'I have no fear': L.A. Opera lovers attend shows in downtown L.A. despite protests

Hours earlier downtown Los Angeles headed into its sixth nighttime nether curfew orders imposed by L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, dozens of opera and theatre fans funneled into the Music Center connected Sunday day to drawback matinee performances of L.A. Opera’s “Rigoletto” and Center Theatre Group’s “Hamlet.”

The shows took spot conscionable 1 time aft thousands of “No Kings” demonstrators flooded the streets to protestation migration raids crossed the city. Center Theatre Group had canceled its Wednesday nighttime show of manager Robert O’Hara’s world-premiere adaptation of “Hamlet” earlier officials announced a curfew exemption connected Thursday for summons holders of indoor events and performing arts venues downtown specified arsenic the Music Center. Saturday’s matinee and evening performances of “Hamlet” were besides canceled successful anticipation of the protests. No performances of “Rigoletto” were canceled and L.A. Opera’s “Renee Fleming and Friends” lawsuit took spot connected Saturday night.

On Sunday afternoon, speech from a fistful of constabulary cars sprinkled passim the area, determination wasn’t overmuch of a instrumentality enforcement beingness and nary protests were happening, which made galore attendees consciousness much relaxed astir coming downtown.

Ahead of the “Rigoletto” show, we spoke to summons holders astir whether they hesitated astir coming to the Music Center and downtown Los Angeles and however they consciousness astir supporting the arts adjacent successful times of conflict. Their responses person been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

Gabe Acero of South Pasadena and Sam Pancake of Jefferson Park

Gabe Acero, left, and Sam Pancake get astatine the Music Center successful downtown Los Angeles up of Sunday’s matinee show of L.A. Opera’s “Rigoletto.”

(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)

Why did you privation to travel to the amusement today?

Pancake: I’ve ne'er seen “Rigoletto” unrecorded and I haven’t been to the L.A. Opera adjacent though I’ve been [in L.A.] since 1987. I’ve been to the Mark Taper and Ahmanson hundreds of times, but ne'er to the opera. I’m present due to the fact that my nephew turned 21 and adjacent though he’s a punk rock, dense metallic dude, helium truly likes the opera. I was going to bring him present for his day connected Thursday, but helium felt weird astir coming down here.

I person nary fear. I’m old. I don’t attraction anymore. I’ve lived done each the riots, strikes and protests. I’m gay. I’ve been marching since 1987 for a cardinal antithetic reasons, truthful I changed it to contiguous due to the fact that helium was acrophobic astir the curfew and past helium inactive didn’t come. So I brought Gabe, my bully friend, who is besides a theatre guy.

Acero: My begetter is simply a information defender astatine the Federal Building and I told him I was coming here, and helium was like, “Oh, that’s closed.” And I’m going, “No it’s not. 1) That’s lone a nighttime thing. 2) That’s changed. Ticketed events are inactive allowed due to the fact that they privation the arts to happen.”

It’s conscionable comic that there’s this dichotomy of similar idiosyncratic you’d deliberation is successful the heavy of it and they don’t adjacent cognize what’s going connected successful the country with rules and what’s happening.

Pancake: I was astatine the “No Kings” rally each greeting and day yesterday and truthful I’m astatine the opera today. The L.A. Opera and the Music Center has done a truly bully occupation astir sending emails and updating america astir what was going on.

How often bash you travel to downtown L.A.?

Acero: I’m usually downtown astatine slightest each Friday. I spell to Precinct each the time.

Pancake: I’m down present often. I spell to the theater. I’m an histrion and I cognize a batch of actors. [Gabe] is simply a prosthetic constitution artist, truthful we are successful the satellite of acting and theater. As an actor, thing volition halt maine from doing theatre and attending theater.

Do you person immoderate plans aft the show?

Pancake: I deliberation we’re going to spell devour afterward.

Why bash you deliberation it’s important to enactment the arts, which are still trying to retrieve from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hollywood onslaught and the caller wildfires?

Pancake: To amusement them, the performers and the artists, that we’re present for them. Then the flip side, it’s similar I admit it erstwhile radical amusement up for my stuff, truthful it’s a springiness and instrumentality and I’m blessed to beryllium a portion of it.

Acero: That’s theater. You spell determination for a alleviation from the existent world. It’s benignant of an escape.

Muriel Asch and Arlene Block of Laguna Woods

Muriel Asch, left, and Arlene Block astatine the Music Center connected Sunday.

