The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience and The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music are proud to present the West Coast premiere of Tod Machover’s opera Schoenberg in Hollywood. The opera explores the complex relationship between uncompromising art and mass appeal, and of whether – and how – art can change the world.

This enticing historical production is a high-spirited, affectionate homage to Arnold Schoenberg, one of the most influential artistic figures of the 20th century, and UCLA’s revered professor of music composition from 1936 to 1944. It presents vignettes from Schoenberg’s life, seen through the aesthetic of the Hollywood film industry.

Originally presented by Boston Lyric Opera in November 2018, Schoenberg in Hollywood arrives “home” for its West Coast premiere at the entertainment capital of the world where the opera takes place. The production, directed by Karole Armitage (who directed the Boston premiere) and starring English baritone Omar Ebrahim who created the role of Schoenberg in the Boston production, will feature visionary technology for sound, image and staging created at the MIT Media Lab.

“Ingeniously original music”
      –The Wall Street Journal

“A composer biography like no other”
      – The Boston Globe 

The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience and The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music are proud to present the West Coast premiere of composer Tod Machover’s chamber opera, Schoenberg in Hollywood, May 18, 19, 20 and 22, 2025 at the newly-renovated UCLA Nimoy Theater. These performances are part of Schoenberg 150, the worldwide celebration of the sesquicentennial of composer Arnold Schoenberg’s birth. Leading up to the opera’s West Coast premiere will be a number of events exploring Arnold Schoenberg’s fascinating and complex character and his relationship with Los Angeles.