John Holiday stars in a revival of Phelim McDermott's acclaimed staging, conducted by Dalia Stasevska

(Los Angeles) January 22, 2026 — LA Opera's 40th Anniversary Season continues with a revival of director Phelim McDermott's production of Philip Glass's Akhnaten, conducted by Dalia Stasevska in her company debut. With countertenor John Holiday in the title role, there will be six performances from February 28 through March 22, 2025.

Hailed by critics and beloved by audiences, this eagerly anticipated revival transports audiences to Ancient Egypt in an enthralling portrait of a trailblazing pharaoh.

"I am continually struck by how eager our audiences are to embrace the music of our own time,” said Christopher Koelsch, LA Opera’s President and CEO. “The music of Philip Glass, one of the greatest of all living composers, has been heard regularly at LA Opera over the past decade, with mainstage productions of his three magnificent 'portrait operas' and Off Grand presentations showcasing his scores for the films Dracula and La Belle et la Bête. It gives me great pleasure to have this powerful work return to our stage in director Phelim McDermott's brilliant staging."

About Akhnaten
A thought-provoking, absorbing experience, this extraordinary opera is the last of composer Philip Glass’s "portrait trilogy" of operas in which he looks at consequential figures from the fields of science (Einstein in Einstein on the Beach), politics (Gandhi in Satyagraha) and religion (the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten).

Depicting on the most transformative chapters in Egyptian history, Akhnaten uses texts drawn from ancient hymns, prayers, letters and inscriptions sung in their original Egyptian, Hebrew and Akkadian to explore the life of a groundbreaking pharaoh who fathered a new religion, determined to lead his nation into a new age.

Meet the Cast
The brilliant cast is led by countertenor John Holiday as Akhnaten, reprising a role he first portrayed earlier this year at Komische Oper Berlin to great acclaim. Holiday has previously appeared with LA Opera as the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas (2014) and as Orpheus's Double in Eurydice (2020). Bass Zachary James returns to reprise his impressive 2016 performance as Amenhotep III, a role he has also performed at the Metropolitan Opera and English National Opera.

Mezzo-soprano Sun-Ly Pierce will make her company debut as Nefertiti and soprano So Young Park, a former member of LA Opera's Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program, will appear as Queen Tye. Tenor Yuntong Han, baritone Hyungjin Son and bass Vinícius Costa, three current members of the program, will appear respectively as the High Priest of Amon, General Horemhab and Aye.

The six daughters of Akhnaten will be performed by Emily Damasco and Katie Trigg (members of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program), Abi Levis (an alumna of the program), Julia Maria Johnson, Erin Alford and Kristen Choi.

The Creative Team
Director Phelim McDermott's staging of Akhnaten has been seen at English National Opera (2016 and 2019), the Metropolitan Opera (2019 and 2022) and LA Opera (2016). The production features scenic designs by Tom Pye, costumes by Kevin Pollard, lighting by Bruno Poet, and juggling choreography by Sean Gandini. Jeremy Frank is the chorus director.

Ukrainian-Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska will make her LA Opera debut with Akhnaten. She is the principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Her appearances this season also include Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Philadelphia Orchestra and Orchestre National de France, among many others.

Click here to download production photos and artist headshots.

Performance Dates, Times and Address
There will be six performances of Akhnaten presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, located at 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012:

• Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 7:30pm
• Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 2pm
• Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 7:30pm
• Saturday, March 14, 2026, at 7:30pm
• Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 7:30pm
• Sunday, March 22, 2026, at 2pm

Tickets
Tickets begin at $33.50 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at LAOpera.org, by phone at 213.972.8001, or in person at the LA Opera box office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (135 N. Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012). For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.

More information about the production is available at LAOpera.org/Akhnaten.

About LA Opera
Los Angeles is a city of enormous diversity and creativity, and LA Opera is dedicated to reflecting that vibrancy by redefining what opera can be. Through imaginative new productions, world premiere commissions, and inventive performances that preserve foundational works while making them feel fresh and compelling, LA Opera has become one of America’s most exciting and ambitious opera companies.

In addition to its mainstage performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the company explores unusual repertoire each season through the LA Opera Off Grand initiative, featuring performances in a variety of venues throughout Los Angeles. The LA Opera Connects initiative offers a robust variety of educational programming and community engagement offerings that reaches people throughout every corner of Los Angeles County. Learn more at LAOpera.org.

LA Opera Media Contact
Marlene Meraz
Director of Communications
mmeraz@laopera.org
213.972.7554

Production made possible by generous support from
Bernard A. and Lenore S. Greenberg Opera Fund
Margo Leavin
Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer

Additional support provided by
The Akhnaten Consortium
LA Opera’s Contemporary Opera Initiative, chaired by Barry and Nancy Sanders
National Endowment for the Arts

John Holiday’s appearance generously underwritten by a gift from
The Piera Barbaglia Shaheen Next Generation Artist Award

Original production made possible by generous support from
Bernard A. and Lenore S. Greenberg Opera Fund
Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer

LA Opera Orchestra generously underwritten by
Terri and Jerry Kohl

LA Opera is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles community.