(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)

Why did you privation to travel to the amusement today?

Asch: I emotion the opera. In our community, determination was a autobus organized to bring america up here, truthful we did it. I went to the protestation yesterday. It was truthful breathtaking and we were each cheering and saying, “No kings.”

Block: We felt similar this would not beryllium successful the country wherever determination are a batch of protesters and that it would beryllium perfectly harmless to travel connected down.

Why bash you deliberation it’s important to enactment the arts?

Asch: I deliberation they assistance your spirits. I mean adjacent though this is simply a depressing opera, the euphony is thrilling and I cognize I’m going to shed a teardrop astatine the end.

Block: We get bushed of talking astir authorities and worrying astir it, and this is an accidental to get distant from it.

Are you doing thing aft the show?

Block: No [laughs]. We’re getting connected the autobus to instrumentality america backmost home.

David Johnson of Palos Verdes

David Johnson stands extracurricular the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion astatine the Music Center connected Sunday.

(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)

Why did you privation to travel to the amusement today?

I finished preaching a sermon, changed my apparel and past came down present for the show. I’m a societal justness pastor, truthful fundamentally erstwhile you bring maine into your church, I’m going to speech astir existent events. The rubric of my sermon was “This is God’s world, we’re conscionable surviving successful it.” Remember successful 1865, we were looking for state and successful 2025, we’re inactive looking for it.

I’m an avid opera goer. I consciousness that much radical of colour should spell to the opera. They deliberation that we’re not included, but we are included, it’s conscionable that we person to amusement up. Also, I’m a large Verdi instrumentality truthful thing Verdi writes, I’m going to spell spot it.

Were you tense astir being successful downtown L.A. amid the protests?

You’re talking to a antheral of faith. I didn’t consciousness threatened coming downtown due to the fact that I understood the cause. I deliberation the radical who are feeling threatened coming downtown are radical who don’t possibly hold with the cause. They’re looking astatine excessively overmuch CNN, and CNN is lone [showing] what they privation you to see. But no, I don’t consciousness tense successful doing that. These radical person a close to beryllium retired there. I don’t judge successful the unit part, but unit is gonna hap nary substance what benignant of protest. The American Revolution had violence. I felt that our existent medication was overdoing it and I conscionable passed by [some] Marines but there’s cipher successful the streets.

Kathleen Hougesen of Hollywood and Jan Kelley of Studio City

Kathleen Hougesen, left, and Jan Kelley earlier a matinee accumulation of “Rigoletto” connected Sunday astatine the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)

Why did you privation to travel to the amusement today?

Kelley: My hubby conducted a show of “Rigoletto” astir 15 years agone with an opera institution successful Chinatown.

Hougesen: I wasn’t worried. The L.A. Opera sends regular emails and they told america that we whitethorn privation to instrumentality the 110 Freeway and the Temple Street exit. They besides said if you don’t consciousness comfortable, they would beryllium blessed to refund your money. So I wasn’t afraid. I ticker the TV quality regularly and the [Los Angeles Police Department] was precise bully with assemblage power yesterday, truthful I didn’t deliberation it was going to beryllium a problem.

Kelley: I had afloat spot that it was going to beryllium OK. The “No Kings” protestation was yesterday, truthful I conscionable figured particularly if you get aboriginal enough, I figured it wouldn’t beryllium a problem. I hadn’t heard of immoderate of the protesters being connected the crushed astatine the Music Center.”

Why bash you deliberation it’s important to enactment the arts?

Hougesen: Well, I person play tickets. I person for galore years. I spell to the L.A. Philharmonic and the L.A. Opera.

Kelley: I deliberation the arts are what support a batch of radical going. They uplift everybody. My precocious hubby started an orchestra successful 1965, the Palisades Symphony. He died astir a twelvemonth and a fractional ago, but the orchestra continues. It’s an all-volunteer orchestra and I americium inactive progressive with it and I’m an progressive cellist. Also, immoderate of those radical mislaid their homes truthful it gives them a consciousness of continuity and friendship. Just playing euphony unneurotic is precise very important to truthful galore people.

Kristen Giles of Pasadena

Kristen Giles of Pasadena extracurricular the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion connected Sunday.

(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)

Why did you privation to travel to the amusement today?

We conscionable similar to bash things successful the city. If thing sounds interesting, we’ll spell cheque it out.

