amphion Foundation
Arts Council for Long Beach
California Arts Council
City of Long Beach
The Colburn Foundation
Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture
Los Angeles County
National Endowment for the Arts
The Perenchio Foundation
Port of Long Beach
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation

Acknowledgements

Long Beach Opera would like to express our sincerest appreciation and thanks to the individuals who have generously supported this production of Earth Ears and the 2024-2025 Programming.


The 2024 - 2025 Reception for All following the performance of Earth Ears is generously sponsored by the Port of Long Beach.

Support Us

LBO ventures to bring you bold, cutting-edge opera like you’ve never seen it. Your generous support makes our wild ideas come to life. Thanks for being a part of our journey.