Multimedia Opera Reimagining the Life of Arnold Schoenberg Debuts May 18–22
Tod Machover’s boundary-pushing chamber opera, Schoenberg in Hollywood, will make its long-awaited West Coast debut at the UCLA Nimoy Theater, with performances running May 18–20 and May 22. Presented by the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience and The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the production marks a homecoming for the subject of the opera, iconic composer Arnold Schoenberg, who fled Nazi Europe and settled in Los Angeles in 1934.
Blending live performance with multimedia, the opera imagines Schoenberg’s life through a cinematic lens, reinterpreting his journey as though he were scoring the soundtrack of his own story. Originally premiered by the Boston Lyric Opera in 2018 and later staged in Austria and China, this version reunites director Karole Armitage with baritone Omar Ebrahim, reprising his role as Schoenberg. The libretto, by Simon Robson, pairs with Machover’s inventive musical language—a fusion of classical, electronic, and filmic elements developed at the MIT Media Lab, where Machover serves as the Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Music and Media.
The story opens with a real-life 1935 encounter between Schoenberg and MGM producer Irving Thalberg, who attempted to lure the composer into the Hollywood system. The opera then unfolds as a series of imagined scenes, with Schoenberg reflecting on his life, legacy, and the rise of fascism while exploring different film genres—silent cinema, noir, musicals, Westerns, even cartoons—against the backdrop of his teaching years at UCLA from 1936 to 1944.
“This opera deeply explores Schoenberg’s Jewish identity, artistic convictions, and his role in shaping the UCLA music department,” said Mark Kligman, director of the Lowell Milken Center and the Mickey Katz Professor of Jewish Music. “It aligns perfectly with our mission to elevate awareness of American Jewish musical experiences through performance, scholarship, and public dialogue.”
The production arrives during the worldwide Schoenberg at 150 celebrations, commemorating the composer’s birth. It will be staged in the newly renovated UCLA Nimoy Theater—an apt setting, as the venue itself was active during Schoenberg’s Los Angeles years and now features immersive murals evoking the city’s golden age of cinema. The opera will be conducted by UCLA’s Neal Stulberg, with electronic soundscapes by the MIT Media Lab.
“The opera’s themes—identity, exile, resistance, and artistic freedom—resonate now more than ever,” Machover said. “I hope the music and story connect with audiences on both emotional and intellectual levels.”
To complement the opera, this event will be held in the lead-up to opening night:
- May 18 – The Making of a Modern Opera, a panel discussion with Machover, Armitage, Stulberg, and Larry Schoenberg, the composer’s son.
Eileen Strempel, founding dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, praised the opera’s return to Los Angeles. “We are honored to present this extraordinary production,” she said, “about a man who not only shaped modern music but helped build the foundation of UCLA’s music program.”
Free general admission seating and reserved tickets are available here.
