Name: Zorro by Héctor Armienta
Start: 2026-05-17T15:00:00
Location: San Gabriel Mission Playhouse

Pacific Opera Project

POP’s smash hit Star Trek parody of Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio is beaming back to LA for the first time since 2016—and only for three performances! First premiered in 2015 and hailed by the Huffington Post as “a creative bit of genius,” this laugh-out-loud production has since made the rounds across the country. Now, it returns to Thorne Hall on the Occidental College campus for a limited run that’s sure to sell out faster than you can say “Beam me up, Belmonte!” Set aboard a starship far, far away, Mozart’s classic comedy gets a sci-fi twist as Captain James T. Belmonte and his crew attempt to rescue Konstanze from the Klingon-esque Selim. Alongside his trusty Vulcan sidekick Mr. Pedrillo, the sassy security officer Blondie, Captain Belmonte must navigate love, loyalty, and intergalactic diplomacy—with plenty of high notes and hijinks along the way. With tenors Brian Cheney and Robert Norman reprising their fan-favorite roles and Mozart’s dazzling score performed in English with orchestra and supertitles, this is opera nerdery at its finest.

Abduction from the Seraglio

Occidental College

Puccini’s final masterpiece gets the full POP treatment in this stunning new production of Turandot, set in a magical world of ice and snow—frozen, like the heart of its title character. Featuring real-life husband and wife 2024 Richard Tucker Award-winning tenor Clay Hilley as Calàf and POP favorite Sara Duchovnay as Liù, this production brings Puccini’s epic score to life with grandeur, grit, and plenty of high drama. In a kingdom ruled by riddles and fear, Turandot has vowed never to marry, punishing all who dare pursue her. But when the mysterious Prince Calàf answers her challenge, everything begins to change—including Turandot herself. Packed with soaring arias, a massive chorus, and the world’s most famous showstopper, “Nessun Dorma,” Turandot is opera at its most powerful. Performed at the Aratani Theatre, one of LA’s most beloved cultural venues located in the heart of Little Tokyo, this unique production with a fairytale twist promises to be unforgettable.

Turandot

Japanese American Cultural & Community Center

Zorro comes home when POP presents the Los Angeles premiere of Héctor Armienta’s acclaimed new opera, filled with romance, humor, and suspense. Set in the early 1800s in el pueblo de Los Angeles, still a colony of Spain, this thrilling new work follows the adventures of the Spanish nobleman who hides his true identity behind a black mask to become Zorro, the dashing defender of the poor and enslaved. With a lush score influenced by mariachi, flamenco, and corrido music, Zorro leaps into dashing sword fights and passionate romance while battling tyranny and corruption and defending California’s disenfranchised and indigenous peoples. Presented in English and Spanish with projected supertitles, fully staged with orchestra, costumes, sets, and operatic talent from across the country. Runtime is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, with one intermission.