Were you tense astir being successful downtown L.A. amid the protests?

Not truly and the freeway was wide erstwhile we came down truthful we weren’t truly concerned.

How often bash you travel downtown?

About erstwhile a period to sojourn the Ahmanson and the Mark Taper. I effort to spot immoderate is playing.

Are you readying to bash thing aft the amusement successful the area?

Our program was to travel aboriginal and bask the pavilion earlier the show. It’s a schoolhouse night.

Why bash you deliberation it’s important to enactment the arts?

It’s important to instrumentality a measurement backmost and pause, and get successful tune with your emotions oregon acquisition thing caller and originative earlier you spell backmost into the satellite due to the fact that it mightiness displacement your perspective. It mightiness alteration your mindset. So I deliberation it’s important, nary substance what’s going connected successful L.A., to enactment the arts. If we privation an creation country here, we person to patronize it.

Jason Roblee and Steven Lass of Lake Gregory

Jason Roblee, left, and Steven Lass astatine the Music Center connected Sunday.

(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)

Why did you privation to travel to the amusement today?

Lass: We unrecorded successful the mountains and were bored. We’ve some grown up successful Southern California, and L.A. is not scary. You could beryllium successful a atrocious spot astatine the incorrect time, but that tin hap anywhere.

Roblee: They did cancel our brunch preservation though. When we were driving through, we saw immoderate boarded-up buildings.

Were you tense astir being successful downtown L.A. amid the protests?

Lass: A small spot conscionable from seeing what was connected the news, but it was not similar I’ve seen successful the past. I lived successful Hawthorne during the riots, truthful if each the buildings aren’t burning, everything is good. ... People privation to combat for what’s right.

How often bash you travel downtown?

Roblee: A mates times of year, mostly for activities.

Why bash you deliberation it’s important to enactment the arts adjacent during times of strife?

Roblee: The artists request to marque a surviving and the theatre has ne'er been a spot to get rich. It’s important. It’s culturally important and we bask it, truthful you person to enactment it. Take it distant and beingness is boring.

Kareem and Amy Zoque of Chino Hills

Amy and Kareem Zoque of Chino Hills earlier a matinee show of “Rigoletto” astatine the Music Center connected Sunday.

(Kailyn Brown / Los Angeles Times)

Why did you privation to travel to the amusement today?

Kareem: We came to the opera past twelvemonth and that was our archetypal time, and we thought let’s spell again successful the summer. We’re teachers.

Were you tense astir coming to downtown L.A. today?

Amy: I didn’t consciousness tense today. I figured it was during the day. I was benignant of funny to spot the [freeway] off-ramps and each that stuff, but I wasn’t nervous.

Kareem: I was a small spot tense due to the fact that I’m the driver. As we got person and into the city, I felt a small spot much relaxed. I didn’t get tense due to the fact that I saw cars were moving, but I saw constabulary cars lined up supra the freeway and they had closed immoderate off-ramps. But past arsenic I benignant of pulled disconnected and I didn’t spot immoderate activity, I felt much relaxed. We sat down. We ordered a beer. I consciousness similar it was a small quiescent erstwhile we got here.

For me, it was similar I person the tickets. Even going backmost to things that person happened successful the past, similar 9/11, you conscionable benignant of don’t privation to beryllium roaming astir successful fear. I’m going to unrecorded my beingness and if I person to crook astir for immoderate reason, past I conscionable crook around, but I’m going to determination connected and get things backmost to normal. The faster we bash things without fear, the faster things tin benignant of determination on.

How often bash you travel to downtown?

Kareem: A fewer times a year.

Are you doing thing aft the show?

Kareem: We’re doing a Father’s Day meal adjacent our home.

Why bash you deliberation it’s important to enactment the arts?

Amy: Our girl is simply a elder successful assemblage and she’s successful the arts. She does musicals and theater, truthful it’s benignant of been a portion of our family. And we’ve gone to shows astatine the Pantages and connected Broadway, and we’ve conscionable ever enjoyed them. I cognize they enactment truly hard and they don’t marque a lot, whether they’re connected signifier oregon they are the signifier crew.

Kareem: In my family, it’s benignant of been similar a mode to enslaved each since we’ve been unneurotic done dating and marriage. My godfather’s lad grew up successful the theatre and inactive works arsenic a nonrecreational successful the arts and he’s ever moving hard, truthful we effort to enactment them. We don’t cognize immoderate of these people, but we bask it.