With the June 21 performance of The Magic Flute, James Conlon brings to a close an extraordinary 20-year chapter as LA Opera’s Richard Seaver Music Director. 

For two decades, Maestro Conlon has been the artistic heart of this company. He has led more performances than any conductor in LA Opera history—523 as of the closing performance of The Magic Flute—guiding audiences through beloved classics while introducing us to works that broadened our understanding of what opera can be. 

His impact can be felt in every corner of the company. From LA Opera’s first complete Ring cycle in 2010 to the ambitious Figaro Trilogy in 2015, he has never been afraid to dream big. Through his groundbreaking Recovered Voices initiative, he changed the way opera companies think about forgotten repertoire, both here in Los Angeles and around the world. 

Beyond the performances themselves, our audiences have come to cherish his enormously popular pre-show talks, where music, history, literature, and culture come together in ways that illuminate every work he conducts, often accompanied by stories of his own experiences in the world's great opera houses. His belief that opera belongs to everyone has also shaped some of LA Opera’s most meaningful community programs, including our beloved annual Community Opera presentations at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. 

Most importantly, he has helped define who we are. His curiosity, generosity, intellect, and passion have left a lasting mark on this company and on all of us who have had the privilege of working with him and learning from him. 

Fortunately, this is not goodbye. Beginning next season, Maestro Conlon will continue his relationship with LA Opera as Conductor Laureate, a new lifetime appointment that will keep him an active part of our artistic family for years to come. We look forward to welcoming him back to conduct The Marriage of Figaro in 2027. 

For now, as the curtain falls on this remarkable chapter, we simply want to say thank you. 

Thank you, Maestro.