This Halloween, LA Opera is turning up the spooky season with a showdown for the ages: Hercules vs Vampires, a cult fantasy film brought roaring back to life with a live operatic soundtrack. On October 30 and 31, the historic United Theater on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles will host two evening performances of this thrilling mashup of cinema and song.
As Mario Bava’s 1961 cult classic Hercules in the Haunted World plays on the big screen, live singers and musicians will perform an original operatic score by composer Patrick Morganelli, synced to the film’s action. Former Mr. Universe Reg Park stars on screen as Hercules, alongside the legendary Christopher Lee, in a gloriously over-the-top Technicolor adventure to the underworld and back.
The performance marks the LA Opera conducting debut of Blair Salter, leading members of the LA Opera Orchestra. Baritone Joel Balzun takes on the title role, with a cast that includes soprano Alexis Seminario, baritone Gabriel Manro, tenor Roy Hage and mezzo-soprano Gretchen Krupp, performing inside the theater’s spectacular Spanish Gothic interior.
The Halloween night show comes with a bonus: a free afterparty and costume contest with a $10,000 grand prize up for grabs, plus VIP tickets and a private tour of the LA Opera Costume Shop for the winners. Togas, fangs and wild imagination are strongly encouraged. Both performances begin at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now at LAOpera.org/Hercules, by phone at 213.972.8001, or at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion box office.
Photo: LA Opera
