LBO’s performance series aboard The Queen Mary kicks off with a special presentation of three works by genre-defying composer Georges Aperghis. LBO Artistic Director James Darrah and Music Director Christopher Rountree bring Le corps à corps, 7 Crimes de l’amour, and Recitations to an intimate lounge setting with food and drink and a sense of occasion beyond the traditional theater.

Join magnificent soprano Amanda Forsythe, viola da gamba virtuoso Cristiano Contadin, and his renowned ensemble, Opera Prima, in a program of music exploring the Galant style that was in vogue during the middle of the 18th century. The complexity and formal structure of the Baroque gives way to a charismatic beauty and captivating elegance that was still grounded by a virtuosic basso continuo.

Long time friend of LBO, Anna Schubert, presents a curated evening recital of her favorite works.

Experience the haunting beauty of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande in this intimate, abridged version sung in French. Adapted by composer Marius Constant and director Peter Brook, Impressions de Pelléas distills the essence of Debussy’s only opera into a luminous, dreamlike journey through secrecy, longing, and fate. LBO Artistic Director James Darrah Black brings this fresh take on Debussy aboard the Queen Mary.

LBO, Wild Up & Opera UCLA present a workshop of The Passion of Nell – an original opera composed by LBO Studio Artist Shelley Washington with libretto by Lisa Teasley. The work tells the true story of Nell Theobald, a model whose obsession with soprano Birgit Nilsson ended in tragedy. Performed with a full orchestra, this FREE workshop invites audiences into the making of a new work before its world premiere.

Svadba tells the story of a bride-to-be on the eve of her wedding as four of her closest friends and an elder family member gather to help her prepare for the big event. This chamber opera dramatizes the ritual of preparing for marriage, the importance of preserving tradition, and the true power of friendship and community. Written for six soprano and mezzo-soprano voices, Svadba’s mesmerizing music by Serbian composer Ana Sokolović joins a new, classically LBO staging aboard The Queen Mary.