UCLA UNVEILS THE NIMOY

UCLA’S CENTER FOR the Art of Performance

(CAP UCLA) announces its inaugural season at the UCLA Nimoy Theater, aka the Nimoy. The former Crest Theatre has been reimagined, renovated and transformed into a 300-seat off-campus performingarts space. Named for artist, actor, director and philanthropist Leonard Nimoy, it was acquired in 2018 and presents a rich tapestry of music, dance, theater, literary arts and multidisciplinary collaborations. Grammy Award-winning poet, spoken-word artist and songwriter J. Ivy opens the season with performance poetry

Sept. 23. The ensemble Ethiocolor blends contemporary influences with traditional instruments and dances of Ethiopia’s Azmari culture Sept. 29. Choreographerdancer Caleb Teicher collaborates with pianist-composer Conrad Tao on Tao’s Counterpoint Sept. 30. Pipa player and Chinese music ambassador Wu Man appears Oct. 15. Omar Offendum’s The Little Syria Show (Nov. 3-4) spans hip-hop, Arabic instrumentation and Levant oral storytelling to imagine early 20th-century life in lower Manhattan’s Arab-American community.

1262 Westwood Blvd, L.A., 310.825.4401, cap.ucla.edu

Mozart’s Master Wooer

L.A. OPERA LAUNCHES its 38th season with what many consider to be the greatest of all operas: Mozart’s Don Giovanni. James Conlon, in his 18th season as the company’s music director, leads a spectacular new-to-Los Angeles production by director Kasper Holten. Scenery is by Es Devlin, known for her innovative stage designs for Beyoncé, Adele and U2. Grammy Award-winning baritone Lucas Meachem takes the title role; also starring are Guanqun Yu, Isabelle Leonard, Anthony León, Craig Colclough and, in her company debut, Meigui Zhang. It’s a coproduction of Houston Grand Opera, Royal Opera House, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Israeli

Opera. Performances begin Sept. 23 and continue Oct. 1, 4, 7, 12 and 15. Next, on select dates Oct. 21-Nov. 12, is Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Louis Lohraseb conducts and Tony Award winner Rob Ashford directs; Emmett O’Hanlon, Isabel Leonard and Luca Pisaroni star. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown, 213.972.8001, laopera.org