Tonight is opening night for Long Beach Opera’s production of The Central Park Five, composed by Anthony Davis. This opera has been one of the most challenging and rewarding scores I’ve ever conducted. This music requires so much of each performer - mastery of multiple genres - classical, contemporary, avant-garde, jazz, gospel, aleatoric, and improvisatory. As you may have noticed from the picture, instead of in the pit (as per norm) the orchestra and I have been placed *onstage* and *behind* the singers, which adds a new eschelon of complexity as the singers recieve their cues from tv monitors! Please join us tonight and tomorrow!